Auckland v BOP

[Steven Harris]

@bayimports unbelievable win ,after that first 15 minutes i thought it was gonna be a long day at the office for the Bay but they hung tough and to be fair won going away ..never seen so many upsets in one weekend of the NPC .

[Dice]

Hopefully Lam's injury isn't too bad.

Let's hope RTS gets released to play next week, especially if Lam is out, or else we're gonna see Hickey starting at 10, with Plummer moving out to 12 and Evans at 13. I'd prefer Plummer/Evans/RTS.

[bayimports]

@Steven-Harris you're right, although we didn't score points during the yellow card about the 25 minute mark, that seemed to help take the pressure off, to help us get our heads back into this. Then it became a territory game for us, which we started to win.

Upsets galore, I haven't seen all matches this weekend, but I especially liked the Northland win. Again played a territory game in the shit conditions and let Wellington make the most errors, also forcing some on them through some ferocious forward defence.

[bayimports]

@Dice After watching some of those silky touches from RTS, I hope he gets on the field at higher levels. He was creating holes and putting people through gaps at will today

[Winger]

Well done BOP. After a slow start

[KiwiPie]

@Steven-Harris said in Auckland v BOP:

How good is Naitoa Ah Kuoi on the interview…?,that was gold lol

He's very good value!

[ARHS]

Disappointing quality in this one. Horror scrums and lineouts. And what is with all the diving launches at the breakdown? The Auckland forwards completely missed their targets quite often.
RTS Lam and Rayasi looked very threatening for Auckland.
But I thought MSR was most dominant player on the field and a clear MOM for me. Trask and Ah Kuoi were v good too.

[bayimports]

@ARHS said in Auckland v BOP:

And what is with all the diving launches at the breakdown? The Auckland forwards completely missed their targets quite often.

I don't think its intentional, surely, but a few NZ teams had passages of this, given its one things refs at higher levels do not take lightly, I am surprised to see so much of it

[ARHS]

Seemed a tactic in first half to hit very hard and low. Noticed BOP players withdraw before contact late in first half. Surprised it is tolerated by the refs.

[Duluth]

@ARHS said in Auckland v BOP:

And what is with all the diving launches at the breakdown? The Auckland forwards completely missed their targets quite often.

Happened a lot in the Canterbury v Taranaki game too. The ref let it go in that game

[ARHS]

@Duluth yes. Not the only game I have seen it allowed. Wonder if there is a new nuance around the rule. I hope not. It just seems so dangerous to me.

[Bovidae]

@Duluth said in Auckland v BOP:

Vikena has massive potential but this is the worst game I’ve seen him play

Not just the lineouts but giving away that dumb penalty at the maul.

He was the definition of an impact sub - for the opposition.

[TheMojoman]

Well done BOP and missed opportunity for Auckland at home. MSR was pretty good as was Ah Khoui & Trask.

RTS looked dangerous and he’s coming along well. I don’t doubt his ball carrying but nice to see some good short passing.

Rayasi really needs to break through in 2023. He just looks the goods and pace to burn.

[KiwiMurph]

@TheMojoman said in Auckland v BOP:

Rayasi really needs to break through in 2023. He just looks the goods and pace to burn.

Rayasi is about to turn 26 and had his breakthrough season in the 2018 NPC. For a winger he's running out of time.

[Bones]

@KiwiMurph said in Auckland v BOP:

@TheMojoman said in Auckland v BOP:

Rayasi really needs to break through in 2023. He just looks the goods and pace to burn.

Rayasi is about to turn 26 and had his breakthrough season in the 2018 NPC. For a winger he's running out of time.

That made me think of Shaun Stevenson, to see how old he is now. Lo and behold, they're cousins! Shaun is a year younger.