The Silver Fern

@voodoo “Rugby, it’s a game of centimetres, literally for AB ball carriers”

@Kirwan that’s bad. He was having a good game otherwise.

@pakman said in Worst AB Captain:

@Machpants said in Worst AB Captain:

@mariner4life said in Worst AB Captain:

@pakman said in Worst AB Captain:

One inconvenient fact in terms of this debate is that in the most critical 15 minutes when ABs made poor tactical choices SAVEA was the captain.

i can't believe, in the same breath that people are asking for more tactical thought on the field, that those saem people are suggesting Ardie Savea as the captain.

The very definition of tactical inflexibility. Ardie, bless him, is all attack, all the time. So much so that his excited labrador act often results in shitty errors at poor times.

There is so much broken at the moment. But i do think leadership is one of the most important. I just read Ryan having a pop at individual preparation during the week. The skipper should be setting those standards. If he's not, or he is an no one is following, that's a big concern.

But he can learn. Cane has had his time, so Ardie has got a year and a half to improve. Canes has had 2.5 and stil hasn't got it.

How hard is TAKE THE FUCKING THREE

Well in particular against 'park the bus' teams like the Pumas.

I've seen enough ABs tests to know what to do. Take the 3s against teams like that, eventually they will get desperate to catch up and you can feed off their mistakes. Right?

Whitelock was strong but he gave away a penalty after 15 seconds in the second half which is not how you want your leaders to lead and set the tone for the second half.

@Nepia said in All Black props:

@NTA said in All Black props:

Lomax: not convinced. And he's an Aussie FFS!

Being born in Aussie doesn't make you an Aussie (according to your govt). John might have done the prudent thing and not applied for citizenship for young Tyrel so as not to taint him.

is it time to revisit these predictions of Lomax et al?

@pakman said in All Blacks v Pumas 1:

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v Pumas 1:

@Kirwan said in All Blacks v Pumas 1:

Pretty funny justifications going on here for Taylor. How many Tests does it take to learn to take a half step and throw it down the middle?

Was kinda important.

If there is any accountability left in selection he’d be gone. Stunk up the joint for 35 minutes.

Also - wasn't it an all Crusaders tight 5 when he came on (and wasn't that the point)?

Problem maybe Kiwi refs letting them get away with such for years?

This

And 'line ball' passes

@MajorRage said in O Captain! My Captain!:

@MiketheSnow said in O Captain! My Captain!:

In my experience as a player and a watcher, the best captains are either

The hardest fluffybunny in the team
The best player in the team, and the higher you go at least the best player in their position

Every once in while, the stars align and the fella you follow is both

Unfortunately, Cane is neither

Discuss

I would actually say Cane is the hardest guy on the team.

Doesn't mean I think he should be Captain or starting though.

Might be the hardest but not the hardest fluffybunny.
We don't really have those, maybe Coles (more the latter) or Scott.

@nostrildamus said in All Blacks MOTM v Boks II:

@MN5 said in All Blacks MOTM v Boks II:

@nostrildamus said in All Blacks MOTM v Boks II:

@MN5 said in All Blacks MOTM v Boks II:

Only saw the highlights, not the full game but went for Frizell, R Ioane and Savea.

Havilii looked decent too but out of principle I can’t vote for him.

Because Tonga beat Scotland in 2012 and anyone of Tongan descent feels your highland ire a decade later?
I'm guessing this is not true but a decade long burning sense of Utu is a great reason.

Jesus Christ, what a bizarre post.

Really? It was just a test to see if you are like those Scottish men I know who hold obscure grudges that everyone else has forgotten about.

Reminds me that my Glaswegian bro in law used to say 'While the Irish English and Welsh were fighting each other we were fighting our natural enemies: ourselves."

Yeah but I’m from Wellington

@MN5 said in Baby Blacks:

I wished the Saveas had more time together.

Or the Gears.

Have just been looking through Jules final season and a bit when Ardie was mainly on the bench and would replace Cane. They had some good games together. Especially in 2016 against Oz. That slaughter in Sydney had them both doing well.

@nostrildamus said in The Worst All Blacks results ...:

@dogmeat I agreed with what you said but then when I thought about COVID maybe it has been a little blessing for us (less exodus?) and perhaps harder on some of the other teams? (Esp Pacific Island nations I imagine, those with plenty of players in another country)...

Oh ok you answered above. Hmm. What about South Africa? Argentina?

FULL GAME: All Blacks v South Africa (2022 - Johannesburg)

@Bovidae said in All Blacks MOTM v Boks I:

@stodders said in All Blacks MOTM v Boks I:

@Bones said in All Blacks MOTM v Boks I:

@Nepia the wish to see players actually doing something and trying fucking hard is strong. He looks like he's trying to lead and getting zero support from his other leaders.

One of the few players to tuck the ball under his arm and propel himself through the Bok defensive line, rather than catch the ball and do a jig before getting smashed.

Only 2 runs for 5 m says Barrett wasn't very effective, which was the point I was making.

But he looks the part doing those two runs.

@Bones said in Pick the score, AB v Boer v1.0:

@nostrildamus said in Pick the score, AB v Boer v1.0:

@Bones said in Pick the score, AB v Boer v1.0:

@nostrildamus said in Pick the score, AB v Boer v1.0:

24-10. Head says Boks. Heart says oh the pain. Edit ok I just read "Belief and confidence remain high in our group, which is working incredibly hard this week," said Foster.

Well that changes everything. 29-24 All Blacks.

Only the bold predict a score incorrectly for a game played 5 days ago.

Note to self: next time building a time machine remember the reading glasses.

You could always pop over to the match thread and predict the team?

What, put the right post in the correct thread? Outrageous!
And even thinking about the final score a second time gives me palpitations.
If I'm watching the second test, I'm drinking.

@pakman said in Springboks v All Blacks I:

@Bones said in Springboks v All Blacks I:
Some Welsh in the family?

No I'm sure they keep their side of the bargain.

@mariner4life said in Poll All Black Captain:

@nostrildamus said in Poll All Black Captain:

@Nepia said in Poll All Black Captain:

Da fuq is going on in this thread? If Cane is apparently not a viable candidate due to his form/play how are some of you fools picking Taylor? Of all the ABs he's had the biggest form drop off - he went from the sublime to cabbage.

As @dogmeat notes we don't really have an outstanding candidate at the moment.

Yeah I wonder if it is injury, overwork or a loss in confidence but he should be given a break.

that started last test season?

maybe, and stay with me, test rugby is too quick for him now?

You are too kind! No, you are! It isn't just the speed of the game: tackling runners next to him, throwing to his own team, passing, ... all have passed him by....

@Chris-B said in Will Jordan's try scoring:

Yeah - especially if he shifts to fullback - which he probably needs to do to prolong his career.

Breaking it purely as a wing seems really difficult. There's always another freak just around the corner

So Jordan and Rieko both have a reasonable chance assuming Jordan moves to fullback. Score the bulk of the tries as a winger, then move to a position with better longevity but a lower strike rate

I'd like to see more of Sotutu at 8. I doubt I will get my wish.

@nzzp said in Foster's Firsts.:

@nostrildamus said in Foster's Firsts.:

@nzzp said in Foster's Firsts.:

@Rancid-Schnitzel said in Foster's Firsts.:

Disagree with the last part. The RWC showed what these guys are actually capable of.

Counterpoint: who in that squad didn't play better than they had in the 4 year cycle?

Shannon and Sam C have played better.

Which Sam Cane performance was better than his Ireland game?

I thought he was meaning the final only. My bad if entire RWC.