The Silver Fern

Agree, it's a crisis that has been building for a long time. I was surprised to see a japanese player playing 10 for Canterbury the other day. If Canterbury don't have someone coming through the Crusader academy, it's a bit concerning.

I think a major issue in NZ rugby is treating almost every 10 in the country as a 10/15 hybrid and thinking that game time at 15 will prepare them for games at 10.
Then when young players get the opportunity at 10, they are unprepared for the lack of time and space.

I think young players need to be given time to settle into becoming good 10s. Watching Plummer this season was a great example of that, even though he has been moved around more than most, with some consistent time there he was able to shine.

@ruggabee said in Super Rugby 2024:

@TJ said in Super Rugby 2024:

@ruggabee uh huh, but I was responding to you saying only 1 Aus side had improved.

Yes that's right, a meaningful improvement would have to imply an improvement of the team's systems and structures, not simply looking at results. They are poorly coached at the lineout, at the breakdown, in defense.

No they haven't improved from last year because looking at the context they've had (so far) an easier draw and despite having a stronger squad the team's systems & structures are just as ineffective/poor as last year..

They've had an easier draw than last year? I'm comparing their season so far against the entire season last year, so even if their season ended this round they're up on last year. The draw doesn't come into it.

They're playing much better rugby than last year, definitely a much improved team this year.

@ruggabee uh huh, but I was responding to you saying only 1 Aus side had improved.
I think when you really interrogate it this season has been far more competitive and unpredictable and as a result a far more enjoyable watch than the last few years.

@ruggabee said in Super Rugby 2024:

@frugby The Reds are the only side who've improved, the Brumbies were competitive against NZ franchises and tested them at the breakdown last season with Laurie Fisher there, now with him gone it's back to blowout scores like 46-7, 46-12. They really took it to a more experienced & Chiefs team (compared to 2024) in the Semi Final at Waikato last year. They are back to home-track bullies who invariably wilt against NZ teams in NZ because Lord Laurie isn't there and he was one of the very few Australian coaches who had adequate knowledge of how & where to exploit NZ sides.

Well the Rebels have already won 1 more game than they did last year despite losing to the lowly Crusaders, so I'd say they've also improved.

Enjoyed that match, Reece, Grace, Roigard and Moorby standouts or me. Thought Tosi and TJ were great when they came on too.

Mostly, how great is it that the gap between the top and bottom of the table is so tight?

@Chris that's crazy when RA have just announced they're going to take on up $60 million in debt over the same period. Be interested to see how much funding they get.

@Duluth it just strikes me as wild that the 3rd best 10 in Auckland and the 3rd best 10 in Canterbury (incl Mounga) are players who predominantly play midfield and most likely won't play 10 regularly at a higher level.

I have been thinking for a while that NZ is extremely poor in the development of 10s, would love to know if the talent just isn't coming through or if there just isn't trust in young 10s, they so often seem to get pushed to fullback to develop.

@Bovidae it probably was a selection decision, but that suggests there are no 10s they trust enough for a Quarterfinal. Poihipi was good and has filled in there before, but he isn't going to be a long term 10.

A sad indictment on NZ rugby that two of the biggest provinces in the country finished the game with a 12 playing at 10. Scary the lack of depth.

In good news, I thought Burke has really improved this season, seems the most composed 10 in the comp. Hopefully the injury isn't as bad as it looked.

@Steven-Harris the only mention of ticket sales I can see in that link is a comment about a 44% increase in membership last year, is there something I'm missing?

It does make sense though, I can't think of any domestic rugby team that would fill Eden Park week after week.

I thought Stevenson had left the squad? Have seen him lurking around in the warm ups.

Interesting that so many on here are criticising BB for the bombs from the 22 without mentioning how often Mounga did the same thing so was clearly a strategy the coaches wanted.

Won't be looking to this forum for selection decisions after all the bagging of Frizell.

@Steve said in Argentina v All Blacks:

At this stage of the cycle we should have a core 12 players and then time and wiggle room for a flavour of the month , a Milner Skudder type with the hot hand (Stevenson) to be the icing on the cake.

Your core 12 players are De Groot, Taukeiaho, Lomax, Retallick, Whitelock, Cane, Savea, Smith, Mounga, J Barrett, Ioane, Jordan.

They're playing the Boks 6 days after this match on the other side of the world so of course they're resting players, particularly those who had a full on Super season.

I'm no fan of Foster but my god the whining on here is pretty insufferable at times, the ABs have named a weakened team, we don't all agree with it, but it's happened before it'll happen again. Life goes on.

@pakman ah, the forward pass that lead to a Crusaders lineout near halfway was the crucial game changing decision that warrants all the complaining?

Should've been picked up for sure, but there were a lot of other things that the Chiefs had to get wrong to turn that into a try.

You've got your mind set on being a victim tonight so I'll leave you to that.

@pakman not sure which 7 points the Crusaders were credited with, but if you're complaining about the Dmac penalty at the lineout, he was a long way offside, not even close.

Also, you know you're watching rugby right? If you watch every ruck really closely you could debate that a penalty could've been awarded to either side. Given there was nothing outrageous missed I'd say it was a good reffing performance.

So from my perspective it's pretty sad to be focusing on the ref and completely missing the satisfaction of a great match,as I say that is the shame of modern rugby, boiling down to 2 sides complaining about the ref.

@Machpants there have been a few whinges from coaches lately, missed half time so didn'thear it. There is a lot to be said for sucking it up.

Pretty pathetic end to an awesome game with the crowd booing the refs. To watch that game and come away whinging about the ref is everything wrong with rugby these days.

@kiwi_expat this is mostly rubbish. He has had some good attacking players, but definitely 4th of the 5 NZ teams. I think there has been a fair bit of exaggeration about how bad the Hurricanes have been this year and for very small margins they'd be in the semis.

@African-Monkey said in Hurricanes vs Blues:

@TJ said in Hurricanes vs Blues:

@Stargazer said in Hurricanes vs Blues:

Thoughts? Neck-roll?

Thought a clear yellow card at the time. Rieko personifies this Blues team for me, so talented, but just does stupid things at times.

You'd think we'd only won 3 out of our last 26 games instead of it being the other way round the way you make it out.

Would you? Seems an odd take on me saying the team is really talented but does stupid things sometimes. Sorry to strike you at a sensitive time.

@Stargazer said in Hurricanes vs Blues:

Thoughts? Neck-roll?

Thought a clear yellow card at the time. Rieko personifies this Blues team for me, so talented, but just does stupid things at times.