Name Your AB Team
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@reprobate said in Name Your AB Team:
Jesus, I find it disturbing the number of people picking Perenara in the side. It would be a terrible backward looking selection. He's just been comprehensively outplayed by Ratima in a knock-out game: a performance which would have looked far worse if he had been rightly carded during the match.
Do we really have to be so conservative? Haven't we just seen with Roigard that the correct approach is to pick the guy who plays better? Who happens to also be the guy with a ready-made combination with the presumptive 10?Exactly that, if we want experience then we have Christie, Retania has a combination with Dmac and that surely counts for a lot and is in great form - deserves a shot.
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Halfback selections will be very interesting.
Seen a few suggestions about our great depth there, but I'm not sure that's really true at the moment.
We've just lost probably our best ever halfback (and I'm not talking about Super Sid). I think we've got a bunch of very promising young, but largely untried young guys bubbling under - the best of whom is injured - most of the others probably aren't ready for test rugby (see Meg's comments). Then we've got a veteran who had a bit of a shocker on Saturday and another experienced guy who not many people like and definitely has some limitations. Lots of eggs in the Ratima basket - but, he would be a debutant who's spent two weeks in the AB camp.
I'm inclined to think Razor will be a more adventurous selector than me - so I'm looking forward to seeing who he picks - at halfback and a few other places.
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@Kiwiwomble
It became cool to be ultra conservative with selections. There was no logic in it. -
@Chris-B said in Name Your AB Team:
@Canes4life said in Name Your AB Team:
@Chris-B said in Name Your AB Team:
@mariner4life I won't mind too much if it goes the other way - and by the end of the season it may. But, one of those guys went to the RWC and the other didn't and Jason Ryan helped pick both those teams.
More sneaky is that I'm picking Newell to start and Lomax on the bench. Tyrel looked short of a gallop to me on Saturday, while Fletch has smashed everyone in a vain effort.
As regards hobbits - I'm not unhappy that Taylor and Aumua are in cotton wool this weekend!
Lomax will be top dog when he gets back up to full fitness. He was one of the ABs best last year and had a great season before injury struck 5-6 weeks ago. I will be very surprised if he doesn't start in the first test of the year. Newell has had a good season though.
Not disagreeing with that - Tyrel was one of my Mako boys long before you Canes lot ever got on the bandwagon!
In peak form he's comfortably ahead in my book - but, I barely noticed him on Saturday in general play. Sneaking suspicion they might swap them for the first test.
He was a Wainui boy before that.
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@Canes4life Also an Australian!
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@Canes4life said in Name Your AB Team:
@Chris-B said in Name Your AB Team:
@Canes4life said in Name Your AB Team:
@Chris-B said in Name Your AB Team:
@mariner4life I won't mind too much if it goes the other way - and by the end of the season it may. But, one of those guys went to the RWC and the other didn't and Jason Ryan helped pick both those teams.
More sneaky is that I'm picking Newell to start and Lomax on the bench. Tyrel looked short of a gallop to me on Saturday, while Fletch has smashed everyone in a vain effort.
As regards hobbits - I'm not unhappy that Taylor and Aumua are in cotton wool this weekend!
Lomax will be top dog when he gets back up to full fitness. He was one of the ABs best last year and had a great season before injury struck 5-6 weeks ago. I will be very surprised if he doesn't start in the first test of the year. Newell has had a good season though.
Not disagreeing with that - Tyrel was one of my Mako boys long before you Canes lot ever got on the bandwagon!
In peak form he's comfortably ahead in my book - but, I barely noticed him on Saturday in general play. Sneaking suspicion they might swap them for the first test.
He was a Wainui boy before that.
Eastbourne East.
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@mariner4life said in Name Your AB Team:
@Chris-B said in Name Your AB Team:
Blackadder
Papali’i
Savea
I like the idea of seeing two opensides fail against England in previous years, so being innovative and selecting three.
