All Blacks 2023
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@Steve said in All Blacks 2023:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2023:
@Steve said in All Blacks 2023:
Broke my fucking heart......
You don't know what pain is. I was in Cardiff for the 2007 QF.
Barnes didn't see one penalty infringement from France in the last 50 odd minutes in that game.
Truly remarkable given how pedantic he has gone on to become.
I don't think he has become pedantic. He's actually quite a good ref now (except he saves up errors for one big brain fart decision a game).
He simply wasn't ready to ref a game of that magnitude at the time and he's not to blame for his selection.
His main trait that he has never really fixed is that he gets in the way of play quite a bit. Whether that is simple positioning or poor 'feel' for the game I'm not sure but he really does seem to get into tangles more than others. -
@Victor-Meldrew Twickenham 99 was like a funeral procession back to the train...
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@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2023:
@Steve said in All Blacks 2023:
Broke my fucking heart......
You don't know what pain is. I was in Cardiff for the 2007 QF.
me too, had had a few great nights in cardiff after AB's games....not that night, copped a bit of flak from the locals too which was a surprise
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@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks 2023:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2023:
@Bovidae I reckon he will be. Fozzie happily picked two rookies last year.
My main question mark is Christie or Weber?
Is Folau out of the equation?
I reckon it will be the hardest decision. I hope Roigard because he’s an abrasive type and whilst not the finished product, he has all the ingredients. But taking a rookie has some risk.
Who knows - but, can't really see how he makes it.
He fell behind Christie last year and by the end of the EOYT Christie seemed to have fallen behind TJ (at least).
This year, Roigard has looked made for test rugby, so I want him. Folau has been caught behind Smith, and has had to make a lot of play himself - so less chance to impress as a test halfback.
If Fozzie picks Roigard and Folau, he'd have 40 minutes of test experience between them. Doesn't seem a good idea.
I guess if last year is a guide, Christie will get picked over Weber - so AS, FC, CR - but, I wouldn't put the house on it!
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@Chris-B in fairness he fell behind christie because he was injured, if we want someone that plays like a young smith (not quite as good) then his protege is what you want
in saying that roigard does look the goods
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@Kiwiwomble Was he injured for TRC? My memory is he got injured just before the EOYT?
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@Chris-B true although i didn't think he had been surpassed during the RC so much as they were testing options
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@Kiwiwomble I think Aaron started them all and Finlay was on the bench for all, so I think FC might have the inside track.
That being said, it looked to me that TJP had slipped into second spot at the end of last year, so if he can get some games under his belt before they name the RWC squad, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him picked then.
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At this moment, Smith is locked in as the starting 9, but the rest is anyone's guess. From memory, Weber and TJP had a bit of have a go between the As and Bs whilst Christie was parked in the stands because he wasn't quite up to scratch. My guess is one of Fakatava and Roigard will be in the 36-man squad, because Perenara won't be fit yet... could well be that there is four halfbacks, because my thinking is that the three positions will be a loose forward/lock, a prop and a miscellaneous back.
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@friedrugby said in All Blacks 2023:
At this moment, Smith is locked in as the starting 9, but the rest is anyone's guess. From memory, Weber and TJP had a bit of have a go between the As and Bs whilst Christie was parked in the stands because he wasn't quite up to scratch. My guess is one of Fakatava and Roigard will be in the 36-man squad, because Perenara won't be fit yet... could well be that there is four halfbacks, because my thinking is that the three positions will be a loose forward/lock, a prop and a miscellaneous back.
What seems logical to me (and therefore is probably well off the mark) is that you have your first choice halfback that you plan around (Smith), someone with a similar style as understudy (so you don't have to change if an injury happens) and someone that is a specialist sub.
In my mind that sub brings a point of difference so that the on field picture changes. That sub is ideally a territory gainer (good kick) a good defender AND (if behind) a runner that can identify weak tiring defenders and target them.
In the past we have had TJP and TKB in that role. Roigard seems to be the current option. Great boot, solid defender, eye for a chance, excellent support runner.
That understudy job will go to either of Weber or Christie. Both have their ups and downs but are the closest we have to a fast recycling, passing halfback. I don't think there's much in the decision.
I would be a bit disappointed if we took three and they were Smith, Christie and Weber.
Fakatava hasn't really shown a decent kicking game and probably hasn't had much opportunity recently to show much of support running. Not out of the picture by a long shot but probably hampered by being at the Highlanders. -
@Crucial said in All Blacks 2023:
I would be a bit disappointed if we took three and they were Smith, Christie and Weber.
Totally agree.
The sensible selection choices are:
- Smith
- Weber or Christie
- Fakatava or Roigard
As I said previously, Roigard is also left-footed so different to all the other halfbacks in contention.
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i'll say it (and probably get shouted down) id be tempted to thake smith, roigard and fakatava in that order
weber and christie have shown they can do it...but dont think either have had a real game breaking performance or a series of top draw games in a row
you have reliability in smith and then roll the dice on some excitement
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@Kiwiwomble said in All Blacks 2023:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2023:
@Steve said in All Blacks 2023:
Broke my fucking heart......
You don't know what pain is. I was in Cardiff for the 2007 QF.
me too, had had a few great nights in cardiff after AB's games....not that night, copped a bit of flak from the locals too which was a surprise
I had a TV camera from a NZ crew shoved in my face as I got just outside the stadium, asking how I felt. I must have looked in complete shock, don’t think the footage ever made it to air. What a shit show.
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@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2023:
@Crucial said in All Blacks 2023:
I would be a bit disappointed if we took three and they were Smith, Christie and Weber.
Totally agree.
The sensible selection choices are:
- Smith
- Weber or Christie
- Fakatava or Roigard
As I said previously, Roigard is also left-footed so different to all the other halfbacks in contention.
The only similarity of Weber with the other two is he gets to the ruck and clears quick. His running game and support play is quite different.
I like how Weber is playing this year and he's gone ahead of Christie for me, but I think Foster prefers Christie, who I think can be a real handbrake when the pressure goes up.
We really need to see Roigard pretty much straight away, to see what he brings to test rugby...I won't be in the least bit surprised if we don't find out until next year though.
But you know what? I won't be upset with any combination really. They can all do a good enough job at test level (including Fakatava).
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@Kiwiwomble said in All Blacks 2023:
me too, had had a few great nights in cardiff after AB's games....not that night, copped a bit of flak from the locals too which was a surprise
Locals were fine as ever - always found the Taffs great to share a beer with. Some fluffybunny in an England shirt was winding up AB supporters before getting decked.
Remember bumping into PdP before the game and agreeing to share a beer afterwards but we missed each other
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@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2023:
Locals were fine as ever - always found the Taffs great to share a beer with. Some fluffybunny in an England shirt was winding up AB supporters before getting decked.
Heard basically the same thing from a couple of friends who were separately there. Locals fine, some English dickhead immediately being a fluffybunny.
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@Victor-Meldrew yeah, i'd always found the welsh great out on the town the night after we'd beaten them before that, i always remember it being some welsh fans giving us shit "finally got what you deserve" kind of stuff, but i was definitely drunk and so it could have been anyone, either way i remember the bus leaving an hour early to get back to london and being very quiet
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The thing for me is the big stepdown between Nugget and Christie/Weber. Roigard bridges that gap better that Fakatava IMHO.
I'd give Roigard Test experience before RWC and see how he makes the step-up.
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@Victor-Meldrew i actually agree, as i said id have roigard as second behind smith assuming he can show the same or similar form in some TRC games, personally i think we can be too conservative with "experience" sometimes, some people just have loads of experience at being rubbish, its also less of a problem if we have experience around them
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