@Duluth said in Blues 2025:
@antipodean said in Blues 2025:
The lack of depth in the frontrow is astonishing for a team placed in the largest population area. Their set piece shouldn't just be dependable, it should be a weapon.
Agree with a lot of your post but not this part
It was a weapon last year with similar personnel. I believe they gained more scrum penalties than all the other sides. It was a big part of the championship winning side. Right now there are 4 (maybe 5?) props injured. When you have multiple specialists out your are screwed
So for the last two weeks the reserves props come from outside the original squad. That means they weren't selected in the top 30 props in the country. Plus MP picks up another 6 and a bunch of NPC players go over to the US etc when they miss out on squads. When you are dipping down to the ~35-40th props the quality drops a bit
Same situation at hooker earlier in the year. Where depth across the country is really poor. 15 contracted hookers.. about 8 or 9 are goodish and reliable. When you have to dip into the 16-20th hookers you are in big trouble
Dead right especially on the props. Mason Tupaea, is he even a starter for Waikato? He looks massively undersized for a prop too.
Hamdahn Tuipulotu. He got let go by Auckland and sent to Southland, where he's mainly on the bench.
These are 2 examples of where our propping stocks are down massively. We have 2 NPC bench props now taking the field for the Blues.
People were on about Fletcher Newell winning the game by demolishing our scrum, like no shit, look at the guy this 30 test AB prop was scrummaging against.
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