@Rembrandt Jan is not a wrestler, he has very good Muy Thai, beat prime Izzy on the feet, destroyed Ankalaev on the feet, then lost (drew) the fight due to poor wrestling. His wrestling is ok and he has solid jiujitsu. could see him mixing it up and using takedowns if required, Ulberg much younger and more athletic as Jan now 40s?
Dan I dont think can handle the damage of Gaethje, but love to see him win. Imo Dan has to fight outside technical, but he seems to botch it when he tries that
Rush very poor at the back of scrum vs counties. Maybe left 10 points from that alone.
@kev I think northland set piece goes very well this year. They have a few veterans who are good at this side of the game. This game, I worry about the loose heads (2 starters out) at scrum time and the young mid fielder on the wing vs the contestables Canterbury use a lot.
Northland at $101 to win is crazy for a team I can see making the top 8
@Duluth very different packs each half for northland. But for the majority, set pieces were even. Auckland had a scrum advantage with certain front rows. Auckland looked to play the Blues Power game up the middle, which was very effective, but I think teams will just have to learn how to defend it rather than it being a quality issue.
Northland back 3 in particular did not offer very much and starting half back was very club level.
Northland on defense a lot because of bad game management and bad kicking. Alot of aucklands tries just very poor 1v1 defense on the wings.
Fairly harsh comments.
Auckland fielded a super 15 laden squad. And have a huge depth advantage vs northland and always will.
Northland look like they had 10 caps outside lisati milo-Harris in the backline. I would say, look to have signed too many youngsters in the backs.
Northland having 10 starters out and auckland having 10 starters out is not equal.
Funny one in Dargaville, Sharks vs Kamo.
Kamo no B team and still went uncontested after 35 minutes after sharks pulverized the scrum.
I have never seen such a dominate team lose the match, Sharks must've dropped 7 tries. Kamo has no forward pack but get by with a very tidy kicking game and just working for the 80 minutes.
I don't think finishing school or university are at all important in this day and age. The ones that stay just for 1st xv especially so.
@Steven-Harris time to cut super rugby.
😉
@MN5 hes terrible aye....
Dircus looks horrendous on the feet and scores a powerful KO win haha.
Really looks like an amateur. Tough though, Like a Vettori who can actually hurt people. May give adesanya Trouble but just seems way too stiff and slow.
Volk way too good. Great win for Hooker chin seems to be back.
@MiketheSnow can't see it. I think Whittaker get his first ko in a while
@Billy-Tell I think the blues attack does 10x better with Goodhue than ioane at 13.
Man knows how to find his wingers
Leon Mcdonald is the new Ian Foster. The cycle repeats.
@SouthernMann Northland resigned most of last year's squad. Very few spots available I'd imagine
@taniwharugby how he played 2 or 3 seasons at fb I will never know. George konia...
His games at 11 he had an excellent boot and he got very stuck in.
I think he has lost pace and explosivness though, out of school he was 1st 2nd and 3rd in nz across the 3 athletic throws.
@Bones as a Northland supporter, the only good games we got out of him were in 11.
@MN5 Perreia is not a counter fighter. Izzy is the best Counterfighter, a long counter fighter with good takedown D is Rob Whittakers nemesis as he likes to blitz in from range despite his own length being very average.
Perreia pressures you with his cage control and immense power. More single shots until he gets you trapped.
It would not be an easy fight for rob, but if he get Pereiras Back early in a round he could really work him over. Rob Mixes it up very well, and he could KO him or submit him on the ground. Rob would have to avoid calf kicks at all costs.
@taniwharugby Moulds will be lucky to play, returning from achilles injuries are no easy feat, and 9 months return is fast. So Olsen is an insurance policy theyll need to get him back to NPC fitness etc.
Most of last years squad has been re-signed by all accounts so very few contracts to hand out.
@Crucial it used be his strength.
He has genuinely gotten worse with years of professional coaching
@Crucial The vast Majority of income all comes from the All Blacks anyway. The PI nations also offer no considerable income for their players, The All Blacks payments would still be a significant portion of a players earnings
Domestic comps in traditional soccer countries still perform very well despite not being tier one comps.
Aussie struggles becuase they are Competing and losing with league for telent.
South Africa won the world cup with even looser rules than Aus.
@Crucial I think NZ Needs to start selecting form overseas.
Super Rugby is losing a whole squad (-30) of Starting players this year. The Conveyer belt isnt big enough. The Highlanders can hardly get a full squad this year and alot of squads already contain 'Future" players.
Overseas comps have got better, the best coaches are in those comps. It would reduce NZ rugbys overheads (smaller all black contracts). Soccer is a professional model tried and tested. the bigger economies rule the roost with club comps.