AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?

[Chris B.]

@Bones said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:

@KiwiMurph said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:

One thing in Lomax's favour is the ABs forwards coach has plenty of knowledge about him.

I quite like him - definitely doesn't go backwards. Solid in contact (like Moli), just needs to knuckle down and play rugby.

He's the way of the future (Howard Hughes).

If he's not our tighthead prop at 2023 RWC we will have a fucking good one.

[Bones]

@Chris-B said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:

@Bones said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:

@KiwiMurph said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:

One thing in Lomax's favour is the ABs forwards coach has plenty of knowledge about him.

I quite like him - definitely doesn't go backwards. Solid in contact (like Moli), just needs to knuckle down and play rugby.

He's the way of the future (Howard Hughes).

If he's not our tighthead prop at 2023 RWC we will have a fucking good one.

Maybe Mitch Hunt.

Or Sotutu.

[Chris B.]

@Bones He's the guy I'm putting my speculative prop money on.

Will Jordan and Shannon Frizell will be fucking good from Ta$man as well.

Mitch Hunt will struggle to get past Richie Mo'unga, but will be great from the bench!

[mariner4life]

@Chris-B 23

[voodoo]

@gt12 said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:

@Bovidae

One hopes. I think the bench is crucial too.

Allowing me to pick some injured players, I think we would be very dangerous if we can get the following players in form:

1. Moody 17. Big Karl /Moli

2. Taylor 16. Coles/Aumua

3. Ofa 18. Ta'avao/ Lomax

4. Patty T 19. Robinson/Barrett

5. Whitelock

6. Ioane /Robinson 20. Savea

7. Cane

8. Sotutu

9. Smith 21. TJP

10. Barrett 22. Mo'unga

11. Ioane

12. ALB

13. Goodhue

14. Clarke / Bridge (I really really want Alaimalo to stand up for this spot, but he's miles away right now)

15. Dmac / Jordan 23 Barrett

Uggh, just uggghhh. I don't have any massive issues with selections (Dmac aside) , but this team just looks ripe to get pumped by all-comers.

[mariner4life]

@Chris-B said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:

@mariner4life said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:

@Tim said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:

@Bones ALB/Goodhue, ALB/Ioane, Goodhue/Ioane, and Goodhue/ALB all lack a dominant midfield ball carrier, and rely on a player who looks to take the outside break.

we don't really have one in the country because we are at that point in our cycle where we abhor "bashers" and think skill and fitness is absolutely everything

which it absolutely is for Super Rugby if I'm being fair.

I agree totally with that philosophy. Size is important - you need some big guys in the backs to get you over the gain line, you need a big blindside in the forwards to take lineout ball and to provide bulk on defence, and if you have too many small guys in the backs the opposition will get over the gain line too frequently and easily.

I'm confused, are you agreeing with me or disagreeing with me?

[Chris B.]

@mariner4life Basic English mofo - I'm agreeing with you.

If you'd paid some attention to my brilliant posts over the years, I always favour a bit of size.

And I'm not meaning Debbie does Dallas!

Mofo!!!

[mariner4life]

@Chris-B said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:

@mariner4life Basic English mofo - I'm agreeing with you.

If you'd paid some attention to my brilliant posts over the years, I always favour a bit of size.

And I'm not meaning Debbie does Dallas!

Mofo!!!

My bad bruss

When in doubt pick the bigger harder guy

Yeah yeah bones it writes itself.

[Chris B.]

@mariner4life Yeah bones!

[antipodean]

@gt12 Lomax was schooled last weekend and DMac should be nowhere near a black jersey on form.

ALB hasn't been covering himself in glory either.

[Chris B.]

@mariner4life My bad bro, my irony meter was switched off - or set on alanis or something.

[Bones]

@mariner4life don't try and get me involved in your circle jerk you filthy bastard.

[junior]

@Bovidae said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:

We don't have a Nonu available. Laumape isn't that either as his distribution is more like Nonu c2003.

