Sports Talk

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    Balls

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    0_1502421862910_67e335eb-004a-49c2-bad4-b6d29e0e18ff-image.png

    In that SA game, he got his one and only start.

  • 2017 HB Mitre 10 Cup Tipping Team

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    @Higgins said in 2017 HB Mitre 10 Cup Tipping Team:

    WingerHB or any others that I may have missed will front up and don the HB jersey again this season. We need six who can remember to tip each week to fill our team.

    Maybe even Nepia or Gibbit might make surprise returns?

    Sadly I an incapable of the bold ... but if you're short one player then let me know.

  • Predictions time

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    @taniwharugby said in Predictions time:

    @Crazy-Horse think if you go back and read most of the threads when JB signed with the canes, a number of Cantabs were less concerned about losing JB and more with retaining Goodhue.

    Yeah - Sammy for one deserves more credit than me for identifying Goodhue as a prospect.

    I'd tend to say Jordie, Laumape and Goodhue were probably the breakout players of the year - Laumape not an absolute rookie, but I didn't see many picking him as an AB at the start of the season.

    Jordie had already been flagged as an apprentice AB so his breakout was a bit more predictable - but, bigger and faster than I, at least, would have expected.

    Who else? Havili and Samu and maybe Bedwill-Curtis at the Crusaders. Not to the extent of Goodhue.

  • How to write balanced sports reports

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    @SidBarret I don't watch or read anything in NZ sports other than very basic news (team namings, injury updates etc). I'm far better to spend my time reading opinions here than wasting my life reading the tripe that is put on our mainstream media.

  • Club Rugby 2017

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    OBU are champions in Wellington.

  • Firt Class Rugby at Petane Domain?

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    Portland Island.

  • Hurricanes 2017

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    @Kruse said in Hurricanes 2017:

    @Crucial said in Hurricanes 2017:

    'Team Man of the Year' - that's like something you give to the weedy little kid that turned up at every practice and filled the water bottles.

    Interesting choice to give it to somebody who's leaving also.
    And "Super XV" award - is that for somebody who's living in the past, or forward-thinking?

    See the link to the article on the Hurricanes site.

    Finally, the Super XV Award for 2017 went to injured lock Geoff Cridge. The award is given to those Hurricanes players who, for whatever reason, get little or no game time, but turn up every day with the right attitude. Cridge was unable to play due to a knee injury suffered before the season began, but was relentless in his efforts to get back on the field. The other finalists were young back Jonah Lowe and halfback Kylem O'Donnell.
  • Sir John Graham RIP

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  • Know your enemy

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    @canefan said in Know your enemy:

    @SidBarret So John Mitchell was Mark Hammett before Mark Hammett?

    LOL, I think the #culture is on Ackerman. He just fixed some stuff at a time when they needed to be fix. Lucky coincidence if you will

    On that point I think he is perfect for the bulls right now. He will leave them better than he found them, but everyone will be happy after the divorce.

  • How are the ABs tracking for the RC?

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    @westcoastie said in How are the ABs tracking for the RC?:

    Firstly, I would like Kaino to put his hand up and say, he won't make it to RWC2019 and be the force he was in the past. And like Tana retire after the RC.

    Third HB? dunno Pulu most likely, Drummond? those Crusader 9's? (combination with Read)
    Third first-five? Geez we're light here ain't we? I think everyone needs to accept DMac, is one of those kids who looks good at Super stuff, but that step up to test match is too much. Too physical, too much. Now if he became a 9/10 hybrid that would make the bench interesting...
    Third hooker? Lisa Lewis... nah Harris/Coltman got that one covered
    Third prop? pass
    Beaudy to keep kicking. He'll get better.
    Marty schmarty. Gooone.
    Bench? Crockett, Taylor, a prop., Savea, a 6/8 or Scotty B. Perenara, Sopoaga, mix n' match between ALB/Laumape/Ioane/J.Barrett. - I firmly believe in the last 10 tests the selectors have realised in games against tougher forward packs, they'll take genuine lock cover in to the test. i.e. vs Lions, Ireland, England, maybe Argentina & South Africa, vs everyone else they won't or don't need to. that Ireland game in Chicago taught them lots I hope they never forget.
    I think they may consider Sopoaga able to cover 10/15 (or maybe 10/12) where does he play for the Highlanders if him and Banks are on? They won't (or shouldn't move Beaudy from 10 anymore in the tight ones. Its dumb) So then the bench mix gets interested because theres no place for Jordie if he doesn't start and isn't playing 15 (assuming Sopoaga can) - Are we assuming Ioane is first choice 11 now? BFA first choice 14 or 15? and then Dagg/Naholo at 14 depending on opposition.
    Tuipulotu = victim of own stupidity, needs a big Mitre 10. If he'd been on-song it would've been interesting to see him go head to head with Itoje.

    Just leaving this here... McKenzie as halfback (NZ Herald)

  • New Pro14

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    @Hooroo

    Doesn't affect it at all.

  • General discussion, nostalgia, and trivia

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    @Rapido said in General discussion, nostalgia, and trivia:

    I can remember the occupations of lots of the AB teams from my youth. From their profiles.

