Olympics Thread

No Quarter

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Donsteppa" data-cid="604863" data-time="1470865595">
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<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11691508'>http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11691508</a>
 
When you win one game from four, commenting on the ref should be the least of your worries...
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Oh FFS not only did not not play like All Blacks, they are not not acting like All Blacks after the match. I know there are plenty of rabid fans that will crucify the ref, but to have the coach and players come out after the game and whinge like that is bloody pathetic. Just give Fiji their dues and take it on the chin.
 
Those comments are frankly embarrassing. Time for Titch to be put out to pasture. Perhaps he and Quinn can go to the same retirement village and regale each other with tales of past glory.

kiwiinmelb

It does remind me a little of the failed World Cup bids on the past , not through the level of disappointment , but more that the warning signs were there to see all year.

rotated

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="kiwiinmelb" data-cid="604872" data-time="1470867250">
It does remind me a little of the failed World Cup bids on the past , not through the level of disappointment , but more that the warning signs were there to see all year.</blockquote>
 
My thoughts exactly. I'm very positive about them rebuilding this program, the NZRU have shown they have the maturity and introspection to do this in the past. 
What is concerning is their inability to see an oncoming freight train that most of us saw coming a year ago. When this AB run does start to come to an end hopefully they can identify it a little quicker.

Wurzel

A shame this will taint Sir Gordon's legacy.
 
That said, he has a tell-all book due out later this year and it will be a compelling. Titch has been in some yelling matches at NZ Rugby HQ recently about player availability. No doubt he'll dish the dirt on some of those exchanges.

WillieTheWaiter

I'm forming a lynch mob to greet them at the airport.
 
WHO'S WITH ME?????
 
I won't be happy til I'm parading down queen st in the back of a ute with Titchs head in my hands.

WillieTheWaiter

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="antipodean" data-cid="604856" data-time="1470864600">
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Great Britain gets through in extra time against Argentina.
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fark me the argies.. golden point, GB have a man in the bin. You win a pen, tap it, then boot it out.
 
Gives the ball back to GB, guy back from the bin. They score, you lose.
 
Easily one of the most retarded things I've seen on a rugby field.

taniwharugby

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Wurzel" data-cid="604874" data-time="1470868087">
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A shame this will taint Sir Gordon's legacy.
 
That said, he has a tell-all book due out later this year and it will be a compelling. Titch has been in some yelling matches at NZ Rugby HQ recently about player availability. No doubt he'll dish the dirt on some of those exchanges.
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Be interesting to see what comes out then, given wasn't it Titch who wanted them for a lengthy time to play in the WS (e.g the Ioanes, Messam, SBW) rather than having some late inclusions? I expect this is what put a number of players off, although it would have been more disruptive waiting until the quarter/semis of the Super season to see who was available from the losing teams.
 
I would wager Ardie is much happier with his decision now.

WillieTheWaiter

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="rotated" data-cid="604873" data-time="1470867723">
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What is concerning is their inability to see an oncoming freight train that most of us saw coming a year ago. When this AB run does start to come to an end hopefully they can identify it a little quicker.
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just chucking my tinfoil hat on for a mo - maybe a couple of years back titch had an honest chat with nzrfu where he told them we have fcuk all chance of winning.. he left, they decided meh lets not really get behind this thing cause it's not going to end well.. and no 'superstars' went.

WillieTheWaiter

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="taniwharugby" data-cid="604877" data-time="1470868311">
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Be interesting to see what comes out then, given wasn't it Titch who wanted them for a lengthy time to play in the WS (e.g the Ioanes, Messam, SBW) rather than having some late inclusions? I expect this is what put a number of players off, although it would have been more disruptive waiting until the quarter/semis of the Super season to see who was available from the losing teams.
 
I would wager Ardie is much happier with his decision now.
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it all started going south for the team when the Ioanes signed for the Blues over the Chiefs.
 
The thing that blew me away the most was how farking rooted they looked compared to other teams.
 
Our 7's team was always the fittest, now we look like a bunch of fat unfit ba$tards compared to the other teams.
 
Too much weights not enough speed work??

Chris B.

