All Blacks 2023
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@Stargazer said in All Blacks 2023:
@Nepia That final SR QF minute will haunt him forever now.
If he puts in a good run in internationals it will mostly be forgotten I think.
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@Crucial said in All Blacks 2023:
Bringing this over from the `Chiefs thread
@Kirwan said in SF: Chiefs vs. Brumbies:
@Crucial said in SF: Chiefs vs. Brumbies:
@nostrildamus said in SF: Chiefs vs. Brumbies:
@Crucial said in SF: Chiefs vs. Brumbies:
@friedrugby said in SF: Chiefs vs. Brumbies:
I think Finau probably fits into the category of good Super player, but not quite test level... Luke Jacobson is the man for the ABs IMO.
Why not both?
Jacobson//ABS, as a 6/8 or 8/6 is he competing with Akira or is Akira competing for a spot with Sotutu? (Who IMO is a better or more experienced 8 but only an 8).
Sotutu seems to have gone off the boil a bit (or at least comparably with his earlier season work). Akira playing well but, he has already shown that he's not the answer in the AB 6 jersey. Maybe he'll do a Kaino like change and set better platforms instead of looking for quarter gaps when carrying. I want a 6 that complements Sami T so we get double punch ups and go forward ball.
Such a poor take on both players, you have to ignore the last 5 or 6 games to get to that opinion. And of course the solution is untried Chiefs players, or failed Chiefs players like Jacobson.
Here's an example of how the Blues are playing closer to the ruck. Excellent that Akira has been moved to this role to get some go forward but it still doesn't cut the test standard required of a hard drive. He looks to fend, doesn't pump his legs and gets taken around the ankles to fall over with his feet back alongside the ruck.
Yes , I am being critical of something that was working for the Blues, but when he does this in black it adds to the ineffectiveness of the forwards. Head down, power through the legs and a drive to make post contact metres is what is required.
But hey, keep telling everyone they have it wrong. There's a reason he has been in and out of the side.I really had high hopes for him but I don't see it. He hasn't got the body of work behind him to justify his selection over others.
He's a 7's player. Some athlete, but lacks the head down/arse up tearaway we need.
Finau optically does exactly what we need. Anyone who dares come down his channel gets folded like a deck chair. He is into everything.
The likes of Doris, Van Der Flier, Aldritt put Akira in the Ha'penny place. Ireland have 6 or 7 back rows that would walk all over him.
We know how the story ends if we pick him in a crunch game....
Possibly a good bench option against tired defences. He is more Sione Lauaki than Jerry Collins.
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@Kirwan One try doesn't make him. He had a fair extended crack two years ago, then went missing on the Northern Tour. The issue with Akira isn't he doesn't do the hard yards, he is a classic bully boy. Like it or loathe it, Shannon Frizell was the All Blacks best blindside last year. Has been crap in Super Rugby is the main issue.
With Ardie and Cane, we basically just need a tough bastard who will take a million carries right up the guts, and make a million tackles. We don't need someone happy to roam in the wide channels, ala Tom Robinson, or even dear I say it, that seems to be Finau's role for the Chiefs. Would be a bolter to beat all bolters, but after a bit of a slow start to the year, Christian Lio-Willie has carried impressively up the centre, and has made plenty of tackles. Made the NZ XV squad... all I'm saying is keep an eye on it.
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@friedrugby years out of date take. His work rate the past few years has been good, certainly better than Frizzell who is a non entity at Test level.
Akira has had several games at Test level where he’s done well, like the clip above (assume you didn’t read the stats). SF has had zero.
And this year, after a long injury break, has made an immediate impact for the Blues.
Lots of tackles, notable improvements in cleaning out rucks, and is running hard to to the ball. One recent example had him bouncing off a hooker, another set up a great try for Clarke. Plenty of other examples.
All the good stuff people have been asking for he’s now doing.
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The question marks for me:
- 3rd hooker
- 4th lock
- 6th & 7th loosie
- 2nd & 3rd halfback
- Will ALB be our backup centre
- Wing mix
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@ACT-Crusader pretty well how I see it too. Though I pretty convinced that ALB will be back up centre, I still wonder about all others. I know generally who I would like, but even at halfback, I a member of Roigard fan club, but at back of my mind is what players (mainly halves and 8s) are ging to find playing under the international laws again.
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@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks 2023:
The question marks for me:
- 3rd hooker
50/50 Coles/Aumua
- 4th lock
Not a problem if SB is taken as a lock
- 6th & 7th loosie
Injury dependent
- 2nd & 3rd halfback
One that plays as close as possible to Smith and one that presents a different picture
- Will ALB be our backup centre
Yes
- Wing mix
May depend on the role of BB
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@Crucial said in All Blacks 2023:
@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks 2023:
The question marks for me:
- 4th lock
Not a problem if SB is taken as a lock
isn't that still a huge question mark? i felt id seen more people than not listing him as 6
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@Kirwan said in All Blacks 2023:
Lots of tackles, notable improvements in cleaning out rucks, and is running hard to to the ball. One recent example had him bouncing off a hooker, another set up a great try for Clarke. Plenty of other examples.
All the good stuff people have been asking for he’s now doing.
I think his only real weakness at hte moment is his ongoing propensity to run upright. He had success at lower levels doing it, but it's a terrible habit for higher honours.
That said, he's had storming games in black; MOTM on more than one occasion, but you wouldn't know it with the blinders some folk wear.
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