AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?
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@Hooroo said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: @Chris-B said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: I thing the AB selectors need to have quite a strong eye on who is going to play halfback for us at the next World Cup. Aaron Smith will be an old man, TJ, Weber and Hall won't be a lot younger (all in their late 20s now). I'd be inclined to take a punt on someone younger as the third option. How old is TTT? Turned 25 in March. 
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@Hooroo said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: @nzzp said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: @Kiwiwomble said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: i worry Jordie is the former rather than the later Anyone who can pound over penalties from 50m+, and defend strongly has a future in the backs at international level. I think he'll have other abilities he develops too. Don't forget, he turned 23 in Feb. The kid is still super young (same age as Rieko Ioane). Is Reiko only 23????? according to Wikipedia - a month younger than JB 
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@nzzp said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: @Hooroo said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: @nzzp said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: @Kiwiwomble said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: i worry Jordie is the former rather than the later Anyone who can pound over penalties from 50m+, and defend strongly has a future in the backs at international level. I think he'll have other abilities he develops too. Don't forget, he turned 23 in Feb. The kid is still super young (same age as Rieko Ioane). Is Reiko only 23????? according to Wikipedia - a month younger than JB But he debuted about a decade ago...... 
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@Hooroo said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: @nzzp said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: @Hooroo said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: @nzzp said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: @Kiwiwomble said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: i worry Jordie is the former rather than the later Anyone who can pound over penalties from 50m+, and defend strongly has a future in the backs at international level. I think he'll have other abilities he develops too. Don't forget, he turned 23 in Feb. The kid is still super young (same age as Rieko Ioane). Is Reiko only 23????? according to Wikipedia - a month younger than JB But he debuted about a decade ago...... feels like it. He was 19 on debut against Italy in 2016 
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Question: Would the ABs be stronger with Rieko at centre or on the left wing? I'd be starting him in the no.11 jersey but with his increasing ability to play at centre that changes the balance of the back reserves as you wouldn't need to carry another specialist midfielder. If there are going to be 4 BC tests, Foster (and Rennie for that matter) will have the opportunity to try different combinations across the series. But I'm not expecting a huge number of newbies this season. 
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@Bovidae said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: Question: Would the ABs be stronger with Rieko at centre or on the left wing? I'd be starting him in the no.11 jersey but with his increasing ability to play at centre that changes the balance of the back reserves as you wouldn't need to carry another specialist midfielder.. Starting winger, moves to 13 for the last 20mins when Caleb subs on 
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@Duluth said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: @Bovidae said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: Question: Would the ABs be stronger with Rieko at centre or on the left wing? I'd be starting him in the no.11 jersey but with his increasing ability to play at centre that changes the balance of the back reserves as you wouldn't need to carry another specialist midfielder.. Starting winger, moves to 13 for the last 20mins when Caleb subs on Ralph? THat guy's so fit... 
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@nzzp said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: @Duluth said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: @Bovidae said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: Question: Would the ABs be stronger with Rieko at centre or on the left wing? I'd be starting him in the no.11 jersey but with his increasing ability to play at centre that changes the balance of the back reserves as you wouldn't need to carry another specialist midfielder.. Starting winger, moves to 13 for the last 20mins when Caleb subs on Ralph? THat guy's so fit... 104 games in a row, he's a fucking machine 
