I think if you look at the whole picture it’s clear to me that the selections of not just the wings but the whole team is about trying to capitalize on our points of difference relative to other teams. The easy conservative selections against Springboks would to choose defensively and match them. Choose Owen Franks, choose a big 6, choose Bender at fullback and Jordie on one wing to counter their kicking. Instead Hansen chooses to capitalize on our points of differences areas that we don’t just match the opposition but where they will struggle to beat us. Props who can handle, an electric back row, form wings who can finish, an irrepressible full back. I salute Hansen for making the aggressive selections and I think he was leaning that way on the wings in 2015 with NMS and Naholo, but Naholo disappointed in pool stages.
DMX
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I am wary of getting pulled down twitter/facebook rabbitholes but probably helpful to add some perspective as a person of color is the US. The content of the initial letter is nothing new in the US and many countries that do contain underpriviliged and undersestimated people. I am doubtful that it was written by a black professor but that claim will always give it a bigger push. The core of the argument is familiar, always slightly different, why do light skin blacks perform better than dark skin blacks, why do black women perform better than black men, the same things were heard on plantations, in Southern Africa why do coloreds perform better than African, or elsewhere why are Tutsis better than Hutus, why are Carribean american Blacks better than African-American blacks. The common thread is that many of these differences are minimal but have roots in oppression, and were perpetuated for the benefit a few. There are a long list of ways and reasons that there effects still manifest themselves and many books which cover that ground. Yes particularly in America there is opportunity for everyone, but even successful blacks , Robert Smith, Oprah Winfrey , Lebron James who laud hard work will bring light to the extreme inequality that makes the road very tough for any young person of color. The unequal opportunity starts at kindergarten, continues through school, continues in police interactions, the legal system the list is long. The struggles are not limited to socio-economic status though this is clearly a factor. Very instructive to hear the NBA players, coaches (Doc Rivers, ) GM (Masai Ujiri) opine on their feelings and experiences and one understands the fear , anxiety and frustration to be a black man in America. Particularly Doc Rivers talking about the talk every black family must have with their young sons.
The other notable point was the idea that "Black Lives Matter" is some kind of a political, party composed of anarchists and rioters a narrative that has been effective for Trump and co but a source of frustration for most supporters who are peaceful. At its core I dont think the statement could be clearer and simpler " We matter, our lives matter, see us, help us". On the other side I do love the mobilization and voting efforts initiated by NBA players and others , making voting difficult for black people is something that has happened for years and to make this more accessible and easier can be a game changer. For the record black voters pretty much brought Biden from the brink , so lets see what happens in November.
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@mariner4life said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@nzzp said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
@mariner4life said in AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?:
I think half the problem is, up until the start of last year, the ABs thought they were perfectly positioned. And then they got muddled in their thinking, panicked, and left us in a mess. And a few chickens came home to roost as well with regards to developmental processes.
Lost faith in their senior players who fell off a cliff, didn't keep experience on the paddock, had terrible luck with injuries, missed a strong leader, and you get the volatile performances that wind up in a semifinal spanking.
In a world cup year it's a bit much to
change your back 3
constantly shuffle your midfield
change your 10
change your thinking at 6. twice.In my mind way simpler than that, our three workhorses Rettallick, Whitelock and Read all came up empty. Read probably stuck around 2 years too long, Rettalick underdone and Whitelock nothing left in the tank.
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So far it just seems to be a masterclass from Hansen and his coaches, Despite my complaints about leaving J. Ioane at home and B Smith out of the 23, the selections have been outstanding so far. The balance of experience and youth has been perfect, even if it would have been easier to go the conservative route Hansen has been aggressive and it’s paid off. The young Crusaders in the backs have repaid Hansen’s faith enormously. Also amazing is tactically the ABs seem to be adjusting to the rush defenses and defensively they also seem to be going lower in the tackle. Was always confident ABs would win by more than a try but the possibility of a hiding was material and that’s what we got. Bring on England.
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I appreciate responses from some posters that I should continue dialogue and with out sounding like a softie it is difficult. I think I feel a little like Doc Rivers when he said he does not want to talk about this stuff he wants to coach and its true, talking about rugby way more fun.
I'll just go through some points super quick, I am not trying to avoid anything but lots to go through
I have seen plenty of videos like Mikethe Snow posted and it has been very frustrating for many, often the instigators I see are white but I could not venture to say what the exact numbers are by race but fair to say its the instigators are an absolute minority. I also would not write off the influence of right wing instigators, this is absolutely a factor.
I think @Rembrandt said something about 30+ murders since George Floyd, I don't even know what that means, I believe there are at least 45+ murders a day in the US in general. Outside of these protests I also would not discount general social unrest that is fermenting through the growing wealth inequality, lockdown etc, but thats a whole thread in itself.