The solution is obvious - let's just poach some Fijians. :)

Wurzel

I reckon about 18 months ago when Titch was told by the NZRU that he wasn't going to get access to any stars he developed that godawful, low-risk, look-for-contact, grind-'em-down game plan knowing it was his only chance of countering the pace of Fiji, USA and SA. Titch locked his squad in the gym, and then used the recent World Series to let the new game plane bed in. It was clear to everyone - Titch included - that it wasn't working but he had no other option to see it through.
 
I've not known a top class New Zealand rugby team that was unable to beat a man or create space through instinctual footwork and ballwork. Yet we just saw one stumble their way from Dubai to Wellington to Hong Kong, ending in a screaming heap in Rio.

hydro11

It wasn't the NZRU who told Titch he wasn't going to get the stars. Titch chose his requirements and the stars did not want to meet them.

Nepia

Well, that's the Olympics over for me - nothing watched, glad I didn't fork out the $20 for CH7 (although I've just discovered I can get the app and content free on my phone with Telstra).
 
I'm not too down on Titch. The guy has constantly worked out new game-plans that mostly have kept NZ at the top of the tree for nearly 20 years. It sucks that this one wasn't one that worked but that shouldn't diminish the rest of his career.

KiwiMurph

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="WillieTheWaiter" data-cid="604879" data-time="1470868594">
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it all started going south for the team when the Ioanes signed for the Blues over the Chiefs.
 
The thing that blew me away the most was how farking rooted they looked compared to other teams.
 
Our 7's team was always the fittest, now we look like a bunch of fat unfit ba$tards compared to the other teams.
 
Too much weights not enough speed work??
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Good to see that still irks you :yes:
 
It doesn't look like much at all came out of the pre-Olympics preparation for NZ - they looked about the same as they did in the final World 7s Series tournaments - rubbish.

Billy Tell

In other news... 
Boomers leading the yanks at half time in the basketball.

kiwiinmelb

I'm not so sure he needed Allblack stars anyway , 
Guys at the next level down like DMac could be just as devastating , without raiding Allblack stocks , sure he is a fringe Allblack now , he wasn't 12 months ago , it seemed we lacked players of this type .

NTA

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Billy Tell" data-cid="604886" data-time="1470869975">
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In other news... 
Boomers leading the yanks at half time in the basketball.
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Was there a bet for HT/FT Boomers/Dream Team?

canefan

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Sneakdefreak" data-cid="604869" data-time="1470866301">
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Four years ago we assumed we would be in the finals of both mens and womens - at least the ladies came through with their part of the deal. Biggest problem for 7s is that most players view it as only some nice padding for their CV as they try and get a SR contract and make the ABs. NZ Rugby need to scout better or at the very least get better organised.
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That is fine, as long as it is one of the underlying drivers for performance. I'm not convinced the way forward was touting for AB "stars". As I said earlier this is 7s rugby and in the glory days players like CC and Jonah were not ABs when they played 7's. We have a player pool of such quality how can we not get a squad of young fast ball players to play 7s?

mariner4life

well, that's all a bit disappointing isn't it?
 
Pretty clear Titch had a plan, and picked the guys to execute that plan. But, for what might be the first time in his life, he got it wrong, and he'll have to live with that. Won't change my opinion of one of the best coaches in any sport we've had though. What a legend. 
 
NZ Sevens has been the left-overs of NZ rugby for ever. Making a name for yourself on the sevens circuit was always used as a stepping stone to a 15s contract, not an extended sevens run, so Titch restarted every year. I find his consistent success more remarkable than this loss to be honest. 
 
If big name 15s stars were the answer (and i am far from convinced they are) then why aren't the other, actually good teams packed with them?
 
But, for all that, this should probably generate a rethink at board level about our sevens program. The Aussie girls team looks like a fairly good blueprint (i can't believe i just typed that). Find the right athletes, build a side based around sevens and sevens only. Make it attractive. 
 
It's all very embarassing, and not something we are used to over the last decade.

taniwharugby

I thought that was what the NZRU had done, Forbes would be on 150k+ on a 7s contract wont he?
 
Problem is, I see it being more an dmore about choosing which route to take...the younger guys (like the Ioanes) can make the call early, and next year, focus on 15s, and probably not play 7s again, but for the likes of Forbes, MIckelsen, Kaka, they are 7s players, unlikely to play super rugby now.

The Silver Fern

Olympics Thread