New Zealand under 20

mimic

Still not sold on Faiane.. I feel hes still too small, and he doesnt have the punch that Sammy Tuitupou had.. but he still has time to develop size.. i can see he is a smart player..

Daffy Jaffy

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="mimic" data-cid="586170" data-time="1465559794">
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Still not sold on Faiane.. I feel hes still too small, and he doesnt have the punch that Sammy Tuitupou had.. but he still has time to develop size.. i can see he is a smart player.. 
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Faiane is listed at 92kgs and 1.84m which is heavier and taller than Ryan Crotty. At only 20 and having spent all this year in the gym he will no doubt be heavier and stronger again next season. I wonder if he will be fit in time to see any npc time for Auckland? If he stayed fit this year he may have seen time at 12 for the Blues after Rangers injury. I rate his game reading and ball playing skills highly and see him as the long term 2nd pivot for the Blues from 12.

Bovidae

3 changes in the backline for the Irish game.
 
1. Ayden Johnstone 2. Leni Apisai (C) 3. Sosefo Kautai 4. Quinten Strange 5. Isaia Walker-Leawere 6. Luke Jacobson 7. Mitchell Jacobson 8. Marino Mikaele-Tuâ€™u 9. Sam Nock 10. Stephen Perofeta 11. Malo Tuitama 12. Jordie Barrett 13. Patelesio Tomkinson 14. Shaun Stevenson 15. Jordan Trainor Reserves: 16. Asafo Aumua 17. Sean Paranihi 18. Alex Fidow 19. Hamish Dalzell 20. Dalton Papaliâ€™I 21. Jonathan Taumateine 22. TJ Vaâ€™a 23. Jonah Lowe

mimic

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Daffy Jaffy" data-cid="586175" data-time="1465563925">
<div>
Faiane is listed at 92kgs and 1.84m which is heavier and taller than Ryan Crotty. At only 20 and having spent all this year in the gym he will no doubt be heavier and stronger again next season. I wonder if he will be fit in time to see any npc time for Auckland? If he stayed fit this year he may have seen time at 12 for the Blues after Rangers injury. I rate his game reading and ball playing skills highly and see him as the long term 2nd pivot for the Blues from 12.
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I'm 1.8m and I'm definitely taller than him.. I take those stats with a grain of salt..
Maybe it was a typo and it was meant to be 1.74m.. but yes, like i said.. smart player.. just need to wait for him to develop some size and strength
 
 
edit: unless he's grown 10cm.. so i may be wrong D:

Stargazer

Wow, great try from Jordie Barrett! He converts his own try: 7-3 to NZ after 7 minutes

Stargazer

NZ giving away too many penalties. Fortunately, Ireland not each time opting to take the points, otherwise NZ would be behind. It's 7-6 after 16 minutes.

Stargazer

Very nice try from Shaun Stevenson! NZ taking advantage of Ireland having a player in the bin. 14-6 after 26 minutes.

Billy Tell

Jordie Barrett is awesome.

Stargazer

NZ scrum definitely a weak point. Also no answer to driving mauls. Not sure why. Weight/strength? Technique?

Stargazer

Errrr, another try scored by Ireland from a line-out drive! Ireland now leads 20-14.

Canes4life

Our forward pack has a weak underbelly. Getting shunted at scrum time. Piss poor IMO. 
Barrett, Stevenson and the hard running no 8 Mikaele Tu'u are obvious stand outs so far. 
Ive been disapointed in Apisai and Walker-Leawere so far. For big guys they don't hit very hard. They seem lazy.

Stargazer

Some terrible hospital passes by Sam Nock in this game.

Stargazer

Half time: NZ 14 - 20 Ireland

Higgins

Hard to believe some of these guys (NZ players) are full time professionals raking in falrly big annual salaries.

Stargazer

Commentator just made a good point. Many of the 6 Nations players have played many more games, esp against each other. NZ players have only played Oz. Clear advantage to players from Ireland (and Wales, England, France etc).

ACT Crusader

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Higgins" data-cid="586708" data-time="1465651464">Hard to believe some of these guys (NZ players) are full time professionals raking in falrly big annual salaries.</blockquote>
 
Which ones Higgins, and how big? Trainor has a Super contract doesn't he? But i wouldn't imagine it would be that big. 
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Stargazer

Jonah Lowe has replaced Tomkinson at centre.
 
Try Tuitama. Barrett can't convert. Ireland still leads 23-19 after 53 minutes.

Crash

Another shitfight developing..

ACT Crusader

Too many hero plays from our boys. Just keep it simple 
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Billy Tell

There are no future AB props on display here.

The Silver Fern

New Zealand under 20