HSBC 7's 2015/16: ROUND 2 - CAPE TOWN

[Highlander35]

My boys win 29-14 against the Welshies. We'll struggle against either one of these two, so that's me off.

 

[qwerty51]

Tom Kingston is a total dud at 7s.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

My boys win 29-14 against the Welshies. We'll struggle against either one of these two, so that's me off.

You missed a good game as your boys did well to keep the Soap Dodgers to zero enroute to the Bowl Final. I think that means last weeks Finalist from Dubai has finished in 10th position this week.

 

[Gagger]

Was very underwhelmed by the Aussie performance in the QF. We seemed to be playing 15 a side Cheika ball gone wrong - looking for contact and recycle, but then getting turned over and pinned back.

Couldn't see where any spark or gas was going to come from - very formulaic.

 

[Quick Hands]

Couldn't see where any spark or gas was going to come from - very formulaic.

This has been the problem for some time.

 

[wamberal]

Was very underwhelmed by the Aussie performance in the QF. We seemed to be playing 15 a side Cheika ball gone wrong - looking for contact and recycle, but then getting turned over and pinned back.

Couldn't see where any spark or gas was going to come from - very formulaic.

Playing like this is okay if you have the cattle. We don't. We lack grunt in the pigs, and flair and real speed amongst the princesses.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Series Standings after 2 rounds
1 - FIJI: 22 (1), 13 (5) - Total Points 35 (no change)
2 - SOUTH AFRICA: 13 (5), 22 (1) - Total Points 35 (up 3 places)
3 - USA: 17 (3), 12 (6) - Total Points 29 (no change)
4 - ARGENTINA: 10 (7), 19 (2) - Total Points 29 (up 3 places)
5 - ENGLAND: 19 (2), 7 (10) - Total Points 26 (down 3 places)
6 - FRANCE: 8 (9), 17 (3) - Total Points 25 (up 3 places)
7 - NEW ZEALAND: 15 (4), 10 (7) - Total Points 25 (down 3 places)
8 - AUSTRALIA: 12 (6), 10 (7) - Total Points 22 (down 2 places)
9 - KENYA: 5 (11), 15 (4) - Total Points 20 (up 2 places)
10 - SCOTLAND: 7 (10), 8 (9) - Total Points 15 (no change)
11 - SAMOA: 10 (7), 3 (13) - Total Points 13 (down 4 places)
12 - WALES: 5 (11), 5 (11) - Total Points 10 (down 1 place)
13 - CANADA: 3 (13), 5 (11) - Total Points 8 (no change)
14 - RUSSIA: 1 (15), 2 (14) - Total Points 3 (up 1 place)
15 - JAPAN: 2 (14), DNP (0) - Total Points 2 (down 1 place)
16 - PORTUGAL: 1 (15), 1 (15) - Total Points 2 (down 1 place)
17 - ZIMBABWE: DNP (0), 1 (15) - Total Points 1 (new entry)

Was good to see a full stadium in Cape Town. It is a very picturesque setting. Apart from the short in-goal areas (typical for a soccer oval), it looked like it was a fantastic venue.

Hopefully Sydney and Wellywood will also be full venues after a few years of the ANZAC legs having pretty poor crowds.

 

[Highlander35]

We need to turn 10th and 9th place finishes into top 8, preferably top 6 finishes. I mean, we're no danger of going out given how relatively poor the Russians and the Portuguese are, but I was really hoping we'd build on last year's 7th rather than regress to the mean performance.

Not sure what you guys need to do. Robbie Coleman in for Stannard would be a good start though.

 

[Quick Hands]

Playing like this is okay if you have the cattle. We don't. We lack grunt in the pigs, and flair and real speed amongst the princesses.

Or it could be argued that we've chosen to play a formulaic style for the past couple of years and now can't change. A number of us have been pointing it out on these threads for a while.

 

[wamberal]

Or it could be argued that we've chosen to play a formulaic style for the past couple of years and now can't change. A number of us have been pointing it out on these threads for a while.

How do you coach "flair", though?

I suspect it is born, not made. Or acquired at a very early age.

 

[RugbyReg]

Was very underwhelmed by the Aussie performance in the QF. We seemed to be playing 15 a side Cheika ball gone wrong - looking for contact and recycle, but then getting turned over and pinned back.

