Blues 2020
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@Stargazer thanks for posting..boy any Rugby will do at the minute, having withdrawals symptoms..!
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@Steven-Harris I really hope Sky Sport comes with some good replays the next few weeks/months. Whether it's games from our teams in black, SR, Mitre 10 Cup or 1st XV rugby, I don't care, as long as there are games that are entertaining for all NZ rugby fans.
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@Steven-Harris said in Blues 2020:
@Stargazer thanks for posting..boy any Rugby will do at the minute, having withdrawals symptoms..!
Here's some never seen before footage of Ta$man's Ranfurly Shield challenges since 2012....
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@Tim said in Blues 2020:
Podcast interview with Craig Dowd about playing for the Blues.
Adrian Cashmore:
https://bluesrugbyteam.buzzsprout.com/886006/3031537-episode-2-with-adrian-cashmore -
Mark Telea with 21 more defenders beaten than the next best player in the comp.
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@Daffy-Jaffy for George Bridge is it more "Defenders" Beaten? Like, perhaps at the halftime whistle on his way back to the tunnel?
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@Duluth said in Blues 2020:
@nzzp said in Blues 2020:
really, the only area that's thin is 9/10
I don't think 10 is thin.
Otere is better than most sides second choice
He’s better than most teams’ first choice based on current form
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More Blues stats:
Mark Telea is 1st in the comp for run metres, 2nd for tries and 3rd for carries.
Rieko Ioane is 2nd in the comp for linebreaks.
TJ Faiane is 1st in the comp for try assists.
Stephen Perofeta is 2nd in the comp for linebreak assists
Otere Black is 3rd in the comp for points scored.
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What's the opinion on Rieko's move to centre? I was iffy on the move at first, but it's probably been the right move for the Blues.
We needed a centre for the long term and we probably have it sorted now. Not sure if he'll play much wing for the Blues going forward, but that's OK, because we have some good young wing talent to work with.
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@Dice said in Blues 2020:
What's the opinion on Rieko's move to centre? I was iffy on the move at first, but it's probably been the right move for the Blues.
Plenty to work on, particularly on defence. On balance, I like it though = one of the reasons the cross kick is working well for us is that with Rieko at 13 and a big gap to the winger, you have to either leave Telea/Duffie in space, or leave Ioane in space.
Straightens, and runs straight. Creates space outside him. For someone only in their third or fourth game he's going great guns - not starting AB level, but has the talent to get there.
Defence still needs work in all three facets - reading, positioning, and tackling. Mind you, Conrad managed to survive as a skinny white guy with only the first two, so maybe two out of three
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@Dice said in Blues 2020:
What's the opinion on Rieko's move to centre? I was iffy on the move at first, but it's probably been the right move for the Blues.
We needed a centre for the long term and we probably have it sorted now. Not sure if he'll play much wing for the Blues going forward, but that's OK, because we have some good young wing talent to work with.
He was always going to end up at 13. The transition has gone better than I expected this year
If the season wasn't interrupted I would've expected him to start most of the remaining games at 13 for the Blues.
Then in international season I would have expected him to start on the wing.The combination with TJ is building well. Ioane keeps a lot of defenders interested and TJ is picking when to skip him very well.
I suspect the attack would've gone better last year if TJ was playing in his correct position@nzzp said in Blues 2020:
Defence still needs work in all three facets - reading, positioning, and tackling.
He needs time in the position to get his defence right. The biggest weakness is his lateral movement... that turns small errors into gaping holes
In the last couple of games his ruck work really improved too
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@Duluth said in Blues 2020:
@nzzp said in Blues 2020:
Defence still needs work in all three facets - reading, positioning, and tackling.
He needs time in the position to get his defence right. The biggest weakness is his lateral movement... that turns small errors into gaping holes
In the last couple of games his ruck work really improved too
Re-reading what I posted, it's a bit harsh. I meant it needs work to to 'elite' level; it's OK at the moment, but could be better.
His attack, OTOH, is damn fine.
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I don't think his defence is good enough at the moment.
Individually it's offset by his attack. Across the whole team it's not a huge issue because the scrambling defence has been covering it
He'll improve with game time and it'll be worth it
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Looking at the tackling stats on the fox website (it's the easiest source to sort on..) Rieko has made 16 and missed 7
Of the Blues players who have played at least two games there's only three defenders that have a worse tackle efficiency:
Black & Perofeta. Neither of those is that much of a surprise.
The third was Marchant.
So I that's another reason Rieko will stay at 13 for the Blues.
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@Bovidae said in Blues 2020:
Either way, Rieko seems to have his confidence back which is a big positive for the ABs because I'd much rather have him in the 11 jersey.
Not having a calf injury helps with that, which was the problem last year.
The telling numbers that could determine 2020 Test rugby teams
