All Blacks v Ireland II
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@westcoastie Jaco Peyper (SARU)
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I can't see Savea being dropped after not being in the 23 against Italy. It's a Naholo v Dagg call to start. I'd start Dagg and have Naholo on the bench.
ALB and Fekitoa unless if Crotty is fit, I'd go with Crotty and ALB.
Smith and Barrett. TJP and Cruden on the bench. I would love to see Lima start against France.
Moody, Coles and Franks pick themselves. Likewise Crockett, Taylor and Charlie pick themselves for the bench.
Kaino, Cane and Read - all 3 need a rocket because they were all poor in Chicago. Savea on the bench.
Brodie back a certainty. If Whitelock is fit he plays and Tuipoluto on the bench.
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What a bollocks that B Barrett needs redemption. He's by far the best 10 we have now, so he should get the start. As has been said several times by the coaches, B Barrett struggled with his health and he needed a rest. He's had a week of rest; if he is fit to play, he should start. Hopefully his kicking is better, but in all other respects, he's way better than Cruden at the moment. Also, v Ireland in Chicago, Beauden only mist one kick out of five, so his kicking problems shouldn't be exaggerated.
TJP has been better the last few games, most notably in the 2nd half of the game v Ireland in Chicago, and also deserves the start, regardless of who plays at 10. Won't mind if Smith starts though.
Also, people who keep on mentioning Romano: is it even certain he has returned to the squad? For me, S Barrett ahead of Tuipulotu.
I think this comes close to the line-up v Ireland in Dublin:
Crockett - Coles - Franks
Retallick - S Barrett
Kaino (if healthy)/Squire - Cane/Todd** - Read
Perenara - B Barrett
Lienert-Brown - Fekitoa (unless Crotty if fit to play)
Savea - Dagg - B Smith (at 15)Taylor - Moody - Faumuina
Whitelock (if healthy)/Tuipulotu - Squire (if not starting)/Dixon - Todd (if not starting)/A Savea
A Smith - Cruden/Sopoaga - Naholo (unless Crotty starts; in that case Fekitoa)**not sure about Cane or Todd. Normally, I'd expect them to start Cane, but due to the fact that he hasn't been convincing since his return from injury & played 80 minutes v Italy, Todd might get the nod as he has been steadily improving this year, was an absolute beast in Bledisloe III & there's not much between them at the moment. A Savea didn't seem physically up to it against the Irish in Chicago, so I'd hesitate to even name him on the bench.
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I'm just fucking astounded the world's premier halfback has one bad game and everyone wants him dropped.
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@mariner4life said in Ireland II:
I'm just fucking astounded the world's premier halfback has one bad game and everyone wants him dropped.
Hear ya but the tackling and muscle around the ruck are a good argument and an area the paddies exploited last time
The plan will be to smash those emerald isle fuckers this time won't it?
Toilet boy ain't got his swagger back yet either IMO
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@Siam I thought A Smith played well against Italy?
I am still stunned how good ALB is, at either 12 or 13.
I thought Naholo actually had a good match and is defensively more reliable than Savea but they'll pick the latter and put some pressure on him to perform.
Cruden, Barrett, Sopoaga-a good problem to have!Am also tempted to think Patrick is better off the bench..
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@nostrildamus
Yeah, he did. He was quick with the pass, made good breaks. He added a lot vs ItalyI'd go for Perenara for the physicality v Ireland. May it be so again that when facing a recent conquering team the ABs fucken pile in physically and willingly. Smash the feckers. I think TJP is better suited ti start to compliment this style. Nugget for the last 25-30 mins to run 'em around would be ideal I reckon
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Hmmmm.
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The Ireland side will probably remain unchanged. Peter O'Mahony will be the only change in the squad and whether or not he starts is the question.
I don't think we (Ireland) will win this one. There are a few good reasons. Obviously the ABs will be firm favourites but from an Ireland point of view, everything went to plan in Chicago and thats unlikely to happen twice in a row. Hansen will be analysing the match and will strengthen areas the ABs got caught out, like the maul, not giving penalties away, garryowens etc. And in Chicago the ABs still scored 4 tries.
