New Zealand Rugby Team Watch

[waiopehu oldboy]

Oh shit, Waipu Cove Oldboy will be ropeable by about now. His Cantabs have shat the bed bigtime at home.

Nah, after last week I was pretty much expecting a Round 3-grade flogging & wasnt unduly surprised when that's what we deservedly got. Way too much side to side & back again, nowhere near enough head down & straight up the guts.

Alarm bells reverberate around NZRFU corridors as messrs Mccaw, D.Carter, S.Whitelock, O.Franks, Read and Crockett manage to do sweet fuck-all to stem the bleeding at home to Waikato. The backbone of the All Blacks, they are supposed guaranteed selections. The whole lot would have to contract overnight facial nutsack ebola not to be on the plane in October. Tickets booked, egos massaged, ballsacks cotton-wooled. And they were rubbish tonight. Carter does everything gingerly. Mccaw little more than an earnest clot.

The real problem is mental - if a combined 12,863 All Blacks caps can't adjust the gameplan to pull off a win - in a game they really had to win - then should Niew Zllnd be concerned?

True & Yes, Very.

 

[Dismal Pillock]

the manner of Cantabs capitulation will probably initiate talk of 1991 up and down NZ now, if Mccaw/Carter do a Soiaolo and fall off the cliff Hansen would have to have dirigible-sized cojones to leave them out of RWC squad. It would never happen. He's already said to the press the squad is pretty much set. And yet, NZers ain't blind. How fuckign good was Sam Cane vs Mccaw tonight?

 

[Hugh Jarse]

The GOAT is dead, Long live the GOAT.

As I said in the game thread, Sam Cane comprehensively outplayed an uncharacteristically error prone and slow GOAT, even though he had 10 in the naughty boys chair.

As the GOAT and others may struggle to make RWC 15, there are plenty of world class folk lining up to take their place, and we know that the Darkness can win a RWC with their 4th best Flyhalf.

 

[cyclopath]

IF Carter, McCaw et al do not make RWC, I'm not sure anyone would rejoice too much. The options are deep and very bloody good. As usual.
I said "if". Carter looks the far less likely, McCaw has too long a record of proving everyone wrong. He does look off-pace by some margin at the moment.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

the manner of Cantabs capitulation will probably initiate talk of 1991 up and down NZ now, if Mccaw/Carter do a Soiaolo and fall off the cliff Hansen would have to have dirigible-sized cojones to leave them out of RWC squad. It would never happen. He's already said to the press the squad is pretty much set. And yet, NZers ain't blind. How fuckign good was Sam Cane vs Mccaw tonight?

Funny you should mention 1991 'cos the similarities have been nagging at me for a while now, esp Fox/ Carter.

As for GOAT I've been saying for some time that we needed to relieve him of the (c) beside his name & start looking at him as a backup 6/8. Probably too late for either of those now, though. In saying that, he's confounded his critics plenty of times before so maybe he's just making sure there's enough left in the tank come October................

 

[Dismal Pillock]

McCaw has too long a record of proving everyone wrong.

This is it isnt it.

Have to bear in mind too, Mccaw is barely a Crusader.

He is primarily an All Black.

And the ever redoubtable bastard being who he is, he will probably use this adversity to reforge his iron will to an even more unbreakable temper and captain NZ in every minute of 2015RWC, in turn making it a personal mission that no side shall come within 20 points as NZ canter to an easy retention of world champion status.

 

[zer0]

Fact of the matter is that Super rugby -- and the 4N -- is utterly irrelevant compared to the RWC. The big boys in the Crusaders pack know they're going to the RWC, so don't need to bust a gut trying to earn their places. Also means they don't want to over exert themselves and risk fatigue (physical or mental) or injury.

They'll all be fine come September. Especially McCaw.

 

[ChargerWA]

Read must be getting nervous. I'd have Shields ahead of him at this point.

 

[cyclopath]

Fact of the matter is that Super rugby -- and the 4N -- is utterly irrelevant compared to the RWC. The big boys in the Crusaders pack know they're going to the RWC, so don't need to bust a gut trying to earn their places. Also means they don't want to over exert themselves and risk fatigue (physical or mental) or injury.

They'll all be fine come September. Especially McCaw.

Only a fool would write McCaw off, but he doesn't look like he's holding himself back, he just looks off pace. Which is not something you'd ever say before. Plenty of time to step up, but he needs to.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Read must be getting nervous. I'd have Shields ahead of him at this point.

