All Blacks vs Tonga
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks vs Tonga:
@mariner4life There's so many things it could be. I've picked your man ALB above. You don't want him paired with Sonny Bill? There's only one vacant space in that midfield, my friend - you know it and I know it!
Rieko? Ben Smith?
If you don’t declare ALB starting, captain, our most important player and one of our best ever midfielders then you will attract the ire of @mariner4life
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@No-Quarter said in All Blacks vs Tonga:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks vs Tonga:
@mariner4life There's so many things it could be. I've picked your man ALB above. You don't want him paired with Sonny Bill? There's only one vacant space in that midfield, my friend - you know it and I know it!
Rieko? Ben Smith?
If you don’t declare ALB starting, captain, our most important player and one of our best ever midfielders then you will attract the ire of @mariner4life
AND all right minded rugby viewers.
Any other suggestions are just bog standard trolling
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@mariner4life http://stats.allblacks.com/asp/profile.asp?ABID=1153
The number of times he's worn those 22 and 23 jerseys - Hansen's trolled you quite a lot!
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If I'm honest, the midfielder selection doesn't worry me in the slightest. While I really like ALB (hard to believe I know) any combination of the 4 will be pretty fucking good. We're very stacked at 12 and 13.
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Only watched the first half, but will drop these truth bombs and then vacate
Bridge looks to me like RW or utility playing on the wrong wing. But still good, but would like to see Reiko back on his game.
Smith still looked a bit slow when put in space.
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks vs Tonga:
If I'm honest, the midfielder selection doesn't worry me in the slightest. While I really like ALB (hard to believe I know) any combination of the 4 will be pretty fucking good. We're very stacked at 12 and 13.
Yeah.
After yesterday I can't believe I'd leave Crotty out of the 23, but I would. (12 Dubs, 13 Goodhue, 22. ALB)
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@booboo said in All Blacks vs Tonga:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks vs Tonga:
If I'm honest, the midfielder selection doesn't worry me in the slightest. While I really like ALB (hard to believe I know) any combination of the 4 will be pretty fucking good. We're very stacked at 12 and 13.
Yeah.
After yesterday I can't believe I'd leave Crotty out of the 23, but I would. (12 Dubs, 13 Goodhue, 22. ALB)
From being an area of uncertainty MF is now looking pretty flush with options. The team are coming together right on time
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@canefan said in All Blacks vs Tonga:
The team are coming together right on time
you mean like the coaches knew what they were upto all along?
#trusttheprocess
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks vs Tonga:
One more, what was with the ball? It looked like they lost the match ball and had to play with the old faded training ball
Yeah I never noticed but it looks crap
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@Machpants said in All Blacks vs Tonga:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks vs Tonga:
One more, what was with the ball? It looked like they lost the match ball and had to play with the old faded training ball
Yeah I never noticed but it looks crap
That's what happens when you keep grounding it for a try.
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@antipodean said in All Blacks vs Tonga:
@Machpants said in All Blacks vs Tonga:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks vs Tonga:
One more, what was with the ball? It looked like they lost the match ball and had to play with the old faded training ball
Yeah I never noticed but it looks crap
That's what happens when you keep grounding it for a try.
I saw it but couldn't make out the pattern. Thought it might be a tropical flower on each end
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@booboo said in All Blacks vs Tonga:
@Nepia said in All Blacks vs Tonga:
TBH, the coaches can't have learned anything from this match.
Really? Think they did some good stuff they'll build on. Particularly early. Later on, not so much.
I was more meaning about making comparisons between players. It was nearly an opposed training run rather than a proper match.
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Very one-sided affair. ABs forwards looking to be in great condition. Excellent passing performance by the inside backs. Woeful defence from Tonga. ABs' Back Three had enough about them to cut a disorganised defence to pieces again and again. Good to give Josh Ioane some game time, just in case they need to fly him out to Japan later in the tournament.
Two negatives for me.
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No Jack Goodhue. Been out with the hamstring injury for a while. Is he going to be fit for RWC?
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Beauden Barrett's kicking from hand was substandard. Richie M is now the clear first-choice First Five.
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This is probably not a very popular opinion, but I think that ALB is playing a bit better right now.
So, assuming they keep either Crotty or SBW at 12, Goodhue may not get a run.
Btw, I’d probably have ALB and Goodhue as my first choice - although I doubt that is the selector’s thinking.
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@booboo said in All Blacks vs Tonga:
@Salacious-Crumb said in All Blacks vs Tonga:
@Machpants said in All Blacks vs Tonga:
Still listening to the conference, Hansen very grumpy, back to bad old Hansen
His jab at the press at the 6:12 mark was awesome. Calls them out for being lazy boring useless time-wasters.
Didn't think his reactions were all that necessary.
What are the questions they should have been asking?
Something not along the lines of the boring "emotional" crap most were.
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