New Zealand Rugby Team Watch

[zer0]

"He's [Mo'unga] playing behind a Rolls-Royce pack, though. But, yeah, he is. He's playing the way we're expecting him to play behind a pack like that," Hansen said when asked if Mo'unga was nipping at Barrett's and Damian McKenzie's heels.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby...hansen-puts-brakes-on-richie-mounga-bandwagon

Good stuff. Can only mean that B.Barrett will, throughout the test season, have to play at least as well as Mo'unga has in Super Rugby. Otherwise he's clearly an inferior first five to Mo'unga. No more fluffing around as he did last year.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

^^^^^^ I'm pretty much* resigned to Mo'unga being the backup backup 10 unless either Beaugan or DMac get injured. Shag & esp Foster just seem so convinced of DMac's limitless potential that any evidence to the contrary gets brushed off ("blowfly in a bottle" springs to mind). Not saying he's rubbish 'cos he's clearly not but IMO a guy that "mercurial" isn't a RWC-winning 10.

EDIT: * now that I've read the article forget the "pretty much" bit. I get that Beaugan & DMac would also go pretty well behind that Crusaders pack but when was the last time you saw Mo'unga isolate himself or try throwing the miracle 30m pass when an accurate 10m one was all that was necessary.

 

[Braveheart81]

SBW confirmed out for the first two Bledisloes.

I'm more worried about Laumape personally. I wonder if they'll go with him or Crotty?

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

^^^^^^ source?

If true I suspect they'll go with 12. Crotty 13. Goodhue, Crotty's like Shag & Foster's cuddly blanket.

 

[Braveheart81]

Breaking: Sonny Bill Williams ruled out of first two Bledisloe Cup matches, NZ coach Steve Hansen tells media. Huge blow for All Blacks

 

[zer0]

Crotty/Goodhue or Laumape/Crotty it is. Hopefully they won't be too stifled by whichever fullback gets chucked in at first five.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

^^^^^^^ preferably the former, Crotty's a 12 not a 13 IMO.

Breaking: Sonny Bill Williams ruled out of first two Bledisloe Cup matches, NZ coach Steve Hansen tells media. Huge blow for All Blacks

Didn't doubt you for a second, just wondering how you managed to scoop Google. Looks like I've gotta get me on this twitter thingy if I wanna keep up with the play

 

[Dismal Pillock]

l0ll, does Money Bill ever fucken play? He's managed about 5 games for the Blues, ever, and for AB's I can't recall a sighting since he brilliantly lost us the fucken Lions series, can't he do a Keith Murdoch and go bush in ramadama dingdong Sixpackistan or some shit?​

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

^^^^^ back in the day (roughly 2010-13) there was a fucktard cnut on Planet Rugby who referred to SBW as "the tampon" & almost without fail explained the reference just to remind everyone else that he was a truly clever cnut. Mass debater/ master baiter was my favoured name for him (the cnut, not SBW )

 

[Up the Guts]

Crotty/Goodhue or Laumape/Crotty it is. Hopefully they won't be too stifled by whichever fullback gets chucked in at first five.

Mo'unga, Crotty, Goodhue would be my 10, 12, 13. Laumape off the bench to bulldoze tiring bodies.

 

[Derpus]

^^^^^^ I'm pretty much* resigned to Mo'unga being the backup backup 10 unless either Beaugan or DMac get injured. Shag & esp Foster just seem so convinced of DMac's limitless potential that any evidence to the contrary gets brushed off ("blowfly in a bottle" springs to mind). Not saying he's rubbish 'cos he's clearly not but IMO a guy that "mercurial" isn't a RWC-winning 10.

EDIT: * now that I've read the article forget the "pretty much" bit. I get that Beaugan & DMac would also go pretty well behind that Crusaders pack but when was the last time you saw Mo'unga isolate himself or try throwing the miracle 30m pass when an accurate 10m one was all that was necessary.

Pretty happy with you lot picking Dmac. He's clearly the worst of the three options at 10. Not really convinced he can compensate for his size (or lack of) at test level, the way he does at Super level.

 

[Dan54]

I not too worried who they pick, I think it will be BB, Crotty and the ALB, but would love Goodhue there. Incidently I reckon after 19 WC I wouldn't be surprised if we ended up with midfield of ALB at 12 and Goodhue at 13, ALB is or was very handy at 12. As for back up I pretty relaxed whether it Mounga or DMac, as I tend to think Mounga may well get a start in a later test, and regardless I don't reckon DMac is bad as 1 or 2 are indicating.
Perhaps I also suspect that Shag and Co will know who will fit in with game plan they will use.

 

[Dan54]

I would also add one of reasons I don't think Mounga and Goodhue will get game time in first Bledisloe is the fact they will play this week, and would imagine Shag will not want to overuse C'sader's players, ok, he will still play the certainties, but otherwise......

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Interesting backgrounder on George Bridge:

https://i.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/s...rs-finisher-george-bridge-carves-his-own-path

TLDR: wasn't an age-group player for Hawkes Bay & was all set to head down to Otago Uni before his 1st XV coach put him in touch with Christchurch HSOB. The rest, as they say, will be history in the next year or two.

 

[Braveheart81]

 

[Braveheart81]

Laumape is in the squad for the Bledisloe Cup because SBW is not available. No idea how he doesn't make the overall squad though.

Good to see Luke Whitelock keep his spot ahead of Akira Ioane. Dismal will be happy.

 

[Dan54]

Laumape is in the squad for the Bledisloe Cup because SBW is not available. No idea how he doesn't make the overall squad though.

Good to see Luke Whitelock keep his spot ahead of Akira Ioane. Dismal will be happy.

Lol BH , I thought the same when I saw no Akira in the squad (not that I thought he would be in anyway).
I like the look of the squad, and as usual there would be a few players that could be counted as unlucky, and long may it stay that way!

 

[KiwiM]

Laumape is in the squad for the Bledisloe Cup because SBW is not available. No idea how he doesn't make the overall squad though.

Good to see Luke Whitelock keep his spot ahead of Akira Ioane. Dismal will be happy.

Laumape was awful vs the Crusaders in the semi final - bad option taking, zero distribution, missed a heap of tackles. I think they've made the right call.

That's not to say I agree with all their calls - what the hell is NMS doing there, or Luke Whitelock, or Tim Perry etc

 

[zer0]

> Vaea Fifita. Illegally jumps into tackles in the NPC? Off to the All Blacks for you (though, admittedly not this squad).
> Shannon Frizzell. Score a hat-trick against an injury ravaged Blues side? Off to the All Blacks for you.
> Luke Whitelock. Have the right last name? Off to the All Blacks for you.
> Akira Ioane. Top the season stats for tries scored (#8's), line breaks (#8's & all forwards), tackle busts (#8's & all forwards), second in run metres (#8's & all forwards), all while carrying an decimated pack, half of whom were on short term contracts? Need to do better. We just don't give these test caps away you know.

Also not sure what Milner-Skudder is doing there. He's 27, injury prone and seems to have lost what relatively little pace he used to have. George Bridge can count himself very unlucky.

 

[Slim 293]

Akira Ioane - he's obviously impressive with ball in hand, but there's a general consensus that he's super lazy, and does zero work off the ball.............