Geekzone Rugby (Union) Discussion Thread

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838 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2666252 1-Mar-2021 14:15

JPNZ:

networkn:

Points are points. I agree with your sentiment it's boring to watch, but no team is going to turn down their RWC trophy because they won it in a boring manner.

Oh in a big game for sure, but 2nd round of a small tournament it makes no sense unless this style is the way they want to play. Brumbies on the following night scored 9 tries so I guess it evens out lol. Let's see what this week brings

I tend to think that both teams realised that their attack was poor and that penalty goals were of a higher percentage chance of getting points. An ugly win v a loss by turning down points can be the difference between the top qualifier and home advantage and not.

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Handle9

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#2666335 1-Mar-2021 16:36

networkn:
England won't be happy with their performance over the weekend. A few decent upsets in world rugby lately. You typically don't think of Wales (who were struggling a few weeks ago to string together 3 phases) to spank England like that.

Did you watch the game? It was one of the most bizarre refereeing performances ever.

England had very poor discipline but it's not easy to win when your opposition is gifted two nonsense tries.

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#2666617 2-Mar-2021 09:25

Handle9:
networkn:
England won't be happy with their performance over the weekend. A few decent upsets in world rugby lately. You typically don't think of Wales (who were struggling a few weeks ago to string together 3 phases) to spank England like that.

Did you watch the game? It was one of the most bizarre refereeing performances ever.

England had very poor discipline but it's not easy to win when your opposition is gifted two nonsense tries.

It has been reported that Gauzere has admitted that the first 2 Wales tries shouldn't have been given.

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#2666938 2-Mar-2021 19:59

Aaron Smith signs with NZRU till 2023. I really hope we find someone to replace him before that.

Handle9

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#2666943 2-Mar-2021 20:10

There's always a replacement. That person won't have the same sort of pass that Smith does but that's how it goes.

Replacing the best New Zealand halfback I've seen will be a step back.

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#2666946 2-Mar-2021 20:21

Handle9: There's always a replacement. That person won't have the same sort of pass that Smith does but that's how it goes.

Replacing the best New Zealand halfback I've seen will be a step back.

I was inferring replacement as someone as good as him, at least in as many areas as possible.

Enari and Fakatava both look promising, though Enari hasn't had much game time lately so it's been a little hard to guage him. He has a lovely pass and arrives to the base of the ruck very quickly. He comes from notable Rugby family stocks.

Fakatava was possibly one of the top 3 players in Mitre 10. I thought he looked razer sharp for the Highlanders last week.

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#2666947 2-Mar-2021 20:26

networkn:

Handle9: There's always a replacement. That person won't have the same sort of pass that Smith does but that's how it goes.

Replacing the best New Zealand halfback I've seen will be a step back.

I was inferring replacement as someone as good as him, at least in as many areas as possible.

Enari and Fakatava both look promising, though Enari hasn't had much game time lately so it's been a little hard to guage him. He has a lovely pass and arrives to the base of the ruck very quickly. He comes from notable Rugby family stocks.

Fakatava was possibly one of the top 3 players in Mitre 10. I thought he looked razer sharp for the Highlanders last week.

The replacement won't be as good as him. It's very hard to find a second unicorn. There's going to be a significant drop off, which I would assume is beng planned for and game plans will have to change.

I think Enari has played 3 super games since 2017, I guess he's not the answer.

Jas777

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#2667041 2-Mar-2021 23:33

Enari has broken his leg twice. Never been the same since. I think that ship has sailed.

If you can't replace Mitchell Drummond then i don't think you are the answer.

JPNZ

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#2667154 3-Mar-2021 08:35

Fakatava is off contract at the Landers and word on the street is the Crusaders are going to make a play for him next year.

Bryn Hall and Ere Enari are both off contract at the Crusaders after this year.

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#2667183 3-Mar-2021 09:58

JPNZ:

Fakatava is off contract at the Landers and word on the street is the Crusaders are going to make a play for him next year.

Bryn Hall and Ere Enari are both off contract at the Crusaders after this year.

I don't really get the hate that Drummond seems to get. He is an excellent finishing half back, has a decent pass, is pretty quick to rucks and his kicks are generally contestable. He isn't Aaron Smith but he is miles ahead of what Andy Ellis was (and I love the guy) in his final 2-3 seasons. Bryn Hall has also jumped up a level since joining the Crusaders, and it isn't just the fact he is behind a pack that goes forward more than back. Perhaps not AB's of the future, but hardly worthy of the grief he gets.

Brad Weber also had a really bad injury and isn't the same since, though to his credit, he has concentrated on other areas of his game, and last year he was the Chiefs best player IMO. Tahuriorangi pretty much vanished overnight. Obviously, he wasn't doing what the AB selectors want, and we don't get a huge insight into that.

God help us if TJP is our first choice HB though.

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#2667422 3-Mar-2021 16:27

Drummond is the textbook definition of mediocre.

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#2667571 4-Mar-2021 06:19

This is very good

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#2668668 6-Mar-2021 08:21

It looks pretty likely that Rob Penney will get fired this week. NSW are a shambles. I really hope Andrew Hore doesn't bring a similar mess to the Blues.

It's really interesting how unsuccessful most of the ex-Crusaders assistants have been outside of Christchurch.

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#2668682 6-Mar-2021 10:00

How the Chiefs went from total dominance in the first 30 minutes to the total opposite in the second hand is really beyond me. They were playing with the Chiefs of old free flowing, offloading in the tackle game. The second yellow card should have not occurred because of not one, but 2 missed forward passes.

Jona Nareki had a monster game, but the Chiefs need to learn to tackle.

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#2669048 6-Mar-2021 15:13

Obviously because the chief are a great team when the opponents have 14 players. ;-)

It was an interesting game.

As a highlanders supporter next week will be another loss realistically against crusaders and hopefuly hurricans win so we lose the record of longest loosing streak...

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