The Silver Fern

@Canes4life I like the pack. Much more rigorous and physical.

Nonu was extremely raw, they used him on and off for a while before he matured and played consistently. He was bit of a loose canon. Probably explains why Conrad was the perfect partner for him.

Re Caleb, he grew up playing in the centres. I think he would be a devastating offensive centre but he’s not that agile on defense. I think he would struggle there. He may defend better at 12? I’m not sure that he as that endurance fitness either.

Something I found interesting was Sotutu came off the bench for counties manukau and seemed to have a bit of intensity about him. I wonder if it was an ABs request as you don’t just have the form number 8 of super rugby on the bench in a provincial game.

Also now thinking Ardie to 7, which opens us up to Sititi or a real 8 and Blackadder or an abrasive big 6. A much better balance. Sititi can handle both the abrasive stuff and the speed around the park enabling the ABs to play both ways.

Patrick Tuipolotu needs to be in the end of year tour. He offers very good go forward (Ala the blues), and is a staunch defender. Even if you only play him 30-50 minutes he offers power against the big packs.

Interesting we have a couple of young loose forwards coming out of Auckland. Suafoa is a big lump and Che Clark is a real fast, good, offloading 6. (Just unsure of his defence). Both are genuine lineout options as Clark is 6’4 and Suafoa 6’5 There’s talent on the way atleast.

@nzzp thanks bro, exactly what I meant.

@brodean I have loved the Michael Jones and Ardie Savea type of 7s who are great runners. Richie was not as good but could do a job. Sam Cane in comparison was not good and seems a bit slow but he’s grown on me. He tackles well, and if he hits a heap of rucks then, I think he can do enough to contribute toward a good game for the team. Just don’t expect him to be a great runner.

I’m guessing they are hoping that if South Africa are looking to shut Ardies go forward down, then hopefully Satiti can provide another dynamic running game to split the defence.

@KiwiInLondon I remember Akira playing against g Eben etc. There was no backward step, he can be very physical. I’ve never seen him backdown. If you say he can be lazy, I agree but he is extremely strong and powerful. I can’t answer you re the blues vs crusaders as I didn’t see the game.

Surely Sititi plays the role of an 8 with the exception of packing onto the side of the scrum. Biggest concern is lineout. A lot of pressure on our two smaller locks. It’s all in on the speed game obviously. We might win well or we could crash and burn badly this week. It doesn’t seem like good odds. I feel like Jacobsen could add some steal at the end.

@nostrildamus I notice South Africa hire former ref Jaco Piper. I still think in a 18 months we will be top 2, if not the best team. I think Ireland will fade and I just doubt that South Africa will be able to change their DNA in that time. Yes they might score a counter attacking try here and there but when the pressure goes on, they revert to type.

@nostrildamus Schmidt seems like a mad scientist. OCD with details and develops almost scientifically accurate plans according to large amounts of data. I would probably have him if Razor disappeared.

@JK sorry bro 👍

@mariner4life I thought the team also started to improve when Jordie moved out of the 15. Too slow to be a major threat into the backline. Decent defensively though.

@JK how long do you persist with an injury prone player like Blackadder? If he has two more injuries in the space of year I’d be tempted to invest in someone else. I love his intensity in principle but now what are our 6 options. I’d rather have someone like Akira.

@nzzp to be honest I am not sure what to do but I do feel a little bit envious watching South Africa be able to choose from all over the World while there
Players get big pay days from other unions. Would it mean we get to invest more money and pay higher rates for our up and comers here? I need to see all the facts. The scary thing as Mentioned above is we don’t have the population to sustain what other countries can, so it could turn into a terrible mistake.

@Brandon very interesting that Victor Matfield while reflecting on their change to allow overseas players picked believed that it had increased their player pool by not only picking overseas players but also exposing younger players to senior rugby more quickly. He said it was a win win. I would be open to explore the rule which allowed 40 game All blacks the ability to go overseas and be picked after 40 games for the ABs.

There were some terrible calls against the ABs. The posture of the ref against TJ at the beginning was strange, however we did get away with Cane staying on the field after the hit on Kolisi. At the end of the day we have to win even with crap calls, it’s still a loss and too much whinging won’t change the result. We don’t want to be victims, we must beat the team in front of us and if that include a refs dodgey calls then that’s what we have to do.

@canefan I wish Iose was bigger, cause he’s a good 8 too. Regarding Sotutu, his tackle stats, number of runs was down on Satitis, Jacobson and others but his try assists, try’s and line break assists were the best of the lot. He also provides a jumper at line out time, more size in maul defense. I think with an attacking ABs side he will add xfactor. You surround him with your hard workers.

@canefan there was talk he might be ready for the end of year tour which would be great. I kind of hope they take Sotutu to have a good look too. It would be good to see him tested in test footy.

@Jet what a nightmare if I’m a forward. No way I can drift off him. Deceptively quick off the mark and so powerful Through the hips. He is definitely a problem for defenses and his mere presence creates opportunities. That’s such a get with defenses today.

@pakman this is 3 years ago, I would think he’s still capable of this when given some room. -