Hurricanes vs Crusaders
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@sparky said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@African-Monkey said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
Was George Bell the wrong player to invest in for the ABs last year?
Moananu looks 10 times better.
The only issue with Moananu is his height. 5 foot 8 is tiny for an international Hooker these days.
Yep, if Mbonambi had been an inch shorter, he wouldn't even have got one game of international rugby.
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And despite the comments here, I though both Love and Roigard were fine, for the shit they were fed. Neither set the world on fire, but very hard to do when you're getting smashed all over the park. The difference when Roigard went off was stark. Both did nothing to really dent their ABs prospects
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@sparky said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@African-Monkey said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
Was George Bell the wrong player to invest in for the ABs last year?
Moananu looks 10 times better.
The only issue with Moananu is his height. 5 foot 8 is tiny for an international Hooker these days.
Definite issue for Moananu.
France and SA have super-sized packs and our first choice locks and loosies are already mostly on the small size.
You can't pack much additional weight on a short hooker.
I expect Taylor and Taukeiaho to be our first choices this year for this reason - among others. Aumua should be third choice - Bell and Moananu to fight it out for 4th slot if one is required.
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@Bones said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@sparky said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@African-Monkey said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
Was George Bell the wrong player to invest in for the ABs last year?
Moananu looks 10 times better.
The only issue with Moananu is his height. 5 foot 8 is tiny for an international Hooker these days.
Yep, if Mbonambi had been an inch shorter, he wouldn't even have got one game of international rugby.
I was thinking of the same example, and he seems to go alright. I cannot see his height being an issue.
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@African-Monkey said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@Bones said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@sparky said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@African-Monkey said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
Was George Bell the wrong player to invest in for the ABs last year?
Moananu looks 10 times better.
The only issue with Moananu is his height. 5 foot 8 is tiny for an international Hooker these days.
Yep, if Mbonambi had been an inch shorter, he wouldn't even have got one game of international rugby.
I was thinking of the same example, and he seems to go alright. I cannot see his height being an issue.
If anything it's a bonus in this day and age. Has Taylor had many cards for high tackles?
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@Chris-B said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@sparky said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@African-Monkey said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
- Bell and Moananu to fight it out for 4th slot if one is required.
I’d say they view McCalister and Slater ahead of Moananu based off the last couple seasons. Credit to Moananu though, he’s definitely putting himself in those conversations.
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@booboo said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@Bones said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@Chris-B Taylor is smaller than Moananu. Bugger eh. Mauvaka is a kilo lighter.
Really? I'll believe you but wouldn't have picked it by the eye test.
I think he means lighter, not shorter. Even Riccitelli is taller than Moananu.
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@booboo said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@Bones said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@Chris-B Taylor is smaller than Moananu. Bugger eh. Mauvaka is a kilo lighter.
Really? I'll believe you but wouldn't have picked it by the eye test.
I believe that's what the internet has told Bones, which is slightly different.
Ioane Moananu's Crusaders profile says he's 173 cm and 113kgs.
So according to the internet he's a bit shorter than DMac and 21cms shorter than Akira Ioane - but he weighs in the same as Akira!
I'm sceptical!
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@Bones said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@African-Monkey said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@Bones said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@sparky said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@African-Monkey said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
Was George Bell the wrong player to invest in for the ABs last year?
Moananu looks 10 times better.
The only issue with Moananu is his height. 5 foot 8 is tiny for an international Hooker these days.
Yep, if Mbonambi had been an inch shorter, he wouldn't even have got one game of international rugby.
I was thinking of the same example, and he seems to go alright. I cannot see his height being an issue.
If anything it's a bonus in this day and age. Has Taylor had many cards for high tackles?
And as I pointed out, he uses his short height to his advantage to jackle. He's one of the best in the comp at it.
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@Chris-B said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@booboo said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@Bones said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@Chris-B Taylor is smaller than Moananu. Bugger eh. Mauvaka is a kilo lighter.
Really? I'll believe you but wouldn't have picked it by the eye test.
I believe that's what the internet has told Bones, which is slightly different.
Ioane Moananu's Crusaders profile says he's 173 cm and 113kgs.
So according to the internet he's a bit shorter than DMac and 21cms shorter than Akira Ioane - but he weighs in the same as Akira!
I'm sceptical!
You believe right, but I'm sure the numbers you'll propose instead are much more reliable.
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@booboo said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@Bones said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@Chris-B Taylor is smaller than Moananu. Bugger eh. Mauvaka is a kilo lighter.
Really? I'll believe you but wouldn't have picked it by the eye test.
