2016 World Sevens Series
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<p>Scotland just beat USA to get into the final. How the fuck did New Zealand lose six tries to two to that?</p>
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I was absolutely certain that South Africa were going to win after Specman got his second try.
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<p>WTF Scotland actually won something??</p>
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="No Quarter" data-cid="581858" data-time="1463976124">
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<p>WTF Scotland actually won something??</p>
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<p>They invented the game then it only took them over 100 years to dominate. C'mon everyone, on the bandwagon !</p>
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<p>Hoots Mon !</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="No Quarter" data-cid="581858" data-time="1463976124"><p>WTF Scotland actually won something??</p></blockquote><br>They beat England 17 - 0, USA 24 - 17 and then South Africa in the final. Made even more astonishing considering their limited gameplan but they executed it extremely well.<br><br>What recent 7s game have shown is the importance of possession - retain it after you score and you're most likely to win. ON the face of it it's self evident but the score blow outs are attributable to it. Having excellent defence merely means you'll likely lose by just a score.
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<p>So....USA thump NZ. Who thump England. Who thump Fiji. Who get edged by SA. Who lose to Scotland. Who are seeded 11th for a reason and won't be going to the Olympics.</p>
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<p>There seem to be some questions remaining.</p>
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<p>One big one is: Can the "British Lions" avoid the traditional backbiting and actually forge a winning combination?</p>
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<p>Will Fiji tell Hayne he is an unnecessary distraction and to fuck off? :)</p>
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<p>Has South Africa got sufficient reinforcements to bring in for the big tournament?</p>
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<p>Will they lose the bronze medal in overtime? :fishing:</p>
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<p>Will Titch pick the right twelve to win it for us?</p>
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<p>Can Perry Baker win the gold medal?</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Chris B." data-cid="581905" data-time="1463988951">
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<p>So....USA thump NZ. Who thump England. Who thump Fiji. Who get edged by SA. Who lose to Scotland. Who are seeded 11th for a reason and won't be going to the Olympics.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There seem to be some questions remaining.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>One big one is: Can the "British Lions" can avoid the traditional backbiting and actually forge a winning combination?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Will Fiji tell Hayne he is an unnecessary distraction and to fuck off? :)</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Has South Africa got sufficient reinforcements to bring in for the big tournament?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Will they lose the bronze medal in overtime? :fishing:</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Will Titch pick the right twelve to win it for us?</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Can Perry Baker win the gold medal?</p>
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<p>Reckon its more like will Titch have the 12 fit that he wants to take</p> -
<p>Hard to believe the Scots won a tourney but good on them. Sevens that sort of a game, anyone can win on the day.</p>
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<p>Tietjens doesn't think that the players who have come from XVs (Ioane brothers, Pulu and Akhi) are sevens fit so a lot of time during the next 10 weeks will be spent on conditioning. There are a number of other players whose season has been affected by injuries too. As he says, plenty of hard work ahead.</p>
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<p>One benefit of only finishing 3rd in the series is that the pressure at Rio will be more on Fiji and SA as the best teams this year. I'm not saying that there won't be any pressure to perform for NZ, but the public expectations might not be so high.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Bovidae" data-cid="582012" data-time="1464041140">
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<p>I'm not saying that there won't be any pressure to perform for NZ, but the public expectations might not be so high.</p>
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<p>Hmmmm - hands up anyone who doesn't think that anything less than Sevens gold is a failure?</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Chris B." data-cid="582017" data-time="1464041583"><p>
Hmmmm - hands up anyone who doesn't think that anything less than Sevens gold is a failure?</p></blockquote>
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Last year I would have stuck my hand up.<br><br>
This year: anything less than a medal, any colour -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Chris B." data-cid="582017" data-time="1464041583">
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<p>Hmmmm - hands up anyone who doesn't think that anything less than Sevens gold is a failure?</p>
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<p>Wanting us to win, and expecting us to win are two entirely different things. If Tietjens was able to select the 12 players he wanted at the start of the season and they played the whole series there wouldn't be any excuses.</p>
