Chiefs vs Highlanders
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Some of Aaron Smith's Highlanders team-mates were even wondering where his dummy came from. Known for his crisp distribution, the 82-test All Blacks halfback instead pulled off a feign for the ages, as he snuck over for the match-winning try against the Chiefs in the Super Rugby season opener in Hamilton on Friday night.With his side hot on attack and four points down, Smith arrived at a ruck close to the goal-line, composed himself, then threw a big dummy left and jinked his way back past Jesse Parete and Michael Allardice to plant the ball down. And it's that dummy which the experienced campaigner said had been a real focus in pre-season. "Some of the boys are like 'where'd that come from'," Smith said. "We've got a young halfback down in the Highlanders at the moment and he's been doing it all pre-season with me around. He's got me a couple of times. He's been really pushing me around that and making me look at different parts of my game. "So that one goes to Folau Fakatava, he's the man. He's been dummying everyone at camp, and it just sort of happened." Fakatava - the 19-year-old Hawke's Bay representative out of Hastings Boys' High School - is yet to play Super Rugby, but it's not a bad wrap to get from someone of the calibre of Smith..
I hope Fakatava gets plenty of opportunity this season. The sooner he gets game time, the better. Can't wait to see how he develops at a higher level, and whether and how fast he'll jump the queue in black in the next few years!
Even without my black-and-white eye patch on, I think it won't take long until he'll be on the Highlanders bench instead of Hammington, who didn't impress. -
I know Marshall is a tosser and I know what the law says about high contact and I love BBBR but if you take on the defensive line head first then you are more than likely going to get hit in the head - so are we going to see way more red cards, are players going to lay off tackles because the head is there?
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@Nevorian said in Chiefs vs Highlanders:
I know Marshall is a tosser and I know what the law says about high contact and I love BBBR but if you take on the defensive line head first then you are more than likely going to get hit in the head - so are we going to see way more red cards, are players going to lay off tackles because the head is there?
Tomkinson was standing very high. Leading with the shoulder. If he gets down and attempts a tackle there's no issue is there? Retallick and the laws are not the bloody issue.
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@Bones I wasn't saying Retallick is the issue, I was trying to say how do you tackle a player who is charging at you head first and low and avoid a red card. Very difficult to get your arms wrapped low around someone in that situation, especially a big tall person
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@Nevorian said in Chiefs vs Highlanders:
@Bones I wasn't saying Retallick is the issue, I was trying to say how do you tackle a player who is charging at you head first and low and avoid a red card. Very difficult to get your arms wrapped low around someone in that situation, especially a big tall person
No it's not, we see it all the bloody time!
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