Couldn't see where any spark or gas was going to come from - very formulaic.

yeah, I agree, we were very average. Clearly missed Jenkins and Clarke.

I don't see what Myers brings to the squad at all and haven't seen much out of Holland either.

Killingworth was fantastic and I'm a massive fan of Cusack.

I wonder how quickly we will bring Barba into the picture, it needs to happen quick because our pace is lacking.

 

[Brumby Runner]

How do you coach "flair", though?

I suspect it is born, not made. Or acquired at a very early age.

A bit of coaching to eliminate selfish plays would go a fair way to improving the flair. Had Fau (who is one of the better players atm) passed inside to Jeladev yesterday, it would have looked entirely like flair and probably would have ended in a 70m try.

I was mystified by two decisions to take the tap kick penalty in their own half against SA. Out of character and the ground that would have been gained by kicking for line would have eased the field position on the Aus team.

 

[barbarian]

Pama Fou has the stickiest hands in Australian rugby.

 

[Omar Comin']

I wonder how quickly we will bring Barba into the picture, it needs to happen quick because our pace is lacking.

I don't think it will take long for him to adjust to it. But he's going to have to show his value quickly as he's only signed a 6 week contract - that doesn't even take him through to the next tournament. He'll get an extension if he trains well and if he does I assume he'll get a chance in Wellington.

 

[Quick Hands]

How do you coach "flair", though?

I suspect it is born, not made. Or acquired at a very early age.

Depends what you mean by "flair" as its quite a subjective term.

I agree that there are certain things which can't be coached - out and out speed, an innate sense of time and space and instinctive ball skills. However, what can be done is to indentify players with the attributes and skills to play a certain way and then coach them in order to improve those skills and attributes. What can then happen is that you can have a game plan which is high skill and high speed and the players involved can react at speed to changing circumstances on the field.

What we've seen in the Geraint John era is a formulaic style of play, which seemed predicated on the desire to finish no worse than 4th and thus qualify for the Olympics. (Which they failed in doing incidentally and had to go through the repecharge process). As often happens when teams have this mindset, it becomes difficult to change as the players will react instinctively at speed - particularly when fatigue sets in. This is what we continue to see.

These revelations aren't new and I've been one of many saying it for a while.

 

[Gagger]

I thought the French win over Fiji was a good example of a non-superstar team using sevens skills to pull off a great result. The frogs stayed alive in the tackle to draw in defenders and enable offloads to men running close/unders support lines.

We on the other hand had a plan to go to ground in isolated positions and only ever run 'same way', diagonally across the field. To score a try we needed multiple phases the full length of the field. They needed two passes and were in the clear.

As QH said above, this didn't seem like a gameplan designed to trouble anyone serious.

 

[I like to watch]

Depends what you mean by "flair" as its quite a subjective term.

I agree that there are certain things which can't be coached - out and out speed, an innate sense of time and space and instinctive ball skills. However, what can be done is to indentify players with the attributes and skills to play a certain way and then coach them in order to improve those skills and attributes. What can then happen is that you can have a game plan which is high skill and high speed and the players involved can react at speed to changing circumstances on the field.

What we've seen in the Geraint John era is a formulaic style of play, which seemed predicated on the desire to finish no worse than 4th and thus qualify for the Olympics. (Which they failed in doing incidentally and had to go through the repecharge process). As often happens when teams have this mindset, it becomes difficult to change as the players will react instinctively at speed - particularly when fatigue sets in. This is what we continue to see.

These revelations aren't new and I've been one of many saying it for a while.

Yep, they are playing not to lose,rather than playing to win.
I hate that.
Never seen a team in any grade of any sport win a comp like that.
And we will not be the first.
Coach them to back their skills.
We will win more games,but lose some games by bigger margins.
I'd be happy with that.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Hopefully Sydney and Wellywood will also be full venues after a few years of the ANZAC legs having pretty poor crowds.

Ticket sales for WellyWood are well ahead of this time last year, most reports I've seen cited the players crossing over from XV's in general & SBW in particular.

 

[Forcefield]

I've really enjoyed watching the Rugby 7s over the past two or three series. I'd love a free to air national 7s tournament. Maybe if the Olympics is a big hit it might come to fruition.

 

[barbarian]

The Sydney sales are great as well, tracking for more than 30k each day.

Having a few big name players coming in has definitely helped, and I think the timing of Wellington/Sydney suits perfectly too.
.