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@Jaguares4real said in 2019 Rugby Championship:
@mariner4life said in 2019 Rugby Championship:
be a strange fruit, but at least he's kicked the hornets nest a
One of my aims is to rattle some cages
Provoke some debate with contrarian POVs
Not a fan of cosy consensus, too similar to circle jerking
So you're a troll? How delightfully clever and original.
So it seems that many of the top candidates for the AB Head Coach have been negotiating for months with other international unions. 6 months in the case of Dave Rennie and Rugby Australia. NZ Rugby's refusal to initiate this process until well after the RWC looks to have been a terribly flawed approach - because all the other top candidates have jobs elsewhere. Ian Foster will be the last man standing, which is unbelievable given the number of talented NZ coaches that are around Rugby globally.
@kiwimurph said in Blues v Hurricanes:
Second season blues have well and truly hit Clarke.
And Sotutu.
So do some posters still think that Akira Ioane is higher up the pecking order than Luke Whitelock? I'm very happy for Luke, he was gifted a test cap years before he was actually ready, and was perhaps deservedly ridiculed by some people because of this. However he has become a very reliable and accurate player for both Canterbury and the Highlanders and has thoroughly deserved this call-up. I hope he plays really well.
@canerbry said in All Blacks Squad for France:
@cantab79 Bryn Hall over Weber too right now
Hall is a funny one, no-one seems to rate him. Even Scott Robertson seems to rate him on par with Drummond - hence why he rotates them evenly. I must be watching a different player because I rate him highly, and if it were up to me he'd always start for the Crusaders. I think he's a really talented player but he just never seems to even be in the discussion for the All Blacks.
Without wanting to appear to be advocating for him to be in the RWC squad, but in the spirit of this thread we could do worse than including Brayden Ennor in the squad. He's a quality young centre, a position where we lack depth, and can cover either wing or fullback as a utility squad member.
@duluth said in Hurricanes v Crusaders:
@cantab79 said in Hurricanes v Crusaders:
I'm interested to see how Whetukamokamo Douglas goes at 6, he's had limited opportunities this season.
Plus Sanders returning from injury on the bench. He looked like he was about to break through after the North/South game but hasn't had much time since then.
A questions for the Cantabs - what do you think of Grace at 8? I rate him but he looks more suited to 6?
I agree that he's more suited to 6. He plays very tight, basically like a 3rd lock. And he lacks the top-end acceleration off the back of the scrum that an elite 8 needs. If the Crusaders had more depth in their backrow I don't think he'd be playing 8 right now. He looks like a blindside flanker covering at no.8, IMO.
Seems more and more likely that Joseph and Rennie have both heard through the grapevine that the recruitment process is a farce. No point burning all their goodwill at NZR by being part of recruitment process of which the outcome has already been decided. Don't be surprised if Robertson drops out soon, and NZR award Foster the job as the last candidate standing.
I thought aside from a couple of early wobbles, that our wingers completely nullified the Springbok's kicking game. Bridge and Reece were both very safe. I know fans can watch the same game and see different things depending on their perception and what they are looking for, but I cannot agree that Reiko Ioane is anywhere near George Bridge when it comes to kick reception skills. It's been one of Bridge's strengths since his career started. Reiko Ioane is brilliant with ball in hand, and is stronger/more powerful, but George Bridge pips him in just about every other skillset.
@Tim said in 2017 Bledisloe Cup & Rugby Championship (4 Nations):
Riccitelli looked out of his depth during much of the season. Parsons and Funnell would be better choices.
Yeah I would agree with that sentiment. As a Crusaders fan I watched all of Funnell's minutes in SR this year, he has trimmed down (was always prone to carrying a bit of baby fat) and his set piece work is accurate. In saying the 3rd hooker won't get much game time and Riccitelli has been in camp previously. Hopefully Coles will be back to full training and playing duty very soon.
When you say "well travelled path" you mean it's happened once? With Steve Hansen? Scott Robertson has has success at every level as a coach, at club, U20's, provincial and Super Rugby levels. Why would he or should he play second fiddle to an absolute pretender like Ian Foster who has never had any success as a Head Coach?
@derpus said in SRA: Final. Crusaders vs Chiefs:
What's the deal with the reffing? There is no interpretation that allows the ref to award Reece a yellow. Direct contact to the head without a mitigating factor is red. O'Keefe seemed to say that it didn't result in serious harm and so it was just a yellow.
Both Nanai-Seturo's high tackles were also direct contact to the head.
I would have thought that 25K would be perfect for a city of CHCH's size? Small enough to maintain a great atmosphere for Super Rugby or Mitre 10 Cup games, but bigger than the temporary stadium that is currently been used. Brisbane has nearly 2 million people, and its major stadium holds only 52,000.
@act-crusader said in Hurricanes v Crusaders:
@tim said in Hurricanes v Crusaders:
@act-crusader Sione Havili is a good tackler but is more of a 6.5 type of player.
I agree. He’s active in defence but we need a bit more attack from our loosies.
His problem is that he isn't a pilfering threat at the breakdown and he doesn't feature with ball in hand. Which to be honest you could say the same about all our backrow options 
@NightmareHitter said in Are you watching the death rattle of all authentic sports?:
I feel greatly saddened and wanted to express this. Not sure others feel the same way but....
After almost 38 years of passionate (and i mean passionate) sports following of Rugby, league, cricket and boxing etc I feel we are now watching the death of true competitive sports.
Politics has fully taken over now.
Freedom of speech no longer exists
Money dictates the ruling opinion
This rugby world cup potentially could have a host of world-class athletes sitting on ths sidelines and a lot of people not tuning in because of peoples beliefs. To believe in and to believe not.
The end of true sport is almost here.
Why? Because of politics.
End of the day everyone is different and everyone should be allowed freedom of speech and belief. Whether you agree with their opinions is up to you.
An atheist, a Christian, a Satanist, a Muslim, a capitalist, a socialist should all be welcome to play and all welcome to have their own opinions they can express. We dont have to agree with them.
Isn't that normal life anyhow?
Politics is using sports to enforce cultural identity. The day this was allowed was the day true sports died.
The days of the best playing the best are about to leave us. What we will be left with is an inferior product.
And not true sport.
What we are left with is what we are conditioned to be allowed to watch.
Politics should have no place in sport.
Its not about right or wrong because they are clearly subjective.
Enjoy what true fair sport you have left now because its almost over.
The last 38 years were a pleasure.
Hysterical post. And a ridiculous one. "Politics" has nothing to do with the way Israel Folau is being sanctioned by Rugby Australia. I'm very happy to watch a sport where bigotry and prejudice are not tolerated.
I really like Ennor, but I cannot see how he can break into the AB's this year short of some significant injuries. His point of difference is that he can play both wings, fullback and centre. Being able to play both wings is handy but not that rare. But centre is one of the challenging positions in the game, and being able to play 13 as well is a valuable trait.