I assume I am pretty much the only one who thinks Rieko Ioane is over rated?

networkn:

I assume I am pretty much the only one who thinks Rieko Ioane is over rated?

Dingbatt:

networkn:

 

I assume I am pretty much the only one who thinks Rieko Ioane is over rated?

 

He is part of the next generation. Can't keep relying on the same old workhorses. Although Ioane only recorded one try on the scorecard last night, he crossed the line 4 times.
I would assume none of those named in the Maori squad instead, will go whitebaiting after they have played the Lions, just in case.
Kerr-Barlow and Cruden were justifiably chosen because of current form despite them leaving after this year.
Had to Google so Goodhue was, so hard to say whether he's overrated or not.

Ioane was super for the 7's. I don't think he has quite lived up to his billing in 15's. I am not saying he has no talent or potential, he certainly does.

I am honestly really surprised about Goodhue, I am guessing you don't watch many Crusaders games perhaps, but he has been getting quite a lot of attention due to his form. The two games in SA are worth a watch if you are inclined. I think from memory you are a Chiefs fan, he reminds me a lot of inform Ngatai before his unfortunate injury. 

Dingbatt: What a game for second place! Hard fought by both sides.

Calling Ritchie Mo'unga, Cruden has done his knee again. Don't go whitebaiting.

Agreed, I enjoyed it. Both teams played well. I felt sick to my stomach as BB pulled Ngatai down directly on his head! 

That yellow card was just mind-boggling stupidity and thuggery though and it needs to be gone from the game.

Great work by the Chiefs to secure the win. 

TJP's value to the Hurricanes cannot be overstated. 

I am pretty impressed by Damien McKenzies defense. Even though I've said I felt he would need to bulk up for a Black Jersey, he does make some unbelievable physics defying tackles and shows almost heroic bravery in who and how he tackles. 

I agree Ritchie should be next cab off the 10 ranks. 

Dingbatt: Milner-Skudder was the weakest wing on the paddock. Completely understandable with the amount of rugby he hasn't been playing. Even J.Savea didn't fire, certainly compared with Lowe. Leinert-Brown had a blinder and justified his AB selection.

Agree with NMS, but like with DM I felt and said a while ago, his main advantage was the fact he was unexpected. Once teams are awake to him, shutting him down isn't particularly hard. 

Just as well ALB finally had a decent game, if it wasn't for that, his selection would have been based on last years form. 

Having said that, plenty of AB's have not played well for their franchises and then gone on to have great seasons in the black jersey.

networkn: f

That yellow card was just mind-boggling stupidity and thuggery though and it needs to be gone from the game.

 

 I enjoy the Hurricanes winning but this time I really enjoyed the verve of the Chiefs. They deserved the win.

Every Hurricane loss feels like deja vu with similar mistakes being made by the same players. I'm starting to feel like Chris Eves needs to focus on his hand-eye coordination so he holds onto those important passes. There's the penalties for Jeff Toomaga-Allen. And so on.

I think the ref missed a couple of penalties too... I'm interested to see if that penalty kick actually went over for the Lions or not.

A disappointing but not entirely unsurprising outcome. I felt a few of those scrum penalties should have gone with the Crusaders not the other way around. At the end of the day the Crusaders kept what is largely said to be a test Lions side, tryless for 80 minutes. 

Defense and accuracy of kicking was better by the Lions. I felt the Crusaders forwards needed to be a little stronger, but to be fair, the Forwards from the Lions stepped up.

^ a few.. That was some shocking refereeing!!  Just a man to scared to do anything, so just let everything go, sad for the Crusaders

itxtme:

 

^ a few.. That was some shocking refereeing!!  Just a man to scared to do anything, so just let everything go, sad for the Crusaders

 

Yeah, it was some of the worst refereeing I had seen in a while, but at the end of the day there were other things that stopped the Crusaders winning. It was unfortunate the one try scored was unable to be confirmed. 

The bottom line is pretty much the best of the best of the Northern Hemisphere were assembled together and took the Crusaders on and it's not entirely unexpected they lost.

I was, of course, hoping for a win

IMO, the Crusaders are clearly a better team than the Blues. Lions improved, but they didn't turn into a magical team. The Crusaders seem to have no ideas or creativity. The conditions would not have helped a running game either though. The commentators said it was 7. Unsure what the temp was when it started but it was 8 before sundown and when the game ended it was 2