Auckland v Counties Manukau
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@kirwan said in Auckland v Counties Manukau:
@stargazer said in Auckland v Counties Manukau:
@kiwimurph Has nothing to do with that. Counties line-outs and scrums are better than Auckland's. Auckland better score soon, because this score is stuffing up my tipping.
Scrum yes, but Counties screwed up about seven lineouts and dragged their hooker at 48mins, and he threw worse.
Yeah. Our line outs were the killer. Removed the option of playing for territory then players started throwing the ball around when they shouldn’t have and the errors mounted.
AhWong was the spoiler in the backline that ruined many opportunities of getting the ball to the wings. Was hopeless.
Could also see why Akira is not in black and won’t be until he learns to use his legs to drive in contact. He is all upper body.
Had to love seeing some real warts and all rugby though with proper fatties
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@crucial said in Auckland v Counties Manukau:
@kirwan said in Auckland v Counties Manukau:
@stargazer said in Auckland v Counties Manukau:
@kiwimurph Has nothing to do with that. Counties line-outs and scrums are better than Auckland's. Auckland better score soon, because this score is stuffing up my tipping.
Scrum yes, but Counties screwed up about seven lineouts and dragged their hooker at 48mins, and he threw worse.
Yeah. Our line outs were the killer. Removed the option of playing for territory then players started throwing the ball around when they shouldn’t have and the errors mounted.
AhWong was the spoiler in the backline that ruined many opportunities of getting the ball to the wings. Was hopeless.
Could also see why Akira is not in black and won’t be until he learns to use his legs to drive in contact. He is all upper body.
Had to love seeing some real warts and all rugby though with proper fatties
I think the players inside him were a bigger reason why the ball wasn't getting to the wingers. Leger and Fosita were kicking the ball away throughout the game. Ball rarely got past 12.
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Alama's Auckland rebuild is underway
After Auckland finished with just three wins in 2017’s Mitre 10 Cup, it was clear that something had to change.
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@crucial unfortunately unable to watch the provincial rugby over here but just wondering whether burn out is a problem with Akira especially playing on a losing team or losing environment in Auckland. I know going from one level of sports down to a lower level of play can affect your psyche. Anyway I don’t think he has reached a ceiling and still think the right environment will bring out his talents. Is the consensus that he is out of shape?
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@broughie said in Auckland v Counties Manukau:
@crucial unfortunately unable to watch the provincial rugby over here but just wondering whether burn out is a problem with Akira especially playing on a losing team or losing environment in Auckland. I know going from one level of sports down to a lower level of play can affect your psyche. Anyway I don’t think he has reached a ceiling and still think the right environment will bring out his talents. Is the consensus that he is out of shape?
I didn't think out of shape, more that his natural style still hasn't changed. He looks like he was always the biggest kid on the field and thinks he can bash and shrug his way forward all the time. A bit like Will Skelton. It just won't work at test level without adding some leg drive and low power.
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@tim Good article. I liked his response to starting Plummer at 10 - spot on.
I have to laugh at the notion that its a big call to put Plummer in there - not really - what's the alternative? Sit him behind some journeyman like Kirkpatrick? What's that going to achieve other than to stunt his growth. He showed last year v Canterbury he is good enough to start at 10 on Mitre 10 Cup.
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@duluth said in Auckland v Counties Manukau:
Counties need Sam Henwood to stay fit. Here's the tackle stats for their starting loose forwards:
Player Tackles Made Tackles Missed Henwood 18 1 Lokotui 8 4 McKee 3 6 wow, not often a player misses more than they make, can see who's doing al the work there.
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@crucial said in Auckland v Counties Manukau:
@broughie said in Auckland v Counties Manukau:
@crucial unfortunately unable to watch the provincial rugby over here but just wondering whether burn out is a problem with Akira especially playing on a losing team or losing environment in Auckland. I know going from one level of sports down to a lower level of play can affect your psyche. Anyway I don’t think he has reached a ceiling and still think the right environment will bring out his talents. Is the consensus that he is out of shape?
I didn't think out of shape, more that his natural style still hasn't changed. He looks like he was always the biggest kid on the field and thinks he can bash and shrug his way forward all the time. A bit like Will Skelton. It just won't work at test level without adding some leg drive and low power.
Not sure if that is really correct, he's not the biggest kid at Super level yet he makes the yards both in and out of contact.
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@kiwimurph Yes Sumo was moaning and moaning about it last year when he got the start against Canterbury last year, It was totally unnecessary from him.
I think Ieremia has it right with Plummer starting and having Kirkpatrick off the bench if things go wrong. It's good having Kirkpatrick in the squad.
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So Fukofuka and Manu were the big positives from that game. Fukofuka's clearing kicks from the base took pressure off of Plummer. Hopefully Ieremia doesn't tinker and selects the same 9-10-12-13 for a few games in a row.
Some of the after match comments seemed to blame the scrum on the lack of time the subs had together. I hope that's the case but I am very sceptical.
Prior to the subs there was pressure on the TH side. Hopefully Renata comes in. Maybe I'm being a bit harsh of Whetton but I do wonder if he's good enough to be the tight lock? He's bulked up considerable since going overseas but I'm not convinced he's the right option.
Errors made that game close. We didn't convert enough of the line breaks eg:
Auckland Counties Tackling % 93% 73% Linebreaks 11 1 Defenders Beaten 30 7 It's a piss poor result to end up with 3 tries each Changes for next week?
Renata in at TH
Tuipulotu (or Lemalu) at 5
Ravouvou on the bench for UmagaMaybe Liaina is worth looking at as the reserve halfback?
Fatialofa would be useful, but it might be worth giving Lane a longer run.There are 4 spots in the 23 for outside backs. I don't want a Wasps contracted player (Umaga) who is learning in his off season selected ahead of any of these guys - Nanai, Rayasi, Trainor, Clarke, Ravouvou. They are all SR players or close to SR selection. Nanai can cover 15 at this level
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@african-monkey said in Auckland v Counties Manukau:
@kiwimurph Yes Sumo was moaning and moaning about it last year when he got the start against Canterbury last year, It was totally unnecessary from him.
I think Ieremia has it right with Plummer starting and having Kirkpatrick off the bench if things go wrong. It's good having Kirkpatrick in the squad.
I quite liked that he kept Plummer on the field when Kirkpatrick came on - that way there were 2 playmakers on the field.
One thing i've noticed about Plummer is his willingness to get involved in the tough stuff - he does not shirk it at all - which makes him a useful option at 12.
@Duluth Don't forget Tele'a as an option - he can cover midfield and wing. I'd like to see him get a chance in the 23 jersey ahead of Umaga.
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@kiwimurph said in Auckland v Counties Manukau:
Don't forget Tele'a as an option - he can cover midfield and wing. I'd like to see him get a chance in the 23 jersey ahead of Umaga.
Yeah good call
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@duluth I think if we got our backs some ball in the 2nd half, we would've ran away with the game, but they barely touched it in the 2nd half.
I like the changes. I wish we had a steady loosehead and hooker option, as those are probably our weakest positions when we're full strength. I like Adams as a prospect though, but I think he'd be better as a bench prop as he's explosive but raw as a scrummager.
I think we'll regret not keeping GPT. He looked good for Canterbury. Would've liked to have seen him with the new coaches.
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