Olympics Thread

JAF

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="taniwharugby" data-cid="604499" data-time="1470776200">
good to see you back too! 
We missed you and Mister G!</blockquote>Didn't want to miss the occasion. Tournaments are not won in the first game, but at playoffs. Long way to go still.

taniwharugby

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Bovidae" data-cid="604508" data-time="1470777806">
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I'm relying on Quinn here so take that with a grain of salt but I assume there is a limit on how many replacements can be made. Both Stanaway and SBW have been replaced from the original squad.
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after the Japanese loss, Tew was saying he wasn't sure if they could replace both SBW and Webber, sounded like they thought we might only be able to replace 1 person

rotated

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Bovidae" data-cid="604505" data-time="1470776873">
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The problem with NZ losing to Japan is that even with a win over GB, and winning the group on PD, we could still end up with a tough QF and facing one of Fiji or SA early in the knock-out stages. Our best chances of going far was to avoid SA or Fiji until a final (assuming this team advances to the final).
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If medalling is the main concern then it's not ideal, but if it's gold or bust it's probably better. We have a better shot playing the better teams over the standard 7 minute halves rather than the final. The longer the game the more likely talent wins out.
 
Honestly we are likely better off a man down than with Messam playing significant minutes - we need a cool head under pressure out there and he is not that.

Mokey

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Crash" data-cid="604509" data-time="1470777943">
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Why is the diving pool green?? :puke:
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Easier for the lifeguards to see the athletes?

booboo

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="rotated" data-cid="604486" data-time="1470773388">
The stubbornness around not selecting guys like Barrett and Smith who wanted to player Super Rugby was the clincher for me. We should have made it to the semis without dropping a set if we had focused on getting the best result at Rio rather than whatever Titch decided on this year. 
Hansen has never seemed terribly cheery about the 7s set up when asked about it over the past year - I suspect if we bow out on the pool stage there will be a lot of stuff leaking out about how this campaign was lock - seems like plenty going on behind the scenes and not a lot of it positive.</blockquote>
Really? 
Do you honestly think Barrett coukd have come off the Super Final and 3 days later been in Rio to play 7s? 
Or even Ben Smith with a whole 10 days recovery from flying round the world twice. 
It was a one or other scenario. They chose 15s despite protestations that they were available for 7s. 
I was more pissed off at Savea's flip flop.

hydro11

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="rotated" data-cid="604486" data-time="1470773388">
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The stubbornness around not selecting guys like Barrett and Smith who wanted to player Super Rugby was the clincher for me. We should have made it to the semis without dropping a set if we had focused on getting the best result at Rio rather than whatever Titch decided on this year.
 
Hansen has never seemed terribly cheery about the 7s set up when asked about it over the past year - I suspect if we bow out on the pool stage there will be a lot of stuff leaking out about how this campaign was lock - seems like plenty going on behind the scenes and not a lot of it positive.
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Imagine if we picked Barrett and Smith and lost? Many of the same people having a go now would say we were disrespecting the Olympics by thinking players can just turn up without conditioning and win gold. As it turns out, Barrett would have to pull out with a couple of days notice as he was just winning the Super Rugby title. You can't have that for a major play maker.
 
There was a comment before about how people thought it was an automatic gold. The administrators have never thought that. I just watched the USA play. Carlin Isles could come to New Zealand get citizenship and represent New Zealand at the Olympic Games 100m. We just don't have players that can do that. The 25th fastest sprinter in the USA isn't going to the Olympics in sprinting but he is faster than anyone we have got and can happily go in 7's. We will always be a good 7's team but now the sport has matured.

JAF

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="jegga" data-cid="604488" data-time="1470774232">
Wow , I can picture this poor bugger waiting furtively for anything that might represent some sort of redemption for the embarrassment of the rwc .</blockquote>Karma can be a bitch at times. Or just a Japanese word? Lol.

Stargazer

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="nzzp" data-cid="604500" data-time="1470776342">
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How'd their women go?
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Finished 8th

Crash

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Mokey" data-cid="604514" data-time="1470778199">
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Easier for the lifeguards to see the athletes?
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Yeah, with their purple pee an' all... :mocking:

taniwharugby

Would the Hurricanes have won without BB & Ardie for the past 3 or 4 weeks?
 
I think they will rest easy with their decisions, even Ardie who copped a bit when he pulled out.
 
Tew said this morning they were never going to force players.

booboo

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="booboo" data-cid="604515" data-time="1470778254">
Really? 
Do you honestly think Barrett coukd have come off the Super Final and 3 days later been in Rio to play 7s? 
Or even Ben Smith with a whole 10 days recovery from flying round the world twice. 
It was a one or other scenario. They chose 15s despite protestations that they were available for 7s. 
I was more pissed off at Savea's flip flop.</blockquote>
 
Was also going to say ironically there seems less space in 7s. Perhaps less opportunity? Maybe due to the consequences of loss of possesdion?

Disgusted of TW

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="MiketheSnow" data-cid="604451" data-time="1470759564">
Argentina v USA 
 
TMO, Joubert, Eddie Butler & Clive Woodward all take a bow. All four of you fucking useless. Great tackle to dislodge the ball. No try 
 
You have to save some love for Inverdale too. During the intro to the GB v Japan game, having literally only just interviewing a Scottish player's father he then immediately referred to GB as England. Knob. 
Time for Joubert to retire </blockquote>

hydro11

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="taniwharugby" data-cid="604521" data-time="1470778803">
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Would the Hurricanes have won without BB & Ardie for the past 3 or 4 weeks?
 
