Blindside
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Under Read's tenure we lost to Ireland, lost (home draw is a loss..) the Lions, rolled over to England in the RWC semi. I'll never forget how his interview was a weird mixture of relieved and happy after Ireland "finally" beat us in Chicago.
Agree on Read and captaincy. I, for one, don't miss the panic-stricken wild-eyed look and always wonder if he'd gone better without the captain's armband.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in Blindside:
@Stargazer said in Blindside:
MMT is continuing his excellent form in NPC
Good to hear, because I've only watched yesterday's game from HB and I didn't even know he was on the field until they did a close up on him at the scrum towards the end of the match.
Often not hearing or seeing a forward on the park is a sign of a high work-rate.
That must be it then eh. If only the Welly loosies had performed that well...
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@ACT-Crusader said in Blindside:
@Victor-Meldrew said in Blindside:
@Stargazer said in Blindside:
MMT is continuing his excellent form in NPC
Good to hear, because I've only watched yesterday's game from HB and I didn't even know he was on the field until they did a close up on him at the scrum towards the end of the match.
Often not hearing or seeing a forward on the park is a sign of a high work-rate.
Reuben Thorne has just entered the chat
I recall reading some stats on here that Reuben's workrate, e.g. speed to the ball, was actually really high. Think Frizzell was pretty similar in Boks II.
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@nostrildamus Ardie is locked in at number 8. There is no Cane vs Ardie debate. If both are fit and we are playing a big test then both start.
I do think there was a Blackadder vs Papalii debate (when Ethan was fit) when it comes to the bench spot.
Sotutu is injury cover and/or to provide rest for Ardie if required.
Whether they have individually played well or not, I think the mix seems to be better with either Barrett or Frizell being paired with Cane and Savea.
We are yet to see what set up they would select with a fully fit Retallick plus Whitelock, Scott Barrett, Frizell and Ioane.
I think we can confidently say now that only one of Frizell or Ioane will make the 23.
In a RWC campaign however when the squads are smaller and all games are not equal, they are not going to start all of Retallick, Whitelock and Scott Barrett every game or even have all 3 of them in the 23, so there is possible value for Ioane and Frizell - but that probably means they won’t carry one of Sotutu or Papalii
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@Victor-Meldrew said in Blindside:
@Stargazer said in Blindside:
MMT is continuing his excellent form in NPC
Good to hear, because I've only watched yesterday's game from HB and I didn't even know he was on the field until they did a close up on him at the scrum towards the end of the match.
Often not hearing or seeing a forward on the park is a sign of a high work-rate.
That must be it then eh. If only the Welly loosies had performed that well...
Nah, that's because they play Ardie out of position at 8 instead of 12....
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Seems to me the preferred A team is Sam/Ardie/Shannon.
Ardie & Sam are locked in and Frizzell has played a well in his last 2-3 outings at 6 so they stick with him for now. Scooter is clearly the next cab off the rank at 6 but that limits our cover at 4-5 and I'm not a fan of swapping Lock and Blindside after Chicago & Kaino (but what would I know).
It's the backup depth/experience at 6 which is worrying as neither Paps, Ioane or Vaa'i have had much opportunity to get their feet under the table as it's always been backs to the wall stuff. Ioane looks the most likely to miss the cut on current standing as he doesn't seem to have the versatility of the others. His progress seems to have stalled and he really needs a decent run or two, even if Foster, Ryan and co currently see him as a bench option. Love to see him get some decent time in Bled 2.
From what little I've seen, Grace and MMT look to have huge potential and can see them having a big role post RWC2023.
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@Victor-Meldrew Blackadder?
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@nostrildamus I agree. He is not physical enough. Some of those missed tackles were poor. Some of our skill losses maybe should park themselves at second five.
