Poll: ABs new First Five-Eighth
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@sparky said in Poll: ABs new First Five-Eighth:
@mooshld Isn't Conrad Smith Pau's defence coach?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12081860
Correct. They are not in the relegation zone yet but if they keep this up the last 5 games are going to be real edge of the seat stuff.
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This thread is great if only for the random shit it is throwing up
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@mariner4life you know where you are right?
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@Stargazer interesting! It'll be a big pay cut and he'll have to prove he can still play. Nothing from France seems to indicate that he can!
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@Crazy-Horse Yep.
Also, his season ends by the end of May. How many SR games will he be able to play? Even if the Chiefs would reach the Finals, he wouldn't be eligible to play them. I think there's a minimum of round robin games, players have to play to be eligible.
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@Stargazer Do you know when he's due back?
Assuming he can overcome his injury over the next few weeks, I would still be inclined to pick him if he can return back to NZ in time for the RC. The newbies mentioned are frankly nowhere near Test Match standard.
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getting back to NZ and playing enough to impress will be the tough part...IMO I often think the push from the next guy to steal your AB jersey is a factor in keeping these guys at the top and they are playing for more than just a pile of cash, so maybe if his body holds up, and has the desire maybe he can make the big step back up.
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So, in the - for now still hypothetical situation - that Cruden comes back to the Chiefs (and, therefore, will be released early by Montpellier!), it's not realistic that he'll play next weekend. So let's start from round 12: that means he could play 6 Chiefs games at most (they still have a bye in round 17). I don't think he'll be eligible to play finals (that's assuming the Chiefs are still able to reach them). IIRC Liam Messam wasn't eligible to play the finals a few years ago, because he arrived at the Chiefs after the 1st of April. If Cruden starts in round 12, that's after the first of May.
So he'll have to prove in 6 games that he's the best option to be the 3rd best 10. He'll need to have a smooth transition from the Top 14 (during which he was injured often and didn't play well) to SR level and stay uninjured. IMO, it would be a huge gamble.
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@Stargazer and it’s a gamble to play the others we have been discussing, with many not even looking up to SR standards at times (looking at Banks...)
If he can demonstrate fitness, his experience would be a huge benefit for the injury cover role. That’s the big if.
