Would feel pretty bad for Peita to get man of the match and then miss out on the 23 by a returning AB swanning back in who hasn't played a game all season.

Peita, Beehre, Taavao.

Funaki and AJ were good in the backs.

A full replay in case you missed it -

Ummm so many mixed performances

Rayasi kept creating chances. Beehre was solid despite subbing relatively early. Lam was mostly good apart from one drop

Hodgman was close, gets through so much work. Funaki would’ve got a vote but that card changed the match

@Crazy-Horse said in Canterbury v Auckland:

I wouldn't be too down if I was an Auckland supporter. Having finally watched the replay I thought Auckland were looking the better team right up to when the half back was binned. Even after that Auckland were not far off. On any other day Auckland might have won that.

Maybe,But Canterbury have started slowly this season every game and have played their best rugby in the second half.

I don't know about Ahio cost us 3 scrum penalties. Choat, Hodgman and Gibson for me.

@KiwiMurph said in Auckland v Tasman:

Not rolling away nearly cost Auckland another game.

Gibson and Choat take a bow.

Choat was my MOTM, but Gibson probably made the two plays of the game.

First game i had watched in a few weeks as we always seem to play while I'm working or I would have something else on and like you @Duluth AJ and RTS were easy to pick. The 3rd was near impossible to pick so I just gave it to Plummer because he scored a try haha.

Disappointing effort from a very lacklustre Auckland side.

And as the graphic showed DMac is up there with winning the most breakdown turnovers. Not a forward to be seen in the top 5. 🙂

Plummer seems a very good captain, talk alot, incluing alot to the ref, probably a bit much at times, but its a fine line.

Thought the starting props and Trainor went well.

Very entertaining game despite the incompetent refereeing. Trainor was the best Aukland player in a team which forgot to get out of its bus during the first 20 minutes, as the Frenchies say. I was impressed by Reihana. He's had his best NPC game ever. Murray is one to watch. He's only 19 and could develop into a very physical wing. He showed an impressive pace for his try. Great game from the Taniwha locks and loose forwards. They were into everything. As a neutral, I think the Taniwhas deserved the victory for the guts and passion they showed. A number of Auckland players looked desinterested at times.

Yes the Funaki - Plummer axis is working well. Good to see both getting consistent minutes.

Backline has a good balance to it - the midfield compliments each other well.

Census Johnston doing well with the scrum.

@KiwiMurph said in Auckland v Otago:

@FakatavaAllBlack was impressed by Withy and Holland for Otago.

Was coming into thread to say exactly that about Holland Kiwi, I have been watching hin for a while liking what he does, and although only saw first half hour of this game yesterday, he impressed the hell out of me. For a 19-20yo kid he even got a great build for a lock to go with his height. But his workrate really impresses me, he works well in mauls as well as lifting, jumping in lineouts . Looks a pretty complete package for a kid! And to top it off he caught AJ Lam from behind after he made a break.

@bayimports

Yeah he played well too. Up until this game I was worried he was a dud signing

@KiwiMurph said in Auckland v BOP:

@TheMojoman said in Auckland v BOP:

Rayasi really needs to break through in 2023. He just looks the goods and pace to burn.

Rayasi is about to turn 26 and had his breakthrough season in the 2018 NPC. For a winger he's running out of time.

That made me think of Shaun Stevenson, to see how old he is now. Lo and behold, they're cousins! Shaun is a year younger.

Good to see Plummer back

Match stats are interesting. Pretty similar in most areas. A 1 point difference seems fair.

5576f8a1-d9a7-4d9e-92f9-ce1234876076-image.png

e08203e7-3d26-460c-853d-fd2babfbbe25-image.png

Rayasi, Tuipulotu and Dalzell.

Other than that first scrum and a little bit of fringe defence, Auckland played very well.

I do like Luke Campbell’s passing. Very swift from the base without any steps. Pretty accurate too.

Sullivan, Vikena and Funaki

Zarn’s try was the highlight of the match (8:24 in this video)

@Duluth Given that he hasn't played since 9 July, you'd have to be concerned with how serious the injury is.

@bayimports said in Auckland v BOP:

boo, no one wanted covid as the reason..

Gutted

@nzzp said in Auckland MOTM v Tasman:

Ruru. Then I couldn't figure out anyone else

I think there was some candidates in the pack in particular

The props were on top in the scrum but didn't get much reward from the ref. Scrafton seems to be in good form. The loosies were mostly good until the lack of possession resulted in some missed tackles. Choat in particular got through a lot of work on defence (14 tackles no misses)

@dice said in Tasman v Auckland:

@gt12 said in Tasman v Auckland:

@chris-b said in Tasman v Auckland:

@antipodean said in Tasman v Auckland:

@number9 said in Tasman v Auckland:

Tactically fucked after half time. Pathetic passes and poor kicking options, together with Rayasis brain facts.

He's lucky he has athleticism because he has no skill.

He doesn't seem to be a natural footballer.

I said earlier that Foster should pick him as a project, but I'm going to recant on that.

I agree, although I also I think that shows the big difference between being an attacking winger who is serviceable under the high ball, and an outright fullback. He may be the first but he certainly isn’t the second.

He's always been pretty iffy at fullback. Can probably get away with being there against weaker teams, but not against a team like Tasman.

He has relatively good hands when the ball is coming from above his head, which makes sense given his b-ball history, but yeah Tasman made him work pretty hard today.

