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New Zealand vs Australia Oct 11 2020 Bledisloe Cup

Purce

Purce

Jim Clark (26)
Dan54 said:
I think Jordan ok tackler, I not worried about Petaia's tackling ability, but have seen some great tacklers just get pulled out of position at 13, never played there but seems to be incredibly hard spot for defensive work. I not getting at Petaia, just I know one of reasons AB selectors like to start gun young centres on wing (Richard Kahui etc etc) is to allow the time to learn the complexities of defending at 13. Reiko Ioane is a classic case, always a 13, but they weren't prepaed to risk him there for a while. I have seen a few 12s that struggle to defend when moving out one spot, not sure why. Many of us look at how well a defender is on how many tackles they miss etc, but if you only miss 1 or 2 a game, and weren't in correct position to attempt 3 or 4 tackles, we don't count that as missing any. And I repeat it's nothing against Petaia and he may go alright at 13 just I wonder if Rennie maybe happier with him on wing to start with.
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Good and accurate observation. I've watched all of petaia's pro games and can say that he makes very good decisions in defense. Maybe not quite at Kuridrani's level yet however I believe he will get there in time. I really do not have much concern about either his decision making nor his actual tackling ability at 13. No doubt the ABs will run plenty of traffic his way and the connection with our wingers who have had a tendency to jam in.

To'omua has the occasional tendency to really rush out which creates plenty of space for the attack to work with. It'll be interesting to see what type of defensive structure Rennie and his assistants are implementing. Personally I've always found the defensive structures as interesting as the attacking ones.
 
PhilClinton

PhilClinton

Geoff Shaw (53)
Agree Purce - defensive structures especially at international level can be very interesting. I think the Wallabies will play a fairly passive shift defence and not worry about attacking the ruck too much, focusing on making those one on one tackles and then resetting quickly to stop the next phase. I don't think we're solid enough in the 12/13 channel to risk pushing up from the outside and jamming in, I think Petaia reads well in defense but I don't see him as a strike defender to pull that off.
 
Up the Guts

Up the Guts

Steve Williams (59)
Not sure what I think of Paisami. Big tick for attack and ability to put a shot on in defence but he shot out of the line a lot and was high on the missed tackle count as a result. Maybe it was just a Reds tactic? In any event their overall defensive setup didn’t suffer much because of it.

Anyway, he adds a lot of excitement and game breaking ability and was sensational when the Reds came up against the Crusaders.
 
Up the Guts

Up the Guts

Steve Williams (59)
Interested to see who is going to be 6 with Harry at 8 and Valetini on the bench. At least one of Samu and Wright will be left out.
 
Hammeroid

Hammeroid

Chris McKivat (8)
I never seen a journo know parts of the team before the actual announcement. I'm happy paisami at 13.
 
Dctarget

Dctarget

Tim Horan (67)
Petaia out really sucks but will be exciting to see if Paisami can go to the next level.

You'd think that means Samu is at blindside.
 
Purce

Purce

Jim Clark (26)
I guess that means JOC (James O'Connor) is back up 13... unless Hodge at 23. Wilson starting at 8 is huge... what a year for the young man. Paisami as well.
 
PhilClinton

PhilClinton

Geoff Shaw (53)
Paisami went from third choice outside center at the Reds (I would have him behind Petaia and CFS) to starting for the Wallabies all in the same year if this is true.

Big congrats to him, as many mentioned above I rate him attack at Super level but his defense has me worried, although I'm convinced Rennie has had a good look at him during the Super season and obviously in training camp to make the right call.

So much for everyone saying they won't be throwing the young guys in the deep end against the ABs!
 
Up the Guts

Up the Guts

Steve Williams (59)
Derpus said:
So MK, Paisami and Daugunu all in the same backline. Certainly got some running options.
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Gordon as well, I reckon.

Cully’s article said there were 3 Reds debutants and there was no mention of McDermott. So I’m guessing Gordon starts with JOC (James O'Connor) at 10 and White comes off the bench with Lolesio. A wet track probably not helping Tate’s selection chances without a strong box kick and a slightly iffy pass under pressure.
 
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