All Blacks vs England 2
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@Kirwan although if he selected Funaki (IMO regardless if it is Hotham, Roe, Viljoen etc) that 3rd spot is, for all intents and purposes right now a 'project' player with one eye firmly on the future (possibly why they also went past Fakatava) given they are technically 5th right now, just injuries see them sitting as the 3rd option, and if we find ourselves in the position of having to play that '5th' halfback, I honestly dont see it mattering which one it happens to be.
But for injury to Roigard, TJ likely wouldnt have even made the squad as he'd have had less time in the saddle for the 'canes.
Injuries have forced thier hand to look at players earlier than they probably hoped.
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@Frank said in All Blacks vs England 2:
@Machpants
Yeah, earlier the better.
Quicker pass than Christie and Perenara, total nightmare to defend against around the fringes, and massive and accurate boot.Best player in Super by a distance before he was injured. If he's back to full fitness he's a lock for the 9 jersey.
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Christie said on a podcast that Roigard can kick contestable kicks 10 to 15m further than anyone in NZ (last year) because he gets so much more height on them.
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@george33 said in All Blacks vs England 2:
@chchfanatic only thing I remember about Hotlham was getting pushed of like a little school boy, and ended up over the touch line by Funaki, think he did same to McLeod as well.
What makes you think you can comment on his play this year then?
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@taniwharugby said in All Blacks vs England 2:
@Kirwan although if he selected Funaki (IMO regardless if it is Hotham, Roe, Viljoen etc) that 3rd spot is, for all intents and purposes right now a 'project' player with one eye firmly on the future (possibly why they also went past Fakatava) given they are technically 5th right now, just injuries see them sitting as the 3rd option, and if we find ourselves in the position of having to play that '5th' halfback, I honestly dont see it mattering which one it happens to be.
But for injury to Roigard, TJ likely wouldnt have even made the squad as he'd have had less time in the saddle for the 'canes.
Injuries have forced thier hand to look at players earlier than they probably hoped.
For a call in player, Fakatava is probably the best choice purely as he has previous Test experience. If Christie goes down in the warmup do we really want Ratima and Hotham as the only two options?
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@Kirwan the 2 test veteran? Probably just shows how much he has fallen away more than anything.
As above, if we get to that point, I dont think it matters who comes off the bench or has to start, it'll be sink or swim time for whoever it is.
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@Tim said in All Blacks vs England 2:
Christie said on a podcast that Roigard can kick contestable kicks 10 to 15m further than anyone in NZ (last year) because he gets so much more height on them.
Roigard played a bit at 1st 5 at school, which shows with his kicking ability.
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@Tim said in All Blacks vs England 2:
Christie said on a podcast that Roigard can kick contestable kicks 10 to 15m further than anyone in NZ (last year) because he gets so much more height on them.
as if i didn't have enough of a crush on Roigard already ....
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@Kirwan said in All Blacks vs England 2:
@taniwharugby said in All Blacks vs England 2:
@Kirwan although if he selected Funaki (IMO regardless if it is Hotham, Roe, Viljoen etc) that 3rd spot is, for all intents and purposes right now a 'project' player with one eye firmly on the future (possibly why they also went past Fakatava) given they are technically 5th right now, just injuries see them sitting as the 3rd option, and if we find ourselves in the position of having to play that '5th' halfback, I honestly dont see it mattering which one it happens to be.
But for injury to Roigard, TJ likely wouldnt have even made the squad as he'd have had less time in the saddle for the 'canes.
Injuries have forced thier hand to look at players earlier than they probably hoped.
For a call in player, Fakatava is probably the best choice purely as he has previous Test experience. If Christie goes down in the warmup do we really want Ratima and Hotham as the only two options?
The flipside to the test experience (Fakatava has 2 tests) is that Scott Hansen (who coaches the 9s and 10s) has worked with Hotham before a lot.
On Super Rugby form Fakatava certainly didn't excude a level of trust in his play that you would expect with his experience.
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@JayCee said in All Blacks vs England 2:
@Tim said in All Blacks vs England 2:
Christie said on a podcast that Roigard can kick contestable kicks 10 to 15m further than anyone in NZ (last year) because he gets so much more height on them.
as if i didn't have enough of a crush on Roigard already ....
Has @Canes4life hacked this account ?
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@Kirwan said in All Blacks vs England 2:
But back to rugby. Robertson is the All Black coach now, and when 50/50 calls all seem to be going to journeymen Crusaders it's worthy of comment (Bell, Blackadder, Hotham, Havilli). ABs are for players ready now, not project players or improving the depth/development of the struggling Crusaders.
The only one you know for sure is a journeyman (at least at AB level) is Havilli. Bell and Hotham are likely the future of the Crusaders and have hit all their previous marks at grade level. (Who knows with Blackadder if he is any good, since he never plays, but he goes OK some of the time.)
