@Jaguares4real said in 2019 Rugby Championship:

@mariner4life said in 2019 Rugby Championship:

be a strange fruit, but at least he's kicked the hornets nest a

One of my aims is to rattle some cages

Provoke some debate with contrarian POVs

Not a fan of cosy consensus, too similar to circle jerking

So you're a troll? How delightfully clever and original.

So it seems that many of the top candidates for the AB Head Coach have been negotiating for months with other international unions. 6 months in the case of Dave Rennie and Rugby Australia. NZ Rugby's refusal to initiate this process until well after the RWC looks to have been a terribly flawed approach - because all the other top candidates have jobs elsewhere. Ian Foster will be the last man standing, which is unbelievable given the number of talented NZ coaches that are around Rugby globally.

So do some posters still think that Akira Ioane is higher up the pecking order than Luke Whitelock? I'm very happy for Luke, he was gifted a test cap years before he was actually ready, and was perhaps deservedly ridiculed by some people because of this. However he has become a very reliable and accurate player for both Canterbury and the Highlanders and has thoroughly deserved this call-up. I hope he plays really well.

I don't think Jordan Taufua can even be in the discussion, and I'm a Crusaders fan. When Read returns, I'd like to see Whetu Douglas switch to the Blindside and Taufua relegated to the bench. In my opinion Douglas has been the find of the season.

I really liked the way Richie Mo'unga played last night. He was prepared to take the line on himself, which meant the defense couldn't just slide when he received the ball. Mo'unga has great footwork, and decent speed over short distances. He looks like he'd be a great touch player.

@canerbry said in All Blacks Squad for France:

@cantab79 Bryn Hall over Weber too right now

Hall is a funny one, no-one seems to rate him. Even Scott Robertson seems to rate him on par with Drummond - hence why he rotates them evenly. I must be watching a different player because I rate him highly, and if it were up to me he'd always start for the Crusaders. I think he's a really talented player but he just never seems to even be in the discussion for the All Blacks.

Without wanting to appear to be advocating for him to be in the RWC squad, but in the spirit of this thread we could do worse than including Brayden Ennor in the squad. He's a quality young centre, a position where we lack depth, and can cover either wing or fullback as a utility squad member.

Seems more and more likely that Joseph and Rennie have both heard through the grapevine that the recruitment process is a farce. No point burning all their goodwill at NZR by being part of recruitment process of which the outcome has already been decided. Don't be surprised if Robertson drops out soon, and NZR award Foster the job as the last candidate standing.

I thought aside from a couple of early wobbles, that our wingers completely nullified the Springbok's kicking game. Bridge and Reece were both very safe. I know fans can watch the same game and see different things depending on their perception and what they are looking for, but I cannot agree that Reiko Ioane is anywhere near George Bridge when it comes to kick reception skills. It's been one of Bridge's strengths since his career started. Reiko Ioane is brilliant with ball in hand, and is stronger/more powerful, but George Bridge pips him in just about every other skillset.

@Tim said in 2017 Bledisloe Cup & Rugby Championship (4 Nations):

Riccitelli looked out of his depth during much of the season. Parsons and Funnell would be better choices.

Yeah I would agree with that sentiment. As a Crusaders fan I watched all of Funnell's minutes in SR this year, he has trimmed down (was always prone to carrying a bit of baby fat) and his set piece work is accurate. In saying the 3rd hooker won't get much game time and Riccitelli has been in camp previously. Hopefully Coles will be back to full training and playing duty very soon.

@Tim said in Who will get a first SR contract ?:

@Cantab79 Would be a good replacement for Romano.

Yep, plays a similar style. I'm a huge fan of Romano, I think he's playing some of his best Rugby and I feel he was dropped too soon by the AB's. He'd have been a handy player to have had around the squad this year. One thing you know about him is that he always brings toughness to the collisions and he loves to clean out bodies all day.

@Duluth
Pierce could come down to the Crusaders, play well for us for a few years and then go back home when Sam Darry returns.

@MajorRage said in 'Super Rugby' 2021:

Lets not kid ourselves here - the only loss is the SA money.

Outside finals, crowds at NZ-SA matches in super rugby could measured in the 100's in SA and barely in the thousands in NZ. NZ needs to jump on the Japan train, before the 6N do and literally setup a rich country tournament (for growing the game, obviously).

Japan works with our timezones. I wonder how the Japanese would feel about jumping back into bed with us again given how badly the Sunwolves were treated?

Agree with those that have said that Manasa Mata'ele looked slow and fat. He still played okay, but nowhere near as fit or muscular as he did playing for the Crusaders in 2019 pre-injury.

Canterbury played okay and did enough to win, but we look pretty ordinary with Brett Cameron wearing the 10 jersey. He's just such a limited player and his inability to ignite our attack is concerning. I thought we were far too lateral in attack, shifting from side to side like a metronome. We need to tighten our attack and get more go-forward, but this is hard with few noted ball runners in the pack

I would have thought that as a no.10, Richie Mo'unga is much more suited to tight, test match Rugby that Beauden Barrett? Is this really even up for debate any more? Sure, he turned a few matches this year with some x factor players, but overall he's a much more conservative style of first-five than Barrett. BB's major problem is that he was never able to counter an effective rush defense.

@Stargazer said in Crusaders v Highlanders:

I wonder whether they're resting Dunshea, to give Romano a farewell at home. That's assuming this is his last season, obviously.

I think it is clearly a farewell game. The Crusaders generally get that sort of thing right.

Oh well, whatever the reason I would like to thank Colin Cooper for overlooking Reece. The Chiefs' loss has certainly been our gain.

@akan004 said in 'Super Rugby' 2021:

@Godder said in 'Super Rugby' 2021:

@Yeetyaah That 8 team structure looks ideal. Stuff the 10 team BS, all play all twice has much better competition integrity.

Not going to happen. The Aussies probably won't even agree to 4 teams, there's no way they will agree to only 2 teams.

Yes, if NZR are serious about an 8 team option then they need to be looking at three non-Australian teams. Japan, a PI team and someone else. Maybe the Jaguares? All three options are potentially risky in these uncertain COVID times.

@KiwiMurph said in Blues 2020:

A very interesting read on Akira

No one ever questioned Akira Ioane's desire to run the ball. It was his refusal to commit to the clean out that clearly irked the AB selectors. There is a lot more to being a loose forward than running the ball.

I really liked the way Richie Mo'unga played last night. He was prepared to take the line on himself, which meant the defense couldn't just slide when he received the ball. Mo'unga has great footwork, and decent speed over short distances. He looks like he'd be a great touch player.