2018 November Internationals
-
@sparky said in 2018 November Internationals:
Is Faf de Klerk injured or are Sale not releasing him?
SA did a deal with Sale to release him during the TRC but they could keep him during November.
This is the kind of rubbish the NZRU are trying to avoid as long as possible.
-
@sparky said in 2018 November Internationals:
Sir Clive Woodward previews the November Internationals:
This bits interesting
- Many feel South Africa squandered a win over New Zealand last month when they subbed key players in the last 10 minutes. Why is it so important that your best players see the game out?
Those critics were right, it did cost the Boks the game! Always keep your best players on the full 80 unless they are injured. Seeing them go off lifts the opposition. Boks coach Rassie Erasmus surely also regrets resting players for the third Test against England in the summer which saw England gain a victory to stop the rot. No gifts in Test rugby, ever, and those decisions by Erasmus will come home to haunt him in a week.
Not sure I agree, but maybe this comes from supporting a team with a good bench.
You have to have bench cover for hooker and halfback (Hooker by the actual laws). Clive is suggesting South Africa never use 2 of their 8 replacements?
Might work if you had a Francois Hougard (or Ruan Pienaar) who can cover more positions than just halfback. But if you had Francois or Ruan you wouldn't be scared to bring them on anyway, because they are/were actually good.
I think Clive's living in the past on this one, I'm not a fan of rugby being a 23 man game either, but it currently is.
Let alone the politics of leaving un-used non-white subs on the bench.
The only solution to this is, either:
- get better bench players, or
- have you best (irreplaceable) players not in those positions.
just like the only workable solution for quotas is to train up better nonwhite players. and do it as soon as you can.
An 80 minute front-rower is a relic of the past. Just like a front-rower captaining at this level is (almost) a relic of the past . Cough Creevy, cough hartley.
-
Wallabies' squad for the Northern tour:
Forwards
Jermaine Ainsley (1 Test, Melbourne Rebels, 23)
Allan Alaalatoa (30 Tests, Brumbies, 24)
Rory Arnold (19 Tests , Brumbies, 28)
Adam Coleman (28 Tests, Melbourne Rebels, 26)
Jack Dempsey (7 Tests, NSW Waratahs, 24)
Folau Fainga’a (6 Tests, Brumbies, 23)
Ned Hanigan (18 Tests, NSW Waratahs, 23)
Jed Holloway (uncapped, NSW Waratahs, 25)
Michael Hooper (c) (88 Tests, NSW Waratahs, 26)
Sekope Kepu (100 Tests, NSW Waratahs, 32)
Tolu Latu (10 Tests, NSW Waratahs, 25)
Brandon Paenga-Amosa (4 Tests, Queensland Reds, 22)
David Pocock (75 Tests, Brumbies, 30)
Izack Rodda (14 Tests, Queensland Reds, 22)
Rob Simmons (91 Tests, NSW Waratahs, 29)
Pete Samu (7 Tests, Brumbies, 26)
Scott Sio (52 Tests, Brumbies, 27)
Taniela Tupou (9 Tests, Queensland Reds, 22).
BacksAdam Ashley-Cooper (116, Kobe Steelers, 34)
Tom Banks (3 Tests, Brumbies, 24)
Kurtley Beale (81 Tests, NSW Waratahs, 29)
Israel Folau (70 Tests, NSW Waratahs, 29)
Bernard Foley (65 Tests, NSW Waratahs, 29)
Will Genia (97 Tests, Melbourne Rebels, 30)
Jake Gordon (uncapped, NSW Waratahs, 25)
Dane Haylett-Petty (28 Tests, Melbourne Rebels, 29)
Samu Kerevi (22 Tests, Queensland Reds, 25)
Marika Koroibete (18 Tests, Melbourne Rebels, 26)
Jack Maddocks (5 Tests, Melbourne Rebels, 21)
Sefa Naivalu (8 Tests, Melbourne Rebels, 26)
Jordan Petaia (uncapped, Queensland Reds, 18)
Nick Phipps (70 Tests, NSW Waratahs, 29)
Matt Toomua (39, Leicester Tigers/Melbourne Rebels, 28)Development Player
Rob Valetini (uncapped, Brumbies, 20)Adam Ashley-Cooper is back. The 116-Test utility will join the Wallabies squad in Odawara on Monday along with boom Reds rookie Jordan Petaia and big, ball carrying Brumbies backrower Rob Valetini. Ashley-Cooper last played for his country against the All Blacks in 2016 but will be eligible for selection against Wales should coach Michael Cheika call his name. If he does earn another cap it will make him Australia's third most capped Wallaby of all time.
"We need a couple of extra backs here on the trip. "(Ashley-Cooper) will train with us, we’ll see where he’s at. "He’s come on the tour with us to be available for selection, he’s not coming for a holiday." Petaia isn't coming for a holiday either. The 18-year-old has just 13 Super Rugby caps to his name but embodies the term meteoric rise.
Petaia is most likely to line up on tour against Italy in Australia's final match of the year. Cheika is expected to hand his big guns a break in that Test and, as a result, see what some of his fringe players have to offer. The other notable addition is Valetini. The 20-year-old has just three Super Rugby caps to his name but has shown through Australian U20s and NRC football that he has what it takes to thrive on the world stage. He has been added as a development player and will not be considered for selection on tour. Matt Toomua will also rejoin the squad after completing Leicester duties but Tatafu Polota-Nau will stay in England to give his body a break for the remainder of the year. Skills coach Mick Byrne has also linked back up with the team after being absent in the lead up to the Yokohama Bledisloe for personal reasons.