I would repeat BLM is really about the core statement and actions that can be taken to address that statement. I know some thing that its a "cute" statement but I watch CNBC everyday and its great to see business leaders of all races taking it absolutely seriously. Perhaps that will be the first driver for change. Forget about the supposed BLM leaders or the people who have claimed websites, most people don't even know who they are. Think about the overwhelming number of blacks and majority of whites who support the statement and movement.
Sorry if I am all over the map, but just letting it all out. I saw someone mention that LeBron James said "We are scared", I can confirm , I am petrified for myself and for my family. Guaranteed every black person of all economic classes has least one person close to them who has had a jaw dropping interaction with police. For those who say just comply, that's the point, compliance is no guarantee against safety , humiliation or death, we are not making it up, its just that a fraction of these interactions are now being captured on video. And guess what unarmed people in fear of their lives sometimes act irrationally. I hear so many stories of drunk, mentally ill, or armed white kids having the most "civil" interactions with police, not sure why that same care isn't taken with all American citizens.
What about the stats you ask , ah another old time hit. But blacks are more violent , blacks commit more crime, black-on-black crime? Lets start of with black population 48million people? Enough to say that an attempt to smear the vast majority of that number with US murders and crime falls short in my opinion. And how about a higher percentage convicted than whites? I won't even get into the legal representations or overall legal system but just enough to say it would be much more informative to see the numbers broken down by socio-economic class as well as the actual numbers we are talking about with respect to population. Black-on-black crime? Not much different from white-on-white crime.
Sorry tired now.
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I really don't get why Akira/Frizell is is making heads explode, I am happy for the depth. When you think historically how long the likes of Zinny, Kaino or Buck had to wait its a nonissue for Akira to wait. The rate of attrition in test rugby is so high, having 5 class loose forwards is not a problem.
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@cgrant said in RWC: England v New Zealand (SF1):
People in this forum are great fans of Richie Mounga. He's had a mare : missed an easy tackle on Daly who is not the quickest fullback nor the strongest one (this led to England's first try), then could not handle the English rush defence. Let's hope he'll learn from this very disappointing performance.
The Bounga experiment was clearly a failure with BB's kicking from hand being an issue. Would DMac have done better ?I hate the loss but I hate these kind of posts after the loss even worse. No complaints about Bounga after Wallabies, South Africa or Ireland , now its a failure? Nothing to suggest any other available combo would have done better. Really did not think Ritchie was the problem.
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I think I am mostly with Bones and Booboo here in general I would say
- Fozzie is probably not most peoples first choice but he is the coach now , I think its only fair to give him a chance.
- Fat jokes are pretty old.
- Not much point in comparing ABs to SA or England when we have no clue what they will be like, better to concentrate on whats in front of us for now.
- I'll take the record so far but obviously 4 tests to go to judge the year.
- I'll take the selections so far, plenty of debate but no disasters and has blooded 5 new ABs in the first 2 games. Selections have been pretty close to what I would have selected.
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@Bones said in Argentina One: Parramatta, 14 November:
@pakman said in Argentina One: Parramatta, 14 November:
I agree with a lot of the general theme of posters about the development (or not) of AB game, but if players don't use their heads not a lot the coaching team can do.
I'm on the fence on this eh. I started off blaming the players for being stupid and still do to an extent but like I said in my first post, what the fuck is going on outside the games that is causing very accomplished players to become shells of their former selves?
A year or two ago Taylor was easily our best hooker and many were touting for Perenara over Smith. Now they look like NPC is their level. That can't all be on the players? It's so prevalent.
Yes I am struggling with this, over the last two games seem to be so many of our experienced guys who are underperforming. That’s 2 games in a row where I would struggle to find 3 MOTM candidates.
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@sdrggyy said in Worst All Black RWC exits:
2019 we lost solely because of own our fault - no external factors involved.
I think England were an external factor, honestly don't think there was much between ABs, Boks and England, on any given day any of the three teams could have won imho. England caught us flat, Boks caught England flat.
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My issue with BB at 10 is in the past the backline just has not hummed with him, really static, and for some reason his kicking from hand in that position not inspiring either.
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@Bones said in Bledisloe Three: Sydney, 31 October:
@Old-Samurai-Jack said in Bledisloe Three: Sydney, 31 October:
Will have to watch again but thought Frizell was really good, as he was in Auckland.
He was ridiculously busy, especially in the first half. Pretty low impact ball in hand but certainly didn't stop him doing it time and time again, which must have an influence on the opposition defence.
I said it earlier, I thought he had a really strong game, him and Whitelock were the pick of the forwards for me. I do feel like this back row is a very tight one, no one shirks the hard stuff and they just get buried in everything. Great for wet weather matches. I think with Ardie a little looser, more turnovers and more on the wide channels. Both combinations great, love having all four players in the 23.
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@stodders said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:
@victor-meldrew the biggest criticism of the evening was that the ABs put themselves in a position to close the game out. In possession and seconds on the clock. Boks had looked threatening with the ball, but not "strike from 80m" threatening.
