2019 Rugby Championship
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@Jaguares4real Except he’s shown he doesn’t have a commitment to NZ in the past to go along with his DV. He was out the door before his overseas contract was cancelled. The guy was 21 and had given up on making the ABs, gets in trouble with the law and then he’s all yep I’m a kiwi again, stick you Fiji.

Oh and he’s poachie as fudge!
@Magpie_in_aus Wearing eye liner is evidence of not being a good person now.
Well, TBF Michael Laws ...

@Nepia or maybe you could argue because of the DV issue (that I understand was not as straight forward as reported...not that there is ever an excuse for hitting your partner/missus) he wanted to get away from his current environment for a 'fresh start' or sumink?
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@Nepia or maybe you could argue because of the DV issue (that I understand was not as straight forward as reported...not that there is ever an excuse for hitting your partner/missus) he wanted to get away from his current environment for a 'fresh start' or sumink?
@taniwharugby said in 2019 Rugby Championship:
@Nepia or maybe you could argue because of the DV issue (that I understand was not as straight forward as reported...not that there is ever an excuse for hitting your partner/missus) he wanted to get away from his current environment for a 'fresh start' or sumink?
I think he had signed long before that.
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@taniwharugby said in 2019 Rugby Championship:
@Nepia or maybe you could argue because of the DV issue (that I understand was not as straight forward as reported...not that there is ever an excuse for hitting your partner/missus) he wanted to get away from his current environment for a 'fresh start' or sumink?
I think he had signed long before that.
@Nepia not that we want to go into discussing this and detract form his stellar seasonl, but given how slow the judicial system moves, I expect the incident would have happened a long time prior to the court hearings...and just as likely signed an offshore contract in the interim??
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@Nepia not that we want to go into discussing this and detract form his stellar seasonl, but given how slow the judicial system moves, I expect the incident would have happened a long time prior to the court hearings...and just as likely signed an offshore contract in the interim??
@taniwharugby said in 2019 Rugby Championship:
@Nepia not that we want to go into discussing this and detract form his stellar seasonl, but given how slow the judicial system moves, I expect the incident would have happened a long time prior to the court hearings...and just as likely signed an offshore contract in the interim??
He signed in May 2018 so I think it’s fair to say he wasn’t committed to NZ rugby regardless of whether he was due in court facing DV charges - which happened in July 2018 IIRC.
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@taniwharugby said in 2019 Rugby Championship:
@Nepia not that we want to go into discussing this and detract form his stellar seasonl, but given how slow the judicial system moves, I expect the incident would have happened a long time prior to the court hearings...and just as likely signed an offshore contract in the interim??
He signed in May 2018 so I think it’s fair to say he wasn’t committed to NZ rugby regardless of whether he was due in court facing DV charges - which happened in July 2018 IIRC.
@Nepia ah ok, didnt realise it had all moved that quickly given how slow other much higher profile cases have moved.
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I still believe the NZ sevens team missed a trick by not selecting Reece once he was eligible. His Waikato contract wouldn't have been huge, hence the temptation to look overseas.
Remember than when he signed for Connacht Keane was the coach.
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@Bovidae I think he only came eligible for NZ7s around March/April this year, by which stage he was entrenched at the Crusaders
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Better players make better all blacks.....Sevu touches up his misses last year and is rewarded as an AB this year....rightio Hansen
@Magpie_in_aus said in 2019 Rugby Championship:
Better players make better all blacks.....Sevu touches up his misses last year and is rewarded as an AB this year....rightio Hansen
He's a better person now than when he wasn't an All Black...
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@Magpie_in_aus said in 2019 Rugby Championship:
Better players make better all blacks.....Sevu touches up his misses last year and is rewarded as an AB this year....rightio Hansen
He's a better person now than when he wasn't an All Black...
@antipodean said in 2019 Rugby Championship:
@Magpie_in_aus said in 2019 Rugby Championship:
Better players make better all blacks.....Sevu touches up his misses last year and is rewarded as an AB this year....rightio Hansen
He's a better person now than when he wasn't an All Black...
rest of the country catching up with the Cantabs
(fuck, there is a sentence i never thought i would type)
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@canefan said in 2019 Rugby Championship:
@MN5 said in 2019 Rugby Championship:
@sparky said in 2019 Rugby Championship:
Steve Hansen rates SBW as the best player athletically he's worked with. He will give him every opportunity to show form ahead of the RWC.
Problem is that time is running out for Sonny. I wished he had done the same as Liam Squire and pulled out. Can't see him in the squad if Ryan Crotty is fit.
He's going if he's not broken. I think we all know that.
Always intrigues me how he is supposedly so much more "athletic" than everyone else too.
Stories abound regarding his professionalism and work ethic. My mate saw him run out in a club game last weekend, said he is farken huge up close
I’m sure. But none of this really answers my query.
@MN5 said in 2019 Rugby Championship:
@canefan said in 2019 Rugby Championship:
@MN5 said in 2019 Rugby Championship:
@sparky said in 2019 Rugby Championship:
Steve Hansen rates SBW as the best player athletically he's worked with. He will give him every opportunity to show form ahead of the RWC.
Problem is that time is running out for Sonny. I wished he had done the same as Liam Squire and pulled out. Can't see him in the squad if Ryan Crotty is fit.
He's going if he's not broken. I think we all know that.
Always intrigues me how he is supposedly so much more "athletic" than everyone else too.
Stories abound regarding his professionalism and work ethic. My mate saw him run out in a club game last weekend, said he is farken huge up close
I’m sure. But none of this really answers my query.
Because when fit he can open up defences - he's a genuine threat.
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Papalii is a fair bit bigger than Gibson - has about 10kgs on him and is taller.
Now that we are talking about the size of loose forwards I'm sure there's an Ardie comment coming along any moment now.
@KiwiMurph Wow. Got that horribly wrong. On the field you would thing the other way around but thanks for the correction.
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So can all the other players he is competing against for the very few midfield spots available, most of who are fully fit (Ryan Crotty excepted).
@Higgins said in 2019 Rugby Championship:
So can all the other players he is competing against for the very few midfield spots available, most of who are fully fit (Ryan Crotty excepted).

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So can all the other players he is competing against for the very few midfield spots available, most of who are fully fit (Ryan Crotty excepted).
@Higgins said in 2019 Rugby Championship:
So can all the other players he is competing against for the very few midfield spots available, most of who are fully fit (Ryan Crotty excepted).
I don't think they can in the same way - he's unique. That's not to pretend he doesn't have his downsides but the upside can't be denied.
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I think they want SBW as a counter to the fast rushing defense.
He hits the line and they have to cover his offload, I guess it helps create indecision and pulls in defenders.@Darren yep, I think they see his game as the ultimate foil to the rush defence that has hampered us, just a shame he has had so many injuries of late that we havent been able to see if they are in fact right or they have invested so much into a lost cause...

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TBH it’s hard for us all to know where SBW is at because he’s barely played in 2 years. In that time he’s made Crotty look like a man of steel who doesn’t get injured.
It could work out for us because he’ll be fresh. Or it could go pear shaped because he’s underdone.
I feel there’s some people going a little overboard on his selection though. These coaches have 95% kept injured players around and given them a chance to get up to speed.