@Duluth said in Highlanders 2019 Discussion:

If McKay is an out-and-out goal-kicking speedster, Nareki a freakish finisher and Koroi an electric playmaking option, then Collins brings solidity, maturity, experience and highly-valued communication skills of which Umaga lauded during his time as Blues head coach.

Solidity in that he has bricks for hands.
Maturity in that having him in your side gets old fast.
Experience of being mediocre.
And that highly-valued communication that keeps the score board ticking over and comes up with the big plays.

People don’t get paid millions of dollars a year to compete in “real competitive sport” in it’s truest form. Commercialised professional sports is another matter.
I quite like watching sport on TV, so can accept that money and sponsors play a role in it.

@sparky said in 2019 Rugby World Cup:

I read it that he was talking about Beauden Barrett.

That’s how i read it too.

@akan004 said in Waratahs v Sharks:

The red was fair enough but a yellow for pulling his jersey? Refs seem to be making up their own laws these days.

Yeah that was a bullshit yellow. Just crazy.

@Machpants said in Who is the AB's 4th choice at 10?:

I think we all thought that, but I reckon they'll still bring one in for RC - so in case of emergency and a replacement RWC #10 is required then at least he is not coming in totally cold - even with minimal game time in RC he'll have squad time/training time/learning the books time. And they'll train as much as they can in NZ with the team before the team goes

IMO

Agreed, for me it is a four part question:

• who is next in line if BB or RM are injured out?
• if he is outside the current squad, will they bring that guy in for the RC?
• will that guy even make the RWC squad?
• if they don’t take them to the RWC, who is covering there in the minnow games/knockout if the others will recover in time for the potential final?

My guess is Banks, Yes, No, Jordie for his goal kicking (TJP is too important at 9 to be fucking around at 10)

@hydro11 said in Sunwolves vs Hurricanes:

@pukunui said in Sunwolves vs Hurricanes:

What was the deal with gardner telling them they had to take the lineout at the end there? Surely if time is up and you tap it and kick it out then it is game over. Doesn’t matter when you blew the penalty. Tapping it = game back on.
He had a few weird calls in this game. Pinging the Canes for offside from a non existent knock on when Parker was a mile offside chasing back was an obvious one.

Bench made a huge difference. Time to start guys like Aumua and IWL.

That was fair dinkum, IMO. Otherwise he could have penalised us for time wasting.

Which would have been ridiculous because every other penalty in the game was given plenty of time to be taken. I just don’t see how he can add extra time on after the hooter if they had decided to tap it. What if they tapped and ran to the other side of the field?
He has a history of not knowing when to end the game. I think it was a Highlanders v Brumbies game where he wanted to keep playing on but had to be convinced.

What was the deal with gardner telling them they had to take the lineout at the end there? Surely if time is up and you tap it and kick it out then it is game over. Doesn’t matter when you blew the penalty. Tapping it = game back on.
He had a few weird calls in this game. Pinging the Canes for offside from a non existent knock on when Parker was a mile offside chasing back was an obvious one.

Bench made a huge difference. Time to start guys like Aumua and IWL.

I see lots of people suggesting TJP. Has he ever played there? I can’t recall it. Can he goal kick?

I can’t see them picking a guy who doesn’t kick goals unless Jordie is on the field as well. Way too risky.

Of the 10’s left in NZ my choice would be Banks then Black.
If you are covering it with an out of position player then it should be Jordie for his goal kicking.

@98blueandgold said in Crusaders v Brumbies:

The inconsistency of calls. Although I hate the crusaders Strange get hit in the head and doesn’t score yet scrum! If the play the law it’s a yellow and penalty try.

Three high tackles in the act of scoring now. One is a scrum to Brumbies. One is a try plus yellow but conversion missed rather than penalty try and the third is just a try and no further sanction.
This sort of shit is killing rugby watching for me.

Is Jordie also covering 10?