The Silver Fern

@Stargazer said in MotM vs Argentina I:

@hydro11 Should calculate average number of votes per games played, if you want to compare players.

Fifita, Jordie and Crotty win that one easily but it doesn't mean much because they have been injured or just not good enough to be selected.

Ignoring the two flat track bully matches, the best performances are the grind in Dublin and the first Lions Test

The other 7 games are a drop off from where we have been

Lucky we played historically weak Australian and French sides in this run

I went all front-row and see I'm only one picking Dane. His lineout throwins were amazing, and the scrum was incredible. Delighted to see him back in black, still a little rusty but for those reasons alone he gets my vote.

The first ever test for the ABs in Torino as well. I've been to a Juve game at the Stadio Delle Alpi but this is a more intimate venue.

@pakman said in Bledisloe 2:

Article by Stuart Barnes in today's Times notes that Aaron Smith didn't kick once in Aussie tests. I had missed that.

Reminds me of pool games against minnows in last RWC. The wise men are upping the pressure to make Rugby Championship better preparation for Japan.

I guess if the Aussies won't give us a hard test we have to help them out 😉

No surprise when Crotty n Smith went off they fell to bits. Those two just solidify the team!
Three players
Aaron Smith
Crotty
Rettalick

I thought it was clear he'd been concussed. The running sideways while toppling over didn't look all that tactical.

That really was a perfect microcosm of a party at the rugby club rooms.
Uncomfortable "dancing"/shuffling by most of the guys; one little shit trying to give it the hip-hop treatment; bad singing-along to the Exponents, and a bit of aggro.

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In that SA game, he got his one and only start.

@westcoastie said in How are the ABs tracking for the RC?:

Firstly, I would like Kaino to put his hand up and say, he won't make it to RWC2019 and be the force he was in the past. And like Tana retire after the RC.

Third HB? dunno Pulu most likely, Drummond? those Crusader 9's? (combination with Read)
Third first-five? Geez we're light here ain't we? I think everyone needs to accept DMac, is one of those kids who looks good at Super stuff, but that step up to test match is too much. Too physical, too much. Now if he became a 9/10 hybrid that would make the bench interesting...
Third hooker? Lisa Lewis... nah Harris/Coltman got that one covered
Third prop? pass
Beaudy to keep kicking. He'll get better.
Marty schmarty. Gooone.
Bench? Crockett, Taylor, a prop., Savea, a 6/8 or Scotty B. Perenara, Sopoaga, mix n' match between ALB/Laumape/Ioane/J.Barrett. - I firmly believe in the last 10 tests the selectors have realised in games against tougher forward packs, they'll take genuine lock cover in to the test. i.e. vs Lions, Ireland, England, maybe Argentina & South Africa, vs everyone else they won't or don't need to. that Ireland game in Chicago taught them lots I hope they never forget.
I think they may consider Sopoaga able to cover 10/15 (or maybe 10/12) where does he play for the Highlanders if him and Banks are on? They won't (or shouldn't move Beaudy from 10 anymore in the tight ones. Its dumb) So then the bench mix gets interested because theres no place for Jordie if he doesn't start and isn't playing 15 (assuming Sopoaga can) - Are we assuming Ioane is first choice 11 now? BFA first choice 14 or 15? and then Dagg/Naholo at 14 depending on opposition.
Tuipulotu = victim of own stupidity, needs a big Mitre 10. If he'd been on-song it would've been interesting to see him go head to head with Itoje.

Just leaving this here... McKenzie as halfback (NZ Herald)

sam whitelock is such a good player. so good in the lineout, strong in the scrum, always right up there in tackle counts, and his ruck work, both with and without the ball is great. the number of times he makes a pain in the arse of himself on opposition ball is similar to some of our best loose forwards.

@Catogrande said in All Blacks v BI Lions Test #3:

@MiketheSnow said in All Blacks v BI Lions Test #3:

@Catogrande said in All Blacks v BI Lions Test #3:

@Crucial said in All Blacks v BI Lions Test #3:

@MiketheSnow said in All Blacks v BI Lions Test #3:

Had it on good authority that some of the Home Nations would love for the Lions Tours to finish.

Minimal remuneration and loss of players to injury the primary reasons.

If we'd gone down 3-0 - which was on the cards prior to and during the tour - then it could have seen the end.

So thanks for playing ball NZ 🙂

It is certainly something that really irks me that the NH either decided (or allowed) the SoccerFootball construct of clubs to be the structure in Pro Rugby.
It can only lead to the game being money driven, to owners making decisions based on their club rather than country and to the international game being devalued.
When 'friendlies' become common the international game will die and the RWC will become everything. (I think there are some in higher powers that would actually welcome that scenario)

It's not really the NH as a whole, just England and France. Now I can't speak for France but the idea that The RFU would actually make a pro-active decision of any magnitude is laughable. In England professionalism was held back for a year to allow for a smoother, land transition. What a complete and utter joke. The RFU did SFA to manage the change and left this extra year as a vacuum for wealthy sugar daddies to finance the clubs and effectively own the player base. Fucked it up from the word go.

there are many aspects of the professional game in England that are laudable but the overall planning is not one of them. It is more a case of constantly putting out fires that we have started ourselves.

Wales has done an awesome job of fucking it up too

True but in a different way. The idea of the regions was IMO, the right way to go but it seems from the outside that it has been handled poorly. Quite how I don't know but money is obviously a problem

Regions would have been accepted from the outset if they had been administered and financed by the WRU a la NZ.

They weren't, and then it became tribal warfare.

@taniwharugby said in MotM vs Lions, Test Two:

@hydro11 doesnt go unnoticed when he off his game

.....or when he's walking out of an airport toilet

@cgrant said in 2018 AB Depth Chart:

Squire took Reuben Thorne's cloak of invisibility against England. Just a question of form ?

I don't think Squire played that well against England, and you couldn't even praise his defence (only 5 tackles, Read only made 7 playing a full game in comparison) or ball running. I just don't see anyone better available. Squire has shown he can be a force in games previously so perhaps just one of those games in those conditions.

Let's hope he has a big game this weekend.

On the SBW incident , havent watched the replay,

but i seem to recall the lions had the ball as a result of a nothing SBW grubber, I think his tackle was a couple of phases later,

im guessing his mindset at the time was one frustration at his ineffectual kick , and he was trying to make up for it with a display of dominance , and got it all wrong

I wanted to watch a replay before voting to confirm if my impressions at the game were the same.

It was hard to only choose 3 players but BBBR, Read and Cane for me. The outcome in this test was always about the work done up front.

@kiwiinmelb said in Score prediction ABs v Lions #1:

its interesting because the scores here are pretty close to what I was thinking ,

us by about 2 tries , close most of the game , we get away near the end

30 - 18

yes, yes, and yes

Damn, thought we were above this sort of shit. Will have to put the high horse out in the garage for what's left of the tour.

@Bones We still have Philpott on offer, if you like? 😈

@ACT-Crusader said in MotM vs Samoa:

Cane, Ardie and Moody

Ardie was good at 8, I think that position may suit him better in the long run.