Geekzone Rugby (Union) Discussion Thread

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Networkn
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#2076709 21-Aug-2018 12:47

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/opinion/106435662/mark-reason-why-the-jury-is-still-out-on-beauden-barrett

An interesting read by Mark Reason who I am not a fan of. I think he is overly critical of Beauden Barrett but still makes some good points.

For me the biggest issue for BB is his distrbution. His passing is average at best and awful at worst. He and McKenzie both throw a horrible number of passes which are intercepted or forward. I am not sure for the technical reason for this, but as Reason alludes to, Barretts passing is stifling the flow of the backline because players are often having to jump or duck to catch the ball, or are thrown a pass which puts the reciever into immediate contact, for which often the answer is to flick the ball on, which destroys the movement.

I have lamented here many times that the AB's passing game is one of the worst in Rugby. So many times players don't get the ball in such a way as to hit the line with pace. I am not saying they aren't good sometimes, but if they worked on this somewhat, I feel it would be beneficial.

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networkn

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#2077254 22-Aug-2018 09:50

Michael Cheika is his own worst enemy.

He has mentioned in an interview that he is his own biggest critic and mentioned his kids were in tears after the AB's won in Sydney last weekend.

I really feel for him if his kids were indeed affected so much by the loss, and I do get the feeling he probably is quite harsh, but I don't think he makes himself an easy sympathy target because of the way he behaves during games and during post match interviews. Compare a losing Steve Hansen to Chieka and you'll see what I mean.

I get the guy wears his heart on his sleeve, but he always comes across so whiney/sulky! It's mostly someone elses fault.

Compare him to the prior Springboks coach who was equally emotive, but still likeable.

I am not a fan of his per se, but I am unsure what getting rid of him would acheive. It's not clear to me there is another Australian Coach who could do better, and the Wallabies lack the maturity in my opinion to respond well to an overseas coach.

He came close to a win against Ireland and took his team to the final in 2015. Wallabies set peice and fitness appears to be an issue, at least one of which I expect to see serious improvements from this coming weekend.

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#2077802 23-Aug-2018 10:35

So Jordie Barrett at Full Back, Ben Smith to the Wing and Laumape at 12.

It will be interesting to see how Laumape and Goodhue work together, it's a pretty inexperienced pairing. Not only are both inexperienced at test level individually, they are not a pairing that has spent time together. I'd like to see the battering ram come out.

I am not sold on Barrett at fullback. I really hope he smashes it out of the park for us this week.

Discipline will be a key issue for him, IMO and for the AB's in general.

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#2077815 23-Aug-2018 10:54

networkn:

So Jordie Barrett at Full Back, Ben Smith to the Wing and Laumape at 12.

It will be interesting to see how Laumape and Goodhue work together, it's a pretty inexperienced pairing. Not only are both inexperienced at test level individually, they are not a pairing that has spent time together. I'd like to see the battering ram come out.

I am not sold on Barrett at fullback. I really hope he smashes it out of the park for us this week.

Discipline will be a key issue for him, IMO and for the AB's in general.

The penalty count was 9-6 to the Aussies, discipline wasn't a problem for the All Blacks last weekend. I don't see why it would be suddenly a problem for them this weekend just because of a few less experienced new faces.

If anything, I think it will be higher for the Aussies this weekend as they try and spoil and slow down the game to stop it getting away from them.

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#2077820 23-Aug-2018 10:57

clevedon:

networkn:

So Jordie Barrett at Full Back, Ben Smith to the Wing and Laumape at 12.

It will be interesting to see how Laumape and Goodhue work together, it's a pretty inexperienced pairing. Not only are both inexperienced at test level individually, they are not a pairing that has spent time together. I'd like to see the battering ram come out.

I am not sold on Barrett at fullback. I really hope he smashes it out of the park for us this week.

Discipline will be a key issue for him, IMO and for the AB's in general.

The penalty count was 9-6 to the Aussies, discipline wasn't a problem for the All Blacks last weekend. I don't see why it would be suddenly a problem for them this weekend just because of a few less experienced new faces.

If anything, I think it will be higher for the Aussies this weekend as they try and spoil and slow down the game to stop it getting away from them.

Last season the AB's disclipine was a *major* problem. It wasn't last week, but this is a key area for the AB's to maintain control. It's easy to let things slip, esp if they are under pressure.

My concerns around disclipline aren't necessarily to do with just the young players, though I have concerns about how Jordie goes under pressure.

clevedon

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#2077828 23-Aug-2018 11:18

networkn:

clevedon:

networkn:

So Jordie Barrett at Full Back, Ben Smith to the Wing and Laumape at 12.

