@KiwiMurph said in QF Brumbies vs Hurricanes:
If I was making an argument for Kirifi in the ABs it would be as a specialist bench loosie to attack the breakdown.
Reckon their could be real value there and could be an option if you ran a 6-2 bench
I don't think the AB coaches have the balls to do something like that though
Was he carrying a bit of an injury last night - seemed to be off his usual intensity levels
@Mr-Fish said in QF Chiefs v Blues:
I think the only choking from the Chiefs really was the decision to kick for goal
And if Ratima had scored that try they may have kicked on
Collapsing the maul judication not consistent
Disappointing crowd for a knockout match
@Bones said in Highlanders Vs Chiefs:
@sparky said in Highlanders Vs Chiefs:
Massive performance by Tupou Vaa'i.
Remember all those posts on here from folks who didn't rate him. That seems a long time ago.
Yeah it's almost like it was years and years ago.
Had to go and check but yes he is a 38 test All Black already, when did that happen
@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks 2025:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2025:
@Bones said in All Blacks 2025:
@Crazy-Horse yeah tough one eh, reckon with our aging and leaving outside backs, there's got to be a punt on some newbies and what better opportunity than a touring french side? Worked wonders just over 20 years ago.
Carter would be an interesting one too, shades of Jane, his "style" might work well at test level.
French series an ideal opportunity to experiment a bit. Not just new ABs, but the likes of Love, Lakai, etc. A give players like QT & Sami T some serious game time.
Don't disagree with you, but there is the obvious problem with NZers not accepting a loss - especially to an under strength side. AB legacy and all that.
Is it actually a fact that France are going to turn up with a B side? Haven’t heard much more on this coming out of France other than what was thrown out there last year by their coach
Edit: Just scrolled down and saw the stuff article - so expect nearly a full strength team to be touring
Canes definitely hitting some good form going toward the playoffs, hope they haven’t left their run too late as they are capable of beating any team in the top six.
Blues doing their best to lose this
@Nepia said in Brumbies v Hurricanes:
@canefan said in Brumbies v Hurricanes:
@Jet said in Brumbies v Hurricanes:
@taniwharugby said in Brumbies v Hurricanes:
@No-Quarter dunno why we continue to be surprised with these calls...
This one not upgraded, that one upgraded, all a joke really.
I always think of what Cane got sent off for in a RWC final when im comparing these incidents.
And im just left shaking my head. Farcical.
I have to be honest, I'm falling out of love with the sport.
The decision, and Kolisi surviving an arguably more dangerous hit ruined our chances for a RWC win. It is one of many occasions, for us and for other teams. The refs and video replay are a total lottery and it is bad for the game
The Kolisi decision is the one that is genuinely most annoying to me. If Cane's was red, how was Kolisi's not? They should have just left both on the field with yellows and then dealt with it afterwards.
We give league shit for putting away their whistle in the big matches but this was a time we could have followed their lead, biggest game of the year, tight as fuck match, and they tanked it with hypocritical decisions.
Kolisi incident was worse - it looked to me like there was intent to hit and hurt Ardie
@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2025:
I suspect those that want Razor to fail are the marginal 'fans' that are not unlike those who wanted Henry to fail after ousting Deans.
Vast majority of fans want him to succeed, want him to return us to the top of the pile, and last year, he made it hard with some calls many saw as bias or bonkers, there will always be some provincial lines that blur calls too.
I'd say this year will give us a much better picture of whether he is upto the task or not, if we cant start to climb back up after the slide that started around 2016/2017, might be time to start supporting the Warriors....
I have a nagging feeling we may reach the bottom this year, heaven forbid may even lose at Eden Park and handover the Bledisloe also.
Just feel like we need some new blood/ bolters to get in this year to be up there again for WC27
Bugger I thought Grizz was unbreakable. He was a God of Canterbury and Glenmark Rugby. Remember meeting him as a kid at our school and was a big fan of his from then onwards. RIP Mr Wylie.
As Above
@NTA said in Ireland v Wallabies:
Collected thoughts on the game:
Yes some refereeing decisions were fucking dartboard stuff both ways - and I include all the officials in that.
Sliding doors moments:
- Valetini's knock on is a knock on, we have a scrum - but no, we proceed, he gets done for a forearm, and it's a penalty instead.
- Irish knock on is actually called according to, you know: The Laws Of The Game, and maybe Doris doesn't slide over for a fairly easy try. Maybe in another universe there is a knock on called, and they fuck us at the scrum.
Generally immaterial to the result, but the referee's assessor would have filled about 5 fucking clipboards with comments on the ref, both ARs, and that cheese-eating surrender monkey in the box.
Ireland looked a bit flat to me. You saw how much by how they lifted when the bench came on. Their young flyhalf is a good distributor but I feel like he's still playing the game at the level of his experience and will need some more time against men to bring that up to speed.
I felt like we lost the game just based on territory and a few simple errors - Lolesio took 2 good marks then didn't find touch. Similarly I think we missed a few exit kicks that could have sent Ireland back upfield to lineout, where we could mount pressure on their throwers.
That said, we fucking whacked them. Fuck me I am proud of how this team has turned around its physicality and started punching holes in fluffybunnies - that was apparent across all 4 games. It is the long-overdue component of our game that sets the tone and allows us to compete at the top level.
How good is it going to be as a Tahs fan to have Bell and Kailea competing for the loosehead propping spot? Young, capable at scrum time, and absolute animals in open play.
Thought if they had scored off the TT intercept that might have taken the game, unfortunately support didn’t quite get there
Not sure if this got mentioned earlier in thread but well done to French Rugby for showing some in the Northern Hemisphere still embrace and respect the Haka by literally putting it in the spotlight
@mikedogz Charles Piutau and Steven Luatua don't appear to be in this guy's lists.
They're probably the two that I would most have liked to keep.
Based on these lists, anyway, we haven't been too badly hurt by the exodus to Europe. Some guys who turned out to be very handy, but not many superstars.
Bundee was one who got away.
Guys like Simon Mannix and Jimmy Gopperth come to mind, as journeymen who end up having long and productive careers in the UK
And Nick Evans? Probably slightly more talented than a journeyman but always in DCs shadow
This is rugby at its best
Who said Ardie was done?
Bloody ripper result, has to be our greatest cricket achievement ever.
Funnily enough I was at an Indian restaurant on Saturday night and they had a tv with the cricket on. I was able to watch the BCs go from 3 down to 9 down in the time it took to eat my Rogan Josh. I mentioned to the waiter who was an avid Indian fan as I was leaving that I am a kiwi and I was pretty happy with what was going to be a 2-1 series win for us. Then didn’t check the result until last night thinking India would have comfortably got the required runs just after lunch some time.
