The Silver Fern

@Chris-B said in Wellington v Canterbury:

@Chris Yeah - I think that's the purpose of swapping Chapman and Drummie.

Ta$man has Christie and Hotham, so whomever is behind them probably won't get much time - that's OK for Mitch at the tailend of his career, but they want Chapman playing.

Yep that is exactly the reason for the swap.

Pleasently surprised, the BOP has always had the danger out wide but lacked startch/execution up front to really match it with the big boys consistently.

The final presents the neutral fan with a golrious oppertunity to watch two teams famous for losuing things up as soon as they get tagged as favourites desperatly trying to out-do each other on the big stage,

I'll be watching this one from behind the couch...

@SBW1 said in Ta$man v Canterbury (QF):

Are the any highlights to this game on Youtube?

Finau dink kick something certain AB midfielders couldn’t manage.

Well that was enjoyable. Canterbury lucky to come second in that one.

@booboo said in Southland v Canterbury:

No love for Josh Bekhuis? Now the most capped NOC player of all time.

When they showed the list of the most NPC games played, IIRC there were four from Southland from the six players shown.

Are you his mother?

@Lancaster-Park said in Auckland v Canterbury:

Admittedly only saw the highlights but given the strongly held views by many in Auck that Akira is a beast but we just dont appreciate it I would have thought he would be playing like a man against boys at this level.
Did anyone at the game or seeing it all see him as a step above the rest?

As @KiwiMurph said, he's on the way out and I'm surprised he's actually playing here before heading to Japan. He's just going through the motions and who can blame him when there's the Japanese season waiting for him.

He probably just doesn't wanna risk injury, it's not as if he has anything to play for here, similar to Jack Goodhue at Northland last year.

Fletcher Anderson has bulked up. I remember watching him play really well at openside in the NZ Schools trial.

I’ve just watched those highlights, totally bloody robbed with the forward pass call, and not going upstairs for the ‘held up’ try.

Forward pass call can sort of be forgiven, tight calls happen in games, but the non review of the other one is pure incompetence and not good enough.

@booboo said in SF - Taranaki v Canterbury:

@Canes4life said in SF - Taranaki v Canterbury:

This Jacomb guys looks like a talent.

Ffs Ricky

Haven't watched much NPC, but what is Jacomb's story.

Has he been playing like this all year, or was last night a one off?

He usurped Potroz?

Yep he's been good all year really, and kept improving, really looks the goods to me, and can see a super team looking at him. He's only 22 I think and was MOTM from what I saw at game. @Canes4life yep has well and truly surpassed Protoz, and Perofeta at 19 in my mind. We in fairly good position at 10 in the Naki, none of them poor players .

@Stargazer said in QF - Canterbury v Auckland:

Arguably the worst high tackle to go unpunished was just last week, when Auckland wing AJ Lam knocked the snot out of Canterbury replacement Blair Murray in Christchurch.

Bourke was amongst those puzzled referee Nick Briant didn’t show Lam a card, despite Murray going on to score a try.

It turns out Lam, who scored a try shortly after knocking Murray’s block off, has since been cited after it was deemed the hit met the red card threshold, and Briant later called Bourke.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/provincial/300987505/npc-talking-points-why-tmos-in-provincial-rugby-have-less-power

A Ranfurly Shield rematch

Yes, the Log o’ Wood isn’t on the line, but Saturday night’s semifinal between Wellington and Hawke’s Bay is a beaut match-up nonetheless.

Logs

@cgrant said in Waikato v Canterbury:

Parker has really stepped up this year as well. Next year, he could be the starting Nr.8 with the Chiefs.

I think Parker will take over the PGS role and play 6/8 off the bench. Jacobson is the starting no.8.

@booboo said in Canterbury v Ta$man:

But fuck how forward was that pass?

you could be watching any number of games from the last week...

What happened to Alex Harford?

@Chris My comment was a bit of a pisstake, of course there are younger players there, Auckland have a few themselves like Heem, Royal etc. but it seems like Canterbury have a lot more older players than in previous years like Heinz, Crotty, Funnell, Moody, Romano mixed with guys like Lienert Brown, Drummond, Dunshea, Harmon, Prinsep and Jager either 30 or approaching 30. For an NPC side, it is fairly old.