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https://www.rugbypass.com/plus/how-england-can-shatter-the-all-blacks-eden-park-streak/
Likely England 23 for the first Test vs New Zealand: 1. Joe Marler, 2. Jamie George, 3. Dan Cole, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. George Martin, 6. Chandler Cunningham-South, 7. Sam Underhill, 8. Ben Earl, 9. Alex Mitchell, 10. Marcus Smith, 11. Tommy Freeman, 12. Ollie Lawrence, 13. Henry Slade, 14. Immanuel Fey-Waboso, 15. George Furbank.
Bench: Fin Baxter, Theo Dan, Will Stuart, Alex Coles, Alex Dombrandt, Ben Spencer, Fin Smith, Freddie Steward. -
@Windows97 said in Name Your AB Team:
Exactly that, if we want experience then we have Christie,
Not a Christie-hater - he's good defensively and he's OK coming on when fatigue sets in - but TJP over Christie any day.
Retania has a combination with Dmac and that surely counts for a lot and is in great form - deserves a shot.
Agree but.... New Coach. Zero Test experience. First Test in charge. Picks on experience or combination? Personally, I'd start with Ratima knowing TJP can step in if Ratima gets the yips.
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@BerniesCorner said in Name Your AB Team:
@Kiwiwomble
It became cool to be ultra conservative with selections. There was no logic in it.Back was always against the wall and injuries in key positions. That doesn't really hold right now.
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So wings?
Unless they only pick two first fives, which is a pretty short term strategy, I can't see them fitting in four wings. In a 32 man squad I can't see the point in that. Probably two of them won't be in the match day 23.
Caleb Clarke
Emoni Narawa
Sevu Reece
Mark Tele'aSomeone probably has to miss out. Who's it going to be and will that give us an indication of the game plan?
Anyone else fit and good enough to push two of these guys out?
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Caleb Clarke is in career best form and he's also as safe as anyone under the high ball. He's a lock on the left wing IMO.
It's the right wing that's open.
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@Bones said in Name Your AB Team:
@mariner4life said in Name Your AB Team:
@Chris-B said in Name Your AB Team:
Blackadder
Papali’i
SaveaI like the idea of seeing two opensides fail against England in previous years, so being innovative and selecting three.
Which game are you talking about?
I thought the consensus was that we lost in 2019 because we didn't play two opensides?
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@antipodean said in Name Your AB Team:
Caleb Clarke is in career best form and he's also as safe as anyone under the high ball. He's a lock on the left wing IMO.
It's the right wing that's open.
Mark Tele'a is the one I've more-or-less got locked in.
In my ABs 23 I've picked the Blues combo of Clarke, Ioane, Tele'a, Beauden to start.
Possible that I might want to revise that on Saturday night!
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Could put any of those 4 in there and they would all do well, were pretty spoilt for choice when it comes to wingers.
Personally I think Sevu deserves a spot as he was a standout in a bottom of the table team.
I'm hoping all 4 will be selected, all 4 will get game time and the 2 best performers get their spot for the big games
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All four of our wing options are class.
Bloody shame for any of them to miss out.Telea is lucky to have the runs on the board and be a proven test star, else he would be the one possibly being overtaken. He has been playing well, but not shone. Saying that, he's a big game player who works well in the tight spaces of test rugby.
Reece has been great in poor team. So dangerous close to the line. Very experienced big game player.
Clarke has trimmed down improving his balance, but is still powerful, quick and great under the high ball. Plus he has a lot of test experience.
Narawa is clearly class, strangely for a wing he does things in slow motion and always seems to have a lot of time, rarely making the wrong decision.
If only we had this depth at lock!
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NZ Rugby being flush with wingers and loosies? twas ever thus
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theyre not all copies of each other either....im hoping to see a little rotation depending on opposition, if we can keep all four fit and sharp (experienced) and actually play to their strengths......im getting excited
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