AB squad for the EOYT
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Meh, stats like those where they give different weighting for different things are pretty useless. Way to many variables that could be tweaked to say completely different things.
Remember a year or two ago there was that ex wallaby who had developed some software that analysed past results and showed that the ABs were getting worse and the gap was closing to other sides? How is that one working out?Do I want BB to get better? Hell yes. Would I swap him with someone who kicks 90% but doesn't bring the attack BB does? Hell no.
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After this:
Seta Tamanivalu (New Zealand)
Melani Nanai (uncapped)
Sam Carter (Australia)
Luke Morahan (Australia)
Paddy Ryan (Australia)
Toby Smith (Australia)
Andrew Ready (uncapped)
Nic Stirzaker (uncapped)
It seems every player who has trained with ABs worn black and even been mooted will be in Europe. Almost like having a squad of 45!
Australia quartet and New Zealand centre join Barbarians - Barbarians
Australia’s Sam Carter, Luke Morahan, Paddy Ryan and Toby Smith will join the Barbarians to face South Africa, the Czech Republic and Fiji in November. Tickets are available from www.ticketmaster.co.uk Brumbies lock Carter, Force wing Morahan, Rebels prop Smith and Waratahs prop Ryan join Robbie...
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This injury may be one possible explanation why the ABs picked Barrett instead of Bird:
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The US Postal sponsored Canterbury rugby union...
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@pukunui said in AB squad for the EOYT:
Pretty good squad. Even with the guys we have missing. SBW/NMS/Harris/Ngatai
Not good that our locks both have i jury concerns now but im sure pat t and romero can do the job again Ireland if needed.
Happy to see Ioane there. He has a heap of potential. Will be interesting to see if they play him as a wing or a midfielder. Haven't see any comments for Hansen so this might have been covered. Also haven't therefore heard about Dmac. Where are they seeing him playing now?
Also good to see Luatua there. But they have a lot of back rowers now with Todd in. Will be interesting to see how they play it.
Bit surprised to see S Barrett and Fifita (more so)called in ahead of Bird. Fifita doesn't strike me as a test lock and we have plenty of 6 cover.
Good to see Jordie taken as an apprentice. Can only be good for him IMO.
It's my little bugbear but Ngātai has currently done nil of note at international level. Based on an excellent half season of super rugby he keeps getting suggested as an essential missing cog of the ABs wheel. Not yet IMO...
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@Billy-Tell Ngatai would be in the squad if fit, but in saying that, if he'd been fit we probably wouldn't have had the chance to see AL-B at this level either.
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@Billy-Tell said in AB squad for the EOYT:
@pukunui said in AB squad for the EOYT:
Pretty good squad. Even with the guys we have missing. SBW/NMS/Harris/Ngatai
Not good that our locks both have i jury concerns now but im sure pat t and romero can do the job again Ireland if needed.
Happy to see Ioane there. He has a heap of potential. Will be interesting to see if they play him as a wing or a midfielder. Haven't see any comments for Hansen so this might have been covered. Also haven't therefore heard about Dmac. Where are they seeing him playing now?
Also good to see Luatua there. But they have a lot of back rowers now with Todd in. Will be interesting to see how they play it.
Bit surprised to see S Barrett and Fifita (more so)called in ahead of Bird. Fifita doesn't strike me as a test lock and we have plenty of 6 cover.
Good to see Jordie taken as an apprentice. Can only be good for him IMO.
It's my little bugbear but Ngātai has currently done nil of note at international level. Based on an excellent half season of super rugby he keeps getting suggested as an essential missing cog of the ABs wheel. Not yet IMO...
Don't think anyone is saying he is an essential cog. But the fact is he is part our depth and was looking likea potential starter. Losing a potential starter would cause damage to a lot of teams, the ABs not so much at the moment, which was the point i was making.
And for the record he has been good for more than a 'half season'. He has been consistently good for chiefs/naki/maori for a long time now. Unfortunately he is consistently injured too. So when he has a 'half season' where he is easily the best midfielder in NZ,!after we just lost the best ABs midfield partnership ever, IMO people putting him in the equation is justified.
Bit of a moot point anyway. He may never play again and ALB is killing it. -
@pukunui isn't Ngatai a 12 as well as a 13?
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@pukunui said in AB squad for the EOYT:
@Billy-Tell said in AB squad for the EOYT:
@pukunui said in AB squad for the EOYT:
Pretty good squad. Even with the guys we have missing. SBW/NMS/Harris/Ngatai
Not good that our locks both have i jury concerns now but im sure pat t and romero can do the job again Ireland if needed.
