The Silver Fern

@MajorRage gotta say. I was a bit confused when I saw this thread at the top of the Unread topic list, then I saw @African-Monkey ’s post 🤪

May as well make it a communal thread now!

@antipodean said in Athletics:

Faith Kipyegon ran 4:06.42 for the mile with her pacers.

I watched it. So noticeable how much harder she was working than the pacers. Not often you see middle distance men and women running together. Good on her for having a crack, but it’s going to be a fair while before any feeble goes under 4mins

@antipodean said in Force v British Lions:

I didn’t watch as am o/s.

But I see the Force had more possession and territory, had more carries, had to make less tackles and also missed less tackles, conceded less penalties, but got whacked by 47 points.

Yikes

@Nepia said in TV Serieseseses:

@voodoo said in TV Serieseseses:

S4 of The Bear dropped today - 10 Episodes, no drip-feeding. And I board a 24hr flight tmrw avo.

Happy days. Even if S3 kinda sucked.

Nice, I have Disney for four months for $5.

Aside from the first ep (the one that was just a montage) I think I quite liked S3.

@taniwharugby said in TV Serieseseses:

Ah damn, didnt realise they had canned that!

Me either, bummer, that was a good show.

You liked S3? I feel like nothing really happened. And I really didn’t need an entire episode on Tina’s backstory

S4 of The Bear dropped today - 10 Episodes, no drip-feeding. And I board a 24hr flight tmrw avo.

Happy days. Even if S3 kinda sucked.

@mariner4life said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:

@voodoo said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:

@KiwiMurph said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:

Last time Lions did a tour in 2021 France sent a weakened squad to Australia and nearly won the series with 3 tests that all went down to the wire.

That was an absolute ripper of a series

Played Wednesday nights for midweek beers as well!

Like we needed an excuse for Wednesday beers…

@KiwiMurph said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:

Last time Lions did a tour in 2021 France sent a weakened squad to Australia and nearly won the series with 3 tests that all went down to the wire.

That was an absolute ripper of a series

I tried to watch Foundation S1 when it came out, but struggled with the slow pace - did anyone persevere with S1 and S2 and was it worth it?

@MiketheSnow said in Movie review thread...:

Mountainhead

Mountainhead (2025) ⭐ 5.4 | Drama

1h 48m | TV-MA

Some amusing scenes but far too clever for its own good

2 Glengarrys out of 5 Glen Rosses

Generous! Not good

@dogmeat thanks for this 🙏

@canefan said in 2025 All Blacks Squad v France:

@booboo said in 2025 All Blacks Squad v France:

@Mauss said in 2025 All Blacks Squad v France:

Not that I really want to rehash the above discussion but for what little that it’s worth, in my view Jordie is most at home as a 12 and Will Jordan is (becoming) a 14/15.

Blaming Jordie for getting smashed behind the gainline is like blaming a Barrett for having a shit haircut: it’s the shape that matters. France didn’t simply launch a guy like Jonathan Danty (110 kg+) into the Bok defensive line in the RWC quarter final, they used short kicks over the top, they used wide passes off of turnover ball, they used box kicks, switch plays to the blindside, quick taps, pick-and-go’s, all to misdirect and overload the Bok defensive line speed.

In the entire first half, Danty carried the ball in first phase just three times: in the first one, he was stopped dead in his tracks and nearly turned over. In the second, he ran a hard line off a lineout, targeting Libbok in the defensive line. And in the third, he was manhandled by De Allende. For the majority, France manipulated the Bok defence in order to get Danty to run at single defenders in broken field play.

Jordie got smashed because the AB attack in the opening 20 minutes was too slow, too conservative and didn’t attack the space that was available with enough conviction. Put any other 12 in world rugby on the attacking backfoot against Du Toit, Etzebeth and Vermeulen and it’s easy to predict what will happen (putting Tupaea or Tavatavanawai in the same situation will change very little). Jordie Barrett has both the tools (passing off left and right, kicking game, offload, defensive prowess, breakdown threat) and the instincts (decision-making in tight spaces, communication, scanning, physicality) to be a very good midfielder. What he needs around him is an AB attack shape which is ambitious and clever, and is able to properly showcase his particular skillset.

As far as Will Jordan is concerned, he, as mentioned before, has taken considerable steps as a fullback, improving his decision-making, distribution, playmaking and kicking. But there are also signs that he could be more effective on the wing at Test level as well, as he looks to have considerably improved his work in close quarter contact, whether it be in defence, at the breakdown or on the attacking edge.

