All Blacks squad - The Rugby Championship
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@MrDenmore said in All Blacks squad - The Rugby Championship:
@Bones Oh get a sense of humour, mate. You trainspotters are all the same.
I'm not the one jumping on a thread to bemoan others posting about players and "missing the point". My sense of humour is all good. And what the fuck is "trainspotters" supposed to mean in this instance? Again, you're the one pointing out how wrong I am... -
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@MrDenmore said in All Blacks squad - The Rugby Championship:
@Bones Maybe read more widely. It might do you good.
Ohhhh....educate myself. Good one. Anything in particular I should read? Hopefully it has loads of pictures.
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@Bones said in All Blacks squad - The Rugby Championship:
@MrDenmore said in All Blacks squad - The Rugby Championship:
@Bones Maybe read more widely. It might do you good.
Ohhhh....educate myself. Good one. Anything in particular I should read? Hopefully it has loads of pictures.
I recommend
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@Machpants said in All Blacks squad - The Rugby Championship:
Request Entity Too Large
I think you've underestimated me
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@Bones said in All Blacks squad - The Rugby Championship:
@Machpants said in All Blacks squad - The Rugby Championship:
Request Entity Too Large
I think you've underestimated me
Nah, that's me.
Bloody lockdown wieght still there!
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@Bones said in All Blacks squad - The Rugby Championship:
@MrDenmore said in All Blacks squad - The Rugby Championship:
@Bones Maybe read more widely. It might do you good.
Ohhhh....educate myself. Good one. Anything in particular I should read? Hopefully it has loads of pictures.
@MrDenmore as a former Journalist and Editor maybe you can suggest some stuff for @Bones to read ?
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@Bovidae said in All Blacks squad - The Rugby Championship:
The role of the openside has changed as they aren't getting as many breakdown turnovers now, or any more frequently than any other player.
For that you can blame the GOAT. He was so good WR changed the law. Then Pocockwomble turned being second to the breakdown into an art form. Defences got so good that that little trick isn't worth carrying a limited player.
That goes for passive tacklers who give up ground to try and stay on their feet to be the first on the ball.
In my opinion we're at a point where the team is better off denying territory with punishing defence.
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Blackadder on the EOYT tour looked like someone who deserved to be an Allblack to me.
A Mongrel. He really really wanted it and was climbing into bigger blokes with gay abandon. Maybe could do with putting on a few KG's from my barstool view.
When Blackadder plays, I know he is on the pitch. Same can't be said for a few others.
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@MrDenmore said in All Blacks squad - The Rugby Championship:
This picking squads game is a bit irrelevant, don’t you think, when you have an incompetent coaching panel, a corrupt administration and a public that senses you are really just shifting the deck chairs? I know it’s a fun parlour game picking this bloke or that bloke for each position, but you can swap the chess pieces as much as you want without realising that the real issue is that you’re playing checkers with 4D chess masters. I wouldn’t bother.
So don’t bother. Meanwhile
Moody, Taylor, O. Franks, Whitelock, Romano, S. Barrett, Blackadder, Grace…..
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@MrDenmore said in All Blacks squad - The Rugby Championship:
On the squad issue and given the lack of cattle, might it be time for NZR to follow the South Africans and Australians and open up the potential pool to those playing in overseas clubs? Wasn’t that how Erasmus engineered the Springbok turnaround?
On the standard objection that this will open the floodgates to up and coming NZ players or those early in their AB careers taking the big euros, francs and yen offshore, isn’t it too late for that? It’s happening already. Rugby, like football, is now a globalised sport where moneyed club owners suck up talent regardless of national affiliation or affinity.
Assuming we get past that point, the much more interesting question is are there NZ players overseas worth looking at - particularly in the tight five, blindslide or centres? Stephen Luatua springs to mind, as does Ngani Laumape.
Who of the overseas contingent is compellingly better than who we've got here?
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@ACT-Crusader backline of Ellis, Mounga, Bridge, Havili, Ennor, Reece & Jordan
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@FakatavaAllBlack said in All Blacks squad - The Rugby Championship:
@ACT-Crusader backline of Ellis, Mounga, Bridge, Havili, Ennor, Reece & Jordan
No way.
Ellis, Mo’unga, Fainga’anuku, Havili, Goodhue, Reece, Jordan
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@Bones said in All Blacks squad - The Rugby Championship:
@Victor-Meldrew I would say throw the captaincy to DP, but he really has to prove he's set in stone first. I'd be tempted to go with Scooter.
Sam Whitelock if Sam Cane can’t make the team. He is still first choice in his position. Part of a winning culture over many years.
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@antipodean said in All Blacks squad - The Rugby Championship:
@Bovidae said in All Blacks squad - The Rugby Championship:
The role of the openside has changed as they aren't getting as many breakdown turnovers now, or any more frequently than any other player.
For that you can blame the GOAT. He was so good WR changed the law. Then Pocockwomble turned being second to the breakdown into an art form. Defences got so good that that little trick isn't worth carrying a limited player.
That goes for passive tacklers who give up ground to try and stay on their feet to be the first on the ball.
In my opinion we're at a point where the team is better off denying territory with punishing defence.
This
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@kev said in All Blacks squad - The Rugby Championship:
@Bones said in All Blacks squad - The Rugby Championship:
@Victor-Meldrew I would say throw the captaincy to DP, but he really has to prove he's set in stone first. I'd be tempted to go with Scooter.
Sam Whitelock if Sam Cane can’t make the team. He is still first choice in his position. Part of a winning culture over many years.
Sam is looking more and more like he can't last 80.
Giving it to SB might give him a bit more leeway when he inevitably does something stupid, plus he has the motor to last the whole match and is one of the first on the team sheet at the moment.
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@reprobate said in All Blacks squad - The Rugby Championship:
@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks squad - The Rugby Championship:
@broughie said in All Blacks squad - The Rugby Championship:
@TheMojoman at super rugby level but has not shown anything at international except against the minnows. I think @Bones was suggesting 1st five but he would have the same problem in Canterbury.
We are talking about DH at 10? Please no. He was barely adequate there for the Crusaders. DH's best position is 15 IMO.
Havili's best position at AB level is on the bench, so we can have a reserve halfback and stack the forward reserves.
There's a theme developing here. We appear to have a squad of guys that rightly or wrongly can't command a starting jumper but are deemed great and flexible reserves, covering multiple positions at an average level. Ardie covers 6-8 (and 12). Sami cant get a start. Barrett 6 or lock. Jordie 15, 12 and wing. BB 10 and 15. Havili and RTS and JG 12/13 with a bit of 10/15 thrown in. Reiko 13 and wing. Paps is a 6 or a 7, Sowakulu a 6 or an 8, Akira can't play 80 and Sotutu can't get a run at all.
My solution is to start just 5 forwards and 5 backs (doesn't really matter which ones) and have a 13 man bench. After 60mins we can roll out our bench superstars and dominate all comers.
Who's with me?
