Geekzone Rugby (Union) Discussion Thread

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#2971887 23-Sep-2022 05:46

Earbanean:

Did they just name him in the Australia A team yesterday, so that their tour to Japan would soak up 3 of the games he was likely to get banned for? If so, that's incredibly cynical.

It's entirely normal. Angus Ta'avao served one match of his two match suspension for an Auckland game he was never going to play. Them's the rules.

networkn

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#2971981 23-Sep-2022 09:19

artbloke:

This is the last match of the comp, where it's vital we get 5 points from the game to give us a chance of winning The Rugby Championship, so should be starting our best available starting team.

NZ public sees every match as a must win with a comfortable margin and play well. You don't give other players a chance to develop or find form if you play the same players all the time. You also burn players out hard, especially at the start of their career by overworking them

and putting too many expectations on it. We need 3 decent hookers at least. Scott Barrett also has a Achilles niggle.

These seem reasonable reasons to shuffle our players around.

In my opinion a win is a must, a 5 pointer is nice to have, but I am not that worried about the RC as I am about overall squad development.

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#2972020 23-Sep-2022 10:40

itxtme:

One of the weakest pairings which ended up happening often was Rieko Ioane and Caleb Clarke. Clarke especially was beaten on defence, and struggled to gel with Ioane. I like Clarke, he offers size and pace. I am concerned though after 3 seasons deep, he is still struggling with some of the basics.

https://youtu.be/kw5Z5aq6Vcw?t=647

Should play from 10.45 in - but basically confirms the concern.

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#2972026 23-Sep-2022 10:51

Yeah, I am not convinced that Clarke's size/strength is enough to play him over Reece to be honest. Reece is versatile and has a great work rate. It's not unusual to see him attack a breakdown and get a turnover. He scores tries perhaps in a less direct route, but he is equally hard to stop. .

I didn't think Reiko had a great game last week, but he has been developing well, and I think with a fair bit of disruption he lost his way a bit, and reverted to bad habits. He perhaps doesn't yet have enough of a grasp of the centre to lead in that area yet, but that will likely come with time.

I am a bit worried we are pretty exposed in that area with JB having very little test experience and Reiko being still prone to a bit of inconsistency. Hopefully, McCleod has spent a good amount of time with them this week. If I was Rennie I'd be all over them.

Jordies offloading game and size are likely of benefit, but I don't think his kick game is suited to the midfield specifically, I guess we will see.

I won't be surprised if we are quite all over the place this weekend.

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#2972046 23-Sep-2022 11:30

networkn:

Yeah, I am not convinced that Clarke's size/strength is enough to play him over Reece to be honest. Reece is versatile and has a great work rate. It's not unusual to see him attack a breakdown and get a turnover. He scores tries perhaps in a less direct route, but he is equally hard to stop. .

Not sure the ABs have learned to use Clarke to his full capability yet. He's had relatively little game-time at the top level, partially through his own choices, granted, but given the turbulence in the current squad I think people have to be reasonable.

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#2972051 23-Sep-2022 11:34

GV27:

Not sure the ABs have learned to use Clarke to his full capability yet. He's had relatively little game-time at the top level, partially through his own choices, granted, but given the turbulence in the current squad I think people have to be reasonable.

Perhaps, that is why they have coaches and selectors, presumably who have access to more information. I was just making statements based on what I've observed to date. Having said that, he is pretty much using the same style of Rugby the whole time I've watched him. Running through players is less of a thing now than it perhaps was in the past as defenders are bigger and stronger, esp at test level.

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#2972183 23-Sep-2022 15:46

networkn:
artbloke:

This is the last match of the comp, where it's vital we get 5 points from the game to give us a chance of winning The Rugby Championship, so should be starting our best available starting team.

NZ public sees every match as a must win with a comfortable margin and play well. You don't give other players a chance to develop or find form if you play the same players all the time. You also burn players out hard, especially at the start of their career by overworking them

and putting too many expectations on it. We need 3 decent hookers at least. Scott Barrett also has a Achilles niggle.

These seem reasonable reasons to shuffle our players around.

In my opinion a win is a must, a 5 pointer is nice to have, but I am not that worried about the RC as I am about overall squad development.

NZ public don't expect the ABs to win every match, that would be impossible for any team to do... what NZers do expect is for the ABs to play good quality rugby consistently, do that and we win a lot more than we lose, especially with the fast paced game we play.

I want us to win the RC - players should earn a starting spot and their places on the bench, not just given a start for experience, need to get the balance right, a team only plays really well when all the combos have had plenty of game time together, then you play at your best as a unit.

