The Silver Fern

@Winger said in All Blacks 2024:

@MN5 said in All Blacks 2024:

@Winger said in All Blacks 2024:

@chchfanatic said in All Blacks 2024:

@Winger the idiot brigade out again. Give it a rest. It’s getting boring.

Where did the Crusaders finish up this year?

There's obvious bias. Even most (but obviosuly not all) Crusaders should be able to see this

That could be asking the impossible

Robertsons a fool really. All he had to do is not make any dubious Crusaders selections and everyone would have been on his side as the man.

So Ardie over Scott as captain
RR in preference to Bell
Plummer in preference to Havili
And not Blackadder

Thats it. He could have then brought them all in if and only if they proved themsleves in SRP 2025

Some of the tantrums and throwing toys out of the cot on here over the last month or so has been pretty impressive but it is getting a bit unhinged now.

I for one am glad Robertson isn’t selecting the fringe squad players with the purpose of keeping some internet forum fans happy.

Scott Barrett over Ardie was always going to be the safe bet. IMO their individual performances in the first couple of games and Ardie signing for MP and planning to the another sabbatical proves this decision was probably a good one.

RR is a journeyman who is only just Super rugby standard. If Sami T didn’t hurt himself, Bell would have been nowhere near the team.

People getting their knickers in a twist over Havili being the 5th choice midfielder is also hilarious. We are scraping the barrel there so going back to Havili is understandable. Lam having only played a handful of games at 12 was never going to be a serious option. Hopefully next year he is.
I probably would have selected Plummer in the place of Perofeta (who has done fuck all even at super or test level) and had Love in the original squad to cover 15 in place of Narawa. Like they have now.

Blackadder has been covered. Multiple previous coaching groups have rated him (and Frizzel) over Akira and Sotutu. Neither of then really offered what we are missing in their test appearances anyway. If they had, they would be there. That’s just the way it is. Get over it. Like midfield there isn’t much proven talent left behind. Unless you want to give Grace another shot, but the meltdown and screams of bias would be deafening.

Now on the squad selection overall.
Really happy to see Christie given the boot. Don’t really have a view on Hotham. The Blues dropping Funaki for Christie when he came back probably killed his chances. Fakatava has dropped right away from where he was.
They are just keeping Roigard’s spot warm anyway.

Still concerned about our lock selections. Especially with Barrett out of the first games.
Really don’t understand why they aren’t bringing an extra guy in full time. Whoever it is.

Also don’t really get the Cane selection. He doesn’t add anything that we don’t already have multiple layers of in the other 6.5s.
Going to be very interesting to see how the selection of the loosies evolves over to RC.
Really hoping Finau can gain some confidence.

You will never convince me that the current obsession with handing out red cards is a good thing.
They have shifted their interpretation of dangerous play, and how it should be dealt with, a long way from where it used to be. But they haven’t changed the card system. It is no longer fit for purpose.
Add in the inconsistency they are applying it with and it is a complete fucking mess.

Straight red cards should be reserved for the worst of the worst. ie. biting, kicking, eye gouging, punching, stomping on a head and deliberate or extremely dangerous foul play eg. A stiff arm to the head.

Tackles that are part of the game but have just been poorly executed in the heat of the game should be dealt with differently. There is absolutely no reason another tier of card allowing for a replacement player after 10min and harsher suspensions wouldn’t work.
Or hey you could even start by not reducing every single ban by 50% because someone dressed nicely for the hearing.

I would be very interested in seeing the stats for how often a team has gone on to win after copping a red card before 60 mins. It is so often a death sentence for the contest.

By the way, im not commenting on the red card in this game. Im not watching it because i refused to pay money to watch a RWC which was so clearly going to be tainted by bullshit cards and inconsistent application of the laws.

For fucks sake.
Im pretty fucking over rugby at the moment to be honest. To put 54 on the Wallabies in sydney and get the win but be pissed off afterward is just a weird feeling.
The reffing of the game at the moment is absolutely killing the game. That Wallabies try was one of the most obvious non tries i have seen in ages. The pass was 1m forward and then a clear offside the angle they made the call on was totally wrong.
Then the non try for BB. The front angle clearly showed BBs hand on the ball first yet they look at some far off angle from behind and the consistency of clear and obvious being required to disallow the try is out the window.

Fuck Barnes.

ABs bench sucked arse.
We need to find a new 3rd hooker and a replacement for Ofa.
TJP was shit again. Has reverted to the old TJ. WTF was that quick lineout? Stupid.

DMac mixed really good with the shit. That is the problem with him.

Ioane, ASmith, Squire and Rettalick really good.
BB's goal kicking very good.

Oh and a big fuck you to the Clown. What sort of professional sits in the coaches box swearing his head off at every ref call, even when it goes his way.
When is he going to get called on his pathetic record as wallabies coach?

I found it! Almost resorted to signing up to planet rugby to search for clues. Have updated my email address. Good job getting it back up and running.

@Machpants said in Blues 2020:

Quality No 10s are like buses....

You wait for years for one to come, then two turn up at the same time?

