Blues v Hurricanes

Kirwan

@Bovidae said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@Chris said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@antipodean said in Blues v Hurricanes:

Good to see Nock starting.

Maybe they have finally worked out Ruru is shit as he is not even on the bench now.

Ruru runs a mean Bronco though.

It's when he gets to the breakdown and needs to make a decision that is the problem.

You would have to wonder if the Blues distances were correct as you wouldn’t think he would be that quick at turning and short distance exceleration
the act of increasing speed doesn’t seem to fit with Ruru

It shows why the coaches are happy to leave him on as long as they do, he’s clearly very fit.

Kirwan

@sparky said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@Kirwan said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@sparky said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@Kirwan Time will tell but not obvious to me tbat Beauden Barrett is being trusted yet with as a big a role with the Blues as he had in his last couple of seasons with the Hurricanes.

John Plumtree was a big believer in starting BB at 10 and now he's now All Blacks Assitant Coach. Smiley and Robyn like to see their son at First Five too.

You couldn't be more wrong, IMO. He's literally playing ten on Sunday, just a question of how early in the second half they move him.

If Perofeta wasn't injured, very good chance that BB would have started there.

To me it shows they trust their squad, and are easing BB into the team to make it a successful move for him.

Fake news. He'll have jersey number 15 on his back on Sunday. I agree that he might well move to First Five in the second half and try to stretch play as the opposition tire (interesting to see how that works against Ardie), but he isn't literally playing 10.

Well if you move the conversation to pedantry, you’ll have a better chance of being right I suppose.

Your main point about the Blues not trusting or valuing BB is still wrong.

Chris

@Kirwan said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@Chris said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@Bovidae said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@Chris said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@antipodean said in Blues v Hurricanes:

Good to see Nock starting.

Maybe they have finally worked out Ruru is shit as he is not even on the bench now.

Ruru runs a mean Bronco though.

It's when he gets to the breakdown and needs to make a decision that is the problem.

You would have to wonder if the Blues distances were correct as you wouldn’t think he would be that quick at turning and short distance exceleration
the act of increasing speed doesn’t seem to fit with Ruru

It shows why the coaches are happy to leave him on as long as they do, he’s clearly very fit.

Surprising then the Blues haven’t selected him on the bench at least with the tweaked rules expected to increase the pace of the game

Kirwan

@Chris said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@Kirwan said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@Chris said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@Bovidae said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@Chris said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@antipodean said in Blues v Hurricanes:

Good to see Nock starting.

Maybe they have finally worked out Ruru is shit as he is not even on the bench now.

Ruru runs a mean Bronco though.

It's when he gets to the breakdown and needs to make a decision that is the problem.

You would have to wonder if the Blues distances were correct as you wouldn’t think he would be that quick at turning and short distance exceleration
the act of increasing speed doesn’t seem to fit with Ruru

It shows why the coaches are happy to leave him on as long as they do, he’s clearly very fit.

Surprising then the Blues haven’t selected him on the bench at least with the tweaked rules expected to increase the pace of the game

Findlay has to get a start sometime, and I assume they want his combination with BB in the second half?

Squad rotation is going to be important in this comp.

Chris

@Kirwan said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@Chris said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@Kirwan said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@Chris said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@Bovidae said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@Chris said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@antipodean said in Blues v Hurricanes:

Good to see Nock starting.

Maybe they have finally worked out Ruru is shit as he is not even on the bench now.

Ruru runs a mean Bronco though.

It's when he gets to the breakdown and needs to make a decision that is the problem.

You would have to wonder if the Blues distances were correct as you wouldn’t think he would be that quick at turning and short distance exceleration
the act of increasing speed doesn’t seem to fit with Ruru

It shows why the coaches are happy to leave him on as long as they do, he’s clearly very fit.

Surprising then the Blues haven’t selected him on the bench at least with the tweaked rules expected to increase the pace of the game

Findlay has to get a start sometime, and I assume they want his combination with BB in the second half?

Squad rotation is going to be important in this comp.

Maybe I think Nock is a better option he will speed up the distribution especially from mutiple phases if the Blues can retain possession.That will open space for BB from FB

Kirwan

@Chris quietly excited about Clarke.

