Just back from a marvellous time at the sevens. Bit of a deja vu feeling about NZ Men. The Mikkelsen/Collier combination was deadly whenever play was sent that way (far too rarely) because they showed huge energy at the contact point, Ng Shiu was great throughout, Ware was more effective than usual and showed good anticipation, Nareki showed lots of promise, and Molia was very solid throughout.

But, the others showed a continuation of previous issues that have prevented us reaching full potential. Ravouvou just could not connect with support players, and Knewstubb mishit far too many dropouts and goalkicks and was a bit hesitant on defence. Sam Dickson shows lots of endeavour, but is not as sharp and accurate as he used to be. Gregory still seems a step hesitant on defence. And Koroi - well how many 'strikes' do you let him have with his tackling technique.

Plenty of visible work-ons - but still a lack of explosiveness and outright speed. The Fijians were mesmerising with this. Tuimaba, Botitu, Nasoko, Naduva, Tuwai, Mocenacagi etc. The first three were incredibly skilful.

Well done to NZ women. Great spectacle.

@Chris

Thought it was a toss-up between Savea and Lienert-Brown - both in so many key moments on attack and defence

I am staggered that NZRU would consider selecting a player in this situation. They used to be very careful in checking out the eligibility of any player considered for selection. Now it seems like an attempt to enforce eligibility as early as possible. Was he even named in the squad after the national sevens? And how come a single Super Rugby player was included, with all others excluded?

On another matter, I am angry at the compulsory shift to cashless wristbands at the Hamilton sevens. i.e. no cash or eftpos. I have an inbuilt mistrust of over-charging on cards, so always pay cash at stalls. The mathematical skills of those serving at stalls at Waikato Stadium was diabolical last year. Now you just present your wrist for an auto-deduct? Makes it a lot harder sending my son off to collect a drink or a carton of chips now too.

Worst of all is the repeated promotional line: "We recommend that you overestimate what you'll spend over the weekend, topup online, and then collect your refund at the event" ....assuming it has not been damaged between Friday and Sunday. You might also need to visit a vendor before you leave to know what is still left. Of course there are fees added to each transaction. I wonder how much extra profit they will collect by imposing all these new rules!

I will be interested to know public reaction afterwards, and hope this is never repeated.

Geez what a nerve-wracker. Karpik is a legend for that tackle. Poor Hollinshead seemed to have an incredible array of fortunes during the match.

Just back from Hamilton. Wonderful atmosphere both days. Fantastic surface, spectator viewing and entertainment zone.

But, I lost my rag on day one when I could not access my cashless band until 5pm, just to buy a coke. After all the trouble it took to load it (it would not load in Firefox - only in Google Chrome, after repreated attempts), it was the last straw! I was told to buy a new topup for $4 to get access - which doesn't help if you leave your wallet behind because of the compulsory cashless thing! They better do away with this compulsory system next time, and allow cash (if not eftpos)!

Couple of other glitches they need to sort for rugby fans. There was no program or paper handout with the match schedule for either day. "Just download our app to find out" was what I was told each time. My phone is a bit shy on disk-space, and, the website crashed anyway. Luckily there was a timed schedule written on a wall by the Hangi tent at the far end of the entertainment area.

The other glitch was the ground announcer and how he combined with the live-screens. His definition of 'next up' or 'on soon' meant anything from 2 minutes times to 32 minutes time, with no clues as to which. His suggestion that you should miss a few games to take a look at the food and rides out back was irritating when you were hanging out for the next half hour break, and did not know it had arrived after misleading announcements. It did take approx 75 minutes in the drinks line by the way - so timing was important.

There was also no announcement of the team lists for each match. Starting lineups flicked on screen for approx 3 seconds in the gap between games - leaving no time to read down both sides. Given the absence of any paper team lists, this was surely a major oversight for interested spectators. I also heard many times people asking which teams were playing, and which team was which - granted that some changed jersey colours between matches. If the announcer simply said who was playing from each end it would have helped.

Great to see Scott Curry back to his best form, and Tim Mikkelsen setting superlative examples in tackling, creating turnovers, and drawing the man before passing. Koroi needs to spend a couple of weeks with Mick Byrne to sort his regular over-long kicking - but the rest of his game was great! But, sadly, the basic kick, catch and pass skills of the NZ team are way behind those of the other top teams. We get close through guts, and amazing defensive skills from the co-captains.

It felt like a home venue for Fiji - with hundreds of loud and enthusiastic supporters. And what an atmosphere they created! Thanks for the memory!

@shark
It bugs me that so many promising Waikato players keep deserting the province. I am afraid it will continue this summer. Like the Highlanders, the Chiefs seem to regularly recruit imports known to their coaches, when local players of similar or possibly greater ability miss out. They inevitably look elsewhere for opportunities because of the uncertainty that prevails for their own future.

I went to the game yesterday and was gutted to see no improvement in the things marring their outcomes this season.

1. The goalkicking was atrocious, with some of the misses being by huge distances. I was looking for Sweeney and McKenzie to set that right after last year. Maybe Lansdown lost confidence by not being promoted to regular starter. Christie was not intended top kicker, and that responsibility seemed to lie heavily on him. Reece just did not look the part. However, Ahki looked ok.
2. The lineout organisation seems too complicated, with so many mistimed throws to the back of the lineout. Not sure it was the hooker's fault, as easy to disrupt and anticipate.
3. Poor tactical kicking, usually to waiting hands, no chasers. Should go to ground more often, or have chasers close.
4. Too many blind offloads in the opposition 22. That is the time to keep the pressure on by building phases.
5. Too many cards conceded under pressure and too many penalties given defending mauls.
6. Lack of deception and vision on attack. Constant use of crash ball by second-five or winger is too predictable.