TJP should have hoisted a box kick and put the pressure on Boks to win it from 80m. The breakdown is too much of a lottery to wind the clock down.
I’m guessing we would have killed him for not letting the forwards grind out the clock. That part has to be at the feet of Tuipolutu and others, Ardie did magnificently to put us in that position.
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I think this AB team has shown they can beat anyone on a given day but reasonable to say you would not have confidence that they can win three tough tests in a row.
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@rotated said in Black Lives Matter:
Ignore the supposedly fringe elements including property damage, talk of reparations and the 'disease of whiteness' philosophy and look at something as simple as Defund the Police. Surely that forms a core part of the BLM platform at this stage?
My personal opinion is that it is not a core but its a great narrative for the haters. I also think its a misnomer to talk in terms of BLM leadership or a BLM platform. The people who register the name or website have the same ownership over it as Jeff Bezos does the Amazon rainforest or Tim cook does over apples. Most people don't even know who these so called leaders are. If you ask anyone in detail what Defund the Police even means I reckon you get a dozens of answers. Most reasonable people do not say that there should be no police. I have heard of taking social work duties and funding away from the police (seems reasonable). I have heard things like the police should act more like a community policing organization and less like a military unit. I have heard that reform of the current structure of accountability is needed. I don't know what the best solutions are but a fair minded debate seems in order.
If the movement has pushed corporations and people to recognize unconscious biases, if it pushes the country to re-examine policing, education and criminal justice, if it makes it easier to vote, I believe these would be steps towards a positive outcome.
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I think people putting far too much weight into that England game, we were flat as England were against SA. Our “small” team was certainly big enough when we played the Boks and I would say our back row and midfield came out on top. ALB/Laumape/Goodhue/Ennor all have the physical/skill requirements to excel at Test level. My one question would be our line speed in defence, we have not been that consistent as to whether we push really hard or hold back a little even though results have tended to be good if not a little mixed. I think Savea cannot be left out f starting XV and Cane if fit has to have a place which definitely leaves room for one big unit in Reads abscence and though all contenders have all been a little dissaponting you hope someone puts their hand up this season. In the second row Tuipolotu can solidify his spot and Barrett minus silly penalties plays above his size.
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Good news is the growth of Laulala, Hames, Taylor and Tuingafasi in the front row is awesome at least it should be Crockett’s last year.
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@Kiwiwomble said in US Politics:
for a leader of a country to so unashamedly throw out claims of corruption so widespread as to effect a national election without providing any evidence other than anecdotal is so tasteless, to indiscriminately call out his own citizens
He could so mush more easily just lodge his legal challenges and when ask simply say there had been too many rumours to ignore and wanted to make sure things had been undertaken correctly
the needless public accusations just stink of getting in some shots before loosing the spotlight
Biden on the other hand imploring people to keep calm and that the count and legal processes will work
He just gave an absolutely bonkers press conference, I have not seen anything like it. His claims were just ludicrous, claims he has won the states that he has clearly lost. In one fell swoop he is trashing the US democratic system. He is what some of us always knew he was.
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I wish I could remember the name of the poster who called me arrogant and delusional for saying any fringe AB back row forward could walk into a test rugby team. He claimed Luke Whitelock could not replace Robshaw or play in England 2nd row and here Brad Shields has done both! Still think it is a bad decision not to wait for him to step onto English soil, it just sends a bad message.
Will be interesting to see the adjustments that both teams make, I do have the sense that the English outside backs are more settled but England really need parity upfront to have a chance. Totally underwhelmed by Itoje and have been for a while.
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I still think the NH are really missing the things and areas that make the ABs so good. They went into this game pretty much ignoring the ABs mid year form and considering a fatigued EOYT. Games 2,3,4 of the year are generally the ABs at their best and unlike what Gatland said the step up from Super rugby is wide. I also think if the pundits are lauding the Lions for their ball in hand game they will play right into the ABs hands, its the kind of game the ABs want the lions to play and there is no ways that they will have the players to back it up over 160 minutes. In my opinion they missed the try scoring chances simply because they do not have the skills to execute consistently under pressure. I cannot imagine the Lions finishing any of the AB try scoring chances but I can imagine the ABs converting all of the Lions chances.
RWC: All Blacks v South Africa (Pool B)
Black Lives Matter
AB squad for the Bledisloe Cup?
RWC: All Blacks v Ireland (QF2)
Black Lives Matter
Argentina One: Parramatta, 14 November
RWC: England v New Zealand (SF1)
The 'How is Fozzie going?' thread
Argentina One: Parramatta, 14 November
Worst All Black RWC exits
Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18
Bledisloe Three: Sydney, 31 October
All Blacks vs Springboks II
All Blacks v England
Black Lives Matter
2020 All Blacks Squad
ABs v Scotland
US Politics
Springboks v England - Test #2
All Blacks vs. B&I Lions test #1