Geekzone Rugby (Union) Discussion Thread

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#1339531 8-Jul-2015 20:14

Pretty standard. Close game at 40mins with the try breaks coming in the second half.
Obviously much to push from here but full credit to Samoa. As expected beforehand it was physical so hope no major injuries.

itxtme

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#1339570 8-Jul-2015 23:12

The backs for the AB's were terrible. Crotty looked rubbish on attack, but I think that was more to do with SBW running poor lines, and then offloading hospital balls to him. Worst game I have seen for SBW. Dagg had an average game, and again questionable under the high ball. Goodbye Andy Ellis, we thankyou for your service. Pressure = poor passing under him. Two step pass is frustrating when all we need is quick ball.

Fowards were tied up, so cant comment on their attack or ball carrying - there was very little of it. I thought Reid was particularly strong, nice to see. Lineouts were ho-hum, and scrums were just a lolly scramble. Not a pleasing game of rugby on the eye.

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#1339600 9-Jul-2015 00:40

itxtme: The backs for the AB's were terrible. Crotty looked rubbish on attack, but I think that was more to do with SBW running poor lines, and then offloading hospital balls to him. Worst game I have seen for SBW. Dagg had an average game, and again questionable under the high ball. Goodbye Andy Ellis, we thankyou for your service. Pressure = poor passing under him. Two step pass is frustrating when all we need is quick ball.

Fowards were tied up, so cant comment on their attack or ball carrying - there was very little of it. I thought Reid was particularly strong, nice to see. Lineouts were ho-hum, and scrums were just a lolly scramble. Not a pleasing game of rugby on the eye.

Andy Ellis struggled because the forwards weren't protecting him. Same with Samoa's 9. His passing is slower than Smith, I guess he shares that with every 9 on the planet.

Agree SBW, totally rubbish, believe Crotty was hampered by it as you have suggested. Didn't think he was that bad, showed strong defense, some really strong tackles against much larger men.

I agree Dagg did seem to struggle, I think he has lost some of his confidence due to a lack of rugby.

There were a lot of late tackles on the AB's ESP Andy Ellis, they really targeted the person playing half back.

I will be interested to see if AE and ID get another chance.

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#1343436 15-Jul-2015 06:46

weird, watching TDF and at 5am, news of naming of AB side? 5am??

anyway, another 'B' side it seems ... with the Dagger given another crack at form

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#1343479 15-Jul-2015 09:22

I think it's a good team, gives a few of those players more game time, it's a good balance. Could be Daggs last chance I suspect, which is more or less fair enough. Personally I'd take Dagg to the RWC pretty much regardless unless it's injury.

Pretty much guaranteed that Carter and McCaw were going to play as part of the starting 15, I wish I could be there to see it in person!

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#1344482 15-Jul-2015 09:55

joker97: weird, watching TDF and at 5am, news of naming of AB side? 5am??

anyway, another 'B' side it seems ... with the Dagger given another crack at form

I was going to say it's a bit tough to call it a b-team.

But despite looking like a top-quality team it is missing 5 players from our A-team so actually you're right.

The 5 being: Coles, smith x3 and whitelock (but that could be horses for courses as they believe romano is their brad-thorn type player which is what you want vs Argentina. I personally don't rate him and have hopes for Broadhurst)

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#1344495 15-Jul-2015 10:33

And the Savea.

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#1346545 17-Jul-2015 22:37

Much better by the AB's. Nice try to Codie Taylor on Debut. Really nice to see Dagg running freely and good under the high ball, hopefully of of his defensive critics will have noticed his try saving tackle in the last 2 minutes.

A lot of the question marks over Romano etc got answered. Tonight I thought TJ showed excellent control as half back, first time I've seen him put on a performance fitting of the jersey at this level. Some of those passes were seriously fast.

Not quite the hiding I was hoping it would be, but still a reasonably strong showing on the scoreboard.

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#1346568 17-Jul-2015 23:26

That was a great game to let some struggling with form have some freedom to try some skills and increase confidence. How many offloads were there in that game!? I dont think the likes of the Wallabys or Boks will give the much freedom, and it was clear indication of why the best teams in the world target the player and the ball.