My conclusion is that the squad individually lacked self-belief, despite a great start to the season, from uncertainty regarding individual futures, compared to most other teams. The sum of individual talents certainly did not match the team results. With so many players seeking super contracts and so few Chiefs spots open it must be hard to pin your hopes and promote oneself as a draft pick.

Having four provinces in the Chiefs franchise, when Chiefs coaches still import talent, inevitably means that a lot of aspiring players will be uncertain of their future. Whomever is Coach for next season needs to start off building right now and instilling a sense of belief and progression towards goals, so that the players get the hunger to collectively make it back to the top division next year.

Relegation might be just the reality check needed to create a united sense of purpose and far better things in 2018. Collective confidence and belief in each other builds a great team.

@bovidae

I took my son to the game, and told him how out of touch Seifert appeared the previous evening. I was made to eat my words by the most audacious display of power-hitting I have witnessed. It was McCullum-like. Hope he kicks on for NZ
But, the astounding thing we picked up was how few balls he had faced as he progressed.

The ground dries very well and the breeze and warmth will help. Took my son to the opening match with the lights and thought it was a wonderful venue. Fingers crossed for us to enjoy it tonite after my luck held for the tennis yesterday.

@bovidae

Bunce shows good vision and the pace to exploit opportunities. The initial gameplan was to spread ball wide to Ratuva to suck in multiple defenders, but teams got wise to that. So, then they placed more emphasis on Bunce and Reece as twin play-makers. Bunce's presence around the breakdown became a threat as he exploited gaps. He and Teddy Stanaway were the most influential players in the tournament, although Tasman seemed to have the best teamwork. Reece started patchily, but became highly influential, second only to Bunce for Waikato.

Another notable was Te Tamaki, with several amazing defensive plays as sweeper. Waikato desperately needed that with their frustrating inability to secure kick-offs and lineouts. Guildford, Campbell and Bristowe were all impressive when they were in play.

A few energetic and competitive forwards really impressed, Schrijvers from Wellington, Ng Shiu and Stephens for Tasman, Lewis Ormond (Taranaki) and Luke Masirewa (BOP). Warwick Lahmert, James Lash, Jesse Pittman and Ignacio Costa were great playmakers, but there were not many prominent finishers. Levi Harmon and Ngarohi McGarvey were an exception though.

Oddly, 3 of the best 4 or 5 teams were in the same pool!

Beats me why England did not use their best bowler for his 10 overs allotment. Woakes has been brilliant all series. Wood bowled some shockers. Wonderful gutsy effort from Taylor!

I wish they could find room for Devcich in this squad, as the slow bowling options seem to prosper better than the quicks.

Is it that easy to get banned here? Must remember to always support the popular choice and brute power over multi-skills and creativity. Wanted to have Beauden at fullback, Ben Smith on the wing, Conrad Smith at centre and ALB at second five, but was not allowed to do that. Messam is my hero for what he brought to teams, sevens, super rugby, maoris and AB's. Was still a split decision with Kaino for me though. More than happy with the teams the group came up with though.

Really disappointed at all the niggle from the Canes when things did not go their way. Lomax was obstructive and Kirifi pushed his luck with Du Toit. They need to get their minds set on constructive rugby, and use their talented backline. Good efforts from Kirifi, Evans, Booth and Blackwell nevertheless.

The Stormers look a threat. Nel is a real prospect at 13 and Jantjies and Willemse add spark to an awesome pack.

Another two day match. Fans getting their money worth if they still awake...

@Crazy-Horse yes. he seems a little indecisive on both tackle and attack. We had best 7 start last game altho Ng Shiu is up there too. Koroi and Molia a bit out of synch currently.

That was best match of the tournament so far. Crowd really came alive at last. Some biggies to follow...

@Stargazer glad you posted that as no info updates at ground. Incredible experience watching most of the crowd leave the stands after nz and Fiji. Very few left watching womens playoffs. Maybe they all back to hotel to find out who playing who while ground announcer talks about air guitar and puts on music that sometimes relates to country that scored.
Sure hope that mcgarvey black and mikkelsen play maximum minutes in remaining matches as they are our best creators. Should be nz v England final on form.

Stormers are a real threat this year. Should battle it out with chiefs and crusaders and maybe jaguares

Rubbish format for this tournament. South Africa out already and France gifted a semi. Most of the crowd leave the stands when nz and Fiji not playing. Huge numbers leaving the stadium altogether. Quite a bizarre day here really. But there have been some hi quality games and complicating draws. Never seen the crunch matches played in second round before. Huge advantage for teams playing last tomoro when points diff will count for many. Bizarre!

Chiefs crusaders canes blues highlanders

Thoroughly enjoying my first trip to Perth despite patchy nz performance. Rather hot at 40 degrees each day so amazing job done by the 4 pace bowlers doing the extra work. They have been tremendous. The variable bounce and lighting contrasts in the evening session mean I will likely have a clear day for Rottnest tomorrow I suspect.