Happy to see Ioane there. He has a heap of potential. Will be interesting to see if they play him as a wing or a midfielder. Haven't see any comments for Hansen so this might have been covered. Also haven't therefore heard about Dmac. Where are they seeing him playing now?
Also good to see Luatua there. But they have a lot of back rowers now with Todd in. Will be interesting to see how they play it.
Bit surprised to see S Barrett and Fifita (more so)called in ahead of Bird. Fifita doesn't strike me as a test lock and we have plenty of 6 cover.
Good to see Jordie taken as an apprentice. Can only be good for him IMO.
It's my little bugbear but Ngātai has currently done nil of note at international level. Based on an excellent half season of super rugby he keeps getting suggested as an essential missing cog of the ABs wheel. Not yet IMO...
Don't think anyone is saying he is an essential cog. But the fact is he is part our depth and was looking likea potential starter. Losing a potential starter would cause damage to a lot of teams, the ABs not so much at the moment, which was the point i was making.
And for the record he has been good for more than a 'half season'. He has been consistently good for chiefs/naki/maori for a long time now. Unfortunately he is consistently injured too. So when he has a 'half season' where he is easily the best midfielder in NZ,!after we just lost the best ABs midfield partnership ever, IMO people putting him in the equation is justified.
Bit of a moot point anyway. He may never play again and ALB is killing it.It's also a moot point whether he was intended as the designated 12. I have never seen nor read a quote from Hansen along the lines of "we intended Ngatai to be our 12, but due to his injury we are forced to go with Crotty".
I'm not dissing Ngatai, he very much impressed me too, but the jury is completely out on his international class. Hopefully he does come back from injury.
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@nostrildamus said in AB squad for the EOYT:
@pukunui isn't Ngatai a 12 as well as a 13?
Does it matter at this point? By the time he comes back, if ever, that Crotty-ALB midfield will have had a fair bit of time together and may well have cemented themselves as first choice. There is also SBW to consider.
@Billy-Tell said in AB squad for the EOYT:
@pukunui said in AB squad for the EOYT:
@Billy-Tell said in AB squad for the EOYT:
@pukunui said in AB squad for the EOYT:
Pretty good squad. Even with the guys we have missing. SBW/NMS/Harris/Ngatai
Not good that our locks both have i jury concerns now but im sure pat t and romero can do the job again Ireland if needed.
Happy to see Ioane there. He has a heap of potential. Will be interesting to see if they play him as a wing or a midfielder. Haven't see any comments for Hansen so this might have been covered. Also haven't therefore heard about Dmac. Where are they seeing him playing now?
Also good to see Luatua there. But they have a lot of back rowers now with Todd in. Will be interesting to see how they play it.
Bit surprised to see S Barrett and Fifita (more so)called in ahead of Bird. Fifita doesn't strike me as a test lock and we have plenty of 6 cover.
Good to see Jordie taken as an apprentice. Can only be good for him IMO.
It's my little bugbear but Ngātai has currently done nil of note at international level. Based on an excellent half season of super rugby he keeps getting suggested as an essential missing cog of the ABs wheel. Not yet IMO...
Don't think anyone is saying he is an essential cog. But the fact is he is part our depth and was looking likea potential starter. Losing a potential starter would cause damage to a lot of teams, the ABs not so much at the moment, which was the point i was making.
And for the record he has been good for more than a 'half season'. He has been consistently good for chiefs/naki/maori for a long time now. Unfortunately he is consistently injured too. So when he has a 'half season' where he is easily the best midfielder in NZ,!after we just lost the best ABs midfield partnership ever, IMO people putting him in the equation is justified.
Bit of a moot point anyway. He may never play again and ALB is killing it.It's also a moot point whether he was intended as the designated 12. I have never seen nor read a quote from Hansen along the lines of "we intended Ngatai to be our 12, but due to his injury we are forced to go with Crotty".
I'm not dissing Ngatai, he very much impressed me too, but the jury is completely out on his international class. Hopefully he does come back from injury.
Still not seeing people claiming he is an "essential missing cog" though. We seem to agree he is in the mix.
My original point stands that despite having two guys who were very much in the hunt for that starting midfield out injured we have a pretty good crop of players available for this tour. -
@nostrildamus He can play in both positions. Ngatai was at centre in the 2013 Super final vs the Brumbies so it's not like he has just appeared this season.
If everyone is fit and in form next year, the AB selectors will have some difficult decisions to make. That has to be a good thing.
