All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test
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@taniwharugby said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@mariner4life and I think managing the guys like Taylor, Whitelock, Retallick, Cane is important too, utilising guys like Dalton, Hoskins, Vaii, Coles etc who are all capable starters to start or off the bench rather than running these guys into the ground will help too.
yeah, sort of
I definitely don't want wholesale changes every friggen week. Rotating 1 a week, better use of the bench should be enough.
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I think we saw some new things in the game, which I liked. They seems to be passing to the outside forward of the pod which leaves the inside man as a big runner, the outsides to distribute, and the loop man behind. It was quite Crusaders style and I think it is a good way to use our edge runners in particular. So, if they insist on starting Ardie (and after that performance, it won’t change), they need to put the ball in his hands on the edges more.
As a pattern, if we can have Ardie on one side, Akira on the other, and keep the locks and Cane through the middle, perhaps with a Taukei’aho in there, we can have ball runners across the field and options to use others, such as Leicester on the inside ball.
I’m not a Bower fan, but for me he was the big mover last week. He dealt with Furlong well, who is in the top three THs in the world, and was nice and busy with his carries. He didn’t get much ground but was doing the work around the ruck that we’d hope.
My surprise package was Ta’avao. I’m soooo uncomfortable with his scrummaging but he was excellent last week. If he can hold up his side under pressure, I can see why they want him there, as he has a big motor and can do a lot in traffic.
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@mariner4life oh no, I reckon they can manage them off the bench, I'd be thinking somethign like moving SB to lock, Vai to bench, Akira to 6, HOskins to bench over PGS, Coles to bench, start ST.
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@taniwharugby said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@mariner4life oh no, I reckon they can manage them off the bench, I'd be thinking somethign like moving SB to lock, Vai to bench, Akira to 6, HOskins to bench over PGS, Coles to bench, start ST.
I think they’ll continue to use ST off the bench with maybe a start against the Argies or OZ. Taylor or Coles to start
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@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@taniwharugby said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@mariner4life oh no, I reckon they can manage them off the bench, I'd be thinking somethign like moving SB to lock, Vai to bench, Akira to 6, HOskins to bench over PGS, Coles to bench, start ST.
I think they’ll continue to use ST off the bench with maybe a start against the Argies or OZ. Taylor or Coles to start
In my mind Foster will continue status quo unless something forces his hand..eg injury, supsension etc . I will be pleasantly surprised if it does change, but I do not share the same optimism
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
A Savea showed his absolute worth and also illustrated why i don't like him starting at 8 all in the same game. His 2nd half was majestic and he's a fucking menace out wide.
As I alluded to in the MOTM thread, there were a couple of players who I thought (live) didn't have great 1st halves, and Savea was one of those. He spent a lot of time out wide without being too involved. A totally different 2nd half though with his performance and impact. I had a great view of his try which started with a sweet flat and wide pass from Smith. The overhead camera footage didn't even do that pass justice.
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
A Savea showed his absolute worth and also illustrated why i don't like him starting at 8 all in the same game. His 2nd half was majestic and he's a fucking menace out wide. That bloke is a point of difference, and i swear him playing the last 30 minutes as an all-energy impact sub makes us a very dangerous proposition.
Ardie is a great player in general play - overall, he may well be our MVP in that aspect. Peter Gus' try showed what a really big man can do off the back of the scrum (and elsewhere) - Ardie does that with determination rather than bulk - but, his (Ardie's) biggest "shortcoming" in my view is being too short to be a genuine lineout option. He's pretty much Rodney So'oialo v2.0. I can see why they want him on the paddock, but he doesn't help balance the loose trio.
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
A Savea showed his absolute worth and also illustrated why i don't like him starting at 8 all in the same game. His 2nd half was majestic and he's a fucking menace out wide. That bloke is a point of difference, and i swear him playing the last 30 minutes as an all-energy impact sub makes us a very dangerous proposition.
Ardie is a great player in general play - overall, he may well be our MVP in that aspect. Peter Gus' try showed what a really big man can do off the back of the scrum (and elsewhere) - Ardie does that with determination rather than bulk - but, his (Ardie's) biggest "shortcoming" in my view is being too short to be a genuine lineout option. He's pretty much Rodney So'oialo v2.0. I can see why they want him on the paddock, but he doesn't help balance the loose trio.
Was pretty annoying watching a side playing three locks throw to a short 8 at the front.
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
A Savea showed his absolute worth and also illustrated why i don't like him starting at 8 all in the same game. His 2nd half was majestic and he's a fucking menace out wide. That bloke is a point of difference, and i swear him playing the last 30 minutes as an all-energy impact sub makes us a very dangerous proposition.
Ardie is a great player in general play - overall, he may well be our MVP in that aspect. Peter Gus' try showed what a really big man can do off the back of the scrum (and elsewhere) - Ardie does that with determination rather than bulk - but, his (Ardie's) biggest "shortcoming" in my view is being too short to be a genuine lineout option. He's pretty much Rodney So'oialo v2.0. I can see why they want him on the paddock, but he doesn't help balance the loose trio.
and this is the dilemma facing the selectors, and why they get paid for this shit.
A dude with so much obvious upside, and yet glaring deficiencies at the same time. How best to use?
A decision made tougher by the skipper playing in what is probably Ardies best spot if starting. And a guy who also looks to the manor born also in that spot.Fucking good spot to be in though isn't it?
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
Fucking good spot to be in though isn't it?
Problem is that the shortness means the loose forward trio just unbalances. That's a nut the selectors haven't cracked yet.
Honestly, to me giving him a big 20-30 off the bench against tiring legs is probably the best option; his versatility and looser play becomes a real strength. -
It was a cracking number 8 run to score that try and no surprise it happened well into the second half.
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@antipodean said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
It was a cracking number 8 run to score that try and no surprise it happened well into the second half.
Dude a 13 would be happy with that, outside swerve to beat the line, ball in two hands to send teh FB away, over untouched. It was pretty sexy
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@Kirwan said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
Was pretty annoying watching a side playing three locks throw to a short 8 at the front.
While I don't disagree with you, if you believe the AB stats Savea is the same height as Grace, who seems to be lauded as a lineout gun. A lot of teams use a loose forward at the front to get quick ball. Often they are easier to lift than a bigger lock.
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@Bovidae said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Kirwan said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
Was pretty annoying watching a side playing three locks throw to a short 8 at the front.
While I don't disagree with you, if you believe the AB stats Savea is the same height as Grace, who seems to be lauded as a lineout gun. A lot of teams use a loose forward at the front to get quick ball. Often they are easier to lift than a bigger lock.
Grace has been used as a lock at times by Canterbury (?) so that doesn't make too much sense.
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@Old-Samurai-Jack said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
Grace has been used as a lock at times by Canterbury (?) so that doesn't make too much sense.
There are plenty of shorter locks in NPC teams, or even SR teams (looking at you Blackwell).
If you compare Grace to Christie (1.85/1.86 m).
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@Stargazer if he frizzed up his hair he'd get at least another few centimetres
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@nzzp said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Stargazer if he frizzed up his hair he'd get at least another few centimetres
Now that we know he's Polynesian he can start growing a ginga afro.
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@Nepia said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@nzzp said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Stargazer if he frizzed up his hair he'd get at least another few centimetres
Now that we know he's Polynesian he can start growing a ginga afro.