@MN5 said in All Blacks v BI Lions Test #2:

On the piss in town last night and I have to say that every single Lions fan is an absolute GGC. Great folk to talk shit with. Such a decent bunch. My Mum is a fan too after getting her car stuck on the ledge of a drive she was using to turn around in. A group of about 6 of them lifted her car ( Suzuki swift ) back onto the roadside. Legends.

Town is just pumping. 2005 all over again, only difference is my fucken head aches way more than it did at 28.

Concussion? Would explain some of your comments around Scottish players.

@Machpants said in Aussie Rugby:

@mariner4life said in Aussie Rugby:

@Bovidae said in Aussie Rugby:

There is enough blame to go around but even if some of what O'Connor says is true it did sound like a dysfunctional squad.

when was the last time the Wallabies weren't dysfunctional?

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stuff.co.nz%2Fsport%2Frugby%2Finternational%2F106241168%2Felvis-a-hit-warriors-top-dogs--what-was-it-like-when-australia-last-won-bledisloe-cup&psig=AOvVaw2JSXG1fWB3jRRYHUVq0hcO&ust=1592435126553000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCNDWkaK5h-oCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

or even

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.smh.com.au%2Fsport%2Frugby-union%2Fbring-back-bill-the-untold-stories-of-the-1999-rugby-world-cup-20190916-p52rn0.html&psig=AOvVaw070LMBt5E9rgL2scXYujq0&ust=1592435232534000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCODm4NS5h-oCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

It’s amazing what they can do to colourise old historic black and white photos these days.

@mikethesnow said in All Blacks v France Test #2:

@taniwharugby said in All Blacks v France Test #2:

@booboo the French centre reckons it was partly BBs fault....

Doumayrou conceded it was "the straight application of the regulation" but felt the match officials should have taken into account that there had been "a fault of the All Blacks" with Fall "unbalanced" while challenging for the ball.

Was going to wait until tomorrow, but had a few so what the hell.

ALB certainly helped Fall to his final destination quicker than he expected.

Not a legal person but I think that's what the Americans call an 'Accesory After The Fact'

Nothing Fall could have done to avoid the collision with BB

Fall was focussed on the ball the whole time, as was BB

Many have commented that Fall would never have made the catch.

It could be argued that BB knew the only way he could make the catch was to leap above the oncoming player and put himself at the mercy of the collision.

So he couldn't have turned his eyes in the general direction he was running and realised he was going to be beaten to the ball and pulled out? How did all the other players in the match manage to properly judge aerial contests then?

Its a pretty simple situation. Time your run right and get in the air to properly contest or pull out and wait for the guy to safely land. Blindly running to where the ball is going to land and being surprised you take out a jumper is not an option.

@Bones said in 'Super Rugby' 2021:

Sounds naff

Stuff

FFS, I hate this shit. How about they work on getting the TMO to not fuck up clear decisions. Referring them more things to get wrong is not going to improve the game.

Not sure how allowing the defending team to kick the ball away after the attacking team has been held up over try line is going to promote attacking play.

But hey, lets go all out like the BBL and introduce power plays and power surges and mega awesome lightning periods where tries are worth 100 and fans can vote on removing the boots of an opposition player for 10mins.

Much better performance tonight. Especially with all the new guys in the team.
Scott Barrett my MOTM. Don't see why people are saying he is too slow to cover 6. Not like Kaino was fast. Would much rather a strong tackler/strong carrier and lineout option with good ball skills over a flaah open field runner like Fifita.

Dmac was also good. Still had some poor moments but for the most part he was playing like a 10.
Hopefully he and Richie can both develop so we have some good depth at 10.

SBW was looking really good. Unfortunate that he got hurt. Think our backline balance with a strong runner at 12 to bend the line.

Thought Goodhue was decent on debut. Especially second half. Hemopo good on debut and i thought Frizzell wasn't as bad as has been said on here but still not seeing what he has over Akira.

Hopefully this is the last time we see Todd miss a squad. Time to have him on the bench in the top team.

Rieko was bloody good again. So much gas. Looked good at centre too.

Think people are jumping the gun on calling Ben Smith past it. He is still a fucking good rugby player.
And while Naholo wasn't great on D tonight he is still a bloody good winger to have in the squad.

One and only thing i will say about the ref/tmo: The Frizzell no try was bullshit. Sure if the ref goes upstairs and says can you see a grounding? And the tmo can't see it you don't give the try. But when the ref said he saw it you don't interrupt then overturn the call because you aren't sure if he got it or not. There was no clear held up just like there was no grounding. So go with the refs call ffs.

Also the NZ anthem was awful. I hate the slow warbling opera types.

Well it appears my first reaction to that squad was the same as everyone elses. Fifita? WTF?

They have lost the plot over the last few years when trying to plan for Kaino’s departure.
Elliot Dixon in and out, Luatua in and out, Squire all the chances in the world despite being shit, fifita all the chances in the world despite being shit, Frizzell in from nowhere then out, Barrett maybe we will use him but not given many chances, Hemopo selected as a 6 but now listed as a lock also given bugger all chances despite showing promise, Papalii in then out, Akira never given a chance despite good form, Jacobson in then......

