Naholo ... Yay or Nay?
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<p>Would prefer he was playing for Fiji like Patrick Osborne. Rate him as a player though.</p>
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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.
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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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<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>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> -
<p>I actually thought Piutau looked pretty good on the left last year , but that wasnt to be </p>
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<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> -
<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>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> -
<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>
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<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> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Milk" data-cid="590086" data-time="1466431895">
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<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>
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<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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<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> -
<p>A fan, but far from the finished product.</p>
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<p>The plot could thicken going forward as Hansen has said on a couple of occasions he could see him playing centre. If that happens we undoubtedly would have a Toeava part 2 situation on our hands.</p> -
<p>The big work-on for Naholo isn't his accuracy with the ball in hand but his positioning and decision-making on defence. He has a bad habit of coming off his wing giving the opposition a clear advantage out wide. The Faletau try in the 1st test was a good example of this.</p>
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Provincial Stalwart" data-cid="590030" data-time="1466417789"><p>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.</p></blockquote>
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It's only Australia....<br><br>
I'm a big fan of his. I like some of the little things he does like going into 1st receiver, the odd pick n go. Then the willingness to take his defender on the outside (that's a rarity these days). <br><br>
There were some concerning things about drawing and pass and just offloading in the tackle, but the promising thing is that he has done this stuff at Super level and I think he's the sort of player that when he's gained more and more experience we will see him take those options. <br><br>
I don't think there is a more rampaging runner in the backs in NZ.
