All Blacks v Italy
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@Billy-Tell said in v Italy:
@kiwiinmelb said in v Italy:
@Billy-Tell said in v Italy:
Elliott Dixon has been a flop at international level. Definitely not the long term replacement for kaino.
I'd give Akira Ioane a shot but you can almost make a case for shields or even taufua given what Dixon has brought to the table.
I think it will depend on super rugby form next year and who is putting their hand up the most ,
But if we get to selection time next year and others are showing more , he could find himself missing out IMO .
I have no doubt Dixon will perform at Super Rugby level - that's why he made the ABs in the first place. However, he has been very underwhelming at the higher level. Didn't shine in a game where NZ ran all over Italy.
Yeah but the selectors should take that into account im sure , they are generally pretty smart when selecting for test purposes , I think there will be a lot of eyes on Akira's development over the next couple of years ,
But you are possibly right with Dixon, could have a touch of Adam Thompson about him , fantastic super rugby player , didnt translate so well to the higher level,
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The funny thing with Dixon ,
When he wasnt in the squad , there was a chorus led by the media , particularly the radio sport crew, What does Dixon have to do ? why isnt he in there ? that grew louder and louder
Now he has been selected , he is the forgotten man
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FWIW Dixon has never really appealed to me even at SR level.
I'd rather see Luatua at 6 (without having watched last night's game ... bloody Straya ... how did he go in comparison?)
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@kiwiinmelb He's one of those cult heroes who does a few spectacular things to get the crowd behind him, plays for the Highlanders who would be most peoples 2nd favourite team just to up his cult hero status a little bit more and puts tape around his head in an unconventional way to get himself a few more popular votes behind him. He's passable at Super Rugby level but there are much better options than him at the next level.
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@African-Monkey are you suggesting the coaches and selectors are drawn into this cult status that certain media and fans have of him and that is why he's selected?
Because I'd love to know who all these other much better options are that the selectors seem to be overlooking.
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Some stats from the game:
Dixon - Luatua
Tries 1 - 1
Carries 11 - 11
Metres 80 - 37
Clean breaks 3 - 2
Defenders beaten 2 - 0
Offloads 1 - 1
Try assists 1 - 0
Passes 7 - 9
Lineout catches 3 - 4
Tackles 5 - 7
Missed tackles 0 - 0
Turnovers conceded 0 - 1 -
@ACT-Crusader said in v Italy:
@African-Monkey are you suggesting the coaches and selectors are drawn into this cult status that certain media and fans have of him and that is why he's selected?
Because I'd love to know who all these other much better options are that the selectors seem to be overlooking.
I think that is it , while he may not be the next big thing , some of his competitors are possibly potentially better , but are probably no closer to being better test players at this point in time , right now . Although I may have taken luatua over him .
That is why I think it's a wait and see situation . It's not that clear cut yet , it may be later .
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@ACT-Crusader No they wouldn't but at this stage I would have Kaino, Luatua, Squire, Ioane (despite his rough edges there's still plenty to work with and has far more upside to his game than Dixon), and I'd even have that midget Taufua ahead of him in a big test after seeing Dixon at test level. At least we know what we'll get with Taufua if he got given an opportunity and he wouldn't leave anything in the tank.
Dixon would be on the level of Brad Shields'/Taleni Seu (who could overtake him in the next year or 2 if he puts a bit of bulk on.
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Highlights were good. Thats a terrible result for Italian rugby to get destroyed by that team.
Super limited things i took from the highlights: we missed dagg and ALB badly last week. Smith responded to his kick up the ass, PT too. Our scrum looked great; crockett destroyed some demons.
Those who watched what did we learn? How was Luatua? Cruden?
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The full game is up on youtube if anyone wants to watch.
Yeah was hard to read too much into it because the Italians were so poor but there was definitely a lift in intent in the forwards as compared to last week - they were smashing rucks. Discipline was a lot better also.
Luatua was very good I thought. He cramped up with about 15 or so to go but was into everything prior to that - he hit a lot of breakdowns, took lineout ball, showed a real intent in everything he did (including defence).
Hansen's comments on Luatua - "He was very good, until he started cramping up. And then he became a bit of a passenger.
"We didn't have anyone else to put on, otherwise he would have come off. A big improvement from Steven. Now he just has to continue that."
