All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test
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@taniwharugby said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@bobily2 well my comment on him was only tongue in cheek anyway...shame Fiji didnt nab him, but I guess talented wings are not something Fiji are ever short of.
I know - but I'm always down for poaching a player or two
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@bobily2 said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@taniwharugby said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@bobily2 well my comment on him was only tongue in cheek anyway...shame Fiji didnt nab him, but I guess talented wings are not something Fiji are ever short of.
I know - but I'm always down for poaching a player or two
Only 159,999 to go…
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Things are going from bad to worse in terms of preparation. I know the team is putting on a brave face but disruption is never good especially when the AB's are most vulnerable in their first test of the June series.
I had picked AB's to clean sweep based on the strength of Super Rugby and an end of season 5-Test series for the Irish (Maori's may as well be test matches) but now I think that's narrowed.
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So Havili, Goodhue, the 2 coaches and Jordan of all people are rabid anti-vaxxers…
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
lol i love AB fans
We have Jordan, Reece, and Clarke, players very much to top tier international talent. And that's with the long established left wing now a centre. 3 players and an emergency for two positions
But yeah, we have a depth problem because there isn't another top level winger or two just ready to bring in.
I reckon the Blues boys wouldn't look out of place, and Rayasi could be lethal as well.
It's not just about plucking a good winger, it's also about balance of the back 3 as a unit. Jordan, J.Barrett & Reece/Clarke/Fainga'anuku has a great balance basically playing two fullbacks and a power winger.
With Jordan out (and no Bridge) to maintain that balance you'd prob have to put Beaudy at the back and shift Jordie to 14 which is not ideal. What's less ideal is playing two power wingers.
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@TheMojoman said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
Things are going from bad to worse in terms of preparation. I know the team is putting on a brave face but disruption is never good especially when the AB's are most vulnerable in their first test of the June series.
I had picked AB's to clean sweep based on the strength of Super Rugby and an end of season 5-Test series for the Irish (Maori's may as well be test matches) but now I think that's narrowed.
The probability of disruption like this was very high given every Super team experienced it at some point this year.
Ireland also have a COVID case.
So I don’t think it will phase them too much. I’m sure they had their first choice lineup in mind, but next man up which is something you always have to plan for with last minute injuries, illness etc.
The worst disruption will be if the Media Manager gets COVID and doesn’t publish the team list on Thursday. Then we are in trouble.
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On the bright side, at least for Foster, Covid has given him another excuse if the ABs lose. Disruptions and all that.
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
Rayasi could be lethal as well
Nope. Too inaccurate.
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@antipodean said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
Rayasi could be lethal as well
Nope. Too inaccurate.
He'd still be lethal - just a coin toss which side he is lethal for.
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@TheMojoman said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
Things are going from bad to worse in terms of preparation. I know the team is putting on a brave face but disruption is never good especially when the AB's are most vulnerable in their first test of the June series.
I had picked AB's to clean sweep based on the strength of Super Rugby and an end of season 5-Test series for the Irish (Maori's may as well be test matches) but now I think that's narrowed.
TAB still has us at $1.27 and Ireland at $3.60 - anyone know what the odds were before covid struck?
That's good money for Ireland!
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This post is deleted!
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@TheMojoman said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
Things are going from bad to worse in terms of preparation. I know the team is putting on a brave face but disruption is never good especially when the AB's are most vulnerable in their first test of the June series.
I had picked AB's to clean sweep based on the strength of Super Rugby and an end of season 5-Test series for the Irish (Maori's may as well be test matches) but now I think that's narrowed.
TAB still has us at $1.27 and Ireland at $3.60 - anyone know what the odds were before covid struck?
That's good money for Ireland!
It was $4.20 a few days back
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@TheMojoman said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
What's less ideal is playing two power wingers.
i reckon that thinking is 5 years out of date
and i would struggle to call many of those blokes "power" wingers. The only power winger is also really good under the high ball.
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@TheMojoman said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
What's less ideal is playing two power wingers.
i reckon that thinking is 5 years out of date
and i would struggle to call many of those blokes "power" wingers. The only power winger is also really good under the high ball.
You don't think Faainganuku is a power winger?
Anyway, I think Reece has the work rate and skill to make sure the back 3 has a decent balance.
Kicking is certainly a concern though, Tupaea is far from a traditional second five. If it's wet we could be in a bit of trouble if it turns into a kickfest.
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@TheMojoman said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
What's less ideal is playing two power wingers.
i reckon that thinking is 5 years out of date
and i would struggle to call many of those blokes "power" wingers. The only power winger is also really good under the high ball.
The way the ABs set up defensively we tend to drop our 1st 5 back to help with the kick reception plus to get 3 or even 4 players behind the ball to counter from. So you want strong attackers out wide, and for me it doesn’t matter whether they get over the gain line by tackle busts or beating their man by stepping or outside pace. Either creates opportunities.
I think the whole Dagg/Mils, Dagg/Bender, Jane, Jordie etc was more about getting the best players on the field and then having the gameplan that those players with their skill sets could execute.
Henry didn’t mind the Rok/Sivi combo from time to time either.
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@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@TheMojoman said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
What's less ideal is playing two power wingers.
i reckon that thinking is 5 years out of date
and i would struggle to call many of those blokes "power" wingers. The only power winger is also really good under the high ball.
The way the ABs set up defensively we tend to drop our 1st 5 back to help with the kick reception plus to get 3 or even 4 players behind the ball to counter from. So you want strong attackers out wide, and for me it doesn’t matter whether they get over the gain line by tackle busts or beating their man by stepping or outside pace. Either creates opportunities.
I think the whole Dagg/Mils, Dagg/Bender, Jane, Jordie etc was more about getting the best players on the field and then having the gameplan that those players with their skill sets could execute.
Henry didn’t mind the Rok/Sivi combo from time to time either.
Who was that Cantab that had these qualities in abundance? Recent AB? Amazing work under the high ball too.
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@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
then having the gameplan that those players with their skill sets could execute
thats the key isnt it....this is where we seem to have struggled in recent times, possibly the cattle unable to execute or the game plan not best suited to the cattle
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@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
The worst disruption will be if the Media Manager gets COVID and doesn’t publish the team list on Thursday. Then we are in trouble.
The lazy fluffybunny won't be doing it at 0600 like the good old days, sadly
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@Crucial said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@TheMojoman said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
What's less ideal is playing two power wingers.
i reckon that thinking is 5 years out of date
and i would struggle to call many of those blokes "power" wingers. The only power winger is also really good under the high ball.
The way the ABs set up defensively we tend to drop our 1st 5 back to help with the kick reception plus to get 3 or even 4 players behind the ball to counter from. So you want strong attackers out wide, and for me it doesn’t matter whether they get over the gain line by tackle busts or beating their man by stepping or outside pace. Either creates opportunities.
I think the whole Dagg/Mils, Dagg/Bender, Jane, Jordie etc was more about getting the best players on the field and then having the gameplan that those players with their skill sets could execute.
Henry didn’t mind the Rok/Sivi combo from time to time either.
Who was that Cantab that had these qualities in abundance? Recent AB? Amazing work under the high ball too.
Dan Carter would be the last one.
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More than the individuals i'm more worried about the attacking shape.
Of course test 1 will be rusty and i'm imagining they will keep things quite simple with a limited/disrupted build up i'm just hoping to see some variety in the attacking shape. Yes some better ball carriers will help but we need to put them in positions to succeed - bodies in motion, variety etc to get the Irish defense line on the back foot a tad.
Just biffing it out to a forward/forward pod isn't going to achieve much.
