Bledisloe 2
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Against the Boks I wouldn't be surprised to see a bigger loosie (Kaino/Squire/Akira) on the bench plus a lock.
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@ACT-Crusader said in Bledisloe 2:
Haha, some posters on here take posts far to seriously wink wink nod nod pukunui....
Hmm you never can be sure if it is humour or idiocy. Some people use these silly jokes to test the water with their bonkers opinions sometimes. It's the trump effect, say it enough and eventually the nutters will come out of the woodwork and believe it.
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@kiwiinmelb said in Bledisloe 2:
I haven't given up on ardie ,
But I did think he was going to be a bit more spectacular as an impact player than what he has shown so far . And I was all for it .
But I'm not quite sure it's going to plan , bit of a head scratcher for me at this stage .
I wonder if they have chosen him for impact and 'x-factor' then told him that his work-ons are doing the basics well.
Surely if they want someone to come on and do the basics well then Todd is a better option. If they want someone to add impact then let him off the leash.
Could be a longer plan. Get him gametime to practice doing the basics to test level in case he is required early (they don't trust him in this regard as they select Todd over him if Cane is injured) and then let him play an impact game once he has reached that standard. -
@Stargazer
Are you sure Luke Whitelock has played one day on the openside flank ? -
Impact isn't necessarily making yards ball in hand.
I think Todd is more likely to come on and make a crucial turnover than savea, and I think his support play, defence and ruck work would be pretty handy too. Some of the best impact play from the bench I've seen was against, Ireland winning it at the death, and it was ruck work. -
I thought it was a big shame Victor Vito left when he did ,
Still had plenty to offer IMO.
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@kiwiinmelb Him and Luatua leaving was quite a loss.
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@reprobate said in Bledisloe 2:
Impact isn't necessarily making yards ball in hand.
I think Todd is more likely to come on and make a crucial turnover than savea, and I think his support play, defence and ruck work would be pretty handy too. Some of the best impact play from the bench I've seen was against, Ireland winning it at the death, and it was ruck work.Agree. The Franks brothers came off the bench that day and they were absolutely massive in that final sequence. Their impact at the ruck in securing ball for Aaron Smith to make swift passes was huge. Then we had Messam, Coles, Crotty and Beauden Barrett playing out on the fringes with fresher legs to make half breaks.
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at least Kqwuaiyde isn't playing, so a chance maybe?
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@Gunner Adam must have been a cowboy in the 80's
There was no booing in the 70's but was when I came back to NZ in the 90's
I'm old so don't boo (except for the ref if he really makes a shocker and foul play) and clap good play from both sides but it doesn't bother me if others do.
the only crowd reaction that gets my ire is SLSC from the Poms during the haka - another innovation from the 80's
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@Unco said in Bledisloe 2:
@Chris-B. said in Bledisloe 2:
@No-Quarter Wouldn't surprise me if Jules has done his dash. He's got Rieko and Naholo ahead of him as power wingers and Dagg and NMS as second fullback type wings, plus Jordie pushing Ben Smith towards a wing, plus DMac and Havili in the back three frame - and big Seta shifting outwards from a congested midfield and who knows who else emerging from the pack. It's not a situation where you want to be pushed out.
I don't think Ardie's under too much threat until the selectors decide they want more muscle on the bench. He brings something very different to that bench role - though I don't really see him displacing Sam Cane to start any time soon.
You say Ardie "brings something very different" but what exactly does he bring? In theory Ardie seems like he'd be the perfect impact player coming off the bench but in reality, he doesn't really seem to impact a whole lot.
As Hansen said the other day, he adds speed. I think he brings some good aggression too - often see him keep his feet and drive on with legs pumping - though doubtless a bigger specialist blindside forward could do that equally well or better.
To state the obvious, they're pulling the big physical blindside and shifting to two opensides for the final 20 minutes or so, so the ploy is evidently to lift the tempo against tired legs and run the opposition off their feet.
Last year it seemed to work pretty well and people were talking about the big advantage our bench gave us. This year it hasn't been so effective and against the Lions that wasn't surprising, because they had a bunch of frontline test players sitting on their bench. I've got no idea what happened on Saturday night, but it wasn't impressive.
If they're going to stick with the two opensides plan then Ardie's probably the right man for the job. If we end up with Read, Kaino, Squire and Ioane all playing high quality test footy then they might go down another path.
