All Blacks vs Fiji
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@kirwan said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
@nzzp said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
@duluth said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
I think Christie might start given he subbed on with Barrett last night. They might keep that combo going. Particularly if Sotutu is at eight
I was pleasantly surprised with how he went last week - looked fast to breakdowns and threw some faster passes than I expected. Starting to see what Macdonald sees in him
And he put on some heavy tackles too, haven't seen him do that at the Blues.
his defence for the Blues has been superb. He gets away from set pieces super quickly, and hits folk, particularly 10s with good timing. It may not be visible on the tv coverage, but he gets around and directs defenses as well. So a real strength for me
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@nzzp yeah slotted into the gameplan well, although TBF his style of play is def suited to that open game, its when things are a bit tighter I worry about his game.
BUt he wont get tested until TRC and then he is likely to miss out to TJ anyway..?
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@nzzp said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
I was pleasantly surprised with how he went last week - looked fast to breakdowns and threw some faster passes than I expected. Starting to see what Macdonald sees in him
I think there’s been too much emphasis on the Blues halfbacks on TSF. I think a bigger issue has been Blacks limitations. He rarely runs, his passing is poor and it makes it easy for the defence. After a few phases the whole attack is disjointed
I’m not surprised Christie played well with Barrett. I’m not surprised Nock looked crap with Black
Black was worse this year than 2020 but I think his goalkicking meant he avoided a lot of criticism
I did find MacDonalds comments on Christie interesting - first to training, last to leave, passes a huge amount during the week, world class box kick that the final game plan was built around etc etc
Currently he’s not that good. Maybe he’s already at his ceiling? But at least he has a chance of getting better with that attitude -
@duluth Yeah Black's solid enough as a backup 10 or someone who can close a game out, but he's too slow in every department, and doesn't have a huge boot on him either. Our attack was severly stunted with him running the cutter due to his slow service with his passing which would allow opposition defences to cut off our outsides rather comfortably, and he lacks a yard of pace taking on the line, so he's no real threat when he decides to run.
He's got a clever brain on him, but lacks the athleticism to dominate games. I think his style wold be more suited to European rugby personally. He's basically a better version of Simon Hickey which isn't saying a lot, but a solid bet, nothing more.
@KiwiMurph yeah, Christie was dominant with Barrett outside him last season. Another game where they dominated and changed the game together last year was against the Chiefs in the 2nd half in Hamilton. We ran away with the game when those 2 partnered up in the 2nd half of that game.
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@chris said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
Ennor is a natural left wing
There's not many of them in the squad
I hope they go for Ennor. It's clear Ioane is rated as one of the top two 13's. There's no need to screw him around by alternating him between the wing and 13
Ennor would have a genuine chance of pushing his way into the best starting xv as a winger too (almost no chance as a centre IMO)
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@duluth said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
@chris said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
Ennor is a natural left wing
There's not many of them in the squad
I hope they go for Ennor. It's clear Ioane is rated as one of the top two 13's. There's no need to screw him around by alternating him between the wing and 13
Ennor would have a genuine chance of pushing his way into the best starting xv as a winger too (almost no chance as a centre IMO)
HaHa well Ennor has pace I think you are right about his best chance of Regular AB game time is the wing.
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@chris said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
@duluth said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
@chris said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
Ennor is a natural left wing
There's not many of them in the squad
I hope they go for Ennor. It's clear Ioane is rated as one of the top two 13's. There's no need to screw him around by alternating him between the wing and 13
Ennor would have a genuine chance of pushing his way into the best starting xv as a winger too (almost no chance as a centre IMO)
HaHa well Ennor has pace I think you are right about his best chance of Regular AB game time is the wing.
It’s the David Havilli approach to get into the team, spot the hole and fill it.
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@nzzp said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
@duluth said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
I think Christie might start given he subbed on with Barrett last night. They might keep that combo going. Particularly if Sotutu is at eight
I was pleasantly surprised with how he went last week - looked fast to breakdowns and threw some faster passes than I expected. Starting to see what Macdonald sees in him
The main issue I have with Finlay playing for the Mako (and I have to admit I haven't watched him closely at the Blues, but it's been one of the things you guys have also pointed to) is his tendency to leave the ball in the ruck for an age while he weighs up his options. With the ABs, hopefully if he's given a clear game plan, he'll also have lots of good options at any given moment and won't have to agonise as much.
Probably wishful thinking...
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@chris-b said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
@nzzp said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
@duluth said in All Blacks vs Fiji:
I think Christie might start given he subbed on with Barrett last night. They might keep that combo going. Particularly if Sotutu is at eight
I was pleasantly surprised with how he went last week - looked fast to breakdowns and threw some faster passes than I expected. Starting to see what Macdonald sees in him
The main issue I have with Finlay playing for the Mako (and I have to admit I haven't watched him closely at the Blues, but it's been one of the things you guys have also pointed to) is his tendency to leave the ball in the ruck for an age while he weighs up his options. With the ABs, hopefully if he's given a clear game plan, he'll also have lots of good options at any given moment and won't have to agonise as much.
Probably wishful thinking...
That is more often than not the fault of the first receiver. If he isn't getting a clear call he has to wait.
These days it seems even more the case as you can't afford to pick up the ball and then look. You get hammered. -
@crucial Possibly, though, at the Mako he'd regularly have Hunt and Havili as first receivers - and I don't see Aaron Smith having problems with Mitch at the Highlanders, while Dave is supposedly in the Michael Collins class of communicator.
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Blindside flanker Shannon Frizell has recovered from his ankle injury and is likely to take his place in a new back row against Fiji in Dunedin on Saturday, but the news isn’t as promising for in-form No 7 Dalton Papalii.
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Still think they could have tested out a new 6, they know what Frizell can do..
