All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test
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@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@KiwiMurph that sort of thing has been happening for eons though in terms of players, in particular young players (like Sotutu, Vaa’i) getting sporadic minutes.
What might be taking away valuable time for one player is valuable time for the other!
Think of it this way.
Imagine if someone had told you the day after the 2019 Rwc Semi this would be the ABs forward pack to start the season 3 years later.
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@Tim said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@KiwiMurph Imagine if someone had watched that game and decided that Ardie Savea was undroppable. They'd have to be legitimately insane.
At least he put some points on the board!
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@bayimports said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@taniwharugby said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Victor-Meldrew and to be fair, IMO SB was not the problem in 2019, our game plan was askew and we had a lock we relied on, just back from injury and horribly out of form.
I'd rather he not be trialled at 6 in test matches though, especially as our game plan hasnt really evolved since 2019....
@Chris Never!
absolutely he wasnt the worst on the paddock in the semi against England when most of our forwards shit the bed in my view, but he wasn't playing like a six either. I just hope it doesnt mean the team plays like that again if he gets selected there
Pre-match, I thought the Barrett selection was a masterstroke.
It gave us four good lineout options against England's two - and the last time we'd played England, taking their lineout apart had been the decisive factor.
Who was to know it would be Itoje who would do the dismantling against all our options?
Jesus man you're not meant to admit that stuff, you're meant to just stick the boot in after the game when it fails
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That said, benching Cane was seen by most as an absolutely insane thing to do prior to that match, which proved to be right. What the hell were they thinking.
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@No-Quarter said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
That said, benching Cane was seen by most as an absolutely insane thing to do prior to that match, which proved to be right. What the hell were they thinking.
I think they just got arrogant after walloping Ireland and England's lineout problems against in 2018. At least, after the last 2 years, the arrogance has gone.
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Sotutu is the most unlucky IMO, he was sublime this season and should be starting with Ardie on the bench and bringing impact later. Paps should be starting 6 and SB on the bench to cover lock and 6.
But I guess Fozzie and co know best so I am sure the starters will all have blinders.
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So the last big game at 6 he got exposed for pace at six, has he gotten faster in the past three years?
SR games at 6 against weaker sides leave us in the Frizzel realm. Effective, even good, at SR level and a damp squib at the next level up.
Now at lock he’s proven himself (even with regular brain farts).
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This conversation is driving me fucking nuts.
We're playing a lock at 6 to hopefully make up for the fact that we are playing an impact 7 at 8.
At what point are the selectors going to man up and make a choice that it would be better for AB rugby to lose Ardie Savea, so that we could get some fucking balance?
Fuck him if he leaves because he has to play off the bench. We'd be better off.
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@gt12 said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
This conversation is driving me fucking nuts.
We're playing a lock at 6 to hopefully make up for the fact that we are playing an impact 7 at 8.
At what point are the selectors going to man up and make a choice that it would be better for AB rugby to lose Ardie Savea, so that we could get some fucking balance?
Fuck him if he leaves because he has to play off the bench. We'd be better off.
He's absolutely not the answer to the question of how to improve the performance of our forward pack, so that our world class backline can get more ball with more time and more space. Ardie's entire USP is looking really good playing in a shit team. He's just not worth throwing out the entire balance of our forward pack.
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@Frank said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Bones said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
And the Taylor selection is a disgrace.
No, you see, because Samisoni is the better player, we give him 20 minutes off the bench for IMPACT!!!!!!
You're doing this wrong.
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Now is the time to do some serious pruning. Takes courage.
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@Frank said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Bones said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
And the Taylor selection is a disgrace.
No, you see, because Samisoni is the better player, we give him 20 minutes off the bench for IMPACT!!!!!!
Yep, he's crucial to delivering the front foot ball in that last 20 so Christie can put Ennor into space
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Kirwan Don't think that's right. In one of our few big plays in the game, Scott ran down the English wing!
He has good pace. For a lock.
Same reason I'm not convinced about Vaai at 6 either, much slower than Akira, Dalton, PGS, Cane, Savea, Blackadder, Grace (I could keep going).
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@Kirwan said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Kirwan Don't think that's right. In one of our few big plays in the game, Scott ran down the English wing!
He has good pace. For a lock.
Same reason I'm not convinced about Vaai at 6 either, much slower than Akira, Dalton, PGS, Cane, Savea, Blackadder, Grace (I could keep going).
Vai'i as a 6 was a stopgap and he did a pretty good job. I liked what I saw but more in potential rather than where he currently is. I'd imagine that he has room to up his speed work training wise.
His future is far more prescribed at lock though and unless he's presented with a clear plan to move position he should stay where he is.
