Geekzone Rugby (Union) Discussion Thread

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Networkn
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#1861606 10-Sep-2017 00:13

Well TJP was as good as I have seen him tonight at test level. DM still think he needs more work on his decision making and defensively, not happy.

Fifita was excellent, probably should have been subbed he was pretty tired toward the end and started to make errors in his decision making. Experience will have done him the world of good.

What a game between the Wallabies and Springboks. A really tussle. If we put forward our A team against the SA's I expect a win. SA probably deserved the win, but the Wallabies showed some real defensive steel. Good to see.

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#1861846 10-Sep-2017 13:52

I'm not sure what the problem you saw with Mackenzies decision making. He seemed quite a bit more controlled with the ball in hand, although he got a couple of hospital passes which he spilt. He struggled big time in the air though. Dagg looked really rusty as well. He'll be better for the run after a break. It's a tough squad for a winger with the return of Nehe Milner-Skudder and the emergence of Ioane.

I really feel for Moody. He has come a long way this year and he was totally dominant last night. The way he was popping their tight head with straight pressure was unbelievably impressive from him and Coles.

Barrett is starting to concern me. His short kicking game is pretty poor at the moment (probably a 25% regather rate) and the back line just seems to be struggling to gel. They improved noticeably when Sopoaga came on. I'd like to see him try and do a bit less himself and let the game come to him a bit more. Do the distribution game a bit more early then inject himself more later.

I also really struggle to see why they play Romano. He doesn't seem to offer anything in the line out which is his number 1 responsibility. He's willing around the field but a lock who can't win ball under pressure is a waste of space.

The amount of competition at 6 is really exciting. With Kaino, Fifita and Squire we have 3 very different players. Fifita strikes me as the perfect lock/blindside cover to come on with 30 minutes to go. The most encouraging thing with him is he makes metres in close, not just running wide.

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#1861939 10-Sep-2017 19:07

I would not be surprised to see Kaino in only 1 more test this year, and that would be that. It's exceptionally unlikely he would be considered for selection in the RWC 2019, so it's just a matter of time. Squire and Fifita both had good last games, but they are relatively inexperienced at test level. Kaino may well be kept in the group for training. Tafua can't be far behind and Reiko Ioane as well.

We are missing a good fetcher at 6 and 7 and 8 and we got beaten at the breakdown last night a fair number of times, Creevy was insanely good. SA have an amazing 7, he pinched Aussie ball and caused havoc all night. I wouldn't want to see the same happen to us next week against them.

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#1861948 10-Sep-2017 19:46

I have decided after looking at multiple angles from replays that instead of being awarded a try, the Argentinians should have been penalised for interfering with the jumper (Read) in the air. He clearly had his arms pulled away from the ball by the Puma's jumper. I have seen plenty of penalties awarded this year for far less contact. It sounded like the ABs protested after the fact but got no hearing.
Apart from that I thought Gardner had an excellent game.
The fetcher you are looking for is Cane. Fifita can be turned into the best replacement for Kaino but needs to build the tactical smarts.
Notable also was when Barrett came back on after his stint on the naughty chair and went to fullback, all of a sudden he had time. The rush defence took a second or so longer to get to him and he had time to evade and cut through them. Not sure what the answer to a rush defence is if you don't even have time to chip over them.

Note to Kerryn Read, take a leaf out of SBW's book and leave grubber kicks off of your repertoire.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

JonnyCam

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#1861957 10-Sep-2017 20:28

Dingbatt: second or so longer to get to him and he had time to evade and cut through them. Not sure what the answer to a rush defence is if you don't even have time to chip over them.

Hard, straight running lines? Traditional forward play, make the rushing defenders know you will be smashing into them and hurt them.

Attackers can use the shoulder, forearm and hip unlike defenders. Sounds bad, but it's intimidation and knocking the opposition backwards every chance you can.

