New Zealand under 20

Canes4life

Id say the top team from the squad selected would look something like this:
 
1. Ayden Johnstone (Waikato)
2. Leni Apisai (Wellington)
3. Alex Fidow (Wellington)
4. Hamish Dalzell (Canterbury)
5. Isaia Walker-Leawere (Wellington)
6. Luke Jacobson (Waikato)
7. Mitchel Jacobson (Waikato)
8. Marino Mikaele Tu'u (Hawkes Bay)
9. Sam Nock (Northland)
10. TJ Va'a (Wellington)
11. Jonah Lowe (Hawkes Bay)
12. Scott Barrett (Canterbury)
13. Sio Tomkinson (Otago)
14. Shaun Stevenson (Waikato)
15. Jordan Trainor (Waikato)

KiwiMurph

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Canes4life" data-cid="578483" data-time="1462841987">
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Id say the top team from the squad selected would look something like this:
 
 
10. TJ Va'a (Wellington)
11. Jonah Lowe (Hawkes Bay)
12. Scott Barrett (Canterbury)
13. Sio Tomkinson (Otago)
14. Shaun Stevenson (Waikato)
15. Jordan Trainor (Waikato)
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I've heard of showing versatility to try and crack the ABs but this would be next level....

Dice

I thought Taumateine looked better than Nock in the 2nd game. It'll be close between the two for the starting job.
 
Fidow might be best used off the bench. He looked horrible in the last game as a starter.

Stargazer

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="KiwiMurph" data-cid="578485" data-time="1462842680">
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I've heard of showing versatility to try and crack the ABs but this would be next level....
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At least, he didn't put Karl Lowe on the left wing ...

bobily

Perofeta has also played a bit of fullback, so if we move Trainor to the left wing, we might be able to fit him in too. This would match what has been done in previous seasons with Hunt, McKenzie, Barrett etc. been used there previously.

Canes4life

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="KiwiMurph" data-cid="578485" data-time="1462842680">
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I've heard of showing versatility to try and crack the ABs but this would be next level....
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Haha my bad. Jordie Barrett would probably suit second five better.

leytonandamanda

No mason Emerson is a huge mistake! Best player in 1st test against aus yet can't make the squad. 
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

KiwiMurph

What's the verdict on Perofeta? I know he played Heartland Rugby last year and is set to play Mitre 10 Cup for Naki this year - Blues are constantly on the hunt for a new 10 - does he look to have a higher ceiling than Ihaia West?

bobily

He looks pretty classy, but at this level it doesn't necessarily mean he will kick on (Bleyendaal carved up at this level, but apparently had issues with confidence and never kicked on. Kirkpatrick too had issues). I'd say he has the potential to be better, though.

bobily

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="leytonandamanda" data-cid="578505" data-time="1462849262">
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No mason Emerson is a huge mistake! Best player in 1st test against aus yet can't make the squad. 
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Scott Robertson placed a huge emphasis on versatility when talking about the backline selections. Perhaps Emerson was considered only a contender for the wing spot, and so was left out for this reason? Given he looks to be the best winger, I think it is a poor excuse, but I don't really rate Scott Robertson, and it wouldn't surprise me if he had some bizarre reason.

SammyC

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="bobily" data-cid="578508" data-time="1462849433">
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He looks pretty classy, but at this level it doesn't necessarily mean he will kick on (Bleyendaal carved up at this level, but apparently had issues with confidence and never kicked on. Kirkpatrick too had issues). I'd say he has the potential to be better, though.
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Bleyendaal had more issues than just confidence

bobily

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="SammyC" data-cid="578514" data-time="1462849978">
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Bleyendaal had more issues than just confidence
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So did Cruden, but he worked on those. Bleyendaal definitely had talent, and could have been very good, too.

taniwharugby

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="bobily" data-cid="578508" data-time="1462849433">
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He looks pretty classy, but at this level it doesn't necessarily mean he will kick on (Bleyendaal carved up at this level, but apparently had issues with confidence and never kicked on. Kirkpatrick too had issues). I'd say he has the potential to be better, though.
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Li has looked a class above at this level....

SammyC

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="bobily" data-cid="578517" data-time="1462850411">
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So did Cruden, but he worked on those. Bleyendaal definitely had talent, and could have been very good, too.
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Cruden has always had speed, Bleyendaal did not have that top end speed.
 
Also, Cruden has always been an extremely hard worker. I know that Bleyendaal was warned more than once by Crusaders management about his attitude.
 
I also know how hard it was to get him to play for his club at all, contrast that with Cody Taylor who plays at the same club and has to be told he's not allowed to play.

bobily

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="SammyC" data-cid="578521" data-time="1462850710">
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Cruden has always had speed, Bleyendaal did not have that top end speed.
 
Also, Cruden has always been an extremely hard worker. I know that Bleyendaal was warned more than once by Crusaders management about his attitude.
 
I also know how hard it was to get him to play for his club at all, contrast that with Cody Taylor who plays at the same club and has to be told he's not allowed to play.
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Perhaps he did lack speed, but you can still have slow first-fives playing well at SupeRugby level.
 
I don't know much about him not wanting to play club rugby, all I know is that I had a chat with someone who worked closely with him who made reference to confidence issues being the reason he didn't kick on. It doesn't mean that other factors didn't play a part, though. Either way, he didnt reach his potential as he didn't play anywhere near as well as he did at U20 level. Which was the point of using him as an example. Perofeta may or may not have similar issues when making the step up, so we will have to see how he goes.

Winger

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Canes4life" data-cid="578483" data-time="1462841987">
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Id say the top team from the squad selected would look something like this:
 
1. Ayden Johnstone (Waikato)
2. Leni Apisai (Wellington)
3. Alex Fidow (Wellington)
4. Hamish Dalzell (Canterbury)
5. Isaia Walker-Leawere (Wellington)
6. Luke Jacobson (Waikato)
7. Mitchel Jacobson (Waikato)
8. Marino Mikaele Tu'u (Hawkes Bay)
9. Sam Nock (Northland)
10. TJ Va'a (Wellington)
11. Jonah Lowe (Hawkes Bay)
12. Scott Barrett (Canterbury)
13. Sio Tomkinson (Otago)
14. Shaun Stevenson (Waikato)
15. Jordan Trainor (Waikato)
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</blockquote>
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Whats the strengths and weaknesses of TJ Va'a

Canes4life

From what ive seen of him playing college rugby he has a very good passing game and he is excellent when he has a go at the line. 
Negatives would be that he doesnt have the biggest boot and his defense still needs to be proven at a higher level. 
Physically he is probably a similar size to Cruden and id say the way he plays is similar to Cruden in that he is cool, calm and collected.

Ruthless

...Interesting u20s article <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11636651'>http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11636651</a>

Brian9848

Surprised Leger was included. He did not impress at all in the 2nd game against Aus. Also thought the wings were very poor in their basic kick chase.

Unco

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Ruthless1" data-cid="578550" data-time="1462860885">
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...Interesting u20s article 'n' travelling gang cried
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11636651'>http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11636651</a>
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Completely forgot Jarrod Hoeata somehow managed to get capped. Hopefully his little bro has a fair few more brain cells.

The Silver Fern

New Zealand under 20