Highlanders 2023
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@Bones said in Highlanders 2023:
@FakatavaAllBlack switch TUJ and Gilbert and that looks better than expected.
thats what i was thinking
@SouthernMann said in Highlanders 2023:
@FakatavaAllBlack said in Highlanders 2023:
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Thinking Nareki will be back. Chuck CGB back to fullback and Hunt can go to 10. Millar gets another 20 minutes off the bench, Quite interested to see how Gilbert might go in the midfield for a game. Like him getting his hands on the ball.
CGB to 15 and hunt to the bench, he can come on as impact
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In the throes of a grim situation, the Highlanders have thrown their support behind Josh Dickson after his younger brother was diagnosed with cancer.
Dickson removed himself from the Super Rugby Pacific squad in recent weeks to deal with the news.
In solidarity with Dickson and his brother Sam, the forwards have shaved their heads prior to the round six clash with Moana Pasifika.There is no return date for when Dickson will be back on the field, but it is clear the Highlanders will support him however long that may be.
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de Groot sticks around for three more years.
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Same shit every week... we are too busy trying to play school boy rugby - it is embarrassing. Run it straight up the guts, hope they miss a tackle, and then even when we do we can't make the most of it.
Zero subtly in the backline, and very little of it in the forwards. Think Renton has been awesome, but not sure he offers the dynamic ball skills a Sotutu or a MMT offers. Back to the backs, we are too busy looking for individual shit, we never put a move together, nor get the ball in open space. Our in-play kicking is turgid... need to send it long, then reset and get the ball back, at the moment we just kick just past halfway, and are straight back onto defence.
We also overrate some of our players. Fakatava, TUJ, Gilbert namely... all have big weaknesses in their games for me - and I love them, especially Fakatava, but we look through things with rose-tinted glasses... Gilbert especially is an issue - when has that guy ever broken a game open?
Big changes needed after the bye, a TOTAL rethink... just as well Mitch Hunt will be back 🙃
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Disagree competent with TUJ and to certain degree Gilbert, TUJ was one of very free bright sparks, breaks the line and making great runs, Gilbert is blood solid at the back and very rarely get caught out of position, lots of people I would look at before them
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Changes for this side is just moving the deckchairs on the titanic. We just need to swallow this team will finish somewhere between 6th and 8th. It will beat the average teams and get smashed by the good sides. You are right, TUG, Fakatava and Gilbert are far from perfect players. But, they are well and truly some of the best we have. Fakatava would look better if he had a talented 10 beside him. TUG would be a more dangerous player if there was a half decent centre outside him who opposition's would see as a threat. Gilbert would be fine as a steady fullback if he had some decent wingers beside him. The lack of threats around these players has a huge impact on what they can do.
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@friedrugby thinking beyond this year is there any reason why we shouldn't attempt to make a play for Ruben love? he knows how to break a game open as seen against Ireland B, and with the Canes signing up that Godfrey fella maybe love might be off contract?
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@FakatavaAllBlack said in Highlanders 2023:
@friedrugby thinking beyond this year is there any reason why we shouldn't attempt to make a play for Ruben love? he knows how to break a game open as seen against Ireland B, and with the Canes signing up that Godfrey fella maybe love might be off contract?
Lol you’re not getting Ruben Love. He’s a fullback first and a 10 second anyway.
A better bet would be to go for someone like P Umaga-Jensen with the log jam of centres at the Canes.
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We won't be getting any other franchise's yop talent. U20s recruitment is where this needs to come from. We gave Umaga-Jensen a big push for this season I understand. With our U20s there isn't a lot there in terms of guys who will be rockstars. Perhaps Faleafaga will be a good player. Same with Hurley, although he is a heck of a midget. Backs are a big problem.
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@Canes4life
Agree. love has a great chance of being the canes starting FB when he returns. PUJ will never be a starter even with a new coach unless there are injuries -
Didn't realise the losing streak was up to 14 now.
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Jesus, neither did I
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@Kiwiwomble Your fullback needs to be better than, 'solid' though - needs to be a game-breaker. At some point, as opposed to saying X player would be better with better players around him, perhaps it is the fact that all of them aren't very good.
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@Stargazer Maybe not, they should be prioritized, All the other Aussie and Island franchises are averaging 5 Kiwi players per side possibly more. They could surely see the Landers would have depth issues from the beginning of the season.
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@SBW1 How would you "prioritise" (whatever that means) the Highlanders if they are not pursuing a player? Why would Jacob Norris wait - while not being paid - for a player in NZ to get injured, if he can get a paid injury replacement contract in Oz? NZR has no contractual relationship with NZ players without a contract and can't tell them to stay in NZ. And we're hardly at the beginning of the season anymore.
The depth problem at the Highlanders has multiple causes. One of them is obviously recruitment. Another one is something that affects all franchises: uncontracted players that used to stay in NZ and play local club rugby are now going overseas (mostly MLR, some others Japan or Europe) to play and be paid for it. How is NZR supposed to keep those players in NZ? Where's the pot of money to pay those players to play local club rugby to wait for a SRP player to get injured? That's not what the Silverlake money is for, so where's the money coming from?
Touching reason for mass Highlanders makeover
Ethan de Groot commits to rugby in New Zealand | Highlanders Rugby Club Limited Partnership