My biggest gripe is that he looks so casual that I cant tell whether that is just what he looks like or that he’s a bit lazy/not really 100% there.

Scrafton was very good.

@kiwimurph said in Auckland v Canterbury:

That must explain why Ardie is the AB number 8 - his renowned towering height.

1.88 according Mr Google (cough, cough bullshit). 2cm below adequate.

@kev no news on Tom, Tamati played about 25 mins even though he wasn't named

@dice said in Auckland Rugby 2021:

Not sure if Tony Tafa is with Auckland or the Warriors.

He might be staying with rugby as they usually don't pick anyone in the NZ Schools team that has committed to RL. That Kelston no.6 being an example.

Current voting prior to the final:

20 Rayasi
11 Choat
6 AJ Lam
6 Plummer
5 Sullivan
5 Adams
4 R Ioane
4 Ruru
3 S Tuipulotu
3 A Ioane
3 Whetton
3 Tu'ungafasi
1 Scrafton
1 Funaki
1 Ta’avao

@Dice said in Premiership Final - Auckland v Tasman (Free entry):

Congrats Tasman and @Chris-B . Probably would've won by more if Christie's service wasn't so slow.

He probably had his worst game for the season in the final.

Current voting after 10 rounds

17 Rayasi
10 Choat
6 AJ Lam
6 Plummer
4 Adams
4 R Ioane
3 Sullivan
3 Ruru
3 S Tuipulotu
3 A Ioane
3 Whetton
3 Tu'ungafasi
1 Scrafton
1 Funaki

@Crazy-Horse said in Premiership Semi-Final: Auckland v Waikato:

@Kirwan said in Premiership Semi-Final: Auckland v Waikato:

@Crazy-Horse said in Premiership Semi-Final: Auckland v Waikato:

@Kirwan said in Premiership Semi-Final: Auckland v Waikato:

@African-Monkey said in Premiership Semi-Final: Auckland v Waikato:

I'm 50 mins into this game and geez does TJ have money on Waikato to win? Every decision that goes Auckland's way he sulks like a baby and has done nothing but rip into them when they make an error.

It’s painful, hopefully they give Nisbo the final.

I suspect the reason why some don’t hear it is they kind of agree with TJs anti-Auckland stance. Difference is they aren’t paid to basically promote a sport.

Look at that Oz league commentator that makes a basic try seem like it was orgasmic. It’s almost like he likes the sport or something.

I can't speak for others, but I am not anti Auckland, or anyone else for that matter. I just don't care enough for that shit.

I have asked before, but someone give examples on how he is so mean to Auckland/Blues so I can see what I am missing. I recall TJ being critical and sounding frustrated at the Blues a few seasons ago when they were playing dumb rugby, but at the same time just about everyone on here were expressing the same frustrations.

Lately I have been hearing TJ shooting his load over some of the young Auckland players - Rayasi and Sullivan spring to mind.

Auckland does something good, muted enthusiasm. Opponent does the same thing, creams his pants.

Auckland makes a mistake, goes on a multi minute rant. Opponent does the same thing, doesn’t get mentioned.

Example from this game, Auckland player gets shoulder charged off the ball, with the whiplash effect it looked like it nearly knocked him out.

He goes on and on about it was a harsh penalty.

His job is to commentate, not cheerlead his favourites. Every other province gets a local colour commentator, and they generally keep him in check when he starts talking shit.

If we can’t replace this dickhead, then at least pair him with an ex Auckland player that can call him out when he displays his bias, and crucially can sound enthusiastic for the Auckland team in the biggest rugby market in the country.

Yeah I recall him going on about the shoulder charge but saw it as him not agreeing with the penalty, not an anti Auckland thing. But I acknowledge that could come across as anti Auckland if you had a horse in the race.

Reminds me of people saying Justin Marshall favours the Crusaders in his commentary, but from my perspective as a Crusader supporter it seems the opposite. It's like he deliberately goes against the Crusaders to appear neutral. We all see and interpret things differently.

And you would have a point if it was just me going on about his bias, but even non-Auckland fans notice it.

Went with Rayasi, Scrafton and Sullivan.

I had two moments of pure happiness this year - yelling at my tv until we lost the shield and yelling at my tv until we stayed up

I gave the game a 2nd look and came away thinking Ta'avao and Adams were our two best in this match. For some big boys, they cover so much ground.

I didn't realize just how good Ta'avao was on first watch. Not only was he one of our busiest players, but along with Adams, he was also our most physical player. He had some nice skillful touches too.

What made his performance even more impressive was that this was his first match since September and he played the whole 84 minutes. Just a massive effort.

@Chiefy07 I am not sure we would have won with Hawkins. We would have won with a first five eight that kicks well and leads the team around the park. Hawkins kicks have no length, he takes ages to wind up and kick and has been charged down this year because of it. I prefer Wiseguy to him because he carries at the line better. However that said Wiseguy and Johnny also need to work on their kicking games. I think thy both have more upside.

Rayasi obviously

Plummer apart from an early shite pass was very good

Plenty of forwards were candidates. I went for Apisai, he spoiled a lot of Waikato attacks and got through a lot of work.

@Yeetyaah said in Auckland v Waikato:

Kinda glad I didn't watch that one. At a mates wedding drunk as shit.

Here’s the highlights. Enjoy 🙂

@nzzp

He's had some good games (equal 3rd on the voting). However he really should be considered a 12 now

The problem is Hickey is worse and it's probably too early to trust Sullivan