-
Schmidt has named his squad for Italy Test in Chicago
Forwards: F Bealham (Connacht), T Beirne (Munster), J Conan (Leinster), S Cronin (Leinster), T Furlong (Leinster), D Kilcoyne (Munster), Jack McGrath (Leinster), J Murphy (Ulster), A Porter (Leinster), Q Roux (Connacht), R Ruddock (Leinster), James Ryan (Leinster), N Scannell (Munster), D Toner (Leinster), J van der Flier (Leinster).
Backs: W Addison (Ulster), A Conway (Munster), D Sweetnam (Munster), J Larmour (Leinster), J Stockdale (Ulster), G Ringrose (Leinster), B Aki (Connacht), R Byrne (Leinster), J Carbery (Munster), J Cooney (Ulster), L McGrath (Leinster).
So maybe the 23 might look like:
FR: Kilcoyne, Scannell, Porter
L: Beirne, Ryan
BR: Ruddock, vdF, Conan
SH: Cooney
OH: Carbery
C : Aki, Addison*
W: Sweetnam*, Stockdale
FB: Larmour
Reps:
Cronin, McGrath, Bealham, Roux, Murphy, McGrath, Byrne*, Conway*=uncapped
-
@rapido said in 2018 November Internationals:
I think Clive's living in the past on this one, I'm not a fan of rugby being a 23 man game either, but it currently is.
Yep.
What he's not talking about is a good but tired player coming up against a fresh player who is almost as good (or in some cases, different). After 70 minutes you can lose speed, fall off tackles, etc -- and then it's easy to write about how you can't flog the players.
Clive's living in the past generally I think on this one
-
@nzzp said in 2018 November Internationals:
@rapido said in 2018 November Internationals:
I think Clive's living in the past on this one, I'm not a fan of rugby being a 23 man game either, but it currently is.
Yep.
What he's not talking about is a good but tired player coming up against a fresh player who is almost as good (or in some cases, different). After 70 minutes you can lose speed, fall off tackles, etc -- and then it's easy to write about how you can't flog the players.
Clive's living in the past generally I think on this one
Also: it's OK for a week, but what happens in weeks 2 or 3 when you need them to play the 80, and they are backing up full game after full game. The legs get tired, players get jaded, etc...
-
@nzzp said in 2018 November Internationals:
@rapido said in 2018 November Internationals:
I think Clive's living in the past on this one, I'm not a fan of rugby being a 23 man game either, but it currently is.
Yep.
What he's not talking about is a good but tired player coming up against a fresh player who is almost as good (or in some cases, different). After 70 minutes you can lose speed, fall off tackles, etc -- and then it's easy to write about how you can't flog the players.
Clive's living in the past generally I think on this one
well durrrr, Clive's opinions on rugby end late-2003. As far as he is concerned, that was the pinnacle of rugby right there, and it's been downhill ever since.
-
The Japan v All Blacks test on 3 November will be livestreamed on https://allblackstv.com/ .
The free streaming of the Test covers 159 countries and territories in Asia (except Japan), Europe (except France), United Kingdom, parts of Africa, North, Central and South America and the Pacific (except Australia and New Zealand).
The official announcement contains a list of countries where the stream will be available.
By the way, the All Blacks tv site is not only showing a link to the All Blacks v Japan test, but also to the Chile v Māori All Blacks game on 18 November.
http://allblacks.com/News/23739/all-blacks-japan-test-to-be-streamed-online-internationally
-
England have narrowed their training squad in Portugal down to 25. No place for Mike Brown, but four Kiwi Poms (Dylan Hartley, Zach Mercer, Brad Shields and Ben Te'o) and an Aussie Pom (Alec Hepburn) make the cut.
Forwards: Tom Curry (Sale Sharks), Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby), Jamie George (Saracens), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints) co-captain, Alec Hepburn (Exeter Chiefs), Maro Itoje (Saracens), George Kruis (Saracens), Zach Mercer (Bath Rugby), Ben Moon (Exeter Chiefs), Brad Shields (Wasps), Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins), Elliott Stooke (Bath Rugby), Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs), Mark Wilson (Newcastle Falcons)
Backs: Chris Ashton (Sale Sharks), Danny Care (Harlequins), Elliot Daly (Wasps), Owen Farrell (Saracens) co-captain, George Ford (Leicester Tigers), Jonny May (Leicester Tigers), Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors), Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers
-
@sparky said in 2018 November Internationals:
@crucial Yeah, but Maro Itoje is stil there.....
I didn't say it had died out altogether!
There's something about Farrell that gets to me as well. I can never pinpoint it.
Mind you, if Ashton gets to do one of his dorky swan dives...... -
@sparky said in 2018 November Internationals:
20 year-old Tom Curry's the only player there remotely like an Openside Flanker.
Yep, all the others are basically 6s. Yeah Mercer has played a lot of 8 but not so much at senior level and he's not been tearing the place up. Wilson has been solid and has a bit of dog about him. Shields has done sweet FA in the UK and hardly shone in SA during the summer. We've left our best available 8 (Morgan) and 7 (Underhill) out altogether. Curry aside we've gone for biggish, slowish munters. Oh and we've been mullered at the breakdown for a season and a half.
Fuck. Just, fuck.