What is the bet they now try Cane, Read or Ardie there? That is the only reason i can see them picking Todd.

Will be interesting to see what they do at 14 too. Some of those guys need to be tested.

@Hooroo said in All Blacks vs Tonga:

@Nepia said in All Blacks vs Tonga:

@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks vs Tonga:

@pukunui said in All Blacks vs Tonga:

@Canerbry said in All Blacks vs Tonga:

@pukunui said in All Blacks vs Tonga:

Im definitely not sold on the Bridge/Reece combo.

Why is that?

To clarify that probably should have been followed by “as our first choice combo”

I just don’t think it is the best one we can put on the park. Ioane/Smith still #1 for me if BB is at 15.

If Smith is at 15 i would have Bridge in the conversation for 14 but they don’t seem to want to play him there.

With Reece i just don’t rate him that highly yet. He hasn’t done anything in an AB wingers jersey that someone like Jordie hasn’t and he was about as good in Super rugby as Ben Lam was a season or two back. For now i put him firmly in the “flashy new toy” category.

The great thing about flashy new toys is that you only need them for Christmas/New Year period. We only need Reece to perform at the RWC and then let’s see where it goes.

I'd prefer we rely on Ioane (who's performed for a couple of years now and his drop in form has been blown way out of proportion) and Bridge who looks to be the next long term Ben Smith/Cory Jane style player.

I'd prefer we rely on the form winger rather than the grossly out of form winger.

The way Bridge hunted out the ball during the last Bled was enough for me to want to see a lot more of that

Where does this grossly out of form thing come from? He has only played two games for the ABs this season. He wasn’t great against the Boks when he kept dropping the ball but lets not forget Bridge came on and shat the bed letting the boks score at the end. Then he played against Aus in perth where he wasn’t bad despite to forwards getting embarrassed.

It’s not fair to translate his up and down super season into his test “form” because he was playing in a joke of a Blues team and still scored 9 tries.

@KiwiMurph said in Hurricanes v Crusaders:

Enjoyable game.

Jordan was terrific.

Can't say I was impressed by Bridge. Was not threatening at all.

Jordan would good with the AB 14 jersey on his back.
Could be a very good Ben Smith style winger.

George Bridge is Caleb Ralph mkII. There are so many better options than him.

Surely having an online poll of the crowd to choose the players who go off would get everyone more involved.
They could do the same to choose try celebrations and what colour boots each player wears.

I will stop watching if this sort of shit creeps into the game more.

The good stuff:

• Jordie on the wing, thought he looked good there. Not just because it was Italy too. Showed good pace and aerial skills. Probably doesn't have the same pressure to pull things off on the wing as Fullback. Good to have another option for that tight wing spot.
• Coles looking like he used to was great to see.

The bad stuff:

• the obsession with kicking the ball away continues. Even worse is they scored off it several times so will think it works now. Im starting to think the only powder they had in this tour was the kicking powder. Maybe the rest of it got lost at heathrow.
• Naholo, who was anonymous

The question marks:

• Fifita, looked good. But we already knew he could run rampant against second tier teams. Papalii didn't really get enough time to make any judgements.
• Midfield, borh guys went well. First choice pair in no clearer though.
• Dmac, he scored 3 tries but is still a massive question mark for me. So often his team mates look as confused about what he is doing as the opposition. Still loves to run across field like Lote Tuqiri. Unfortunately they subbed BB so we didn't get a look the Mounga/BB combo.

@nepia said in All Blacks Squad for France:

Shannon Frizell - WTF! Seriously, even setting aside the fact he's a poach, he's the worst selection in the ABs for a long time.

Basically Akira has to move to a South Island team and do some of the mythical graft that @Machpants claims he doesn't do, despite the fact he's week in week out one of the hardest workers going un a bumbling Blues team. What graft has Frizell done in his 34 minutes per game he plays?

Im trying to work out what graft work Fifita and Savea do that Akira doesn't as well.
I could understand if all the guys infront of him were veterans and he just needed to wait for his chance but they are parachuting guys with less runs on the board in ahead of him.

It was 92-0 or something at the time. Who cares?

As i said before the series, Ireland because fuck Australia. Fuck the clown, fuck self righteous Folau, fuck pocock, fuck phil kearns, mardo and the rest of their whinging "experts".

What i would love to see is Folau taken out in the air, landing on his head and the Irish player not being carded because a moth flew infront of him.

Haha a few people getting their knickers in a twist over this. Why shouldn’t he want to play with his brother? No different than a player wanting to be based in a particular city near family or play under a certain coach or any other readon for choosing a team to sign for.
As far as i can see he hasn’t been offered what BBBR, whitelock and BB have been. He hasn’t been given a sabbatical he just hasn’t finalised the super rugby component of the deal. I don’t see anything wring with that.

Wow some knickers in a twist on this thread.
But yeah nah. Bridge is seriously underwhelming when compared to a long line of dynamic AB wingers. Especially on the left wing.
Caleb Ralph is the perfect comparison. A good rugby player who will end up with lots of tries to his name but not even in sight of the top echelon of AB wingers.

I think people are being a bit sensitive over what is some pretty tame criticism in this case.