waiopehu oldboy
Stirling Mortlock (74)
Loss Bleus haven't won four in a row since 2011 so if they should knock the 'tahs over it'll be a real milestone for them.
Rd 8: NSFW Waratahs vs The Auckland Blues
- Thread starter Dismal Pillock
- Start date
KOB1987
Rod McCall (65)
He has been dropped, for it to count as a rest week he needs to sit out completely and not train as well. I think.
Derpus
George Gregan (70)
No Hoops, who is dragging this team forward alone.
Blues should be strong favourites.
Dctarget
John Eales (66)
I understood, I was (clearly) unfunnily wondering if he was told he was rested to protect his ego.
potato/potatoe
Or in reality
"Your arm grabbing "try to rip the ball" bull shit defence is not acceptable so to the bench you go"
Strewthcobber
Andrew Slack (58)
Good to see some consequences for one of the worst tackles attempted this season
The Honey Badger
Jim Lenehan (48)
The betting had the Blues favourite. At $1.33
And Tahs $3.40
Actually don't mind those odds. Tahs will be hurt and team selected should be good defensively. So they just might turn up.
(remember Sunwolves also beat Blues)
Derpus
George Gregan (70)
Dont think they did
The Honey Badger
Jim Lenehan (48)
From what Cheika has recently said though it is not necessarily just about not playing a game that weekend, it's about being able to load up the training for that week with the knowledge that they aren't preparing for a game.
Games and minutes played during a year do seem to be pretty relevant though.
Dan54
Tim Horan (67)
I really looking forward to this game tomorrow. I like what the Blues are doing, and probably personally most pleased to see how well Akira is playing this year, I know I copped plenty of shit for criticising Akira last year, but I really think most that watch the game will see what I mean about what he is capable of! He playing at another level this year, doing some of the shit work, and really looking like the answer to the question who is the next AB 8!
Up the Guts
Steve Williams (59)
Seems to me like someone has been doing data analytics on dodgy theoretical grounds. I.e. has found a positive correlation between total game time per season and risk of injury and has concluded that reducing game time will lead to lower injury rates without factoring in things like number of games in succession, training workload, intensity of matches etc.
Yeah, it's going to be even more ridiculous now when Luke Whitelock gets selected ahead of him.
Dan54
Tim Horan (67)
Naa BH, I still believe the coaches will only pick Flukey Luke if they figure he got more to offer in their game plan, I think Whitelock is a better player than many give him credit for, not your flashy type, but someone who does the core 8 role well.
Derpus
George Gregan (70)
Isn't number 8 about the only forward position where your core role is to do the flashy stuff, i.e. run the ball good?
I personally hope the darkness continue to select Whitelock.
zer0
Jim Lenehan (48)
A core role of a #8 -- perhaps the core role -- is providing go-forward. Something Whitelock is unmitigatedly terrible at providing. As per Fox Sports.....
Thus far he's averaging 4 metres a carry and has generated one -- yes, one -- break. The Highlanders would probably get better production by sticking Ben Smith there. On the other hand, all of the other serious contenders for the backup #8 position average over 5 metres a carry and have generated 19-24 breaks each.
Of course, you could point out that there's a discrepancy in the minutes played between the players which will impact their stats -- m/carried aside. Fortunately, through
The part we're interested in here are the numbers under offence (CARRY, MATRES, BREAK). Just in case it's not clear, the tables says that for every 10 minutes of offence played, Whitelock can be expected to make 2.65 carries, making 10.76 metres. Ioane, 2.23 carries & 14.80 metres. Frizell, 3.31 carries & 16.84 metres, etc..... As we can see, Whitelock is well and truly lagging behind Ioane, Savea and Frizell in terms of generating metres and breaks. Though he does try hard, as evident by his carries per 10 minutes. Perhaps some sort of sticker for effort is in order.
Strewthcobber
Andrew Slack (58)
Must be a good salesman to get the All Blacks, Wallabies, Sprinboks, Japan and (actually don’t know about) Argentina on board with this resting pseudoscience
Strewthcobber
Andrew Slack (58)
So the theory is that you can’t improve strength and conditioning during the season. Because a) there isn’t enough time to recover from the strength and conditioning between matches, and b) the matches themselves cause injury which impacts on your physical state.
So the Wallabies (and other international teams) have set up this protocols for their World Cup players. You’ll recall Cheikas constant issue with the fitness of his players after a super rugby season. They are undergoing 6 blocks of work through the season - before hand, two rest weeks, two bye weeks and after your team is kicked out where you have 10ish days focussed on pre-season style fitness work.
The hope is the team will be at international fitness standards before the practice games.