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<p>There have been 6 different winners in the 10 tournaments. </p> -
<p>Surely <span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Tietjens has the squad on a fitness/speed programme so that they peak in 10 weeks.</span></p>
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<p><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I would imagine winning the tournament on the weekend comes a distant second to that in planning for Rio.</span></p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Chris B." data-cid="582017" data-time="1464041583">
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<p>Hmmmm - hands up anyone who doesn't think that anything less than Sevens gold is a failure?</p>
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<p>The general talkback caller will certainly be putting the boot in quickly that's for sure. If anything we have seen recently that any dog can have it's day in Sevens, the margins are just that small.</p>
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<p>I put this question out ages ago and people were going 'who cares, it's only Sevens' but I still maintain that once the Olympics start and our guys are out there everyone will be fixated on the games and it will take way more importance.</p>
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<p>I think the NZRU has learned a few lessons this time. Not sure how to fix the personnel aspect, maybe identify some more of the younger future XVs stars like the Ioanes and get them in early with an assurance that they won't do their XVs aspirations harm.</p>
<p>The biggest thing is that they need to fund the setup more to compete with other countries. We are the only top nation without there squad in dedicated fulltime training camps. Poor old Titch is still getting them for short camps only. Those lack of combos really shows (not helped by all of the injuries)</p>
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<p>That said, I don't think it is all doom and gloom. As long as we get DJ back, Mikkleson and Curry firing at their best, then back them up with the SBW/Ioanes for firepower I reckon will can do it.</p>
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<p>Titch is too shrewd an operator to not be aware of the issues and have a plan. It wouldn't surprise me if he tested out his gameplan at the beginning of the year then shelved it.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Hooroo" data-cid="582129" data-time="1464054968">
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<p>Just watched the last minute of Scotlands win on Facebook.</p>
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<p><strong>The try scorer and the first guy to get to him, didn't even celebrate. Just too knackered.</strong> The bench and coaches did but those other two just smiled wearily</p>
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<p>Naaa brudda, that's just Scots stoicism. They got to the end zone and were acting like they'd been there before. Just took them 136 years that's all......</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Crucial" data-cid="582031" data-time="1464042923">
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<p>The general talkback caller will certainly be putting the boot in quickly that's for sure. If anything we have seen recently that any dog can have it's day in Sevens, the margins are just that small.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I put this question out ages ago and people were going 'who cares, it's only Sevens' but I still maintain that once the Olympics start and our guys are out there everyone will be fixated on the games and it will take way more importance.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I think the NZRU has learned a few lessons this time. Not sure how to fix the personnel aspect, maybe identify some more of the younger future XVs stars like the Ioanes and get them in early with an assurance that they won't do their XVs aspirations harm.</p>
<p><strong>The biggest thing is that they need to fund the setup more to compete with other countries. We are the only top nation without there squad in dedicated fulltime training camps. Poor old Titch is still getting them for short camps only. Those lack of combos really shows (not helped by all of the injuries)</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p>That said, I don't think it is all doom and gloom. As long as we get DJ back, Mikkleson and Curry firing at their best, then back them up with the SBW/Ioanes for firepower I reckon will can do it.</p>
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<p>Titch is too shrewd an operator to not be aware of the issues and have a plan. It wouldn't surprise me if he tested out his gameplan at the beginning of the year then shelved it.</p>
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<p>I agree. You see the same in the women's competition where NZ used to dominate, but other countries have improved more. NZRU needs to fix this. I think money is the issue here. They've a lot more sponsorship money now, but a lot has gone to increase ABs wages to keep them in NZ longer. I'm not sure whether other areas of rugby have profited, women's rugby clearly hasn't. Provinces? School boys? Other age grades? No idea.</p>
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<p>The personnel aspect might also be helped by developing more specialists. They snatched Kaka away from XVs and offered him a contract, when he was about to be picked up by the Canes, who only offered him a WTG spot. He's a great full-back & we'll probably never know how he'd have fared in Super Rugby, unless he doesn't accept an extension of his sevens contract and goes back to the Magpies somehow (don't think they need a full-back, but he could possibly play at more positions in the backs). The point is, if you pick up young sevens players and develop them as specialists, you don't have to worry about their Super Rugby commitments.</p>
