All Blacks v Argentina I
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Likely 23 going from latest updates in the media:
- De Groot
- Taylor
- Newell
- Barrett (c)
- Holland
- Va'ai
- Kirifi
- Savea
- Ratima
- Barrett
- Ioane
- Barrett
- Proctor
- Reece
- Jordan
- Taukei'aho
- Norris
- Tosi
- Parker
- Lakai
- Preston/Christie
- McKenzie
- Tavatavanawai/Leinert-Brown
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@Frank said in All Blacks v Argentina I:
I just don't want to see Savea and Kirifi on the field at the same time - like ever.
Lol you'll likely see it this week.
According to the Justin Marshall, Razor is a massive fan of Peter Lakai so I doubt we'll see Kirifi and Savea together much longer than this week.
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@Canes4life said in All Blacks v Argentina I:
@Frank said in All Blacks v Argentina I:
I just don't want to see Savea and Kirifi on the field at the same time - like ever.
Lol you'll likely see it this week.
According to the Justin Marshall, Razor is a massive fan of Peter Lakai so I doubt we'll see Kirifi and Savea together much longer than this week.
The combo is too small for test rugby.
Lakai has more power, so that'll be an improvement -
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@Bovidae said in All Blacks v Argentina I:
Having Savea, Kirifi and Lakai in the 23 goes against everything they are saying about wanting size. Lakai OR Kirifi.
Lakai is much more suited to test rugby than Kirifi. He is built like a brick shithouse and will only put on more size as he develops. He's got the power game that not many other loosies have so he will be fine IMO.
I don't think it will be a regular thing. I don't see Kirifi as a permanent fixture in the 23 moving forward, injuries will force their hand this week though. They may choose to have Tuipolotu on the bench and have Parker as loose cover though.
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This is the issue with selecting utility loose forwards instead of specialists. One of your first choice players goes down and you have to shuffle players around. It's also highlighting the issue with naming Lord as injury cover for Jacobson. That cover should've been Lio-Willie, given they refuse to select Sotutu.
As far as Kirifi's concerned, I doubt he'll play many more test matches unless the team continues with the injuries they've had this season.
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If one assumes the late arrivals won’t play, we end up with Vaa’i at 6, Kirifi 7, RD 8 and Finau as bench loosie.
Then Patty T on bench for lock change at some point.
That would mean Finau covering injuries to Vaa’i or RD, and moving to 8 if Kirifi subbed at some point.
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@pakman said in All Blacks v Argentina I:
If one assumes the late arrivals won’t play, we end up with Vaa’i at 6, Kirifi 7, RD 8 and Finau as bench loosie.
Then Patty T on bench for lock change at some point.
That would mean Finau covering injuries to Vaa’i or RD, and moving to 8 if Kirifi subbed at some point.
I think you're spot on. I forgot about Finau.
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@gt12 said in All Blacks v Argentina I:
If you were keen on that, why not Parker at 8? That gives plenty of height and a guy who has been in that shirt a bit lately?
Like sparky said, I presumed that players who played NPC last weekend will only come into consideration for the second Test. That might not be the case, though, so that would change things. I wouldn’t pick Parker to start at 8, though, as he’s just back from injury and had some loose carries/poor turnovers against Southland. If the NPC players are available, I’d go for Lakai at the back of the scrum (who I think is the genuine Sititi back up, anyway).
As for the Finau at 8-thing, it's not so much that I'm keen on those selections (I'm firmly in the Sititi at 8-camp) as I'm curious to seeing the combination. It looks a bit unconventional but I think it could work pretty well. Finau plays a lot like an 8, so why not try him there. It would also add to his utility value from the bench.
Then again, I could also see how that particular combination could potentially not click in a Test. But I'd be interested in seeing how and why things would come unstuck. So yeah, for me, it's a bit of a high-risk, high-reward kind of selection. Also, if they want to go big for South Africa, this kind of loose forward trio would be interesting to look at, as a kind of trial run.