Ireland can still make it a tough game and they'll do the same again... mainly not give the ball away too easily. The Ireland defence is good and even the forwards are athletic and fairly fit. More mobile than the Australians and South Africans while probably being more physical than the Argentinians. Andy Farrell has made a massive difference since taking over in the summer and that might have caught the ABs off guard in the first test. It was interesting to see the ABs kick-pass the ball so much against the Italians. It was almost like they were practising it. I'd say we might see a bit of that next week.
So I would say business for the ABs but sport can throw up surprises. The weather will be a bit different than it was in Chicago.
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@profitius said in Ireland II:
The Ireland side will probably remain unchanged. Peter O'Mahony will be the only change in the squad and whether or not he starts is the question.
I don't think we (Ireland) will win this one. There are a few good reasons. Obviously the ABs will be firm favourites but from an Ireland point of view, everything went to plan in Chicago and thats unlikely to happen twice in a row. Hansen will be analysing the match and will strengthen areas the ABs got caught out, like the maul, not giving penalties away, garryowens etc. And in Chicago the ABs still scored 4 tries.
Ireland can still make it a tough game and they'll do the same again... mainly not give the ball away too easily. The Ireland defence is good and even the forwards are athletic and fairly fit. More mobile than the Australians and South Africans while probably being more physical than the Argentinians. Andy Farrell has made a massive difference since taking over in the summer and that might have caught the ABs off guard in the first test. It was interesting to see the ABs kick-pass the ball so much against the Italians. It was almost like they were practising it. I'd say we might see a bit of that next week.
So I would say business for the ABs but sport can throw up surprises. The weather will be a bit different than it was in Chicago.
It's a cliché, but Ireland don't do "not the underdog" very well. So on the one hand, expectation will be ramped up, on the other hand surely NZ won't play as badly as they did in Chicago?
If I were Hansen, I would play some territory (Ireland don't remotely have the same ability to strike long-distance tries as NZ) put pressure on the Irish halves (hopefully resulting in Sexton spitting the dummy), don't give away silly penalties that allow Ireland to kick to the corner and maul, compete better on the high ball etc.
I think the match could be very close though, especially if Ireland start well.
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@mariner4life said in Ireland II:
I'm just fucking astounded the world's premier halfback has one bad game and everyone wants him dropped.
He got hooked against the Boks earlier in the year for being average and in the mean time TJP has taken massive strides. His returns post the Wales series and Bledisloe I have been middling.
That said there are some players who are core to the team and you have to give them every chance to fight their way out of it. Smith deserves the big stage and another crack at it.
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@mariner4life said in Ireland II:
I'm just fucking astounded the world's premier halfback has one bad game and everyone wants him dropped.
total knee-jerk. smith is the best halfback in the world, in all contexts except our forwards getting smashed. are we really willing to concede that that is going to happen?
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@reprobate said in Ireland II:
crockett was very good against italy. regardless of moody's shit in the first one, i have thought crockett should be getting the lion's share of those minutes on ability for some time. why not moody for 20 then crockett for 60?
Crockett was awesome from the pieces I saw and I understand the scrum was good against a strong Italian pack
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@Crucial yeah he was really good. moody scrums solidly, but he has nothing on crockett anywhere else, and it is not often crockett lets the scrum down, for a few years now. just makes sense to me to have the better player on the field for longer.
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I'm fucking astounded that people have forgotten Aaron Smith vs Argentina, though that wouldn't tally with; bleating about just "one poor game", or most importantly ignoring TJP's 2016 form, (or blaming everything on two cretins making a recording.)
Either way, it looks like the days of Smith playing 75 minutes for the AB's are less likely... so it's essentially people getting fucking astounded at which side of a 50/30 minute split you argue for.
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@reprobate said in Ireland II:
crockett was very good against italy. regardless of moody's shit in the first one, i have thought crockett should be getting the lion's share of those minutes on ability for some time. why not moody for 20 then crockett for 60?
Agree, I think Crockett is in his prime now. Scrummaging more then solid and he's a fucking wrecking ball around the paddock. He's a great impact player but I'd rather he start.
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isn't this what everyone has been wanting around AB selections? People were tired of the team picking itself, so much stability, so much winning...