The basis of this seems to be some mass added to his frame as well the way he engages contact with a set defensive line. While he always excelled at running towards weak shoulders in broken play, he struggled with ready defenders and double tackles, often losing the ball by going too upright or hesitating before going into contact. On the basis of this season, and the SR finals series especially, he seems to have worked hard on this. He scored two tries against the Blues in the semi-final by running into crowded defensive spaces and in the final, he again displayed his increased comfort in close contact:

Jordan running into contact

Jordan uses footwork to fix his defender, gets into a lower body position and accelerates into contact. While these clips might seem innocuous enough, Jordan’s increased comfort in contact makes him, in my view, more of a genuine option on the wing against aggressive defences, the latter often seeking to dominate the contact on the edge in order to push teams back towards the middle. It means Jordan can be used for attacking the opposition in multiple ways and spaces, whether it’s as a scanner and organizer at the back or whether it’s at the end of an attacking chain, where he can use his footwork and increased comfort in contact to finish a strike.

He is, in other words, slowly turning into a version of Ben Smith which, obviously, is a very good thing. Smith’s value was both his attacking vision as well as his ability to be used in different ways, giving an attack coach a unique weapon to unlock opposition defences. For me, at least, it is looking like Jordan is becoming such a multifaceted option in his own right, his ability to attack multiple spaces throughout a game something which needs to be further cultivated at Test level.

Jeez @Mauss , you write like I've got time to
a. Read
b. Understand
What you've written.

Love your stuff, but will try and comprehend it all in the morning!

I've given Mauss' last post the CGPT treatment

Jordie Barrett thrives at second five-eighth (12), with strong passing, defence, and decision-making. His recent struggles were due to a slow, conservative All Blacks attack, not individual flaws. France showed how to break down the Springboks with smart, varied play. Will Jordan, meanwhile, has improved both as a fullback and a wing. Added strength and better contact technique now make him more effective in tight spaces. His footwork and versatility allow him to attack from deep or finish wide plays. Like Ben Smith, Jordan is becoming a dynamic, multi-role weapon who should be further developed at Test level.

@Grok is this true?

@nzzp said in 2025 All Blacks Squad v France:

@nostrildamus said in 2025 All Blacks Squad v France:

According to official stats

One of the great lies.

I'll still love you in the morning.

The cheque is in the mail.

This will only hurt a little bit.

According to official rugby stats.

Promising your mate you won’t piss in his wetsuit

@ACT-Crusader said in NBA Season - now 24/25:

@canefan said in NBA Season - now 24/25:

@KiwiMurph said in NBA Season - now 24/25:

The East is going to be wide open

• No Tatum
• No Halliburton
• Knicks TBA coach

The champion will probably still emerge out of the West

OKC should be able to hold on to most of their pieces - run it back!

For one more year anyway before those guys get the chance to get properly paid - be interesting to see if they take a haircut to stay together. History says that’s unlikely

@hikastags said in NBA Season - now 24/25:

27/6/4 is average? The team was average yes, but KD was ballin out. He missed a few games sure, but there was far too much drama going on there.

Maybe i'm being harsh. For KDs standards I thought he was v average. He's still a good shooter but he can't drive effectively. Didn't play much defense. Didn't lead well when Book was out.

Unfortunately i'm a Suns fan so watched alot of it.

I'm pretty happy with the return we got considering the Suns had zero leverage. Was expecting us to get absolutely shafted.

He also shot .527 / .420 / .839 - those are crazy numbers

But more importantly, he is exactly what Houston needed

Booker was way more problematic for you guys than KD this year, though in truth all your issues go back to the terrible Beal trade. You’ve basically turned Cam Johnson and Mikal Bridges and 4 1st round draft picks into jalen green, Brooks and a 10th pick.

Oops

@hikastags said in NBA Season - now 24/25:

Suns won that trade IMO

Broooo

@dogmeat said in TSF Book Club:

I have been working my way through about 20 books (so far) by Craig Schaefer.

Without giving too much away as the saga unfolds as you proceed there are three separate but overlapping story arcs featuring respectively a likeable rogue / con man semi-mobster magician, a FBI black ops agent and a pair of unlikely heroines set in modern day USA but one where magic exists as do hell, demons and a host of other things that go bump in the night.

I discovered the author because Kindle recommended it based on my reading of Charles Stross' Laundry Files. If you enjoy that then these series will be your thing.

There are an evolving series of nebulous secret controlling adversaries. It's a very well thought out and detailed universe (well multiverse).

I read it one series after another but if you google you can read them as a timeline which would be more rewarding.

Thoroughly recommend

What’s the #1 volume to start with? Sounds interesting

She’s going to be pretty good this girl

I’m sticking with my OKC in 5 pick …😛

@Kruse said in Artificial Intelligence (Previously "Chat GPT"):

Just read Vernor Vinge's Singularity essay. Kinda interesting at how much stuff he got right so long ago, but also... how much hasn't happened... yet.
Some naivete around technical capabilities. Plenty of interesting thought-experiment around where it could all lead to.
And some prescient thoughts around what we currently think of "AI" - which is fucking bullshit - vs "real AI".

Is this a recent updated essay? If so, link?

@MiketheSnow said in Movie review thread...:

Yes please

@Bones

WTF did we just watch???