Chris

@Kirwan said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@Chris quietly excited about Clarke.

Yeah I like him very aggressive with the ball in hand
Maybe a centre option in a few years as he matures

Snowy

Have they got all of Eden park open for this? One of my staff was actually having trouble finding seats yesterday. Think he said he could get gold ones or something, but nothing cheaper.

Machpants

They haven't added the extras in, so 41000 capacity ISH, going to sell out by the looks

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/121814873/super-rugby-aotearoa-blues-crowd-to-top-40000-as-auckland-dunedin-near-sellouts

nzzp

@Machpants said in Blues v Hurricanes:

They haven't added the extras in, so 41000 capacity ISH, going to sell out by the looks

That is truly remarkable. I don't think anyone expected a sellout a week ago. Hoped for, maybe, but wow. Going to be awesome

ACT Crusader

@Stargazer said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@Canes4life A 6:2 split on the bench ...

Ardie to 2nd 5

ACT Crusader

@cgrant said in Blues v Hurricanes:

I can't see the Blues lose this one as there are too many "meh" players in this Hurricanes starting XV.
Blues by 10 or more.

I wouldn’t pick any Hurricanes in a combined Blues/Hurricanes team....

😎

nzzp

@ACT-Crusader Beaudy?

Snowy

@ACT-Crusader said in Blues v Hurricanes:

Ardie to 2nd 5

Too tall.

Dice

Happy enough with the team we selected, especially the backline.

Surprised that Mafileo and Pierce didn't make the 23, because our pack was humming pre-lockdown with these two as starters.

nzzp

@Dice we don't know how people came back from lockdown though, some must have been in better shape than others

Dice

@ACT-Crusader said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@Stargazer said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@Canes4life A 6:2 split on the bench ...

Ardie to 2nd 5

In my opinion, the Ardie/Messam midfield is the greatest midfield I've ever.....imagined.

Snowy

@nzzp said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@Dice we don't know how people came back from lockdown though, some must have been in better shape than others

I was mostly fat, drunk and lazy which is probably why I haven't been selected.

As for imagining -
The Blues are favourites.
Eden park will be sold out (ish) for super rugby.
Dan Carter and Beauden Barrett are Blues
Leon McDonald is coach
Ruru finally gone
Akira didn't even make the line up (is he injured or just like my first sentence?)

2020 is a crazy time.

nzzp

@Snowy not only that, we're only halfway through the year!

Duluth

@KiwiMurph said in Blues v Hurricanes:

@sparky

It's not that simple. Blues lost their starting fullback. Duffie is not it.

Leon does a good job of explaining it here.

Also - some good info on Akira

We’re mindful that Beaudy is an outstanding first five. That’s not lost on us,” said MacDonald after a rigorous Friday training session at Alexandra Park. “But he’s also a world-class fullback as well and we need that hole filled.

“It will be his first game for the Blues, in front of a big crowd, against his old team and I don’t think it will hurt for him to be back in the boot a little bit with his vision and experience to be a calming influence from the back. Then, in time, we’ll probably see him move forward as well.

“At some point he will be in the frontline … but right now this is the best fit for our team, the situation, where he’s at in terms of his integration back into rugby and the fact it’s his first game for the Blues.”

MacDonald, much like Steve Hansen last year, was also happy to concede that Barrett’s versatility also allowed him the luxury of fielding two game drivers in his starting lineup.

“He’s excited about the opportunity to get out there and this just takes a little bit of pressure off him,” added the Blues coach. “He can work alongside Otes, whom he has a long history and a good relationship with. Those two working together as our brains trust is going to be really useful in such a big game.”

“It’s hard telling someone they’re not playing when they’ve done everything right, and Akira is one of those,” added MacDonald. “He’s come back and his skinfolds have never been so good, his fitness levels are great and he’s trained the house down. His time will come. He’s pushing and asking the right questions, and puts pressure on the guys who get the opportunity to really nail it.”

Good clear explanations from MacDonald about Akira and Barrett.

I hope Duffie plays well when he subs on. If he doesn’t it gets really hard to select BB at ten

The Silver Fern

Blues v Hurricanes