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@nostrildamus said in Blindside:
@nostrildamus said in Blindside:
@Canes4life said in Blindside:
Caleb Delany
a 1.98m Wellington lock? That doesn't seem right...
same height as Ardie (in the stats book)
I've found heights from 1.9 1.94 1.95 and 1.98
Lions and Canes say 1.94 so I suspect that is most accurate..https://www.wellingtonlions.co.nz/squad/caleb-delany
1 cm less than Brad Thorne height..He's not 1.98. Hes progressing nicely at 6 for Wellington
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@nostrildamus I agree. He is not physical enough. Some of those missed tackles were poor. Some of our skill losses maybe should park themselves at second five.
I didn't even notice him missing tackles.
Everyone knew he was going to be rusty as fuck before he even played, but he still gets lambasted for being rusty.
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@nostrildamus I agree. He is not physical enough. Some of those missed tackles were poor. Some of our skill losses maybe should park themselves at second five.
I didn't even notice him missing tackles.
Everyone knew he was going to be rusty as fuck before he even played, but he still gets lambasted for being rusty.
2 missed tackles according to ESPN https://www.espn.com/rugby/playerstats?gameId=595490&league=244293 and I don't trust it but that sounds right.
Personally I can understand he wasn't physically ready for test rugby but that doesn't explain the kick. He did some other good things though and arguably distributes and links better than Ardie <excuse me while I put on a Wellington flame-resistant suit>... -
@nostrildamus ESPN stats are fine; it's Rugbypass' stats that are dodgy.
The SANZAAR stats also say he made 9 tackles and missed 2.
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@nostrildamus the kick is unforgivable. Everything else I can give a lot of leeway.
Oh and we don't sell those in Wellington.
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@nostrildamus the kick is unforgivable. Everything else I can give a lot of leeway.
Oh and we don't sell those in Wellington.
I think you can buy one from Blackwoods Newtown store..
but I meant Wellington/Canes-proof, I dare not compare St Ardie to others when a certain Canes supporter (not you) is around..
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@Canes4life said in Blindside:
Caleb Delany has been fantastic for Wellington this year. I’d also like to see Cullen Grace at 6 at some point.
I am not totally convinced. Yes, he has been very dynamic for the Canes this year, but he is a bit too lean for a blindside at the highest level where he would face big munters. I must admit I haven't watched many Wellington NPC games but I found him pretty anonymous vs Otago. In that game, the dominant "6" was Sean Withy who is more an openside than a blindside LF, IMO.
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One of the missed tackles would have been on Foley (the forward pass try) which was a poor effort - the other one may have been when he missed Koroibete who was running sideways and taken by Samisoni.
Otherwise he was plenty physical though - may some good strong carries and counter-rucked leading to the turnover for Samisoni's try.
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@Canes4life said in Blindside:
Caleb Delany has been fantastic for Wellington this year. I’d also like to see Cullen Grace at 6 at some point.
I am not totally convinced. Yes, he has been very dynamic for the Canes this year, but he is a bit too lean for a blindside at the highest level where he would face big munters. I must admit I haven't watched many Wellington NPC games but I found him pretty anonymous vs Otago. In that game, the dominant "6" was Sean Withy who is more an openside than a blindside LF, IMO.
He was a lot leaner last year but to me he’s put on a bit of beef and has been fairly dominant in both the carry and tackle in this years NPC. Delany, Lakai and Aumua have clearly been Wellington’s standout forwards this year. I definitely think he’s a better 6 than lock and I hope he continues to develop his game. Seems like a smart operator / communicator aswell which is a bonus.
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@KiwiMurph said in Blindside:
One of the missed tackles would have been on Foley (the forward pass try) which was a poor effort - the other one may have been when he missed Koroibete who was running sideways and taken by Samisoni.
Otherwise he was plenty physical though - may some good strong carries and counter-rucked leading to the turnover for Samisoni's try.
Sami T gets as much shit for that try as anyone (though Fern favs never cop too much heat)
Foley steps inside, and should have been straight in to Sami's shoulder. Sami cuddles him, and old man foley makes the miracle offload.
Poor shit all round really
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@mariner4life Jeff Wilson will be wondering about the lack of fuss over Sami losing the ball over the line whilst being tackled by a halfback!
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