There was not a lot of pressure put on the AB's and the Argies put a hell of a lot of pressure on themselves.

Forwards were monstrous. I was particularly impressed by the scrum which dominated.

7 - Giving away too many penaltys, tight games this could be the difference
9 - Great game, form of his life. The AB's have amazing depth here
10 - solid again. I dont think Carter will ever lose us a big game, I worry he wont be able to win a close one where something (attacking) extra is needed - guess thats what the bench is for
12/13 - Lots of space, and a slow defensive line meant SBW was wrecking havoc all over the park. Am keen to see him get another shot next week (off the bench maybe) where the games a little tighter, with faster defense.
11/14 - Both had great games, Noholo looks like he is going to kill someone everytime he doesnt score a try - def wears his heart on his sleeve!
15 - Good game, didnt have a lot of pressure exerted on him, so again would be interested in seeing him play next week. Certainly couldnt drop him based on that game. Loved your comment Networkn, but I wouldnt say that answered my question mark given it was a straight forward cover tackle. It was the one on ones where he was frequently being beaten last year.

A good start but offloads wont be like that next week. Very much looking forward to tomorrow night :D

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#1346570 17-Jul-2015 23:34

I thought it took SBW a while to get into the game. I don't think 13 suits Nonu, he is a 12 and I'd take him over SBW so far this year. AB's still don't have their passing right. A lot of time Nonu was being passed the ball and tried to pass it on but the defence was already on him. He needed to drop back 1-2 steps and the ball needed to go deeper to him. They will watch that and improve on it next week I think.

One thing, I'd be interested to see in the stats tomorrow, but I don't see McCaw miss a single tackle, and he was everywhere. I agree he is giving away too many penalties.

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#1346598 18-Jul-2015 06:05

Hard to know, the ABs weren't tested. Play a top Super 15 team against a club team, everybody excels, means nothing!

Anyway, 3 more tests and then it's the RWC!

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#1346619 18-Jul-2015 09:23

Hansen has been complaining that he's been complaining for years that the lineout drive is illegal obstruction. Next drop goals should be reduced to one point.

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#1346685 18-Jul-2015 12:46

I can't believe there were people in this thread suggesting we might be better off without McCaw and Carter. McCaw was awesome last night, led from the front and looked like he was 24, not 34. Carter is not at his best yet but I feel more confident with him than Cruden, Barret or Slade.

I thought Naholo got stage fright and has a long way to go to force himself into the team. Piutau is a classy player, doesn't put a foot wrong. He looks likely for teh WC squad, plus he's versatile. Dagg played well and if continues to grow we will probably see a back 3 of Savea, Smith and Dagg at the WC.

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#1346710 18-Jul-2015 13:19

Not sure if anyone said we shouldnt have McCaw, it was a discussion on stats and comparisons of number 7's throughout the country, feel free to quote me wrong. Like I said above he gave away too many penaltys, one of which ended in a try and another in 3 points. In a tight game it could cost you the Super rugby title.... wait what??

Naholo was solid on attack. Stats vs Piutau

Carries: 10 v 13
Meters: 81 v 76
Clean breaks: 3 v 2
Defenders beaten: 4 v 3
Offloads: 4 v 2

He also had 37% less game time than Piutau so I cant say I agree he got stage fright.

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#1346712 18-Jul-2015 13:23

I thought the tight five was better last night, with the scrum obviously a stand out. The goal line maul defense is still a problem, and has been for some years. This appears to be a coaching problem and complaining that a tactic is illegal, when it doesn't get pinged, is a bit weak.

Carter was ok but his lack of pace is a problem. He seems to struggle to make it through the line anymore. The way that the all blacks play a flat backline this is a problem as it means that the inside channel doesn't get as much attention and defenders can slide / rush more easily. This is partly why the outside backs appear to flat, they rely on the first five hitting the line, not standing behind the line. This is what Hansen was alluding to when he was talking post match about Carter shuffling the ball on.

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