Highlanders v Hurricanes
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@Canes4life said in Highlanders v Hurricanes:
@Higgins maybe they are easing him into Super Rugby? As he has only featured on the bench all season. Bullshit really considering we don't really have the luxury to do so.
Also weird considering Leu'eupepe is hardly experienced. It's the hard-on for the midget that is most bemusing from some one chasing a giant (mythical) Saffa.
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@Nepia Leu'pepe and Laumape sound like the Mexican mafia.
It's annoying that Blackwell is 1.90m as he is actually a fairly decent player, just too short. If he was 2.00m then we may be talking about a future All Black, shame that isn't the case. Maybe Ardie should give him some of his height.
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@Canes4life said in Highlanders v Hurricanes:
@Nepia Leu'pepe and Laumape sound like the Mexican mafia.
It's annoying that Blackwell is 1.90m as he is actually a fairly decent player, just too short. If he was 2.00m then we may be talking about a future All Black, shame that isn't the case. Maybe Ardie should give him some of his height.
TBH I think I disagree with you, and I think I said this earlier, I don't think he really stands out in general play to justify having him as a midget lock. I don't think he tackles hard, hits rucks etc - even if he was 2m he would compare unfavourably to BBBR, Whitelock, Tuipoulotu, Romano, Strange etc, even Parkinson and Hemopo.
At Super level at least, I haven't watched him enough at NPC.
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@Nepia huh that's quite the opposite of me, there was so much moaning about him preseason I was very surprised at how good he's actually been. Once you get tarred with a brush though...
Anyway now Shields is gone they are probably just trying to shoehorn in a Petone player somewhere.
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These charts from the SANZAR site may suggest that a few Hurricanes forwards are a little underrated by some on here?
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@Daffy-Jaffy But but Blackwell is so short! How can he possibly play decent rugby? We all know Ardie only succeeds due to his astonishing tallity.
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@cgrant This is from the SANZAR article- https://super.rugby/superrugby/news/at-the-coal-face/
Finally we look at the players having the biggest impact at the ruck, getting there is one thing but having an effective contribution is another. Whether you’ve cleared an opponent out of the ruck, won a turnover/penalty or just caused a nuisance then you will have made a difference for your side. Of players to attend 100+ rucks in Super Rugby this season, Chris van Zyl has been the most effective, making an effective contribution at 87% of the 122 rucks he has gotten to.Three players from the top 10 attendees overall also make this final ranking, proving that they are not just working hard but also efficiently. Hyron Andrews, Reed Prinsep and Liam Mitchell all worthy of more plaudits than maybe they are receiving at the moment.
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Blackwell is also fairly ordinary at NPC level. Even at 6. I watched him closely at 6 in one game and he was only adequate.
Its a mystery why Plumtree has such a hard on for him. It's destroying Plumtree's reputation as a competent coach. Its almost as if Plumtree has totally lost the plot. I don't mean this in a nasty way but as an area of concern. Blackwell is a player that should only ever start when their is no-one else due to injuries
But Plumtree has always had a soft spot for plodders who have a good attitude. Like Princep. But 1.90 Blackwell is really taking it to another level
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@Winger He was actually pretty good for the Lions last season except for maybe the last couple of games where he seemed to have run out of steam.
I honestly wasn't surprised that he won Wellington Player of the Year. I was surprised that he was playing well though, because I'd never seen much from him in previous seasons, even at U20s level.
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@Dice said in Highlanders v Hurricanes:
@Winger He was actually pretty good for the Lions last season except for maybe the last couple of games where he seemed to have run out of steam.
I honestly wasn't surprised that he won Wellington Player of the Year. I was surprised that he was playing well though, because I'd never seen much from him in previous seasons, even at U20s level.
He's ordinary. A plodder who has a good attitude it seems. But still a plodder. I watched him closely at 6 as I felt this would be his position if he is to make it (obviously at 1.90 he's not a lock). what a disappointment. So not a lock yet not good enough at 6. Even at NPC level.
One difference between winning teams and those that aren't is coaches who can see this.
