All Blacks v France Test 3
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I'm excited by the team in that it seems crazy, look at the loose forward trio! Seeing SBW start doesn't seem weird until you realise it's his first game back from injury, and last time he was so quickly upto speed, yeah right. Then he paired with a debutante! Frizzle had played Almost no top class minutes, hemopo only a little more. Impact DMac and Ardie start for steady Todd and mo'unga.
I hope they play well cos I'm owed after blowing 140 on a ticket last weekend!
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Interesting that team is a real B grade/2nd choice team, with most of the A/first choice players coming back from injury/suspension
Joe Moody A - injury/suspension
Codie Taylor B (tho been almost as good as a top Coles for a while)
Owen Franks A - injury/suspension
Samuel Whitelock A - injury/suspension
Scott Barrett B
Shannon Frizell C or D
Ardie Savea B
Luke Whitelock B
Aaron Smith A
Damian McKenzie B
Rieko Ioane A
Sonny Bill Williams A - injury/suspension
Jack Goodhue C
Waisake Naholo B
Ben Smith A -
Interesting that team is a real B grade/2nd choice team, with most of the A/first choice players coming back from injury/suspension
Joe Moody A - injury/suspension
Codie Taylor B (tho been almost as good as a top Coles for a while)
Owen Franks A - injury/suspension
Samuel Whitelock A - injury/suspension
Scott Barrett B
Shannon Frizell C or D
Ardie Savea B
Luke Whitelock B
Aaron Smith A
Damian McKenzie B
Rieko Ioane A
Sonny Bill Williams A - injury/suspension
Jack Goodhue C
Waisake Naholo B
Ben Smith A@machpants how the fuck did Luke Whitelock get a B?
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Not so much a B grade but he is second choice, according to the ABs selectors - not my grading just where the selectors seem to be picking. If read not fit, whitelock plays. Same a Goodhue, not a C grade player but still third choice midfield after Crotty/SBW/ALB trio of 12,13 and bench.
So A= AB starter/first choice
B=AB bench/second choice
C or D= are 3rd or 4th choice - getting a go for building depth, or because of injuries -
That loose forward trio...imagine 2 months back saying that those 3 would start the 3rd AB test v France....
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That loose forward trio...imagine 2 months back saying that those 3 would start the 3rd AB test v France....
@taniwharugby said in All Blacks v France Test 3:
That loose forward trio...imagine 2 months back saying that those 3 would start the 3rd AB test v France....
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Interesting that team is a real B grade/2nd choice team, with most of the A/first choice players coming back from injury/suspension
Joe Moody A - injury/suspension
Codie Taylor B (tho been almost as good as a top Coles for a while)
Owen Franks A - injury/suspension
Samuel Whitelock A - injury/suspension
Scott Barrett B
Shannon Frizell C or D
Ardie Savea B
Luke Whitelock B
Aaron Smith A
Damian McKenzie B
Rieko Ioane A
Sonny Bill Williams A - injury/suspension
Jack Goodhue C
Waisake Naholo B
Ben Smith A@machpants Still seeing Taylor as a 2nd choice is completely ridiculous. Coles has been out of action for so long, that we can't even be sure he'll reach top level again. Taylor has also made so much progress, that he has reached that top level Coles was on before getting injured. He's well and truly the top dog at hooker.
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@machpants said in All Blacks v France Test 3:
(tho been almost as good as a top Coles for a while)
True thus: "(tho been almost as good as a top Coles for a while)", but the ABs always say you can't lose your place because of injury
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Yeah, well, living in deepest rural Cornwall, my need for an urban dictionary is about as likely as an England support treasuring a Mike Brown autograph.
@victor-meldrew said in All Blacks v France Test 3:
Yeah, well, living in deepest rural Cornwall, my need for an urban dictionary is about as likely as an England support treasuring a Mike Brown autograph.
Geez fella! Cornish cider? I wasn't even replying to you...
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I love Cornwall, apart from the millions of emmets that visit in summer, even married a Cornish lass! One of my fondest memories is going to Twickers for the County championships, apart from about 1000, full of Cornish supporters and the pubs around chocker too. Best game atmosphere ever - tho they lost haha
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I find the line-up for Saturday underwhelming, mostly because of the inclusion of Luke Whitelock, Frizell and Hemopo. The latter would never have made the ABs without the injuries, Frizell seems to be another experiment and lucky Luke wouldn't play this game if Taufua had been fit, who's a far more exciting player. Giving Ardie and Dmac a start is also something I don't agree with; both are mainly impact players and Todd and Mo'unga the better starters, who I hope will get a decent amount of game time off the bench, particularly Mo'unga. Also disappointed that TTT hasn't been named; I guess they didn't want to start too many debutants, but I would have liked to see what he can do in the black jersey.
BFA in his best position and Naholo getting a run may be what we have been waiting for, although I liked Jordie in the 15 jersey.
It will be an interesting game against the French; I hope we'll still win convincingly at the end, despite this being far from our best team. Without controversies this time, please.
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aside from the known combination Crotty/Goodhue gives from their time at Super rugby, I actually think if SBW & Goodhue gel, it could be a very good pairing, but if the guys up front don't do their job blah blah blah etc etc...
Gonna be a very interesting test match...dry track under the roof, hopefully will be a good one.
But isn't this what people have been wanting for the past few years when bitching about the predictability of our teams and games?
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@stargazer Aahh the #ALLBLEUS (hashtag on their kit) bloody wannabe ABs, as bad a the Tall Blacks, etc etc
@machpants said in All Blacks v France Test 3:
@stargazer Aahh the #ALLBLEUS (hashtag on their kit) bloody wannabe ABs, as bad a the Tall Blacks, etc etc
#ALLBLEUS
#USEDTOBELESTRICOLORES
#LESUNIOLORES -
Happy to see Frizell there - i'd rather see someone who has a really high ceiling be given a crack rather than the underwhelming options that have been seen previously (Squire, Fifita).
Goodhue deserves his opportunity - midfield has been mixed so far and on paper he and SBW look a good combo. Be interesting how they gel with DMac at 10.
I hope Mo'unga gets plenty of minutes. He and Jordie could really cause havoc off the pine.
Interesting that Akira has been training with the ABs pretty much non stop since the June series last year and has yet to be given a test cap. Instead the barnstorming Luke Whitelock gets another test....
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Well at least the selections make the dead rubber interesting.
In that video Hansen confirms Hemopo is more a 6 than lock at test level. He will cover lock but ideally come on at 6 with Frizzell moving to 8 or straight swap.
So locks are going 80 this week and Akira is Waaaayyy down the list. -
Happy to see Frizell there - i'd rather see someone who has a really high ceiling be given a crack rather than the underwhelming options that have been seen previously (Squire, Fifita).
Goodhue deserves his opportunity - midfield has been mixed so far and on paper he and SBW look a good combo. Be interesting how they gel with DMac at 10.
I hope Mo'unga gets plenty of minutes. He and Jordie could really cause havoc off the pine.
Interesting that Akira has been training with the ABs pretty much non stop since the June series last year and has yet to be given a test cap. Instead the barnstorming Luke Whitelock gets another test....