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@Duluth said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: @Bovidae said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: Question: Would the ABs be stronger with Rieko at centre or on the left wing? I'd be starting him in the no.11 jersey but with his increasing ability to play at centre that changes the balance of the back reserves as you wouldn't need to carry another specialist midfielder.. Starting winger, moves to 13 for the last 20mins when Caleb subs on Would prefer to see him coming off the bench. Going from wing to centre in a game is a big defensive adjustment to make. Smith 
 Barrett
 Clarke
 ALB
 Goodhue
 Telea
 HaviliPerenara 
 Mounga
 IoaneAbout perfect for mine. Mix and match the starters for different opponents. 
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@Stargazer said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: Mo'unga at first five, BB at 15, Havili on the bench. Who would your other non-halfback back be on the bench? 
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@Stargazer said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: Mo'unga at first five, BB at 15, Havili on the bench. Goodhue and Enmore.in the midfield. Bridge and Reece the wings @ACT-Crusader someone is trying to steal your shtick 
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@KiwiMurph said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: @Stargazer said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: Mo'unga at first five, BB at 15, Havili on the bench. Who would your other non-halfback back be on the bench? Depends on the starters. Say Reece and Telea are the starting wingers, and Goodhue and ALB the starting midfielders, then you probably take a fast wing/centre on the bench if Havili can already cover 10/12/15. So then probably Rieko. But if Rieko and Goodhue start, then maybe Ennor on the bench (assuming he's faster than ALB). 
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Team I'd go for if there was a Test in a couple of weeks: Moody, Taylor, Ofa T, Sam Whitelock, Patrick Tuipulotu, Papali'i, Cane (c), Sotutu, A. Smith,B. Barrett ,C. Clarke, ALB, Goodhue, Reece (maybe Telea), J. Barrett (or W. Jordan) 
 Bench 16. D. Coles. 17. Karl T (or Hodgman) 18. Lualala 19. Dickson 20. A. Savea 21. TJP 22. R. Mo'unga 23. R. Ioane
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@mariner4life said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: @Stargazer said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: Mo'unga at first five, BB at 15, Havili on the bench. Goodhue and Enmore.in the midfield. Bridge and Reece the wings @ACT-Crusader someone is trying to steal your shtick Who is this BB? Never seen him in red nblack before.Anyway some of these youngsters have a thing to learn, when they have intestinal fortitude to name the following, come and talk to me. Pakeha Players Matter  9-Andy Ellis 
 10-Tyler Bleyandaal
 11-Scott Hamilton
 12-Tom Taylor
 13-Ryan Crotty
 14-Adam Whitelock
 15-Colin Slade
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@Crucial said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: The love for Will Jordan on this thread sounds very much like the love for George Bridge last year. Just saying. Good player but he's not a patch on prime Ben Smith (which is the benchmark) If Ben Smith is the benchmark, then Jordan has plenty of time to develop into that player. There's no need to rush him in at this stage when there are plenty of other options. That being said, they could start him on the right wing in the same way they did with Israel Dagg (and Ben Smith for that matter). 
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@sparky said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: Team I'd go for if there was a Test in a couple of weeks: Moody, Taylor, Ofa T, Sam Whitelock, Patrick Tuipulotu, Papali'i, Cane (c), Sotutu, A. Smith,B. Barrett ,C. Clarke, ALB, Goodhue, Reece (maybe Telea), J. Barrett (or W. Jordan) 
 Bench 16. D. Coles. 17. Karl T (or Hodgman) 18. Lualala 19. Dickson 20. A. Savea 21. TJP 22. R. Mo'unga 23. R. IoaneI would put Lomax on the bench instead of Laulala whose current form is poor (as it was during the RWC). This could be a good occasion to test him. 
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@junior said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: @Crucial said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?: The love for Will Jordan on this thread sounds very much like the love for George Bridge last year. Just saying. Good player but he's not a patch on prime Ben Smith (which is the benchmark) If Ben Smith is the benchmark, then Jordan has plenty of time to develop into that player. There's no need to rush him in at this stage when there are plenty of other options. That being said, they could start him on the right wing in the same way they did with Israel Dagg (and Ben Smith for that matter). Agree. @Crucial that is pretty shortsighted way of looking at it given that if the same rule applied to Ben Smith, then he shouldn’t have started at fullback for the ABs because he wasn’t yet at the prime Ben Smith benchmark! Took a few tests and like @junior said, experience in the environment and playing on the wing definitely assisted him. There were definitely some doubters when he got selected too. 


 Rieko Ioane - Wikipedia
                    
                    Rieko Ioane - Wikipedia
                 
                
 Rieko Ioane
                    
                    Rieko Ioane
                 
                







