Blues 2020
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@Bones said in Blues 2020:
Yeah look at all those really young players signing for a whole two years. Come on...four or five years eh! Never fails.
remember where we're coming from. early last year or the year before, there'd be noise about shifting franchises, players would wonder if they should commit to the Blues. Now it's 'only two year's?
I'll take it.
What we're doing more than anything is building a team people can have confidence signing for and playing in. Combine with talent scouting, and suddenly you've got a viable long term franchise that can start succeeding. I'm a broken record on this, but I am really delighted for this organisation. They have been so bad for so long, that the people turning it around must be stoked, and I'm proud of what they are doing.
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@nzzp Was good to read about what's going on inside the team yesterday.
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A very interesting read on Akira
https://tiponrugby.substack.com/p/centre-of-attention
His workload over 2018 and 2019 included 80-minute performances in 28 of his team’s 32 games, and between 2016 and 2019 he bore the highest workload in attack of any of the players charted above: he contributed 9.4% of his team’s carries during this period, while also beating defenders the most regularly and making more metres per carry than everyone except Ardie Savea and Dalton Papali’i. (Ioane averaged 2.1 more carries per 80 minutes than Savea over this period, and 6.3 more than Papali’i.) This data cannot prove or disprove that Ioane met the standards that the All Blacks selectors were asking him to meet, but it does provide evidence to contradict the assertion that only now is he providing an acceptable level of on-field performance. It is also notable that a number of positive public comments from those selectors and his Blues coaches over the last few years have been largely ignored in the framing of his story. Grant Fox’s acknowledgement prior to the 2018 end-of-year tour that Ioane was “getting better at the areas he's been asked to improve at” was published under a headline suggesting that his “star [was] on the wane”, and Leon MacDonald’s comments at the beginning of this season that Ioane had “trained really well, [and] is fit and hungry” did nothing to stop his non-selection for the opening rounds of Super Rugby being painted in the same light. -
A very interesting read on Akira
https://tiponrugby.substack.com/p/centre-of-attention
His workload over 2018 and 2019 included 80-minute performances in 28 of his team’s 32 games, and between 2016 and 2019 he bore the highest workload in attack of any of the players charted above: he contributed 9.4% of his team’s carries during this period, while also beating defenders the most regularly and making more metres per carry than everyone except Ardie Savea and Dalton Papali’i. (Ioane averaged 2.1 more carries per 80 minutes than Savea over this period, and 6.3 more than Papali’i.) This data cannot prove or disprove that Ioane met the standards that the All Blacks selectors were asking him to meet, but it does provide evidence to contradict the assertion that only now is he providing an acceptable level of on-field performance. It is also notable that a number of positive public comments from those selectors and his Blues coaches over the last few years have been largely ignored in the framing of his story. Grant Fox’s acknowledgement prior to the 2018 end-of-year tour that Ioane was “getting better at the areas he's been asked to improve at” was published under a headline suggesting that his “star [was] on the wane”, and Leon MacDonald’s comments at the beginning of this season that Ioane had “trained really well, [and] is fit and hungry” did nothing to stop his non-selection for the opening rounds of Super Rugby being painted in the same light.Fascinating blog - those stats indicate that the Chiefs were fucking suicidal to let Coventry go - and that the forward pack of the Blues is as good as it looks.
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A very interesting read on Akira
https://tiponrugby.substack.com/p/centre-of-attention
His workload over 2018 and 2019 included 80-minute performances in 28 of his team’s 32 games, and between 2016 and 2019 he bore the highest workload in attack of any of the players charted above: he contributed 9.4% of his team’s carries during this period, while also beating defenders the most regularly and making more metres per carry than everyone except Ardie Savea and Dalton Papali’i. (Ioane averaged 2.1 more carries per 80 minutes than Savea over this period, and 6.3 more than Papali’i.) This data cannot prove or disprove that Ioane met the standards that the All Blacks selectors were asking him to meet, but it does provide evidence to contradict the assertion that only now is he providing an acceptable level of on-field performance. It is also notable that a number of positive public comments from those selectors and his Blues coaches over the last few years have been largely ignored in the framing of his story. Grant Fox’s acknowledgement prior to the 2018 end-of-year tour that Ioane was “getting better at the areas he's been asked to improve at” was published under a headline suggesting that his “star [was] on the wane”, and Leon MacDonald’s comments at the beginning of this season that Ioane had “trained really well, [and] is fit and hungry” did nothing to stop his non-selection for the opening rounds of Super Rugby being painted in the same light.@KiwiMurph said in Blues 2020:
A very interesting read on Akira
No one ever questioned Akira Ioane's desire to run the ball. It was his refusal to commit to the clean out that clearly irked the AB selectors. There is a lot more to being a loose forward than running the ball.