That, and also a ball shift at the line. as the players are rushing up, and as they get nearer the ball runner will turn in a little so there must be a some space for an outside runner. It's just accuracy of the pass, running and timing between them. (sounds easy eh?) of course, if the defence is disciplined, they may not turn in so always number up - so it's back to hard running.

edit: twin pivots (FB) works too as you have an out to pass the ball back further and kick (well) over the top, hopefully tiring the opposition and slowing their defensive lines.

networkn

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#1863316 13-Sep-2017 09:54

I think in general people are being too harsh on the AB's right now. We are fielding a less capped side than for a long time, with new combinations and very new players entering the test arena. The bottom line is this. We haven't lost this year so far, I don't really expect us to lose against SA but even if we did, it's not the end of the world.

Last match against Argentina we ground it out for 60 minutes, then we lost a guy to the bin and still managed to pull away in the last 20 minutes. People have short memories, but this is how it was last year too. You wear your opponent out, then go for the kill.

I must admit however, I am getting tired of seeing Barrett in the bin. It always seems to be for the same thing, defending close to his line. The message doesn't seem to be getting through to him.

I am a little concerned with Franks and Moody out for the season, our front row doesn't seem as superior as it does with them there.

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#1864322 13-Sep-2017 10:41

networkn:

I think in general people are being too harsh on the AB's right now. We are fielding a less capped side than for a long time, with new combinations and very new players entering the test arena. The bottom line is this. We haven't lost this year so far, I don't really expect us to lose against SA but even if we did, it's not the end of the world.

We lost against the Lions.

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networkn

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#1864324 13-Sep-2017 10:43

clevedon:

networkn:

I think in general people are being too harsh on the AB's right now. We are fielding a less capped side than for a long time, with new combinations and very new players entering the test arena. The bottom line is this. We haven't lost this year so far, I don't really expect us to lose against SA but even if we did, it's not the end of the world.

We lost against the Lions.

Sorry, yes that's true :) I was overseas for that game, for some reason I forgot about it.

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#1864651 13-Sep-2017 17:53

It's a tough game - there have been a huge change of guard, with the McCaws, Nonu/C Smith being the main people who gelled the forward pack as well as defensive duties.

Also the rest of the world are slowly catching up. Still slowly I must say, haven't seen anyone in particular making huge gains other than maybe England. But I haven't watched England play the ABs so it's hard to say where they stand with the best of the world still.

We're still the best of the world - just a tiny bit more leaky in defense than usual. And not nailing penalties I think is what's punishing the scoreboard. (Mind you, RM single handedly gets those penalties for us in the past. Really.)

networkn

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#1864797 13-Sep-2017 22:00

Holy Moly, 2 weeks in a row 78 points put on another team. Spectacular effort by Canterbury.

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#1867404 16-Sep-2017 21:40

What happened to the Boks tonight? Did they get lost on their way to the stadium? I never saw them! I only saw the All Blacks having a bit of a run around, passing the ball back and forth for 80 minutes.

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#1867407 16-Sep-2017 21:59

Wow, what a concerted effort by the AB's.

Hard to find a player that didn't have an outstanding game.

The Boks are better than that, but I am not entirely sure any team could have stopped the AB's tonight. Amazing.

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#1867410 16-Sep-2017 22:23

Sensational

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#1867411 16-Sep-2017 22:37

Simply amazing!

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#1867451 17-Sep-2017 09:39

I was lucky enough to be at the game. And being played on the North Shore, we were surrounded by Bok supporters. And apart from the woman sitting beside my wife, who screamed the entire game, it was a great atmosphere.
After the first high kick that McKenzie failed to catch cleanly, I thought "oh-oh, this could turn into a 'mare". But that was really his last big error. I wonder whether he was struggling a bit with the lights at QBE stadium because he also let a high ball bounce later in the game, that he seemed to lose sight of. Not really an excuse, just an observation as there were 29 other players and 3 officials operating under the same conditions.
People were saying SBW had a quiet game, but when you saw the amount of work he got through in defence, and when he did run he was almost always cut down by two tacklers. That meant the Boks were going to be a defender short further out, and you only need to give Ioane a small bit of space and he is devastating.
Liam Squire, while he lasted, was also a standout. Obviously chosen to face SA because of his physicality. The future is bright with him and Fifita in the mix.
There were too many great AB performances to cover them all. 1 to 23 played their part.

What summed the match up for me was seeing a Bok supporter pull on a black coat over his green rugby jersey and make his way toward the exit. As he stood up he said to me "I'm not looking forward to showing my face at work on Monday". :-)

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

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