The Silver Fern

@KiwiMurph said in Force v Blues: @Kirwan said in Force v Blues: @KiwiMurph said in Force v Blues: It's pretty hard to excited for this Blues team until they start making some selection changes. Like what? Injuries aside, and the charmed Nock, what changes would you make? An actual right winger instead of Forbes. An ineffective midfield gets another crack Barnes went well past week now benched Yeah Forbes was great in 2024 at 15 but hes a pretty average 14.

@taniwharugby said in Blues vs. Chiefs 2026: @antipodean yep, were several comments at the time that it was wrong. BOK gave an explanation at the time as to awarding it, which was at odds as to how it looked. Yeah it is odd how refs dont get 'sanctioned' like players would after a massive error, but I guess the 'ref pool' is significantly smaller. Refs do get sanctioned. They face a review after every game where they have to explain decisions etc.

Did hear Jason O'Hallahran say Fusitua took a knock to his upper leg but should be fine to play the opening round.

@Steven-Harris said in Blues vs Hurricanes (pre season wk 1): Great to see Ofa Tuangafasi and Stephen Perofeta get through 40 minutes of rugby The Canes rolled some of their big guns in the 2nd half and definitely showed against the what was a younger Blues pack in the 2nd Replace Hooker Eli Oudenryn looks like he could be some player , his physicality and awareness is sharp .not sure who he hit with a big tackle but it was bloody impressive as was against one of the Canes tight forwards Hit of the day Oudenryn should be a really good pick-up - I'm very disappointed to lose him. He's fast and dynamic - and got enough height that they can surely pack quite a few more kgs onto him. Should contend for AB honours down the track. I hope the Crusaders have made the right call in keeping Letiu.

@SammyC said in Blues 2026: @African-Monkey said in Blues 2026: @brodean said in Blues 2026: Man that is sad. Blues have been decimated because of Scott Robertson and his cronies. I sound petty but trust me, the hate for the Blues is strong down there. Haha, this true.... we fucking hate Aucklanders down here Although if it influences AB's selections then that is bulshit. Grizz was able to move past it and kept picking washed up Aucklanders like the Whetton brothers. I like Papali'i, he's tough and hardly ever gets injured...... some of the other names that have been brought up in media articles etc I don't agree with though (Riccitelli is way too small for test rugby, and Reiko Ioane has been shit for ages).. I do agree on Riccitelli. I don't think he was the answer, the thing that angered people over his non selection was more to do with the fact that he was the best performing SR hooker in 2024 and had to make way for George Bell who was horrendous in his only full campaign so far, and Brodie McAlister who was never deserving of AB honours. The caps that those guys won, people felt (Blues fans anyway) that Riccitelli deserved, even if he wasn't the long term answer. Yeah, Rieko on attack has seen better days. He's way too old and lacks any zip now to play as a wing, and doesn't have the craft and IQ to be a threat on attack as the years go on as a ball playing centre as he ain't a crash merchant like Fai'anganuku who has that get out of trouble play with ball in hand. However, he's still easily our best defensive option at centre. Proctor got shown up there last year for his lack of pace, and don't get me started on Fai'anganuku and his laziness on defence. Thing is, is that people don't criticise people like LF, Jordan, Savea etc. on their shortcomings, certainly not in the public anyway unlike the Auckland players, that they're never under any pressure to fix these issues. A world cup final tomorrow, games that are always low scoring affairs, who are we picking at centre? Currently I'm still picking Rieko because of his defence. If LF gets better in that area then he'd probably be a shoe in for as long as he likes. It sounds bullshit but lets be honest here, Crusaders coaches coming straight into the AB enviroment deep down have a hatred for the Blues players haha, and it would have had a little bit of influence on selection, even if they won't admit it. Going from wanting to destroy the Blues to all of a sudden having to work with them would have been a difficult transition. That's part of the baggage this coaching team had.

@KiwiMurph said in SF Crusaders v Blues: Fusitia gone I thought he was lucky not to get done earlier I thought This was the crux of the game. Watched replay last night. Fusitua didn’t advance. Barrett lunged forward suddenly leading with head. The physics was that Barrett butted Fusitua.

@frugby said in QF Chiefs v Blues: @Tim If Papalii put on 5kg, he could turn himself into a bastard of a blindside. I always assumed long tern he'd be a 6 so was surprised when he specialised at 7, but I guess it was the best way for the Blues to keep their best loosies on the park.

Papalii, Lam, Ioane.

@KiwiMurph said in Blues vs Waratahs 2025: @Jet said in Blues vs Waratahs 2025: No sleight of hand. No swerve, no nous. He didnt construct any of them himself. Did you actually watch the full tries or simply the final outcome? The first try came from a huge break which was the result of a perfectly timed pass by Rieko in midfield to put Beauden in space. Yeah haha he started and finished off the play.

Sotutu, Tuipolutu, then I voted for Riccitelli.

@MiketheSnow said in Moana Pasifika v Blues: Great watch, great result. How Gardner didn't flash a YC for repeat infringements inside the 10m line by the Blues is beyond me. Riccitelli got away with some no-arms tackles near the goal line. I've no idea how Gardner didn't see that.

@Steven-Harris said in Drua v Blues: Has there ever been a game where the co commentator has talked up a losing team and suggested the winning team have all the luck Sam Wykes your an idiot He looks like Isa Nacewa from temu.

@canefan said in Cameron Suafoa: @Darren said in Cameron Suafoa: ‘Ribs removed, spine shaved, steel rods to stabilise back’ Wow and congratulations if you can come back from that, and be healthy, let alone play rugby. He's trying to win the game of life right now

@booboo Auckland has a similar amount of rainfall in a year to Cardiff and a bit more than Manchester which I think is why eventually they will need to build a stadium with a roof in Auckland. [image: 1746253149970-3dd61f14-72aa-4496-ae72-7184ed5d815b-image.png] Sauce = Chat GTP

Eklund and AJ Lam v good.

@booboo said in Reds v Blues: I did give up at half time as I was getting fucked off with the officiating. Just into second half and Ta'avao's try gets wiped out. Seriously? Genuine question: is the restriction on the number of phases you can go back no longer a thing? I'll continue to grumble through the rest of the game ... Way is always like this.