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@KiwiMurph said in Blues 2020:
A very interesting read on Akira
No one ever questioned Akira Ioane's desire to run the ball. It was his refusal to commit to the clean out that clearly irked the AB selectors. There is a lot more to being a loose forward than running the ball.
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@KiwiMurph said in Blues 2020:
A very interesting read on Akira
No one ever questioned Akira Ioane's desire to run the ball. It was his refusal to commit to the clean out that clearly irked the AB selectors. There is a lot more to being a loose forward than running the ball.
@Cantab79 said in Blues 2020:
@KiwiMurph said in Blues 2020:
A very interesting read on Akira
No one ever questioned Akira Ioane's desire to run the ball. It was his refusal to commit to the clean out that clearly irked the AB selectors. There is a lot more to being a loose forward than running the ball.
Sheesh AC, now you’re attacking your cousin on multiple forums.
The Blues used him as a runner, and like some of us have been telling TSF for the past couple of years they worked him like crazy. -
@Cantab79 said in Blues 2020:
@KiwiMurph said in Blues 2020:
A very interesting read on Akira
No one ever questioned Akira Ioane's desire to run the ball. It was his refusal to commit to the clean out that clearly irked the AB selectors. There is a lot more to being a loose forward than running the ball.
Sheesh AC, now you’re attacking your cousin on multiple forums.
The Blues used him as a runner, and like some of us have been telling TSF for the past couple of years they worked him like crazy.@Nepia 2018 was a classic year for Ioane. Dominated in all aspects and was virtually playing on his own for the Blues then dominated for Auckland and people still made excuse after excuse as to why he shouldn't be picked.
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I have attended the Rennie,Coventry practice sessions on the lovely field at Ruakura.Everything they did was accurate and precise.Some of Coventry’s work with the forwards on a paddock near the railway line was legendary for its intensity.The odd flare up was known to occur.Akira may be benefiting from some of that work.
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you'd have to think watching from the sidelines behind Sotutu and Robinson would have been good for him too!
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Karl T playing off the bench for Takapuna tomorrow, so probably still working through his injury.
https://www.facebook.com/TakapunaRugby/posts/3114897725298173
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Was just having a look at the match stats for each game, and what popped out to me was the amount of tackles we've made/attempted.
Tackles Made/Tackles Attempted
Week 1 vs Hurricanes - 152/174
Week 2 vs Chiefs - 143/161
Week 3 vs Highlanders - 109/124
Week 4 vs Crusaders - 146/171
Week 5 vs Hurricanes - 176/207Total - 726/837
Average Per Game - 145/167
In our 7 games earlier in the year, the total tackles made/attempted was 713/828(102/118 per game), so we've made more tackles in 5 games of SRA than we did in the 7 games pre-covid.
Our penalty count has not helped with this(although we had a penalty issue earlier in the year too), but we're also kicking quite a lot with 27 kicks per game.
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Was just having a look at the match stats for each game, and what popped out to me was the amount of tackles we've made/attempted.
Tackles Made/Tackles Attempted
Week 1 vs Hurricanes - 152/174
Week 2 vs Chiefs - 143/161
Week 3 vs Highlanders - 109/124
Week 4 vs Crusaders - 146/171
Week 5 vs Hurricanes - 176/207Total - 726/837
Average Per Game - 145/167
In our 7 games earlier in the year, the total tackles made/attempted was 713/828(102/118 per game), so we've made more tackles in 5 games of SRA than we did in the 7 games pre-covid.
Our penalty count has not helped with this(although we had a penalty issue earlier in the year too), but we're also kicking quite a lot with 27 kicks per game.
@Dice good work fella, appreciate the thoughts.
If you have a strong forward pack and sound defence, you'll be a contender. Coventry has finally had an effect, and we have both scored Maul tries, and managed to defend some mauls as well - just outstanding from a forward pack that was dynamic at times, but woefully weak in maul defence.
You get the feeling that if we click and get some confidence, we could tear apart some teams. People having fun out there, and it shows... but still working bloody hard for each other. Long may it last