You need to have all 3 on the field so that's (11) Ioane, (12) ALB and (13) Goodhue.

ALB is not an outstanding 12, but he's much better there than Goodhue. I don't mind that combination with Rieko at 11. It also allows us to move Rieko into 13 later in the game where his running game may be more useful.

[junior]

@Chris-B said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:

@junior said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:

@mariner4life said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:

@Bovidae said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:

@Crucial said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:

@Machpants said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:

Word. Clarke had to be in, he is a real weapon with all the extra skills.

Needs a touch more experience and he looks like he could be Bridge with a bit more power.

Clarke is young, but needs to get himself more involved if the ball isn't going his way.

how many games had our starting wingers in a RWC semi final played? combined? If you are good enough...

I'm pretty over the "safe" wing spot. I think the trench warfare of test rugby needs a couple of game breakers out wide.

Agree with this. Look at the Pom and Safe wings at the 2019 RWC and every one of them had that "extra" ability to beat a man, which can be a crucial outlet in a tight test match. Look at the value the Poms got out of their wings in that semi as compared to the 3/5 of fuck all we got from ours. It was almost like they'd swapped jerseys before the match. Similarly, the Saffa wings were absolutely terrific in the final, especially late on when defenders are fatigues and there to be beaten by someone capable of using a bit of footwork.

Maybe apart from Jonny May who was a cripple that got run down by Scott Barrett.

Granted, in that match, yes. But, he's generally got that very express pace that allows him to beat a man consistently and turn a kick chase into a real weapon. For all George's ability to run really fast in a straight line, I'm not sure we have have that (although in fairness to George this may have more to do with a shit kicking game).

[junior]

@Chris-B said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:

@mariner4life said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:

@Tim said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:

@Bones ALB/Goodhue, ALB/Ioane, Goodhue/Ioane, and Goodhue/ALB all lack a dominant midfield ball carrier, and rely on a player who looks to take the outside break.

we don't really have one in the country because we are at that point in our cycle where we abhor "bashers" and think skill and fitness is absolutely everything

which it absolutely is for Super Rugby if I'm being fair.

I agree totally with that philosophy. Size is important - you need some big guys in the backs to get you over the gain line, you need a big blindside in the forwards to take lineout ball and to provide bulk on defence, and if you have too many small guys in the backs the opposition will get over the gain line too frequently and easily.

Yes and with certified midgets playing at 9 and 10 (and possibly also 11), we need a decent amount of size in the backrow and midfield to balance that out.

[gt12]

@junior

I agree, but I’d like to see us getting props who can use their size too.

One of the biggest things that Ireland and England had were ball runners in the front 3, and we’ve got fuck all out of ours for too long.

[Bovidae]

@gt12 said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:

@Bovidae

One hopes. I think the bench is crucial too.

Allowing me to pick some injured players, I think we would be very dangerous if we can get the following players in form:

3. Ofa 18. Ta'avao/ Lomax

I don't see Angus in the frame. Right time, right place for him last year.

Now that Cron is gone we might see Ofa used as a TH prop for the ABs, instead of playing most of his minutes on the LH side.

I would prefer Laulala to start at TH and bring Ofa off the bench. That is the best way to use both players. Lomax has gone backwards this year.

[Victor Meldrew]

@Crucial said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:

Reiko needs to be left at centre now. He has made the move a bit earlier than most wingers but now he has, he needs to develop the experience there. Moving him around again will be a backward step.

Kinda agree. His confidence seemed to go in 2019 and he's too good a player to ignore and needs handling carefully.

Can't see him being the starting 13 over Goodhue at the moment though. I think his best position in any new AB squad is as a 13 who can also play 11 & 14.

[canefan]

@Victor-Meldrew it worked for Kahui

[gt12]

@Bovidae

I agree actually - Moli would be a way better bet for the future if he went back to TH.

I don’t think Laulala is playing well. He’s been a liability with his handling and does piss all with the ball in hand.

I’m not sure how great he is as a lifter and I’ll need to watch his clean work better, but I think Ofa is playing better all around.