Wales v All Blacks 30th Oct NH Tour

BB was always going to start with this being his 100th, so not surprised.
Great to see Blackadder start at 6; not so great seeing TJP start, but maybe that's because of preferred combos? TJP-BB and Weber-RM?

I'd probably have picked Reece over Jordan, but they picked the right set of wingers.

Is Ofa injured?

sparky

https://twitter.com/AllBlacks/status/1453754278766465025?t=EStmUpFnsc0i9X2GuJMJ5g&s=19

Happy in the main with that team. Hats off for BB for making 100 tests.

Disappointing that we are not starting Akira. We need to trust the power. I continue to be disappointed that we are not selecting younger Half Backs ahead of TJP.

sparky

Wales are going to target TJP and his shaky clearance work and then some.

nostrildamus

they really love Ardie at 8.
But no Bridge? Slowpoke Rieko? Are they freaking insane?! The power, the pace, the playmaking..

pakman

@nostrildamus said in Wales v All Blacks 30th Oct NH Tour:

they really love Ardie at 8.
But no Bridge? Slowpoke Rieko? Are they freaking insane?! The power, the place, the playmaking..

Dry powder.

Machpants

@sparky said in Wales v All Blacks 30th Oct NH Tour:

https://twitter.com/AllBlacks/status/1453754278766465025?t=EStmUpFnsc0i9X2GuJMJ5g&s=19

Happy in the main with that team. Hats off for BB for making 100 tests.

Disappointing that we are not starting Akira. We need to trust the power. I continue to be disappointed that we are not selecting younger Half Backs ahead of TJP.

I agree with TJ, hopefully he either clicks, or is last chance saloon. Disagree about Blackadder, Ioane was exposed badly versus boks. He maybe a horse's for courses player, or someone who is better off the bench. Still this probsbly isn't top team, they'll leave that until Ireland or maybe even just France, still rotating and defining imo.

I wonder if samisoni is moving up the pecking order

Bones

Yeah pretty happy with that side eh. Quite interested to see what Aoane brings off the bench and how they use him. The starting trio is going to bring an absurd level of workrate.

Would prefer Reece to start, but I have a feeling this game might suit Jordan, no idea why... just please stop the awful errors.

That forward bench looks good, feel they can all be finishers.

sparky

@machpants I'm a big fan of Akira Ioane. I think he has been our best player this year as a whole and has the potential to be world-beating come the 2023 RWC World Cup.

You are right, he was less effective againat the Boks but slight fluctuations in form happen. What there is no denying is his raw power.

sparky

@bones said in Wales v All Blacks 30th Oct NH Tour:

Would prefer Reece to start, but I have a feeling this game might suit Jordan, no idea why... just please stop the awful errors.

Jordan needs to sort out his defensive issues before he can be considered for the RWC knockouts. But for a high-scoring game, under the roof in Cardiff with Rees-Zammitt out for them, Jordan the Gasman is the man.

BerniesCorner

The roof is open

Machpants

@sparky said in Wales v All Blacks 30th Oct NH Tour:

@machpants I'm a big fan of Akira Ioane. I think he has been our best player this year as a whole and has the potential to be world-beating come the 2023 RWC World Cup.

You are right, he was less effective againat the Boks but slight fluctuations in form happen. What there is no denying is his raw power.

Sure he's been great, but he's really got points to prove after boks. He needs to apply that power versus big packs, same as the entire ABs team really!

Machpants

@berniescorner said in Wales v All Blacks 30th Oct NH Tour:

The roof is open

Confirmed or just the rumour it is open for covid?

Dan54

Think having RMo come off bench will be interesting, I see him as someone who will cut loose against a tiring defence, a little like DMac, he does tend to run crossfield at times looking for holes etc. Can't say I too upset with team, perhaps would like to see TJ get his passing act together a bit more than he has, but nothing to scream about.

Crucial

@sparky said in Wales v All Blacks 30th Oct NH Tour:

@machpants I'm a big fan of Akira Ioane. I think he has been our best player this year as a whole and has the potential to be world-beating come the 2023 RWC World Cup.

You are right, he was less effective againat the Boks but slight fluctuations in form happen. What there is no denying is his raw power.

Only thing I can think is that he either has a niggle or has flatlined on his numbers.

The loose mix while not bad at all is a bit odd given the stated desire for adding power to that area. A relatively lightweight 6, an 8 that gets metres from fighting his way forward rather than sheer dominance and a 7 whose form seems to have dulled a little.
Is this just part of the management of players toward the last two tests?

The Silver Fern

Wales v All Blacks 30th Oct NH Tour