Geekzone Rugby (Union) Discussion Thread

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#1401777 7-Oct-2015 14:47

joker97: I'm sorry but i maintain my stand that DC is wayyyy past his prime. Is the team good enough to win it? Find out, live, on prime (Sky)

I agree. I can see Foley nailing a much higher % in penalties, conversions than DC. In my mind, we are already behind pointswise before the first whistle. We have to be disciplined and not to give away dumb penalties. If its a tight game whenever we meet them, we will probably lose if its about kicking points

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MikeAqua

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#1401793 7-Oct-2015 14:58

My understanding is: -

- Teams are continuously ranked as normal during RWC pool games.
(e.g. England now 8th).
- The four teams who make the SF's get a ranking based on where they finish.
- The top three in each pool automatically qualify for the next RWC.

Not sure how beaten QF teams are ranked?

networkn: Does the World Rankings reset at the end of the World Cup final with the winner being the new number 1?

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#1401811 7-Oct-2015 15:12

Foley is an interesting character. Absolutely he dominated the game against England. Yes is is an excellent kicker. He has been found wanting on attack when pressure is placed on him. This is why he was swapped out with Cooper over the tri-nations/Bledisloe. His attack was flat footed, and sterile, solid but not exceptional. That changed on Saturday, but can he keep that momentum? I expect with less quality ball (a contest at the break down vs being walked all over) he will find the upcoming matches much more difficult. I believe he will be targeted and given more consideration exactly because he had such a fantastic game against England.

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#1401814 7-Oct-2015 15:16

networkn: Does the World Rankings reset at the end of the World Cup final with the winner being the new number 1?

Nothing is reset. It's a rolling points system

networkn

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#1401826 7-Oct-2015 15:25

itxtme: Foley is an interesting character. Absolutely he dominated the game against England. Yes is is an excellent kicker. He has been found wanting on attack when pressure is placed on him. This is why he was swapped out with Cooper over the tri-nations/Bledisloe. His attack was flat footed, and sterile, solid but not exceptional. That changed on Saturday, but can he keep that momentum? I expect with less quality ball (a contest at the break down vs being walked all over) he will the upcoming matches much more difficult. I believe he will be targeted and given more consideration exactly because he had such a fantastic game against England.

Exactly. He had a good game because Australia forwards dominated England. Last DC game where "he" played really well, in reality, the forwards were dominant over Australia. If we compete properly at the break down and keep our defense reasonable, we wouldn't likely experience the same sort of points line England had to try and chase down.

tdgeek

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#1401832 7-Oct-2015 15:32

But I expect Foley to out kick DC. If its a high points game, they will kick more points. If its a tight game, and Foley kicks close to 100%, thats a big margin of error against us.
No slight against DC, but its been a while when we last expected every kick to go over. Great career, now in the twilight

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#1401856 7-Oct-2015 16:11

tdgeek: But I expect Foley to out kick DC. If its a high points game, they will kick more points. If its a tight game, and Foley kicks close to 100%, thats a big margin of error against us.
No slight against DC, but its been a while when we last expected every kick to go over. Great career, now in the twilight

We don't know that unless we play them. Kicks need to be awarded or won by scoring tries.

NZ Australia is unlikely to come down to kicks. NZ vs familiar foe = they play well, entertaining. NZ against unfamiliar foe, they start dropping balls all round the park. NZ in a game that doesn't matter so much = play well. NZ in games that really matter - play weird. It's normal. Not sure why. Let's find out in a few weeks' time.

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#1402078 8-Oct-2015 01:07

Well for some of you, the day you have been waiting for, is finally here. Backline for the AB's for Tonga : Naholo, Smith, Milner-Scudder

Richie sits this one out, and it's Maa's 100th.

All Canterbury Locking Combo.

I am amped to see a better performance.

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#1402099 8-Oct-2015 07:11

TBH I'm only interested in 9 - 10 combination in this match after the last one

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#1402145 8-Oct-2015 08:57

9-10-12 combo interests me. I think it will be better in this game.
I can't see them rushing up in attack like they have been, and a little bit more depth will be good for 9-10 and then onto 12/13 and back 3.