I think they will rest easy with their decisions, even Ardie who copped a bit when he pulled out.
 
Tew said this morning they were never going to force players.
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Not without Barrett, no.

reprobate

i don't give a shit about 7s, but losing to japan is still a disgrace.
 
i've long been opposed to the tactic of picking 7s specialists when there are 15s players available who are just better footy players. it's not a complicated game, as evidenced by the rapid success of teams throwing a bit of money/attention at it - or just picking sheer pace - and our style of 15s produces guys who are a natural fit for 7s.
 
i think it would be a serious possibility that you could pick a team of guys from our super teams, give them 2 weeks in camp and beat our 7s team.

reprobate

and also i still cringe when the 7s team is referred to as the ABs. what they are is leftovers.

hydro11

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="reprobate" data-cid="604525" data-time="1470779305">
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i don't give a shit about 7s, but losing to japan is still a disgrace.
 
i've long been opposed to the tactic of picking 7s specialists when there are 15s players available who are just better footy players. it's not a complicated game, as evidenced by the rapid success of teams throwing a bit of money/attention at it - or just picking sheer pace - and our style of 15s produces guys who are a natural fit for 7s.
 
i think it would be a serious possibility that you could pick a team of guys from our super teams, give them 2 weeks in camp and beat our 7s team. 
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If what you are saying is true then I don't really see the point in even competing in the World Series. Just turn up two weeks before. All good. None of the other teams have done this so this certainly is not why we are losing.
 
Even if we did a camp two weeks before the only players you could have picked from would be the Blues and the Crusaders. Someone like Moala probably didn't want to give up a probable starting spot in Sydney either.

jegga

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="JAF" data-cid="604517" data-time="1470778397">
Karma can be a bitch at times. Or just a Japanese word? Lol.</blockquote>
 
Mate I hope that losing to Japan at sevens doesn't meet your karmic requirements , it's a looooooooooong way from what happened at the rwc. The last time I went to the sevens Fiji lost to the us and Samoa knocked us out of the tournament , it happens . In terms of embarrassment losing to Japan at the rwc is pretty much the Everest of humiliation.

Nepia

I don't actually care about the loss to Japan (other than, well that sucks). But, I'm gutted we've lost SBW for The Rugby Championship.

nzzp

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="nzzp" data-cid="604483" data-time="1470772673">
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I think this is a money thing.
...
If we are serious, we need to spend more and support more. 
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Quoting myself, to bring an article in from Ben Strang on money in sevens, including a key quote from Titch
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/olympics/82962706/ben-strang-new-zealand-must-centralise-national-sevens-programmes'>http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/olympics/82962706/ben-strang-new-zealand-must-centralise-national-sevens-programmes</a>
 
The top sides in world rugby sevens now train together all months of the year at a central training base, while New Zealand players only come together for specified training camps. Kiwi players train in their provinces in small training groups, before joining the whole squad in camp ahead of a major tournament. That plan of action isn't working, and money must be spent to bring the squads together and return New Zealand to the top of the sevens world.
 
 
The evidence is there for all to see that as money is pumped into sevens campaigns around the planet, the cushion New Zealand once enjoyed over their competitors has eroded.
 
"You have to eat, breathe and sleep it because with our players scattered all around the country, it makes it so, so difficult," Tietjens told NZ Newswire.
"Other countries specialise, and that's where they've caught up."

rotated

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="hydro11" data-cid="604516" data-time="1470778304">
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Imagine if we picked Barrett and Smith and lost? Many of the same people having a go now would say we were disrespecting the Olympics by thinking players can just turn up without conditioning and win gold. As it turns out, Barrett would have to pull out with a couple of days notice as he was just winning the Super Rugby title. You can't have that for a major play maker.
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That would be bad but at least we would be replicating the largely successful plan that we used at the 2010 Delhi Games where Messam, Smith and Gear all parachuted in. Why we went away from having the stable core and then sprinkle the most talented players available - instead they chose to make the barrier to play so high that they are sorely lacking game changing players.
 
If they had have been willing to work more with the players and require less of a sacrifice like in 2010 where they only found out they had those three after they didn't make the 3N squad a week or two earlier we go with a much better squad. So maybe Barrett doesn't feel up to it after this run (or maybe he does) - but some of the Blues/Highlanders/Crusaders likely would. Ideally they should have had a pool of the interested high-skilled players had a few training camps, got them involved and then made the call two weeks ago based on fitness/workload/willingness. Hell even think outside the square on this one and see if they could get Piatau released if interested? 
 
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="hydro11" data-cid="604516" data-time="1470778304">
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There was a comment before about how people thought it was an automatic gold. The administrators have never thought that. I just watched the USA play. Carlin Isles could come to New Zealand get citizenship and represent New Zealand at the Olympic Games 100m. We just don't have players that can do that. The 25th fastest sprinter in the USA isn't going to the Olympics in sprinting but he is faster than anyone we have got and can happily go in 7's. We will always be a good 7's team but now the sport has matured.
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Yet Fiji are back-to-back 7 series title holders and Carlin would be their sprint champion too. But I agree with the general premise that the talent level has taken a step up in the past 5 years or so. Yet Titch, of his own choosing made the selection criteria so restrictive that we had no choice but to take our least talanted team to a major event in the past 16 years.
 
Much like 2003 semi final, you feel like we are going to die wondering because we took a knife to a gun fight.
 
If the NZRU's existence depended on winning this tournament they would have selected a team that would have entered the tournament as favourites.

The Silver Fern

Olympics Thread