All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test
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@Bones Yes - he does play there for the Crusaders on occasion. Thaqt';s where Hansen got his RWC idea from.
Started there at least once this season.
@KiwiMurph - That's true - but, I can remember watching a game last year - which I'm pretty sure was against Italy, when we were short of locks and I thought that if we needed to use Vaaรญ in the forthcoming big tests we will be in trouble. So, he's got re-proving to do for me.
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@Duluth said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Bones said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Bones said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@KiwiMurph Me not really being comfortable with Vaaรญ starting a big test at lock - let alone moving him out of his specialist position.
Happy for you to point me to a game where Barrett shows how good he is at 6 though.
I don't believe you!
I can't think of any! He never plays there for the saders does he? But maybe they have better 6s available that aren't available to Foster.
A Crusaders game in 2017 and one last year:
Seems he plays one game at 6 (or a very brief stint) and then it gets shelved for a couple of years....I wonder why that is...?
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@Stargazer said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Bones Those stats only say something about where a player starts. It doesn't give info about a player changing position during a game as a result of substitutions.
We're talking about starting aren't we?
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@Bones said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Bones Well, it could be because he's primarily a lock.
That and he's not worth sticking with at 6. Although could fill a gap against the second worst team in the comp ๐
You know SB is going to go out and play a blinder at 6 and stick it right up you donโt you,
With that many posts getting stuck into him itโs got to happen.๐ -
@Chris said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Bones said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Bones Well, it could be because he's primarily a lock.
That and he's not worth sticking with at 6. Although could fill a gap against the second worst team in the comp ๐
You know SB is going to go out and play a blinder at 6 and stick it right up you donโt you,
With that many posts getting stuck into him itโs got to happen.๐You gotta hope so!
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@Chris said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Bones said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Bones Well, it could be because he's primarily a lock.
That and he's not worth sticking with at 6. Although could fill a gap against the second worst team in the comp ๐
You know SB is going to go out and play a blinder at 6 and stick it right up you donโt you,
With that many posts getting stuck into him itโs got to happen.๐You're welcome!
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@Bones said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Bones Read my post above on Vaa'i.
Scott Barrett is a rookie at 6 full stop. Vaai has been an AB for two years now isn't it? And has shown he's more than capable at test level, as Well as showing he's a better 6 than Barrett (at least at SR). We have different definitions of rookie...
Nah, we need to find out if SB can hack it at 6 at Test level. Might as well do it now rather than later........
(Calls RTS and asks if he wants to share the taxi...)
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@taniwharugby said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Chris and Ofa will dominate his opposite!
Now you have gone too far.
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@Victor-Meldrew and to be fair, IMO SB was not the problem in 2019, our game plan was askew and we had a lock we relied on, just back from injury and horribly out of form.
I'd rather he not be trialled at 6 in test matches though, especially as our game plan hasnt really evolved since 2019....
@Chris Never!
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@Bones said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Stargazer said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Bones Those stats only say something about where a player starts. It doesn't give info about a player changing position during a game as a result of substitutions.
We're talking about starting aren't we?
To me starting at 6 is what's weird about his selection. It means either Retallick & Whitelock play the full game or one is replaced by a SB who's played 6 since kick-off.
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@taniwharugby said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Victor-Meldrew and to be fair, IMO SB was not the problem in 2019, our game plan was askew and we had a lock we relied on, just back from injury and horribly out of form.
I'd rather he not be trialled at 6 in test matches though, especially as our game plan hasnt really evolved since 2019....
@Chris Never!
absolutely he wasnt the worst on the paddock in the semi against England when most of our forwards shit the bed in my view, but he wasn't playing like a six either. I just hope it doesnt mean the team plays like that again if he gets selected there
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@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Bones said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Stargazer said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Bones Those stats only say something about where a player starts. It doesn't give info about a player changing position during a game as a result of substitutions.
We're talking about starting aren't we?
To me starting at 6 is what's weird about his selection. It means either Retallick & Whitelock play the full game or one is replaced by a SB who's played 6 since kick-off.
I think that's the hardest part to swallow for me - after all the talk of the 6's, as well as Vaai playing 6 (presumably at Foster's suggestion) and excelling, we go back to a guy who should be starting at lock and hasn't exactly set the world on fire at 6.
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@bayimports well that is a concern given how little our game seems to have moved on since then, plus, a big lock we used to rely on is back form an injury, although he at least has shown glimpses of form this time....
As I keep banging on about, if our props up thier game around the park, it will take some heat off SW and BR....Ofa should help there, provided he doesnt get destroyed at the scrum...
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My post had a hint of irony about throwing players in at the deep end
I think SB is a big asset to the team as he can cover both 4/5 and 6 at a pinch and has a touch of mongrel. Can understand using his experience as Akira is injured, but just worry that starting him at 6 could backfire.
Then again, the Curse of the Meldrew's will probably kick in and he'll have a stormer and solve the Kaino gap.