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#1402227 8-Oct-2015 10:16

Hopefully DC will be able to read AS better after playing only 4-5 games together, if my memory serves me right this is their 6th game together. DC-MN-CS is a long time partnership so I have no worries, But DC-SBW-CS/MF is also in its infancy.

So AS-DC partnership building, and 10's kicking/game running in general.

As the alternative I can see why the selectors chose DC ahead of LS (no I can't understand why they didn't bring LS but WN), because AS-LS----WS-BS is tried not tested, vs AS-DC-MN-CS-BS ... they chose the latter. But game running is lacking in DC as it stands. Will it come back to him in time? Well, time will surely tell!

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#1402228 8-Oct-2015 10:21

joker97: Hopefully DC will be able to read AS better after playing only 4-5 games together, if my memory serves me right this is their 6th game together. DC-MN-CS is a long time partnership so I have no worries, But DC-SBW-CS/MF is also in its infancy.

So AS-DC partnership building, and 10's kicking/game running in general.

As the alternative I can see why the selectors chose DC ahead of LS (no I can't understand why they didn't bring LS but WN), because AS-LS----WS-BS is tried not tested, vs AS-DC-MN-CS-BS ... they chose the latter. But game running is lacking in DC as it stands. Will it come back to him in time? Well, time will surely tell!

He potentially only has 5 more games (for the AB's). I think forwards ascendancy will definitely help.

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#1403260 9-Oct-2015 21:33

Mooloo ole ole ole.
Second to bottom of the competition but Ranfurly Shield holders nonetheless.

“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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#1403268 9-Oct-2015 21:58

networkn:
joker97: Hopefully DC will be able to read AS better after playing only 4-5 games together, if my memory serves me right this is their 6th game together. DC-MN-CS is a long time partnership so I have no worries, But DC-SBW-CS/MF is also in its infancy.

So AS-DC partnership building, and 10's kicking/game running in general.

As the alternative I can see why the selectors chose DC ahead of LS (no I can't understand why they didn't bring LS but WN), because AS-LS----WS-BS is tried not tested, vs AS-DC-MN-CS-BS ... they chose the latter. But game running is lacking in DC as it stands. Will it come back to him in time? Well, time will surely tell!

He potentially only has 5 more games (for the AB's). I think forwards ascendancy will definitely help.

If the forwards are doing well you can put tawera Kerr barlow in 10 and win. The point of a good 10 is turn the team around when the forwards are getting hammered, and nail every penalty. It's too late now, we have only DC and no plan B let's see what he can do.

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#1403278 9-Oct-2015 22:40

joker97:
networkn:
joker97: Hopefully DC will be able to read AS better after playing only 4-5 games together, if my memory serves me right this is their 6th game together. DC-MN-CS is a long time partnership so I have no worries, But DC-SBW-CS/MF is also in its infancy.

So AS-DC partnership building, and 10's kicking/game running in general.

As the alternative I can see why the selectors chose DC ahead of LS (no I can't understand why they didn't bring LS but WN), because AS-LS----WS-BS is tried not tested, vs AS-DC-MN-CS-BS ... they chose the latter. But game running is lacking in DC as it stands. Will it come back to him in time? Well, time will surely tell!

He potentially only has 5 more games (for the AB's). I think forwards ascendancy will definitely help.

If the forwards are doing well you can put tawera Kerr barlow in 10 and win. The point of a good 10 is turn the team around when the forwards are getting hammered, and nail every penalty. It's too late now, we have only DC and no plan B let's see what he can do.

Disagree. TKB is barely playing 9 right now, though I understand (and disagree) your point.

You need forward going momentum (and possession) to win. If your forward pack are going backward, you have nothing to really work with. You can gain some field position, but if the other team has the ball and your defence isn't holding the line, what then?

I just watched SA play USA. They beat them 10 tries to 0 but at half time it was 14-0. The USA were really playing the better Rugby and even through big patches of the second, though the scoreline didn't reflect it. It reminded me a LOT of the AB's over the past 3 weeks. Even Steyn and Pollard weren't kicking well.

I am not that worried because other than England, who really didn't play that well, Australia haven't yet (really) come up against a decent side. I think we will be ok, and even if we aren't, next 12 months is actually more important to me, once our "old" players disappear to see how we go beyond them. Last world cup we lost players after, but we had
our core pretty much intact. This time, a good percentage of our core will be gone.

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