AB squad for the Rugby Championship
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@Chris-B said in AB squad for the Rugby Championship:
@Billy-Tell In the props I think it will be Moli vs Perry and Ta'avao vs Laulala. Tim Perry has played one game and five minutes of another this year, so loosehead is Moli's to lose.
Basically Angus vs Nepo and I think Angus' mobility will win it for him.
I heard Sumo on the radio saying the selections are indicative that the ABs are hellbent on playing the game at pace, which rings true.
I wouldn't write Josh Ioane out of the equation yet. If they are planning on playing Richie and Beauden together in the big games then that's lots of workload and even more risk of a first five injury. If Beauden is slated to play fullback I'd take Ioane and probably leave Jordie at home.
has josh played much fullback? i like him, he has the skills, but jeez, not much experience - a big part of the 2 playmakers experiment on the weekend (which hasn't got much discussion on here) was us defending with 2 fullbacks - and they were more often than not barrett and mounga... and that's with ben smiith on a wing.
i reckon if we get an injury to barrett or mounga we'd be straight back to smith at fullback and the old gameplan. mckenzie could slot in, but it would be too big a risk with ioane. -
@reprobate said in AB squad for the Rugby Championship:
has josh played much fullback?
Sometimes
Last time I remember him playing there he had an absolute shocker at NPC level. I think it was a knock-out game too
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@nzzp said in AB squad for the Rugby Championship:
If you fancy some loss insurance, Betfair has NZ at $2.40 favourites to win. Then England, SA, Wales, Ireland in the $7-10 range.
Just saying - a lazy 500 returns you a couple of hundy to drown your sorrows if we (as expected) shit our pants in public
Wales looking like the team to beat in 2019 at the moment.
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@rotated said in AB squad for the Rugby Championship:
@mariner4life said in AB squad for the Rugby Championship:
it's the 10 situation leading up to 2011 all over again. They tried everyone, and no one stepped up.
Pretty apt comparison. In both cases we had the Help Wanted sign out the front of the shop for a fair while for that position both cases the selectors were dealt a bit of a dud hand through injuries and age curves which was compounded by a scattergun selection process that should have been far more methodical.
Irregardless I'm not sure there is an obvious solution that was missed in either case, so I'll hardly be calling for their head over the loose trio...
now the lack of a midfield after four years... that is a different story.
I know he had his issues, but better management of Luatua, when they knew Kaino was not going to be part of this RWC squad, could have gone some way to avoiding the situation we now find ourselves in.
As for the midfield, I think should have identified after the Lions series two years ago that Crotty and SBW simply couldn't be relied upon (either to stay fit or not do dumb shit). At that stage, and looking at the decent job they did in test 3, TWM should have picked ALB and Laumape as their preferred to starting combo (I think we may have got more out of BB by picking his Super Rugby partner also). A year later when Goodhue bursts onto the scene, it's a pretty simple transition to swap him in for whoever out of ALB or Laumape. Crotty and SBW could still be part of the broader picture, probably still playing as many tests as they have to date given their injuries, but the other guys who have had a proper opportunity to develop their combinations.
Had they taken this approach, we'd have a very settled midfield leading into this Cup - the polar opposite to what we have coming into this World Cup.
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@Stargazer said in AB squad for the Rugby Championship:
To me, Mo'unga at 10, Crotty at 12 and Goodhue at 13 looks pretty settled, albeit in a different jersey.
It does, but as I said above, Crotty's not been able to get on the field for love nor money.
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@Bovidae sadly I dont think that will be the combo wearing 12/13
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@taniwharugby said in AB squad for the Rugby Championship:
@Bovidae sadly I dont think that will be the combo wearing 12/13
Who knows about the RWC but Laumape is the only other midfielder in the squad for Bled 1. SBW probably still their man at 2nd 5.
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@Stargazer said in AB squad for the Rugby Championship:
To me, Mo'unga at 10, Crotty at 12 and Goodhue at 13 looks pretty settled, albeit in a different jersey.
I'd be happy with that, but I don't like Crotty's chances of making it through any campaign unscathed. That guy must have suffered more injuries than bloody Evel Knievel.
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@Stargazer said in AB squad for the Rugby Championship:
@junior Crotty has played 15 of 19 SR games this season and a decent amount of minutes. He doesn't have a concussion this time, either. He'll be fine.
I'm not talking about Super Rugby - I'm talking about test match rugby for the All Blacks. When was the last test he played with SBW / Laumape / ALB? How many times has he played with these 3 in a black jersey?
