@Jaguares4real said in 2019 Rugby Championship:

@mariner4life said in 2019 Rugby Championship:

be a strange fruit, but at least he's kicked the hornets nest a

One of my aims is to rattle some cages

Provoke some debate with contrarian POVs

Not a fan of cosy consensus, too similar to circle jerking

So you're a troll? How delightfully clever and original.

Well done Blues fans, you should be very proud of your team's achievement. A tough, close match that was befitting of a final played in front of a massive crowd. What a great event!

So it seems that many of the top candidates for the AB Head Coach have been negotiating for months with other international unions. 6 months in the case of Dave Rennie and Rugby Australia. NZ Rugby's refusal to initiate this process until well after the RWC looks to have been a terribly flawed approach - because all the other top candidates have jobs elsewhere. Ian Foster will be the last man standing, which is unbelievable given the number of talented NZ coaches that are around Rugby globally.

@kiwimurph said in Blues v Hurricanes:

Second season blues have well and truly hit Clarke.

And Sotutu.

I don't think Jordan Taufua can even be in the discussion, and I'm a Crusaders fan. When Read returns, I'd like to see Whetu Douglas switch to the Blindside and Taufua relegated to the bench. In my opinion Douglas has been the find of the season.

So do some posters still think that Akira Ioane is higher up the pecking order than Luke Whitelock? I'm very happy for Luke, he was gifted a test cap years before he was actually ready, and was perhaps deservedly ridiculed by some people because of this. However he has become a very reliable and accurate player for both Canterbury and the Highlanders and has thoroughly deserved this call-up. I hope he plays really well.

@canerbry said in All Blacks Squad for France:

@cantab79 Bryn Hall over Weber too right now

Hall is a funny one, no-one seems to rate him. Even Scott Robertson seems to rate him on par with Drummond - hence why he rotates them evenly. I must be watching a different player because I rate him highly, and if it were up to me he'd always start for the Crusaders. I think he's a really talented player but he just never seems to even be in the discussion for the All Blacks.

I really liked the way Richie Mo'unga played last night. He was prepared to take the line on himself, which meant the defense couldn't just slide when he received the ball. Mo'unga has great footwork, and decent speed over short distances. He looks like he'd be a great touch player.

Without wanting to appear to be advocating for him to be in the RWC squad, but in the spirit of this thread we could do worse than including Brayden Ennor in the squad. He's a quality young centre, a position where we lack depth, and can cover either wing or fullback as a utility squad member.

@duluth said in Hurricanes v Crusaders:

@cantab79 said in Hurricanes v Crusaders:

I'm interested to see how Whetukamokamo Douglas goes at 6, he's had limited opportunities this season.

Plus Sanders returning from injury on the bench. He looked like he was about to break through after the North/South game but hasn't had much time since then.

A questions for the Cantabs - what do you think of Grace at 8? I rate him but he looks more suited to 6?

I agree that he's more suited to 6. He plays very tight, basically like a 3rd lock. And he lacks the top-end acceleration off the back of the scrum that an elite 8 needs. If the Crusaders had more depth in their backrow I don't think he'd be playing 8 right now. He looks like a blindside flanker covering at no.8, IMO.

@act-crusader said in All Blacks vs Pumas II:

On Blackadder, at least two of the missed tackles were him shooting out of the line and got a hand on the player, so as far as I am aware that counts as a missed tackle. There was one missed tackle off a kick restart where the Argies got the ball and he actually ran around a team mate and Blackadder got a hand to him but couldn’t tackle. That is counted as a missed tackle.

It reminds me when the odd game Snakey would have a higher than usual missed tackle count because he also was used as a shooter because he read the game so well.

I remember that Richie McCaw often recorded a few missed tackles because he busted his arse to attempt tackles that other players wouldn't have ever gotten to. He would get a finger on an attacker that another player wouldn't have touched. Blackadder makes the same effort and so I expect he'll record similar numbers of missed tackles.

Well done Blues fans, you should be very proud of your team's achievement. A tough, close match that was befitting of a final played in front of a massive crowd. What a great event!

Luke Jacobson is playing some terrific Rugby right now. He's making a very compelling case for All Black selection, he just turns up and plays great rugby week in, week out,

@act-crusader said in Reds v Crusaders:

@victor-meldrew said in Reds v Crusaders:

Crusaders look to be the complete S15 (10) team out there. Excellent at everything and some outstanding individuals.

It’s a good effort given we are missing All Blacks, Moody, S. Barrett, Goodhue, Bridge and Cameron

😀

Oh no you didn't!

@derpus said in SRA: Final. Crusaders vs Chiefs:

What's the deal with the reffing? There is no interpretation that allows the ref to award Reece a yellow. Direct contact to the head without a mitigating factor is red. O'Keefe seemed to say that it didn't result in serious harm and so it was just a yellow.

Both Nanai-Seturo's high tackles were also direct contact to the head.

Yep that captain's challenge was a complete farce. It made the officiating team look like idiots and it showed that such a rule doesn't have a place in our game. I agree that I thought the Chiefs were already playing under advantage before the offside penalty was given, but don't blame the referee for not remembering. He shouldn't have to remember that. Hopefully that debacle will be the end of captain's challenge for NZR.

An enjoyable game to watch as a neutral. Some great tries and skills on display. This match also highlighted for me the impact of the NH player drain on NZ rugby, with so many former AB's and 2nd tier players now playing for NH clubs. Both the Highlanders and Hurricanes are fielding the weakest squads they've had in their history.

@booboo said in SRA Round 9: Crusaders v Blues:

@cantab79 said in SRA Round 9: Crusaders v Blues:

To be honest, if Sione Havili Talitui was suspended for the final it would probably be doing the Crusdaers a favour. He's a waste of space in the team, notwithstanding that fact that his performance against the Blues was his best in a Crusaders jersey. Tom Sanders to play at 7 please!

He's what, third choice at 7? Harsh call

2nd choice after Christie.

To be honest, if Sione Havili Talitui was suspended for the final it would probably be doing the Crusdaers a favour. He's a waste of space in the team, notwithstanding that fact that his performance against the Blues was his best in a Crusaders jersey. Tom Sanders to play at 7 please!

Does any NZ player divide opinions as much as Akira Ioane? There is something about Akira Ioane, people either love him or hate him. People can watch the same game and see completely different performances. Fwiw I thought he was excellent with ball in hand.