@kirwan said in Auckland vs Wellington - Semi Final:

@duluth said in Auckland vs Wellington - Semi Final:

@kirwan said in Auckland vs Wellington - Semi Final:

Going to be very interesting to see what these coaches can do with this team next year, and get a bit more depth.

I hope we retain all the coaches for a start.

Tiatia in particular. I'm sure other teams would like him as a head coach.

I’m greedy.

I thought Tiatia was hard done by with the Sunwolves. Maybe he lacks something as a head coach but he transformed a team that was a shambles when he took them on

This might be the best team Wellington has put out this year. So no excuses with missing player. (Except maybe at prop but hopefully JTA can last for almost the whole match and Paongo performs).

Thankfully Blackwell has moved to 6 with Lousi back. Although Lousi looks at bit out of condition but Blackwell is just too small for lock

Lam is a worry though as his defense is rubbish at times. Its a weakness to the extend I would prefer Filipo starting with Lam to bring on against tiring defenses. But maybe he has been given the hard word on this.

@steven-harris said in Taranaki v Wellington:

Bens Lams atttemped tackle on Lamert looked like an imitation of someone walking through a turnstile..

He does this a lot. Yet some think he's AB potential. Lam is fast and has good ball skills but his poor defense and lack of aggression is his downfall.

@steven-harris said in Wellington vs Auckland:

Wellington replacement tighthead no18 looks like he turned up to the wrong game..must one of smallest tightheads I have seen a long time..!

Its all Wellington have got. He does ok though but he must be one of the smallest props around

Wellington didn't deserve to win. But likewise Auckland

Thomas Waldrom is finished now. Having him on the field is like playing with 14 players. Or 13 for 10 minutes due to idiotic play by the 7.

Coaches who can't see this shouldn't really be coaching at this level.

@canes4life said in Wellington vs Auckland:

Awesome to see Lousi back, hopefully have him starting at lock and Blackwell to 6 for the playoffs.

Agree. Without both Lousi and Fifita our lineout wasn't great. Its a shame that Fidow is out for the full year. But at least Lousi returning should rectify one weakness. Blackwell at 1.90 is just too short

Steven Harris said:

what’s happened to Asafo Amua..?was supposed to be next big thing..!.

Aumua had a game he will want to forget. But he's still young and will take time to adjust to a different type of rugby where he won't set the world on fire almost every game as he did when younger

Isaia Walker-Leawere is quick. Blackwell was missed when he went off. Just too short for a lock though

Good game

But its shows that Wellington's scrum is not quite good enough. And I don't really see what they can do to fix it.

If Fifita returns the lineout will be much better (if not they have an issue here too) but the scrum will cost Wellington any chance of winning the NPC.

Umaga-Jenson needs to work on his defense. He's a good player otherwise. Billy Proctor showed why he's rated so highly.

@sparky

Ben Lam needs to take an angry pill before a game. He has all the skills but just needs more aggression. and his defense needs work

Higgins said:

If franchises try that the NZRFU should insist all fully contracted players must play before any injury replacements drafted in be permitted to take the field.

You can't do this. It would mean playing an out of form for whatever reason player as opposed to someone who is in better form

Teams can (rightly) replace injured players. The replacement must have the same status as the player they replace. (And these young players signed are not paid huge money. Its to get them in the system and to make sure they focus on rugby and training etc.)