It will be interesting to see how Laumape and Goodhue work together, it's a pretty inexperienced pairing. Not only are both inexperienced at test level individually, they are not a pairing that has spent time together. I'd like to see the battering ram come out.

I am not sold on Barrett at fullback. I really hope he smashes it out of the park for us this week.

Discipline will be a key issue for him, IMO and for the AB's in general.

The penalty count was 9-6 to the Aussies, discipline wasn't a problem for the All Blacks last weekend. I don't see why it would be suddenly a problem for them this weekend just because of a few less experienced new faces.

If anything, I think it will be higher for the Aussies this weekend as they try and spoil and slow down the game to stop it getting away from them.

Last season the AB's disclipine was a *major* problem. It wasn't last week, but this is a key area for the AB's to maintain control. It's easy to let things slip, esp if they are under pressure.

My concerns around disclipline aren't necessarily to do with just the young players, though I have concerns about how Jordie goes under pressure.

Last season was last season and it wasn't that bad, the French tour earlier this season went relatively well for us discipline wise also. The TMO has also been reined in a bit to which is good news, the refereeing interpretations have a major influence.

I don't think we have any discipline problems at all, it's a fast paced game, so mistakes happen and we are not a dirty team - we don't have to be and we win the games which is what counts at the end of the day.

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#2078062 23-Aug-2018 16:36

I see SH had a dig at the Wallabies for not sticking around for Sam Whitelocks 100th game. Fair enough too. I was very surprised to see them disappearing. I wonder what happens this week with Owen Franks 100th.

Cheika says it wasn't a lack of but I believe it was either poor sportsmanship or a lack of respect. I'd feel this way in reverse.

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#2079198 25-Aug-2018 22:13

Two tests I've really enjoyed with a lot of enjoyable moments from both sides. The All Blacks really made a point when they gave Beauden Barrett his fourth try after his earlier attempt was disallowed.

I'm keen to see how Australia goes against South Africa so we have a better idea of how good the All Blacks are.

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#2079215 26-Aug-2018 06:37

It was another decent performance from the All Blacks. They clearly stepped up from last week and were far more accurate with the ball. They also were very effective using 1-3-3-1 forward pods. It seems to work well against Australia as it gives them a much better clean out and neutralises Hooper and Pocock. They still get the odd steal but generally we get quick ball.

They will need to tidy up their scrum defense, with 2 tries down Aaron Smiths channel.

I think that generally the coaches will be pleased where they are at. Their top pack is clear, with Coles being the only one likely to return. Taylor wasnt great early on but played better as the game went on. Its the first average game I've seen him have for a while.

They also seem to have cured their high tackling issues, which is in turn significantly reducing their penalties and yellow cards.

The main questions they wil be looking to answer in the next month will be around the 3rd half back, maybe the 4th lock and giving Mo'unga game time. I dont have alot of confidence in Harris but its good to see him getting significant game time. He's a good scrummager and decent around the field, I just dont rate his throwing. He's a good 3rd hooker, I'm not sure I'd want him as my number 2 though.

The centres and outside backs are humming, with Ben Smith being back to his best. His aerial game is such a weapon and having Mackenzie, Ioane, Smith, Jordie Barrett and Naholo gives them a ton of flexibility and removes the need for a 6th outside back in their world cup squad. Similarly with Sonny Bill Williams, Crotty (if he can stay on the park) Lienert-Brown and Goodhue. If they have Crotty and Lienart-Brown both fit they can both play 12 and 13 which gives them great options.

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#2079252 26-Aug-2018 09:41

Hammerer:

Two tests I've really enjoyed with a lot of enjoyable moments from both sides. The All Blacks really made a point when they gave Beauden Barrett his fourth try after his earlier attempt was disallowed.

I'm keen to see how Australia goes against South Africa so we have a better idea of how good the All Blacks are.

I didnt watch the match, chose to watch two Free Practice sessions of Formula 1 instead. Seeing the news this morning, seemed like a close first half, then I assume AUS tired again? They said Wallabies were poor. SA got rolled by Argentina, so it seems like a low point for international rugby at the moment. Pity RWC doesnt start on Tuesday!

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#2079256 26-Aug-2018 10:05

tdgeek:
Hammerer:

Two tests I've really enjoyed with a lot of enjoyable moments from both sides. The All Blacks really made a point when they gave Beauden Barrett his fourth try after his earlier attempt was disallowed.

