All Blacks vs Ireland
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@MiketheSnow said in All Blacks vs Ireland:
That 23 is more than capable of beating NZ
And the Captain Obvious Award goes to ... 😀
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@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks vs Ireland:
@Frye said in All Blacks vs Ireland:
Would be classic if the Irish crowd booed the Haka considering their self-righteous stance on booing kicks
Piss them off. Do the haka in the sheds.
Better still, POM pops out, "you're a shit Te Rauparaha"...
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@Jet said in All Blacks vs Ireland:
Couldn’t you just call Scooter a fluffybunny or something like the rest of us?
Worse things came to mind than fluffybunny when I was watching some of those lineouts on Saturday. But that's only during the heat of the game.
I honestly don't know how you guys do it, watching the game and discussing it at the same time. I'm having enough trouble keeping myself composed during the game as is (with composed being used very loosely here).
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@Mauss good post but i disagree with heaps of it!
Vaai did not have a great game around the paddock but he wasn't awful. And yep, it's been noticable for a while he is now our most important lineout forward (not hard when you look at his locking partner and the loose forward mix).
But i hate the solution. Scott Barrett is too fucking slow to play blindside. And looking where we station our blindside on attack, he's completely wasted out there. Scott is best buried in the tight. Leave him there. And if he's not fulfilling that duty, drop him to the bench. I really like the current mix though if Vaai returns to his earlier form (he is still only 24! jesus he still has a heap of development in him). Barrett and Vaai early, Patty T for the last 30. The selectors need to be bolder and pull Barrett is Vaai is going better.
Bringing Finau and Patty on at the same time would actually make more sense.
I am also not sure Cane off the bench is the best use of his current talents. I am also far from convinced his current level of play is actually less than Savea's
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@Mauss said in All Blacks vs Ireland:
shift Scott Barrett to six
Aaand that's where you lose credibility
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@Mauss Vaa'i is crucial to the lineout, and with no Taylor or Samisoni you would have to expect the Irish to be targeting us hard there. Aumua has been a bit dicey and Bell was pretty horrible in Super - I really hope we have the brains to keep it simple and avoid the long throws, particularly early in the game (but honestly it would be a surprise if we do - optimism rather than pragmatism seems to be our MO).
Tuipolotu was awesome last week, and has been very good all year. Also provides a bit of scrum power I think. However, I'm of the opinion that Barrett is a pretty mediocre 6 (and captain) and a good lock, so while Pat deserves a start I think it would weaken us more than it helps us.
Which is not to say I'm happy with the loosies - aside obviously from Sititi who should be made captain and call the lineouts... I thought Savea was anonymous last game - he's copped a lot of criticism on here this year, some fair, and some over the top. Cane played okay, but both have been underwhelming for 2 key AB positions. Not many options right now with the squad picked and injury problems unfortunately, and the Irish propensity to use inside runners mean we need good awareness of defensive structure in our forwards.
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@The-Irishman said in All Blacks vs Ireland:
@Jet Whatever way the match goes, enjoy the weekend jet. No whinging at the ref or booing the kickers 😉
Place kicks only though yeah? You can't ask a New Zealander to not boo a drop-kick.
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I think the selectors have made a very sensible decision sticking largely to the same 23 as last week.
Tuipulotu has flattered to deceive in the vast majority of his previous appearances for the All Blacks. He had a very good game in the opening Test of the year but was then back to his usual standards the following weekend. We've seen a few times in the past that he has good games but can't back up. He was immense off the bench last weekend so why not keep him in the role where he excelled and see if he can do it again? The bench has been a massive weakness for the All Blacks in 2024 so if he can shine from the pine while the starters maintain their standards set throughout the rest of the season, then that's a great step forward for the team.
Vaa'i, meanwhile, has been one of the All Blacks' top performers this season and last weekend was his first 'dud' of the year but given his consistency throughout the season, it wouldn't make sense to make a change in the second row just because of one underwhelming performance (I know you're not advocating from dropping Vaa'i, but just throwing in my two cents here).
Similarly, Ratima has also been excellent for the All Blacks this year so there's no point dropping him to the bench just because of one bad performance, while Roigard is still in the early days of his return to play and, as with Tuipulotu above, helped turn a key weakness of the All Blacks this season into a strength. If Ratima plays like he has throughout the rest of the year and Roigard can offer similar impetus as he did against England, then NZ are onto a winning combination - so why mix things up at this stage?
Also @ACT-Crusader and @Landers92, not sure why Stuff were reporting De Groot had a calf injury, but that was never said by the All Blacks.They were pretty emphatic that he'd been stood down for the match for disciplinary reasons (and have openly said he has to play his way back into the team after the performances of Williams and Tu'ungafasi on the weekend).
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@Mauss said in All Blacks vs Ireland:
@Jet said in All Blacks vs Ireland:
Couldn’t you just call Scooter a fluffybunny or something like the rest of us?
Worse things came to mind than fluffybunny when I was watching some of those lineouts on Saturday. But that's only during the heat of the game.
I honestly don't know how you guys do it, watching the game and discussing it at the same time. I'm having enough trouble keeping myself composed during the game as is (with composed being used very loosely here).
It’s easy to do when you pick your scapegoats and narratives before hand 😂