Taylor is lighter, easily passes the eye test for me. I hadn't even noticed Moananu's height "issue" until it was brought up here.
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@Bones said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@Chris-B said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@booboo said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@Bones said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
@Chris-B Taylor is smaller than Moananu. Bugger eh. Mauvaka is a kilo lighter.
Really? I'll believe you but wouldn't have picked it by the eye test.
I believe that's what the internet has told Bones, which is slightly different.
Ioane Moananu's Crusaders profile says he's 173 cm and 113kgs.
So according to the internet he's a bit shorter than DMac and 21cms shorter than Akira Ioane - but he weighs in the same as Akira!
I'm sceptical!
You believe right, but I'm sure the numbers you'll propose instead are much more reliable.
You'd be disappointed if I said I couldn't!
Happily, I'm pretty sure I can - at least in terms of the weights listed on the Crusaders' website - and simply by pointing out obvious anomalies.
So here's their team and you can scan over with your mouse to see the assigned weights pop up.
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Kyle Preston - Crusaders website 30 kgs. Chris B. Haven't really even looked at him, but I'm going to say 82kgs and bank something like 50kgs to my credit!
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Turning to the hookers, because that's what we're discussing.
For reference: the internet suggest Taukeiaho at 115-120kgs and I think that's not far away. He's probably close to 120kgs these days.
Taylor's not as big, but he's a decent sized international hooker who rarely gets out-muscled. I'd say 115kgs - Crusaders'website says 111kgs.
George Bell - Crusaders website 121kgs. Chris B. 113kgs. 10kgs bigger than Taylor??? - get that boy in the ABs!
Ioane Moananu - Crusaders website 113 kgs. Chris B. 109kgs. About the same as Asafo Aumua. (I think Akira is probably a couple of kgs heavier these days than his 113kgs).Other wrong ones.
Bower Crusaders 113 kgs, Chris B. 123kgs
Shalfoon Crusaders 103kgs. Chris B. 118 kgs.
Saifoloi Crusaders 120kgs Chris B. 114kgs. -
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Peter Lakai had his best spell of the season in the final 30 minutes of Friday’s game against the Crusaders. During that period, he had 9 carries, 8 of which across the gain-line, a try, 7 cleans, 3 breakdown contests, a lineout take, beat 3 defenders, won 2 turnovers and made 5 tackles.
But more importantly, he put the team on his back and led the fightback from the Hurricanes. Watching his performance, I was reminded of a recent interview with Nick Easter, the former England number eight, during the Six Nations where he discussed England’s options there and what he looks for in the position. He said: “I like my guys in the No.8 role to be like Alldritt and Duane Vermeulen, nuts and bolts guys who do the fundamentals on the back of the scrum with the ability to get everything moving forward. They are the guys who give the rest of the pack a target” [https://www.rugbypass.com/news/tom-willis-can-become-englands-answer-to-world-class-gregory-alldritt/].
Giving the rest of the pack a target, I think this best encapsulates what Lakai did in this game. He started the comeback with a line-break on the wing, after turnover ball, beating Tom Christie with the fend before accelerating and smartly passing back inside to his support.
The defining trait of Lakai’s 30-minute spell can perhaps best be characterized as ‘acceleration’: he continuously sped up the game, often acting as the 9 to continue the attacking movement or making a dominant clean to ensure quick ball. With the Crusader defence on the back foot, Lakai wanted to continuously increase the pressure, for example, by taking the quick tap inside the 22 after a penalty.
Lakai, in other words, clearly understood his role as a number eight during this part of the game: it was to keep the team going forward.
Ultimately, the Hurricanes came up short but those final 30 minutes did provide a template for the team. Lakai’s task for the rest of the season seems clear now as well: it is to keep repeating these kinds of performances, providing a target for the rest of the pack to follow, and ultimately lead them into the final six.
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Dead right, he looks so good at 8! Maybe the open spaces and broken play suit him even more than at 7?
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@nostrildamus said in Hurricanes vs Crusaders:
Dead right, he looks so good at 8! Maybe the open spaces and broken play suit him even more than at 7?
To be honest, I think Lakai’s game translates well to both positions. Even when playing at 8, he still does a lot of stuff you’d associate more with the openside-role (playing close to source, offering support and cleaning, disrupting breakdowns). He’s a bit like Aldritt, in that he’s getting through so much work that it often looks like he’s playing both positions at the same time.
But when he plays like he did in that final quarter on Friday then he really does look like a proper number 8. You'd want the ball in his hands as much as possible, whereas at 7 that aspect of his game wouldn't be as prominent.