I'm keen to see how Australia goes against South Africa so we have a better idea of how good the All Blacks are.

I didnt watch the match, chose to watch two Free Practice sessions of Formula 1 instead. Seeing the news this morning, seemed like a close first half, then I assume AUS tired again? They said Wallabies were poor. SA got rolled by Argentina, so it seems like a low point for international rugby at the moment. Pity RWC doesnt start on Tuesday!

What make you say a low point? The ABs are always ahead of the pack, with the the following 6 or so teams pretty closely matched.

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#2079262 26-Aug-2018 10:26

throbb:
tdgeek:

Hammerer:

Two tests I've really enjoyed with a lot of enjoyable moments from both sides. The All Blacks really made a point when they gave Beauden Barrett his fourth try after his earlier attempt was disallowed.

I'm keen to see how Australia goes against South Africa so we have a better idea of how good the All Blacks are.

I didnt watch the match, chose to watch two Free Practice sessions of Formula 1 instead. Seeing the news this morning, seemed like a close first half, then I assume AUS tired again? They said Wallabies were poor. SA got rolled by Argentina, so it seems like a low point for international rugby at the moment. Pity RWC doesnt start on Tuesday!

What make you say a low point? The ABs are always ahead of the pack, with the the following 6 or so teams pretty closely matched.

They probably are evenly matched, all poor. Scotland is not a world renown top tier team yet they rolled Argentina easily. Wales beat Argentina twice, all 3 on home soil. RSA beat Argentina reasonably well in Durban, then beaten by Argies today. Its hardly a great period.

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#2079263 26-Aug-2018 10:30

Went to the game. Amazing atmosphere, especially when Franks ran out ahead of the All Blacks for his hundredth test (still try-less by the way). The cheer from the crowd made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.
Wayne Barnes was warming up right in front of us before the match, and in contrast to the past, there were no smart-arse remarks. In fact just some good wishes. I hope it is a sign that NZ supporters are starting to mature a bit. For that matter, there wasn't any jeering when Chieka was shown on the big screen, like there has been previously, either.

To the game itself. The Aussies were not that bad. Particularly in the first half, but once they tired, it was all over. It was evident when you watched them proceeding to the next breakdown. With the exception of Pocock and Hooper, the lowering of energy levels was evident in the Wallaby forwards particularly. They have some stars, like Genia, Pocock, Hooper and Beale, but not across the park like the ABs. Without Folau the Aussie high kicks were pretty much a waste time and gave away possession. It was just a matter of whether the Barrett boys were going to run it back at them or kick it into the corners. And then when McKenzie came on, it was just lighting a fuse.
Cane was not himself, right from the start. I don't think he was 100% fit after suffering an injury in training and I believe he was about to be subbed when he suffered his head knock (Savea was already warming up). Genia's try was between the defence of Cane and Smith(A).
Laumape was pretty much marked out of the game, but putting two players on him left gaps elsewhere which were exploited.

I've got to ask though. Why do people get so drunk before a test match that they are staggering to and from the toilets continuously instead of watching the match they have paid a premium price to attend?

“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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#2079367 26-Aug-2018 12:54

What a performance from the AB's. They didn't look like losing once.

Obviously something special from Beauden Barret, another amazing performance from Brodie Rettalick, Ben Smith had a fantastic night (There is no question in my mind he is better at Wing for the AB's than at Full Back).

Jordie Barrett was also pretty decent. TJP had one of his better games I think. Laumape was reasonable, but the passing to him was pretty average, with him getting too many short balls instead of him being passed to, 1m back so he could wind up.

Nice to see the Wallabies hang around and make a few nice comments.

Comments were made about neck rolls on Pocock and fairly enough too. Should have been at least 1 yellow to the AB's. It's dangerous. Someone is going to get seriously hurt.

I don't see the AB's having any issues dispatching SA if they play the way they did last night against Argentina, who were made to look better than they were because of really poor defensive lines by SA. Sanchez is a freak as is Augustine Creevy, who played 75 minutes of an 80 minute match, something very few front-rowers ever do.

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#2079379 26-Aug-2018 14:06

networkn:

Comments were made about neck rolls on Pocock and fairly enough too. Should have been at least 1 yellow to the AB's. It's dangerous. Someone is going to get seriously hurt.

I was surprised that the commentators said nothing and the referees didn't do anything about it. And Pocock wasn't the only one being neck rolled - pulled by the neck and/or head - but he was the most obvious.

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