Black Ferns v Scotland RWC
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@Billy-Tell said in Black Ferns v Scotland RWC:
Fair play to Scotland for not giving up. They were non existent in the first half (did they have a backrow?) but better in the 2nd.
Hard for any kiwis to genuinely impress against mediocre opposition. There are a few selection headaches for smith.
This smells like 2007: pool walkover with better opposition ahead.
Not really. Firstly we've got Wales again in the quarters so we're not losing to them. In addition every RWC is like that for the ferns, there is only ever 2 or 3 teams in it that count
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@Dan54 said in Black Ferns v Scotland RWC:
@Bovidae said in Black Ferns v Scotland RWC:
@KiwiMurph said in Black Ferns v Scotland RWC:
This halfback looks better than Cocksedge
Bayler has the best pass of the three halfbacks followed by Marino-Tauhini. Unfortunately we know who is going to start.
I watched the game on poor mans TV so have just finished.
Another tough selection decision will be at lock. Roos played really well but I like what Ngan-Woo offers around the field as a distributor.
Nice position for Smith to have, not who to pick, but who to leave out!
One of the biggest selection problems is the back three. Do you put in a fullback that can kick (Holmes/Tubic) at the expense of firepower? Or do you go with Tui. I have concerns about our kicking to relieve pressure and our goal kicking.
Tubic is an obvious bench option covering 10/15.
Tui with a roaming licence from the wing is a game changer in providing the opposition with pictures they haven't dealt with in their NH bubble and when we are on defence her vision to be where the attack is going is second to none.
Is it an option to split Ruby, Ayesha and Portia time wise across the game or does that limit the bench?
Fitzpatrick and Fluhler would be my top midfield -
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@canefan said in Black Ferns v Scotland RWC:
@Crucial Holmes struggled against Aussie. That makes me nervous
Yep. She doesn’t fill me with confidence either. I can see why Smith is toying with playing someone who can run us out of trouble and link up. It gains more ground than a 20 metre kick.
This is often the case in FPC as well. A good tactic against many teams that try to play a traditional fullback is to kick deep. -
@Crucial said in Black Ferns v Scotland RWC:
@canefan said in Black Ferns v Scotland RWC:
@Crucial Holmes struggled against Aussie. That makes me nervous
Yep. She doesn’t fill me with confidence either. I can see why Smith is toying with playing someone who can run us out of trouble and link up. It gains more ground than a 20 metre kick.
This is often the case in FPC as well. A good tactic against many teams that try to play a traditional fullback is to kick deep.Play to our strengths. I can't play Holmes when she isn't as effective on attack and falls of tackles in defence. Tui and Woodman are game winners
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@Crucial said in Black Ferns v Scotland RWC:
Fitzpatrick and Fluhler would be my top midfield
Definitely Fluhler, but tough choice for me between Fitzpatrick and du Plessis. I'm a big fan of the way dP just gets shit done (very Conrad Smith) but I can see the draw to Fitzpatrick's "impact" (very Tuitipou).
Edit: doesn't dP cover the most of the backline? Great bench option if so.
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@canefan said in Black Ferns v Scotland RWC:
@Crucial said in Black Ferns v Scotland RWC:
@canefan said in Black Ferns v Scotland RWC:
@Crucial Holmes struggled against Aussie. That makes me nervous
Yep. She doesn’t fill me with confidence either. I can see why Smith is toying with playing someone who can run us out of trouble and link up. It gains more ground than a 20 metre kick.
This is often the case in FPC as well. A good tactic against many teams that try to play a traditional fullback is to kick deep.Play to our strengths. I can't play Holmes when she isn't as effective on attack and falls of tackles in defence. Tui and Woodman are game winners
I am of that thinking as well. We need to present a game that the NH teams haven’t had to deal with. We can see that they don’t play that way and therefore aren’t used to defending against it. They might offload once or twice a game whereas we are connected well enough that we aren’t only offloading but the receiver can then move the ball into space straight away.
We must avoid getting sucked into the NH style and while scrums and mauls will be unavoidable at times we can at least not bother giving them lineout opportunities in our half. -
Just watched the game. Tui an Woodman must start in the quarter but dP had a great game and Fitzpatrick also looks assured at 12. Tubic over-used the chip kick for mine leaving Demant as the front runner at 10. Wickliffe looked for work all afternoon and found space, exciting to watch. Has Hirini nailed that 7 shirt? MTu'u has to start, Bremner, Ngan-Woo and Roos also. An interesting headache for Smithy.
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@Jailbreak7 Agree mate, I really impressed with Fitzpatrick at 12, and think Demant was always going to be 10, she just steers team so well. I have to keep saying how much I have enjoye watching these girls, and keep getting surprised at just how good some of their skills and game awareness in. (mind you I probably only surprised because I an lod bugger who is still getting his head around it's not just a game for boys/men anymore and more power to it)