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@rotated said in AB squad for the Rugby Championship:
@Machpants said in AB squad for the Rugby Championship:
@rotated said in AB squad for the Rugby Championship:
now the lack of a midfield after four years... that is a different story.
They've had a midfield, it's just always broken.....
A fetish for SBW/Crotty is not an excuse for not building a stable combo around those fit, international quality players who have been there for the past few years.
And you have to wonder if, at some point, the likes of ALB get pissed-off and head over to Europe.for the big bucks.
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@Rancid-Schnitzel said in AB squad for the Rugby Championship:
@Stargazer said in AB squad for the Rugby Championship:
To me, Mo'unga at 10, Crotty at 12 and Goodhue at 13 looks pretty settled, albeit in a different jersey.
I'd be happy with that, but I don't like Crotty's chances of making it through any campaign unscathed. That guy must have suffered more injuries than bloody Evel Knievel.
Still think that midfield is a bit lightweight and / or lacking elusiveness / agility in the 12 jersey (something TWM have shown a preference for over the past few years and either of which will be needed to deal with the rush defence).
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@reprobate said in AB squad for the Rugby Championship:
@Chris-B said in AB squad for the Rugby Championship:
@Billy-Tell In the props I think it will be Moli vs Perry and Ta'avao vs Laulala. Tim Perry has played one game and five minutes of another this year, so loosehead is Moli's to lose.
Basically Angus vs Nepo and I think Angus' mobility will win it for him.
I heard Sumo on the radio saying the selections are indicative that the ABs are hellbent on playing the game at pace, which rings true.
I wouldn't write Josh Ioane out of the equation yet. If they are planning on playing Richie and Beauden together in the big games then that's lots of workload and even more risk of a first five injury. If Beauden is slated to play fullback I'd take Ioane and probably leave Jordie at home.
has josh played much fullback? i like him, he has the skills, but jeez, not much experience - a big part of the 2 playmakers experiment on the weekend (which hasn't got much discussion on here) was us defending with 2 fullbacks - and they were more often than not barrett and mounga... and that's with ben smiith on a wing.
i reckon if we get an injury to barrett or mounga we'd be straight back to smith at fullback and the old gameplan. mckenzie could slot in, but it would be too big a risk with ioane.Yeah - I don't think Ioane would play fullback - if one of Beaudy or Richie got injured it would be straight back to Ben Smith at fullback.
But if both of them are playing in four big games - and one of them in each of the "minnow" games - that's a lot of games to get through without an injury - and you might need to carry one of them for several games.
I reckon having a third first five adds more value than another outside back - especially if Beauden is going to play fullback.
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@Chris-B said in AB squad for the Rugby Championship:
@reprobate said in AB squad for the Rugby Championship:
@Chris-B said in AB squad for the Rugby Championship:
@Billy-Tell In the props I think it will be Moli vs Perry and Ta'avao vs Laulala. Tim Perry has played one game and five minutes of another this year, so loosehead is Moli's to lose.
Basically Angus vs Nepo and I think Angus' mobility will win it for him.
I heard Sumo on the radio saying the selections are indicative that the ABs are hellbent on playing the game at pace, which rings true.
I wouldn't write Josh Ioane out of the equation yet. If they are planning on playing Richie and Beauden together in the big games then that's lots of workload and even more risk of a first five injury. If Beauden is slated to play fullback I'd take Ioane and probably leave Jordie at home.
has josh played much fullback? i like him, he has the skills, but jeez, not much experience - a big part of the 2 playmakers experiment on the weekend (which hasn't got much discussion on here) was us defending with 2 fullbacks - and they were more often than not barrett and mounga... and that's with ben smiith on a wing.
i reckon if we get an injury to barrett or mounga we'd be straight back to smith at fullback and the old gameplan. mckenzie could slot in, but it would be too big a risk with ioane.Yeah - I don't think Ioane would play fullback - if one of Beaudy or Richie got injured it would be straight back to Ben Smith at fullback.
But if both of them are playing in four big games - and one of them in each of the "minnow" games - that's a lot of games to get through without an injury - and you might need to carry one of them for several games.
I reckon having a third first five adds more value than another outside back - especially if Beauden is going to play fullback.
yeah, decent points - although our only outside back who has really performed so far is beauden... if it were now i'd kinda feel like they both need to play against the minnows too, just to bed the system in - but we'll see how that looks post-bledisloe i guess.
in general i do think the 'too many games in a row' thing is a bit overstated. in super rugby it wouldn't be unusual to play 6 or so in a row, and sure in the WC they're tough games at the pointy end - but that applies to the opposition players too, and we typically have more depth than most. -
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Three Wise Men (now an ironic title)
