Rugby 7s general chat

[waiopehu oldboy]

You pick him despite only 3 days prep.........

Only it won't be three days, it'll be one practice session:

"Interim coach Scott Bowen says the talented playmaker needs to prove himself on the training paddock before they make a final call on his selection.

"It will depend a lot about when he arrives, and what sort of shape he is," Bowen told the Daily Telegraph.

"He had a game to play on Sunday evening, and is expected in on Wednesday.

"If he arrives and is in really good nick, and we're a bit busted, then it becomes a good possibility.

"But arriving on Wednesday he would only be able to complete one field session and if we have guys who are getting through and performing well, it may be less likely. It is a wait and see situation at this point."

Translation: no way does Quade get to play in Sydney.

 

[barbarian]

Think there will be significant pressure from head office to include him. The negotiations for this deal have been going for months, all to get him here in time for Sydney.

I'd still back him to be picked.

 

[I like to watch]

I agree he's not going to play this week.
I vehemently disagree with the thinking behind it.
Maybe cos I'm not drinking the Koolaid, but Im not buying their line that they are improving week on week.
All I see is we are not competitive against the better teams.

The better teams are embracing their outsiders and will continue to improve,with the obvious result that we will drift further behind them.

Let's hope the new guy wants to shake things up.

Edit: just read Barbarians post & hope he is on the money.
Undoubtedly,plenty of ticket holders paid their $ in the expectation be was playing,.,

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Think there will be significant pressure from head office to include him. The negotiations for this deal have been going for months, all to get him here in time for Sydney.

I'd still back him to be picked.

Yeah, cos he's a proven performer under extreme pressure, eh.

If HQ is telling your coach who to pick & for reasons other than putting your best team out there, you guys are truly, deeply & irredeemably fucked.

 

[p.Tah]

If he isn't playing why go to the expense of flying him out from Europe?

 

[Hugh Jarse]

<snip> If HQ is telling your coach who to pick & for reasons other than putting your best team out there, you guys are truly, deeply & irredeemably fucked.

Is SBW really one of the best 12 Rugby 7's players in NZL?

Will Stitch resist pressure from HQ to keep the faith with SBW, who's Wellywood performance appeared to be ordinary at best, and a liability at worst?

 

[USARugger]

Yeah, cos he's a proven performer under extreme pressure, eh.

Fortunately none of that pressure would be on him, as he isn't there to select himself.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Is SBW really one of the best 12 Rugby 7's players in NZL?

Will Stitch resist pressure from HQ to keep the faith with SBW, who's Wellywood performance appeared to be ordinary at best, and a liability at worst?

Given who is available right now contract- & injury-wise he probably is. Whether that is still the case when e.g. Messam, Forbes & others become available remains to be seen.

EDIT: the Ioane bros & Lam rejoin the Blues after Sydney & won't return to 7's until May for the last two Legs in the series. It'll be interesting to see how quickly they can re-transition.

Interesting that whereas he got ~2 min off the bench v Russia, he started the Final (though probably wouldn't have had Dickson not been injured). Coupla slightly mis-timed/ overrun offloads resulted in tries against us, but he made match-winning offloads v SA in Pool match & Final. I'd mark that as a pass.

Fortunately none of that pressure would be on him, as he isn't there to select himself.

Yes but if he's picked he'll be targeted for sure. I just don't see the point in picking him before he's ready. But, hey, y'all wanna do it then go for it (but don't be all "what the?" if it blows up in your faces )

 

[Brumby Runner]

A minute or two off the bench might be the go, especially in the earlier rounds. And so long as he plays wide in defense and listens to his mates about how to position himself, he could learn a lot on the job.

 

[Jets]

What have we got to loose? We are unlikely to win the tournament this weekend and surely the goal this year is to get a medal at the Olympics. Let him play and see how he goes. Better to have an idea about how he preforms in a tournament that have him run around a training pitch.

 

[Braveheart81]

I think they'll pick Cooper. As Barbarian said, they've made a substantial effort to sign him up and then he's flying back here so they'll find him a spot.

 

[zer0]

EDIT: the Ioane bros & Lam rejoin the Blues after Sydney & won't return to 7's until May for the last two Legs in the series. It'll be interesting to see how quickly they can re-transition.

I thought they were all playing Sevens right up until the Olympics? I guess, then, that must only apply to the likes of Pulu, Williams and Messam who either have never played before, or haven't done so for a long time.

Though as a Blues fan I will not complain too much. After all, it means the Kaino/Gibson/Ioane three loose forwards of the apocalypse is back on.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

^^^^^^^^^^^ on re-reading the article we're losing Ardie until May as well:

"I've got Akira Ioane and Rieko and Ben Lam only for two tournaments. The two now and then two later in the piece, which are the last two tournaments. Ardie's in exactly the same boat," New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens said on Monday after announcing the 14-strong squad he'll take to Sydney for this weekend's tournament.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/...set-to-say-goodbye-to-their-super-rugby-stars

 

[Brumby Jack]

I think he'll be given a longer contract at the end of the initial period.

Back to league for him

 

[Slim 293]

Quade may not make it to Rio because he's still a Kiwi.........

http://www.rugby365.com/tournaments/sevens/71340-quade-cooper-s-still-a-kiwi

 

[I like to watch]

The passport is not an issue.
The sense of entitlement within the current group is the stumbling block.

 

[Brumby Runner]

Not sure if there is a sense of entitlement, or if it's just an attitude we posters are projecting onto them.

However, imo Quade having missed Sydney will now not make the team to Rio. That was an opportunity for him to learn more about playing the game while the coaching staff could have assessed his weaknesses for future work. Now, barring Vegas where I don't believe Toulon will release him to play, he will have really only the London tournament to try to work on those parts of the game that Paris might disclose to be a problem. Can't see that working.

 

[qwerty51]

Toulon won't give a fuck about Quade when Giteau is back. He's been pretty poor.

Quade's not even in the 23 tonight.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Not sure if there is a sense of entitlement, or if it's just an attitude we posters are projecting onto them.

However, imo Quade having missed Sydney will now not make the team to Rio. That was an opportunity for him to learn more about playing the game while the coaching staff could have assessed his weaknesses for future work. Now, barring Vegas where I don't believe Toulon will release him to play, he will have really only the London tournament to try to work on those parts of the game that Paris might disclose to be a problem. Can't see that working.

Saw a story that Quade, ARU & Toulon were working on a deal whereby he could at least join the 7's squad in Las Vegas, without necessarily playing. That was straight after Sydney but I've not seen any follow-up.

Still think he won't be at Rio, shiny new passport or not. As you say, simply not enough prep time to convince a coach to leave out someone who has probably been there for at least most of the HSBC series.

Toulon won't give a fuck about Quade when Giteau is back. He's been pretty poor.

Quade's not even in the 23 tonight.

Wouldn't put it past them to makes things as difficult as possible just as a way of saying, "Fuck You, ARU"

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Looks like the QC (Quade Cooper)/ ARU/ Toulon deal has now been done:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/sevens/77186813/quade-cooper-set-for-world-rugby-sevens-debut

Odds on him making it to Rio still slim but better than they were.