Read topped both the carry & tackle counts. He won't be nervous so much as pissed off that some of the other big guns aren't firing & are being shown up by some of the new kids, Taufua in particular. No chance of a RWC berth but if, as expected, Messam trials for the Rio 7's squad he could well come into the mix for next years June tests (Wales, I think).

 

[teach]

Even if he doesn't make the starting lineup come the RWC, I would be extremely happy if I knew one of the players coming on in the second half/last 20 of a tough game was a certain R. McCaw.

I am quite relaxed about this RWC. Having spent the last 3 years demolishing everyone, I am not overly bothered if we don't get past the semis. Top 4 will do me.

Anybody else think Lima Sopoaga from the Highlanders will be wearing black next year after the departure of Carter and Slade to France and possibly Barret to 7's?

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

^^^^^^^^ gotta be next cab off the rank, surely.

 

[Dismal Pillock]

he does still make some flighty decisions but that seems to be coming right. Definitely has the tools, the kickign repertoire, the running and the power. Would maybe rather have him at 1st 5 than Barrett starting and standing too far back and telegraphing his shovel alongs

Although you never know, some blokes go to the next level up and mentally just cannot hack it. Could he calmly pot the winning droppie a la Carter vs an Ireland at home when theyre under the cosh?

I am quite relaxed about this RWC.

strangely Im the same. The monkey went off the back in 2011 butr in hindsight that tourney was just wretched & wrenching viewing. No shit, I watched the entire final at home, alone, kneeling in front of the TV. For 80 minutes. Might be nice to actually enjoy some All Black RWC matches, for the first time since 1987.

 

[Dan54]

Another thing that amuses me is experts who pick a player on what they see on TV. Not sure if anyone saw the conversation with Foxy before the Highlanders/Blues game, where he was as part of his AB selectors job, when he said he was watching 4 players in the game, and that meant he had to watch each player almost exclusively for 20 minutes each(and not the game per se), to see what he did off the ball (and the TV screens) as well as what he did on it. Heard him say it one other time, which tends to make me chuckle when we see all these internet warriors bagging players after watching a game or 2 usually with a skinful of piss!!

 

[teach]

Yeah, I have seen interviews with the video analysts who have cameramen filming only one player for an entire game. I am sure shag and co do something similar. I am also certain the coaches indicate those players who are teachable and those who are a handful.
But in reality. Outside Carter/Barret/Slade; Sopoaga must be the next cab off the rank. His stats seem to show it.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/...t5r-rating-super-rugbys-playmakers--week-nine

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Or will the selectors look to blood the next generation like D Mackenzie et al with an eye on RWC19?

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

^^^^^^^^ I very much doubt it. Next year is about rebuilding after the post-RWC retirement of GOAT & the departure of Carter, Nonu, Conrad etc with an eye on the 2017 B&IL tour. They won't start blooding players for 2019 until the 2016 EOYT at the earliest, if then.

That said, all the departures plus Rio (Barrett & Savea are on-record as saying they want a piece of it, Messam & SBW are strongly rumoured to also be keen) does mean there's gonna be more AB jerseys up for grabs than usual. Fully expecting to see Lowe, Sopoaga & Taufua in Black at some point next year.

 

[Dan54]

Yeah WOB? You think Tafua will make ABs ahead of Shields? I suspect Shields is in Shags sights, he has had him training with ABs a couple of years back.
HJ, I would think MacKenzie will be left a year or so yet, young Weber will go close then to I suspect.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

^^^^ room for both in a EOYT squad esp if we tack on USA or Japan. Agree on Shields, if KR goes down he defo comes in as 6/8 backup for Kaino & Messam.

 

[Dismal Pillock]

D.Mcenzie may as well be Robbie Robinson at this stage.

i reckon theyll have one of them cameras trained on Shields, before the long injury break he seemed to have that bad rep of running too upright into contact, hopefully its been eradicated. Saw the Canes preseason vid, he won the hill climb thing, fittest bastard on the team.

Milner Skudder interesting proposition too, pretty much making himself unignorable at this stage, they must be wondering if he's got the filament to go with the flash or he's just another David Smith

Moala? Absolutely shit show I reckon. He mustve run so afoul of the AB's No Dickheads policy that they may as well just be done with it and officially rename it the Hika Elliot Moala Clause.