And you are talking rot about all the 50/50 calls going to Cantabs anyway. I'm a Chiefs supporter and I reckon they got more rub than the Crusaders -- Jacobson and Va'ai don't inspire me much, Sititi makes Hotham look like a veteran and Narawa gets exposed defensively too much for my liking.
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Doesn’t fit their narrative though.
I really hope his son makes super rugby and kills it. Imagine the hate if he selected him for the ABs.
He’s currently playing 1st 5 in 1st XV and is a decent player so who knows. The younger one who’s a flanker is the one to watch. -
@taniwharugby said in All Blacks vs England 2:
@Kirwan the 2 test veteran? Probably just shows how much he has fallen away more than anything.
As above, if we get to that point, I dont think it matters who comes off the bench or has to start, it'll be sink or swim time for whoever it is.
At least he has significant experience at Super Level, throwing a rookie in the deep end doesn't seem like great management to me.
All relies on Christie's fitness, unnecessary risk.
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@Chester-Draws said in All Blacks vs England 2:
@Kirwan said in All Blacks vs England 2:
But back to rugby. Robertson is the All Black coach now, and when 50/50 calls all seem to be going to journeymen Crusaders it's worthy of comment (Bell, Blackadder, Hotham, Havilli). ABs are for players ready now, not project players or improving the depth/development of the struggling Crusaders.
The only one you know for sure is a journeyman (at least at AB level) is Havilli. Bell and Hotham are likely the future of the Crusaders and have hit all their previous marks at grade level. (Who knows with Blackadder if he is any good, since he never plays, but he goes OK some of the time.)
And you are talking rot about all the 50/50 calls going to Cantabs anyway. I'm a Chiefs supporter and I reckon they got more rub than the Crusaders -- Jacobson and Va'ai don't inspire me much, Sititi makes Hotham look like a veteran and Narawa gets exposed defensively too much for my liking.
Call me old fashioned, but I want players selected that have earned their callup. You are correct in highlighting Sititi, but I've beaten that horse to death already. If you select Jacobson, no need for Blackadder IMO. Those two are the same level of meh.
Selecting a hooker that can't perform his core role is just stupid.
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@Kirwan well everything is banking on Christies fitness, a 22 test veteran...after that we are in raw rookie territory, regardless.
Injuries are part of the game, we have plenty of talented 9s running about, but such as been the quality of Aaron Smith, that we went back to TJ and now rely on Christie with Roigards absence.
Think you are making an awful lot of something that in the greater scheme, will be irrelevant if Christie doesn't get injured, or if he does, I dont think that 3rd/5th spot will matter either way.
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@taniwharugby said in All Blacks vs England 2:
@Kirwan well everything is banking on Christies fitness, a 22 test veteran...after that we are in raw rookie territory, regardless.
Injuries are part of the game, we have plenty of talented 9s running about, but such as been the quality of Aaron Smith, that we went back to TJ and now rely on Christie with Roigards absence.
Think you are making an awful lot of something that in the greater scheme, will be irrelevant if Christie doesn't get injured, or if he does, I dont think that 3rd/5th spot will matter either way.
Two injuries away from Bell and Hotham being in the 23, I'd like better options. Sue me
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@Chester-Draws said in All Blacks vs England 2:
The only one you know for sure is a journeyman (at least at AB level) is Havilli.
And Havili didn't get picked. He's the only guy who went to RWC who didn't get picked. Six months ago the ex-Chiefs and Blues coaches thought he was the fourth best midfielder in the country - Razor and Holland dropped him.
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@Kirwan said in All Blacks vs England 2:
@taniwharugby said in All Blacks vs England 2:
@Kirwan well everything is banking on Christies fitness, a 22 test veteran...after that we are in raw rookie territory, regardless.
Injuries are part of the game, we have plenty of talented 9s running about, but such as been the quality of Aaron Smith, that we went back to TJ and now rely on Christie with Roigards absence.
Think you are making an awful lot of something that in the greater scheme, will be irrelevant if Christie doesn't get injured, or if he does, I dont think that 3rd/5th spot will matter either way.
Two injuries away from Bell and Hotham being in the 23, I'd like better options. Sue me
The flip side of this is that time in the environment now will hopefully benefit them in the long run if they are both seen as the future.
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@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks vs England 2:
@Kirwan said in All Blacks vs England 2:
@taniwharugby said in All Blacks vs England 2:
@Kirwan well everything is banking on Christies fitness, a 22 test veteran...after that we are in raw rookie territory, regardless.
Injuries are part of the game, we have plenty of talented 9s running about, but such as been the quality of Aaron Smith, that we went back to TJ and now rely on Christie with Roigards absence.
Think you are making an awful lot of something that in the greater scheme, will be irrelevant if Christie doesn't get injured, or if he does, I dont think that 3rd/5th spot will matter either way.
Two injuries away from Bell and Hotham being in the 23, I'd like better options. Sue me
The flip side of this is that time in the environment now will hopefully benefit them in the long run if they are both seen as the future.
Well that's great for the Crusaders isn't it. Pick the best players now, not ones that might be good in the future. That's repeating past mistakes.