Hatch

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Hatch (affiliate link).

artbloke

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#2972188 23-Sep-2022 15:57

GV27:
networkn:

Yeah, I am not convinced that Clarke's size/strength is enough to play him over Reece to be honest. Reece is versatile and has a great work rate. It's not unusual to see him attack a breakdown and get a turnover. He scores tries perhaps in a less direct route, but he is equally hard to stop. .

Not sure the ABs have learned to use Clarke to his full capability yet. He's had relatively little game-time at the top level, partially through his own choices, granted, but given the turbulence in the current squad I think people have to be reasonable.

Reckon Clarke has been great on attack... but needs to stop rushing out of our defensive line, just leaves space for them to run through, if he stays in the defensive line his defending will be much better.

Handle9

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#2972210 23-Sep-2022 17:37

artbloke:
Handle9:
Apparently it’s workload related, same as Scott Barrett. He’s played pretty big minutes the last couple of tests.

This is the last match of the comp, where it's vital we get 5 points from the game to give us a chance of winning The Rugby Championship, so should be starting our best available starting team.

The telemetry tells them exactly where these guys are at with fatigue. If Taukei'aho only has 30 minutes in his legs before he has decreased performance or significantly increased risk of injury it's sensible to bring him off the bench.

He's a big unit and he's played a lot of high impact minutes.

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#2972265 23-Sep-2022 18:09

artbloke:

NZ public don't expect the ABs to win every match, that would be impossible for any team to do... what NZers do expect is for the ABs to play good quality rugby consistently, do that and we win a lot more than we lose, especially with the fast paced game we play.

I want us to win the RC - players should earn a starting spot and their places on the bench, not just given a start for experience, need to get the balance right, a team only plays really well when all the combos have had plenty of game time together, then you play at your best as a unit.

Bold 1, they do, otherwise there are refs etc to blame

Bold 2, that will apply to many upper Teir 1 nations

The rest of your comment makes sense. I also what us to win the RC but its been a joke. Any team can win any match. If it was a "real" Championship the cream rises to the top, but it hasnt.

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#2972279 23-Sep-2022 18:36

tdgeek:

artbloke:

NZ public don't expect the ABs to win every match, that would be impossible for any team to do... what NZers do expect is for the ABs to play good quality rugby consistently, do that and we win a lot more than we lose, especially with the fast paced game we play.

I want us to win the RC - players should earn a starting spot and their places on the bench, not just given a start for experience, need to get the balance right, a team only plays really well when all the combos have had plenty of game time together, then you play at your best as a unit.

Bold 1, they do, otherwise there are refs etc to blame

Bold 2, that will apply to many upper Teir 1 nations

The rest of your comment makes sense. I also what us to win the RC but its been a joke. Any team can win any match. If it was a "real" Championship the cream rises to the top, but it hasnt.

If it's a joke and you don't watch the games why are you commenting?

Handle9

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#2972290 23-Sep-2022 19:03

networkn:

Running through players is less of a thing now than it perhaps was in the past as defenders are bigger and stronger, esp at test level.

It's a bigger deal than it's ever been, especially if you play a small 12 like Havilli. You need someone with size in the backline who can carry for tough runs when the defence is set.

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#2972292 23-Sep-2022 19:06

GV27:

networkn:

Yeah, I am not convinced that Clarke's size/strength is enough to play him over Reece to be honest. Reece is versatile and has a great work rate. It's not unusual to see him attack a breakdown and get a turnover. He scores tries perhaps in a less direct route, but he is equally hard to stop. .

Not sure the ABs have learned to use Clarke to his full capability yet. He's had relatively little game-time at the top level, partially through his own choices, granted, but given the turbulence in the current squad I think people have to be reasonable.

He's played 9 tests. In a lot of ways his trajectory could be like Jordie Barrett who took 20 tests to become consistent. He may not get there but he's worth persevering with, he can do things many other players can't do.

tdgeek

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#2972410 24-Sep-2022 07:35

Handle9:

tdgeek:

Bold 1, they do, otherwise there are refs etc to blame

Bold 2, that will apply to many upper Teir 1 nations

The rest of your comment makes sense. I also what us to win the RC but its been a joke. Any team can win any match. If it was a "real" Championship the cream rises to the top, but it hasnt.

If it's a joke and you don't watch the games why are you commenting?

don't watch the games?

"Haven't watched it, but I see we got a late penalty for them kicking to touch too slow, so we got a try off that. Yellow cards galore. Glad I didnt watch it. "

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#2972412 24-Sep-2022 07:40

What’s your point?

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