    Eg I'll try to do the 87 World Cup team:
    Gallagher: Policeman
    Kirwan: Shamateur
    Stanley: owner driver
    Taylor: ?
    Green: Builder
    Fox: marketing? Worked for that CSL or IMG or sum fin like that.
    Kirk: med student / doctor
    Shelford: navy
    M Jones: student
    A Whetton: ?
    Pierce: Policeman
    G Whetton: ?
    Drake: ?
    Fitzpatrick: builder
    McDowell: publican?

    I have John Kirwan's Rugby World open in front of me.

    They are as follows:

    Gallagher - policeman
    Crowley - farmer
    Kirwan - he doesn't mention what he's doing at that point, but it's probably somewhere in the book
    Green - roofing contractor
    Wright - auditor
    Stanley - runs his own cartage business
    Taylor - schoolteacher
    McCahill - painter
    Fox - ''sports marketing"
    Botica - works for a courier firm
    Kirk - student
    Deans - shepherd
    Shelford - ''sports promotion"
    A Whetton - cartage contractor
    Jones - second degree at uni
    Brooke - plumber
    Brooke-Cowden - switched to league, so doesn't mention his previous occupation
    Earl - farmer
    G Whetton - sales manager
    Pierce - policeman
    Anderson - farmer
    McDowell - sales rep
    Fitzpatrick - sales rep
    Drake - corporate banker
    Loe - sales rep
    Dalton - farmer

  • NFL 2016

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    @Dice That's what CTE does to you kids

  • Blues 2017

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    Upcoming, now, an interview with the Blues CEO on Radio Live

    Magic Magic

    Tune in to Magic now for more of the songs you love.

  • Midfield experience

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    @RoninWC you my boy blue!

  • Super rugby final.

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    @KiwiMurph said in Super rugby final.:

    From Sumo Stevenson - One can only assume given the semifinal appointments that Angus Gardner will referee the Super Rugby final. If so, massive kudos to him

    The cynic would say an Aussie ref is the obvious choice - no chance of an Aussie team in the final...

    But he's a damn good ref.

  • Tour de France

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    @Rocky-Rockbottom said in Tour de France:

    Had a look at some of TDF but excuse me what in the holy hell am I looking at? The Aus commentators were great, making revealing sense of the clusterfuck of chicanery, but wft, if I didnt have them there holding my hand it would just be an amorphous blob of peloton coasting past nice scenery, the end, someone in the middle won the fucken Tour de France. Who’s coming first? Oh. Froome. And it sounds like he was always going to win? What, the other guys on his team don't want to win? They have to kowtow to him?

    The “peloton” (technical term, look it up, haven’t got time to explain these things to you newbies) look like, apart from the hill climbs, they’re giving it about 60% for 99% of the time.

    The whole winner thing seems like some sort of pre-ordained mafia ritual? Froome was always going to win yet there he is, somewhere among the 600-strong peloton?

    Needs a Tour de France For Dummies primer.

    After a few years watching I have got to grips with most of the aspects that just 'look wrong' to me as far as a competitive sport goes. There are still a few aspects that annoy me such as everyone slowing down when a leader has an accident/ mechanical/toilet stop. Do you see that in a marathon? A motor race?
    Geez, Lewis Hamilton has just had a blowout, let's all slow down and let him fix it and catch back up again.
    Yeah, yeah, I get that there is etiquette involved, but it still seems at odds to being a competition.
    The other thing that I can't get is that although everyone tells me it is a team sport with glory to an individual (which in itself is fairly unique in sport), Sky seem to be the only team that actually give their top rider a chance by having a strong team. By the end of the race most teams have a handful of weak riders down the back and their contender by himself up the front riding along with a full Sky Train.
    Froome gets such a massive advantage by the big $ spent on assembling his support.

  • Comings and goings

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    @Donsteppa Yes, very good point Donsteppa. Apparently Bay of Plenty had the lowest goalkicking statistics in the entire competition last year and with our average losing margin of only six or seven points there is a huge need for improvement. With the use of reserves these days we wouldn't expect a full 80 minutes from him anyway and his help with any up and coming five eight will be useful. I'm assuming Kaleb Trask will take over the mantle of our "up and coming five eight". As has been mentioned many times, we need someone to become our "General" to guide the backline around the field so hopefully Delany will help there.

  • Should Japan join the Rugby Championship?

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    @dogmeat said in Should Japan join the Rugby Championship?:

    @MiketheSnow said in Should Japan join the Rugby Championship?:

    @dogmeat said in Should Japan join the Rugby Championship?:

    @MiketheSnow Tblisi - Dublin 3,960 kilometres Tokyo - Buenos Aires 18,358

    Less about geographical distance and more about ability distance.

    And whilst a trip to Tblisi would be great - I've been, and Georgia is magic - does the 6N need them?

    Georgia is ranked above Italy.....

    For the same reason Wales went to 9th prior to the last WC cycle, losing to far superior opposition. Regularly.

    GEORGIA RESULTS

    2015
    Beat Tonga, Namibia
    Lost to Canada, Japan, NZ, Argentina

    2016
    Beat Tonga, Fiji, Samoa
    Drew with Samoa
    Lost to Japan, Scotland

    2017
    Beat USA, Canada
    Lost to Argentina

    ITALY RESULTS

    2015
    Beat Scotland, Canada
    Lost to Ireland (2), England, France (2), Wales, Scotland (2)

    2016
    Beat USA, Canada
    Lost to England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, Argentina, NZ, Tonga

    2017
    Lost to Wales, Ireland, England, France, Scotland (2), Fiji, Australia