Tough loss. Watched the game again and the team put in a great effort, especially the starters. It's too bad that our subs came on and added very little. Outside of Adams, most of the subs had a negative impact on the game, especially Abel. If you watch the last 20 minutes, almost all the missed tackles and mistakes during that time were by our bench players. Their bench was much better and made key plays at the end of the game, which was probably the difference. I think both packs canceled each other out for the most part. I think our pack struggled to get much go forward for most of the game, but despite that, our backs were pretty dangerous throughout the match. We definitely made a mistake not having Sotutu somewhere in the 23 though. The way we corrected things in the last few weeks, I'm hopeful of next season. We were just a totally different team late in the season.

LOL, Riccitelli got badly palmed off by Trainor.

@SammyC said in Tasman v Auckland: Has anyone mentioned how shit Akira Ioane was? Yes he was very bad. He's put on some weight hasn't he. I couldn;t believe how easily Havili ran around him in that first half. Ha two players share the same non-AB selection disappointment but couldn't be more different in their attitude.

@Stargazer said in Auckland vs Wellington: Has he been signed by anyone? Also Ben-Nicholas? I guess we will have to wait for the official squad announcement but surely there must be whispers.

@Dice Yup I know what you mean I've seen the same stuff too. I feel like he's a rough diamond who'll get better in time. His lineout definitely needs working on but he has the physical attributes to go far and is worth perservering with in the long run.

Very late but here are my post match interviews from both the Miter 10 Cup and Farah Palmer Cup games:

@African-Monkey said in Waikato v Auckland: @shark Interestingly enough, Ennor coming into centre will make it a 5th different midfield combo in a row. Having said that, Ennor and Osborne in the backline makes it a hell of a lot better. Yep, I noted that early on in the Canterbury vs Southland thread after the teams were posted.

@Dice We had some shockers like Emersen Tamura-Paki, Jono Owen and Isi Tu'ungafasi who were barely club standard. He's done ok since leaving has Isi but he was awful for us.

@Nogusta said in Northland vs. Auckland: @Daffy-Jaffy and to think Sione Havili was in the mix too. Aleks Dabek is also pretty handy. Been in the Auckland Academy and there or there abouts since leaving school but just absolutely can't get a look in. Currently exploring opportunities outside of Auckland Northland could have used Aleks Dabek they have so many injuries already

@Nepia Not sure, just heard that they're resting for 2 weeks. Dalton has come back earlier though as he's just been named on the bench for the game against Northland.

@Tim Oh well.. I had thought it was the end of 2020

Papali'i yes, but the jury is out on Plummer. He wouldn't be the first Auckland first-five to look good in his first year and then fall away badly.

@taniwharugby According to the TicketDirect website children do have free admission. Only $10 for where we sit.

@steven-harris said in Southland vs Auckland: @nakosi one of the really big issues they have in the Southland area is player drain which the quality of club rugby has dropped away ..they have have realistically got about 10-12 players of Mitre 10 level. Its not only quality it is quantity. 6 Prem teams only (and they are scraping numbers to make Prem teams) means a short season

One guy who hasn't been mentioned but had a massive game was Marcel Renata. He's been good all season, but was exceptional in this game. Hopefully the Blues have already gotten his signature. Was good to see all the bench players making positive contributions when they came on. Also smart move by the coaches to not bring Clarke and Sotutu on because we needed experience out there to finish this game.

@duluth said in Auckland vs Otago: @Dice said: We'll likely get Faiane and Nanai back next week, and hopefully Gibson. Whetton looks like he won't recover in 6 days though. Lock looks concerning for the Wellington game. It might be just Lamalu, Olmstead and Lane as the fit locks? Looks like that's the case. I wonder if Fatialofa is coming back at all. He was not meant to be out this long and he wasn't listed as being out for the season.

Glad to win that. Hard to play against 16. Jackson is a borderline cheat.

@canes4life said in Cantebury vs Auckland: @kirwan So pretty much Fatialofa mark 2. Yeah, and would be ironic if we lost two good locks to the Canes. Or absolutely depressing.