Cruden I thought was a bit up and down - some good stuff but some ropey stuff too.
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I thought S Barrett was excellent. A menace at lineout time, strong defense and some strong carries. As Nisbo said he looks every bit a test player. If Sam is no good he should start with BBBR next weekend.
You are right @mariner4life we did miss Dagg and ALB, they were both very influential in this match. As someone posted earlier ALB makes whoever he is paired with looks good. He has incredible vision, reads the plays very well and always makes good decisions. A meoteoric ride for that kid. Dagg is in the form of his life at the moment and seems to have recaptured the speed off the mark he had early in his career.
I thought Cruden was good, took it to the line and was accurate with his short kicks which were an obvious tactic. Sopoaga was also good when he came on - we have great depth at 10 with those three in the squad.
The forwards were the key though, Crockett and Charlie F very strong. Pat T had a much bigger impact and Cane led from the front, with Dixon and Luatua both doing their core roles well. Italy simply had no answers and their tactics suggested damage control rather then trying to take the ABs on - did they not watch Ireland last week?!
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@mariner4life said in v Italy:
Highlights were good. Thats a terrible result for Italian rugby to get destroyed by that team.
Super limited things i took from the highlights: we missed dagg and ALB badly last week. Smith responded to his kick up the ass, PT too. Our scrum looked great; crockett destroyed some demons.
Those who watched what did we learn? How was Luatua? Cruden?
Where is Italian rugby at the moment? They've been in the 6 nations for almost 2 decades but still got hammered by a score similar to what a Jonah/Cullen team would have nailed them by back in the day.
They were supposed to have turned the corner in the mid-90s but just seem worse than ever.
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Reckon some pretty harsh comments on here about that effort, always tough to gauge in a high scoring match like that, but we simply didnt give them much at all.
Naholo reminds me a bit of Sivi in the way he chases, like there is no rush to get to the ball, but when he wants to go...
But jeez ALB is looking a bit special.
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@Rocky-Rockbottom You might want to go and check out out highlights of Luatua's try then. The sequence went: Cruden with perfect cross field kick into Taylor's breadbasket, superb offload to Dixon, offload to Luatua, try time.
Haven't seen the full game, so obviously when I do I can check out all the ratshit cross field kicks from Cruden.
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I think he makes a number of small, but crucial mistakes, that undo much of the good he does - dropped pillbeing and missing tackles. Ill try to watch the game again, and see if I'm judging him too harshly (he did have one great take).
I'd have Charlie P on the left he had stayed right now.
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Just finished watching the full replay on youtube after catching highlights earlier.
Italy were pretty pathetic. Offered nothing, tried nothing. Just kicked the ball away all day. Don't see what you could hope to achieve by doing that. Hope the fullback drops it? or kicks it back and out on the full? Then they celebrate their one try from an intercept like they are minnows at the world cup, just happy to be playing the big guys and scoring a try is as good as winning. Pretty shit from a country that has been in the 6 Nations for a long time.From the ABs perspective i thought Crockett, ALB, Luatua, Naholo and Dagg were all good. Great to see Ioane go well on debut as well. Could have a big future.
TKB, Dmac, Dixon and Cruden not so great. Cruden really needs to put away the shitty attacking kicks. One came off but the rest just killed momentum. He seems to have gone backwards since BB took the number 1 spot. Goal kicking was good though.
Dixon didn't really have the impact we expect from our 6. Thought he bombed a try in the first half by throwing a silly offload 5m out from the line with guys outside him. Also thought the draw and pass for the Luatua try would have been a better option rather than risking the offload in the tackle. They scored anyway so hard to criticise.
I think the comparison with Thompson is probably pretty fair. Decent player but not entirely suited to test rugby and may get overtaken by guys who fit better. Squire/Luatua etc. Still early days though.Naholo had a decent game i thought. Made some good runs and didn't drop many, if any. IMO him and Savea are pretty similar in what they offer. Both good on attack and rarely get pushed back in a tackle but both prone to tits for hands. Naholo probably slightly in front on the form side at the moment even if it is just handling. Savea probably ahead for "good" games this season though (after his good games vs Australia). Im happy for them to keep rotating until one is clearly ahead.
Edit: I also noted that Luatua went into lock with BBBR late in the game. Scrum went pretty well with him there too.
