Naholo ... Yay or Nay?

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

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

canefan

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

gollum

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.

kiwiinmelb

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

gollum

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="kiwiinmelb" data-cid="590041" data-time="1466419323">
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That in its self is a positive , Savea doesnt have a mortgage on the 11 jersey anymore through lack of competition 
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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

kiwiinmelb

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

canefan

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="kiwiinmelb" data-cid="590050" data-time="1466421700">
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I actually thought Piutau looked pretty good on the left last year , but that wasnt to be 
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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

gollum

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="canefan" data-cid="590053" data-time="1466421847">
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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
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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

cgrant

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.

Milk

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.
 
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.

Bones

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Milk" data-cid="590086" data-time="1466431895">
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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.
 
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.
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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.

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.

rotated

A fan, but far from the finished product.
 
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.

Bovidae

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.

ACT Crusader

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Provincial Stalwart" data-cid="590030" data-time="1466417789">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.</blockquote>
 
It's only Australia.... 
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). 
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. 
I don't think there is a more rampaging runner in the backs in NZ.

The Silver Fern

Naholo ... Yay or Nay?