AB RWC squad
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I am really surprised that they did not take Josh Ioane, I think really came down to taking Josh or taking Reiko and they probably flinched at leaving both Reiko and Franks. Not sure how they can roll the dice with even one of Barret/Mounga being possibly hurt mid week, going into knockout stages when no one in the squad has even significant Super experience. Crotty is kind of laughable, most of the time I see him kick from hand it’s embarrassingly bad. I think if any outside back is hurt Ioane is the first call.
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@DMX said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:
I am really surprised that they did not take Josh Ioane, I think really came down to taking Josh or taking Reiko and they probably flinched at leaving both Reiko and Franks. Not sure how they can roll the dice with even one of Barret/Mounga being possibly hurt mid week, going into knockout stages when no one in the squad has even significant Super experience. Crotty is kind of laughable, most of the time I see him kick from hand it’s embarrassingly bad. I think if any outside back is hurt Ioane is the first call.
Crotty’s kicking from 2nd 5 is fine. But if you look at the gameplan we have run for quite a few years now we know that our 1st 5 and fullback (no matter who has been there) share the kicking duties from 1st receiver. Look back to the Cruden and Dagg days. Barrett and Bender.
I think a 3rd 1st 5 is a luxury particularly when Ioane doesn’t have experience and doesn’t play other positions.
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Don’t disagree that Crotty when healthy does not need to kick but when I see his wobbly kicks nothing suggests he could step into the 10 role in a knockout test match. I think we are indulging in luxury having so many outside backs. Its already scary that the our 3rd ranked 10 is an uncapped rookie but wouldn’t you want him soaking in as much as possible right up to the final. If just one of the 10s is injured at any point in the tournament it will be a massive disruption.
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Maybe change the thread title....
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We could see something like:
Game 1 Springboks
10. R. Mo’unga 15. B. Barrett 23. J. BarrettGame 2 Canada
10. B. Barrett 15. B. Smith 23. J. BarrettGame 3 Namibia
10. R. Mo’unga 15. J. Barrett 23. B. SmithGame 4 Italy
10. B. Barrett 15. B. Smith 22. R. Mo’ungaQF - as per Boks
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We are in a bit of a flap about our 3rd 10 being a rookie when our starter still has his test match training wheels on.
I am shocked that JBarrett is an option. In my eyes the main hole in his game is he often looks rushed when he is trying to do things, because he lacks the "time" that really good players have. He gets charged down a fair bit too. That's not ideal for a test match 10.
Ryan Crotty is a solid player with a good footy head on his shoulders. And he plays next to a 10. But that does not a 10 make.
I think the selectors are pretty much hoping we stay injury free in that spot (whereas in the midfield and the outside backs we're overloaded. An injury might be a blessing)
I've said it before on this thread, but when you only take two 10s, and one of those 10s is also your starting fullback, that's an enormous risk. That's why i can see the value in Matt Todd as a "3rd" openside, because both the 2 guys in front of him are starting players.
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@mariner4life so are you saying Matt Todd could play 10 too?
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@mariner4life Would you rather have only 2 1st 5s, or 2 halfbacks in your squad? I'd say the latter is more of a risk because they have their hands on the ball more often, and that is what Cheika has done.
There is an article today quoting Fox and Hansen about enlarging the squad to 32 or 33 players (2 in each position plus an extra 2 and 9). While teams still might not follow that model it does allow greater flexibility.
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@taniwharugby said in AB RWC squad:
@mariner4life so are you saying Matt Todd could play 10 too?
opensides can play any position on the field, often better than the specialists. Best rugby players on the planet
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@Bovidae said in AB RWC squad:
@mariner4life Would you rather have only 2 1st 5s, or 2 halfbacks in your squad? I'd say the latter is more of a risk because they have their hands on the ball more often, and that is what Cheika has done.
There is an article today quoting Fox and Hansen about enlarging the squad to 32 or 33 players (2 in each position plus an extra 2 and 9). While teams still might not follow that model it does allow greater flexibility.
i would rather have 3 halfbacks and 3 10s. 4 midfielders and 4 outside backs.
But if you look a our top 23 we have actually taken 3 x9, 1 x 10, 3 fullbacks, and 3 wingers (two of those fullbacks are able to play wing too). That seems a little unbalanced.
I feel like we took 2 of the same player in JBarrett and BFA. That is a luxury selection in a limited squad.
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@mariner4life said in AB RWC squad:
@Bovidae said in AB RWC squad:
i would rather have 3 halfbacks and 3 10s. 4 midfielders and 4 outside backs.
But if you look a our top 23 we have actually taken 3 x9, 1 x 10, 3 fullbacks, and 3 wingers (two of those fullbacks are able to play wing too). That seems a little unbalanced.
I feel like we took 2 of the same player in JBarrett and BFA. That is a luxury selection in a limited squad.
My thoughts exactly.
And I'd rather have Ben Smith playing fullback or wing ahead of Jordie, so I'm wondering quite what the point of JB is?
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@mariner4life said in AB RWC squad:
I feel like we took 2 of the same player in JBarrett and BFA
in Jordies dreams he is the same type of player as BFA
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@taniwharugby said in AB RWC squad:
@mariner4life said in AB RWC squad:
I feel like we took 2 of the same player in JBarrett and BFA
in Jordies dreams he is the same type of player as BFA
although "same type" and "as good as" are not the same thing
