Naholo ... Yay or Nay?

[broughie]

<p>Lots of upside as others have stated.  Other than Smith what other wingers in NZ (non injured), have his pace, size and matching winning potential.  Has work ons but I can live with that. </p>

[reprobate]

<p>most of what he's been doing wrong (eg the handling and timing errors) he generally doesn't do wrong for the highlanders, so i think/hope a fair bit of his ups and downs are just down to confidence that will come with time being in the team. i wouldn't want to have to try and tackle him, i know that much.</p>

[African Monkey]

<p>I'm a fan. I'm sure after more time in the black jersey the rough edges in his game will be sorted out.</p>

[Rancid Schnitzel]

His potential is enormous, but he does too much stupid shit, the type of stupid shit that loses games. I really hope they can bang some smarts into him because he could be a legend.

[canefan]

<p>I chose yes because I think he has potential to be awesome.  But he has to at least get his per game brainfart average down well below Wayne Barnes' for me to not worry about him costing us in a game</p>

[NZRUGBYQUIZZES]

<p>Would prefer he was playing for Fiji like Patrick Osborne. Rate him as a player though.</p>

[jegga]

Im keen to see him in the team , if only because he shows Savea he's not indispensable . He's got plenty to work on though.

[Provincial Stalwart]

A big fan of his upside. Strong at super rugby level, esp. 2015, in a team that developed a very successful attacking game plan around his attributes. Gives me confidence that he is very coachable and malleable. A bit nervous about how he'll go in Sydney in about 2 months so needs 80 this week to get him closer.

[Siam]

<p>Yep stick with him</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Too much upside in what he's naturally capable of</p>
<p> </p>
<p>If you want to go for error free wingers invariably you get stuck with Rob Horne, Dane HP, Caleb Ralph etc - no thanks!!</p>

[canefan]

<p>When NMS gets back he's probably fighting for a place with Dagg and Smith as the hybrid wing/15s, Savea and Naholo will fight it out for the power wing spot</p>

[gollum]

<p>I think there is definate upside with him. But I also think he won't be a long term AB wing. He'll switch places back & fowards with Savea as the AB power wing without ever really nailing it. We'll be having this debate again next year.</p>

[kiwiinmelb]

<p>That in its self is a positive , Savea doesnt have a mortgage on the 11 jersey anymore through lack of competition </p>

[gollum]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="kiwiinmelb" data-cid="590041" data-time="1466419323">
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<p>That in its self is a positive , Savea doesnt have a mortgage on the 11 jersey anymore through lack of competition </p>
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<p> </p>
<p>Yeah, he's had competition in the past few years but its been pretty shithouse by AB standards - Osbourne, Gear, Ranger. The plus now is we can actually drop him & not have the quality of our wing fall off a cliff</p>

[kiwiinmelb]

<p>I actually thought Piutau looked pretty good on the left last year  , but that wasnt to be </p>

[canefan]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="kiwiinmelb" data-cid="590050" data-time="1466421700">
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<p>I actually thought Piutau looked pretty good on the left last year  , but that wasnt to be </p>
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<p>If he'd stayed we wouldn't need to have these debates.  Way too early to give up on Naholo.  I recall how long it took for Ma'a to get widespread acceptance in black</p>

[gollum]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="canefan" data-cid="590053" data-time="1466421847">
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<p>If he'd stayed we wouldn't need to have these debates.  Way too early to give up on Naholo.  I recall how long it took for Ma'a to get widespread acceptance in black</p>
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<p> </p>
<p>Yep, Piatau stays we'd be discussing about whether it'd be worth giving Naholo a second cap sometime this year & if Savea will ever get his shirt back. One of the only players to go overseas & be a huge loss</p>

[cgrant]

<p>He makes me remind of the young Nonu : lots of potential but brainfarts from time to time. He will work, improve and become a great weapon for the AB.</p>

[Milk]

<p>I cut him a little slack on his error rate if it comes from constantly looking for work. I think Hansen said in the first test Savea touched the ball 4 times v Naholo's 17. Considering the high velocity those touches occur with a player like Naholo (hitting the line at speed, contestable kicks, etc), the error rate will always be on the high side. Hopefully he can tighten it up more though.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I've seen enough in his tests so far to suggest that he could reach a similar level of comfort/impact as he does at Super Rugby, and if he does that he'll be amazing.</p>

[Bones]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Milk" data-cid="590086" data-time="1466431895">
<div>
<p>I cut him a little slack on his error rate if it comes from constantly looking for work. I think Hansen said in the first test Savea touched the ball 4 times v Naholo's 17. Considering the high velocity those touches occur with a player like Naholo (hitting the line at speed, contestable kicks, etc), the error rate will always be on the high side. Hopefully he can tighten it up more though.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I've seen enough in his tests so far to suggest that he could reach a similar level of comfort/impact as he does at Super Rugby, and if he does that he'll be amazing.</p>
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</blockquote>
<p> </p>
<p>Yeah I do like how he gets in behind the ruck and has a go Sivi styles - although he probably doesn't need to do that quite so much.</p>

[DMX]

I thought it was a disaster taking him to the World Cup and there was no way he could have been trusted in the knockout phases. However he still has a lot of upside so a fan for now.