All Blacks vs Fiji
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My view of who put their hand up to start
Aumua. Offers a lot more than Taylor. He just needs to be consistent with his lineout throwing game after game,
Proctor. My MOTM. I thought he was outstanding. And a real centre. I would start Proctor with Jordie in the midfield and move Reiko back to the wing.
Clarke. Back to his best. Almost a must start if fit
Ratima. Unlike many I also thought Hotham has a good game too. But would start Ratima with either Perenara or maybe Hotham as the backup
BB. To start until Jordan returns. My preference would be Love statting until Jordan returns but ...Not good enough or a maybe
Tosi in the scrum. Shame as otherwise he was superb
Williams. As a replacement maybe
Siti Looked the goods for sure
Darry. Didn't look out of place
ALB. Another option at 2nd 5 but would definitely keep Barrett here -
@taniwharugby said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
@nzzp I think you could go back further than the past few years...we used to have a good scrum with the best ball running and skillful props 10+ years back.
Steve McDowell
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The outside break by Caleb was awesome and a forgotten skill by many. Deserved a try.
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@Winger said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
Its a pity Tosi wasn't better in the scum. He was VG during super rugby but struiggled in his first test. Because he offers everything that Newell lacks around the field. And more than most TH props
I would work on Tosi's scrumaging. As Newell is unlikely to offer much else even with work. Great in the scrum but limited elsewhere
Work on his scrummaging and you are onto a winner. Hopefully he keeps improving... I'd argue that history shows that it easier to work on a prop's all-round game than scrummaging, so writing Newell off feels pretty harsh.
There have been very few guys go from being poor scrummagers to good scrummagers... Lomax is one in recent times, but feels rare.
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@nzzp said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
@frugby said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
Meh. A prop being able to run with the ball won't win you games
A tight 5 who can hold and pass is critical. Part of that is running. We have gone backwards in that regard in the last few years.
The All Blacks tried to pick a mobile front row in 2019 and it backfired fairly spectacularly. Set piece is crucial, particularly with the way scrums are referred in the modern game.
I agree that the baseline should be being able to catch the ball, so Newell definitely needs to work on that, but I also think it is less of a concern when he clearly isn't viewed as a starter. He has started just 1/16 tests, and when Lomax was injured they went with Laulala and left him on the bench.
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Can either Reiko or Clarke play 14, or can both only play 11?
With Clarke and Reiko you've got two big, very quick wingers.
With Proctor at 13, you've you got his provincial partnership with Jordie and a center who really looks to feed his wingers. Tempting, but probably won't happen. -
@Winger said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
My view of who put their hand up to start
Aumua. Offers a lot more than Taylor. He just needs to be consistent with his lineout throwing game after game,
Proctor. My MOTM. I thought he was outstanding. And a real centre. I would start Proctor with Jordie in the midfield and move Reiko back to the wing.
Clarke. Back to his best. Almost a must start if fit
Ratima. Unlike many I also thought Hotham has a good game too. But would start Ratima with either Perenara or maybe Hotham as the backup
BB. To start until Jordan returns. My preference would be Love statting until Jordan returns but ...Not good enough or a maybe
Tosi in the scrum. Shame as otherwise he was superb
Williams. As a replacement maybe
Siti Looked the goods for sure
Darry. Didn't look out of place
ALB. Another option at 2nd 5 but would definitely keep Barrett hereAumua has been consistent with his line out throwing. He’s been good for most of this year, a real improvement compared to 2023.
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My team for the first Argie game in Welly would be:
- De Groot
- Aumua
- Lomax
- S Barrett
- Tuipulotu
- Jacobsen
- Papali’i
- Savea
- Ratima (if fit)
- McKenzie
- Clarke
- J Barrett
- Proctor
- Ioane
- Jordan (if fit) or B Barrett (not sold at all on Perofeta)
- Taylor
- Williams
- Newell
- Darry
- Blackadder
- Perenara (if fit)
- ALB
- Barrett or Reece
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@Canes4life no love for Ratima?
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@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
@Canes4life no love for Ratima?
He had a very good game. Just a shame we lost him early
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@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
@Canes4life no love for Ratima?
I’d start him but thought he was badly concussed. How far away is the next game?
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@Canes4life said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
@Canes4life no love for Ratima?
I’d start him but thought he was badly concussed. How far away is the next game?
21 days
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@canefan said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
@Canes4life said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
@Canes4life no love for Ratima?
I’d start him but thought he was badly concussed. How far away is the next game?
21 days
Oh cool, have updated the team with Ratima starting and Perenara off the bench.
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@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
@Canes4life no love for Ratima?
I would either start Ratima or replace with Christie
And no to Blackadder. Darry is unlikley too
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@Machpants said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
Lol anthem so bad it made the news
I used that time to go to the bar.
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@Kruse said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
@Machpants said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
Lol anthem so bad it made the news
I used that time to go to the bar.
It started off poorly but towards the end was better
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@Kruse said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
@Machpants said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
Lol anthem so bad it made the news
I used that time to go to the bar.
Kruse is my spirit animal
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@nostrildamus said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
He's not a tank though.
He looks to be at least as big as Ioane, if not bigger. Definitely not someone I would've ever thought would be considered not big enough.
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@Winger said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
Its a pity Tosi wasn't better in the scum. He was VG during super rugby but struiggled in his first test. Because he offers everything that Newell lacks around the field. And more than most TH props
I would work on Tosi's scrumaging. As Newell is unlikely to offer much else even with work. Great in the scrum but limited elsewhere
Tosi getting poor raps for his scrummaging seems based merely on scrum worsening when he came on, rather than technical observation. He was on opposite side from camera, so tricky on latter.
Another thing which changed was Darry coming on and going to TH lock. He wasn’t good there for Blues, notably against Saders, but things worked well once he and Patty T swapped sides.
Scooter is a great LH lock, but Tosi would likely have looked miles better with him behind him.
