Rugby Championship 2021

[Dismal Pillock]

TJP technically available on the back of a Club game or two but Foster doesn't sound like he's about to,pick him.

sounds like he's still 100% still in the fray:

we’re just going to have a look at his programme over the next four to five weeks and just see what’s the right way to reintroduce him to test match rugby.”

No huge fan of Dmac but if he manages to run Tenured Quiffboy out of the All Blacks then hitch me up to the wee man's bandwagon:

That looks good news for the likes of loose forwards Akira Ioane and Luke Jacobson, first-five Richie Mo'unga, second-five David Havili, wingers Sevu Reece and Will Jordan, and possibly fullback Damian McKenzie, in the spots which looked most contestable.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

^ I probably should've said "....Foster doesn't sound like he's about to pick him JUST YET": TJP will almost certainly be back but for EOYT one would think which will be a shame for whoever loses their spot (unless they take 40-plus players inc four 9's).

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

^ or maybe they'll fast-track him back but keep Christie around as injury cover*

Forwards
Hookers

Asafo Aumua (24, Hurricanes / Wellington, 2)
Dane Coles (34, Hurricanes / Wellington, 76)
Codie Taylor (30, Crusaders / Canterbury, 58)

Props

Nepo Laulala (29, Blues / Counties Manukau, 31)
Tyrel Lomax (25, Hurricanes / Tasman, 8)
Joe Moody (32, Crusaders / Canterbury, 50)
Angus Ta'avao (31, Chiefs / Auckland, 16)
Karl Tu'inukuafe (28, Blues / North Harbour, 18)
Ofa Tuungafasi (29, Blues / Auckland, 39)

Locks

Scott Barrett (27, Crusaders / Taranaki, 42)
Brodie Retallick (30, Chiefs / Hawke's Bay, 83)
Patrick Tuipulotu (28, Blues / Auckland, 38)
Tupou Vaa'i (21, Chiefs / Taranaki, 4)
Samuel Whitelock (32, Crusaders / Canterbury, 125) – captain

Loose Forwards

Ethan Blackadder (26, Crusaders / Tasman, 2)
Shannon Frizell (27, Highlanders / Tasman, 14)
Akira Ioane (26, Blues / Auckland, 4)
Luke Jacobson (24, Chiefs / Waikato, 5)
Dalton Papalii (23, Blues / Counties Manukau, 5)
Ardie Savea (27, Hurricanes / Wellington, 50)
Hoskins Sotutu (23, Blues / Counties Manukau, 6)

Backs
Halfbacks

TJ Perenara (29, Hurricanes / Wellington, 69)
Aaron Smith (32, Highlanders / Manawatu, 99)
Brad Weber (30, Chiefs / Hawke's Bay, 9)

First five–eighths

Beauden Barrett (30, Blues / Taranaki, 91)
Richie Mo'unga (27, Crusaders / Canterbury, 24)

Midfielders

Braydon Ennor (23, Crusaders / Canterbury, 1)
David Havili (26, Crusaders / Tasman, 5)
Rieko Ioane (24, Blues / Auckland, 37)
Anton Lienert-Brown (26, Chiefs / Waikato, 50)
Quinn Tupaea (22, Chiefs / Waikato, 1)

Outside backs

Jordie Barrett (24, Hurricanes / Taranaki, 25)
George Bridge (26, Crusaders / Canterbury, 12)
Will Jordan (22, Crusaders / Tasman, 5)
Damian McKenzie (26, Chiefs / Waikato, 30)
Sevu Reece (23, Crusaders / Tasman, 10)

* Bower & Taukei'aho also staying on as injury cover for Moody & Aumua, respectively.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/ru...ugby-championship/EOIE6J37KIGPP7HCB3YOXUDDHM/

 

[zer0]

Huh. Didn't realise Blackadder was the same age as Ioane. Thought he was in the 22/23 y/o range. Glad to see Vaa'i retained. Hopefully he'll actually get on the field this time as he'd, at the bare minimum, be ahead of Tuipulotu.

 

[Dan54]

Huh. Didn't realise Blackadder was the same age as Ioane. Thought he was in the 22/23 y/o range. Glad to see Vaa'i retained. Hopefully he'll actually get on the field this time as he'd, at the bare minimum, be ahead of Tuipulotu.

Yep I a Vai'i fan too zer0, think he's has lots of upsides to his game.
Team is pretty well as expected, I would hope that Tupaea gets a break soon too, though I suspect it will be later off bench against Argos?
Feel a little for De Groot, but probably better to have a NPC season than warm bench.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Quarantine-free travel from all of Australia to NZ is being suspended for eight weeks as of 11:59 tonight NZ time so you'd have to think that's going to cause some major issues match scheduling-wise.

 

[Wilson]

Quarantine-free travel from all of Australia to NZ is being suspended for eight weeks as of 11:59 tonight NZ time so you'd have to think that's going to cause some major issues match scheduling-wise.

Apparently the wallabies have 7 days to make it, assuming they make an economic case to skip MIQ. It appears wallaby squad members are already being pulled from QPR games, so the expectation is they'll fly out today or tomorrow. Hopefully everything else is just a reshuffle of games without too much of a hit to the schedule.

 

[Derpus]

Fingers crossed we drop a Bledisloe. Two games against the Darkness is more than enough.

 

[Braveheart81]

Fingers crossed we drop a Bledisloe. Two games against the Darkness is more than enough.

I'm stuck at home indefinitely. They should be adding rugby tests to the calendar, not removing them!

 

[Derpus]

I'm stuck at home indefinitely. They should be adding rugby tests to the calendar, not removing them!

Me too. Not sure getting reamed three times in a row is gunna lift the mood.

 

[Dismal Pillock]

I'm stuck at home indefinitely.

Crikey. Must be quite the challenge working from home as a pole dancer.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

^ look at Dismal pretending he doesn't know what a Webcam pole dancer is.....

 

[barbarian]

Me too. Not sure getting reamed three times in a row is gunna lift the mood.

Why do you think we'll get reamed? Every year there's a cohort who loudly proclaim the All Blacks are going to beat us by 50, and every year it's more competitive than that. Sure we don't often win but if you take last year's form then there's an argument that things will at least be tight-ish.

 

[Derpus]

Why do you think we'll get reamed? Every year there's a cohort who loudly proclaim the All Blacks are going to beat us by 50, and every year it's more competitive than that. Sure we don't often win but if you take last year's form then there's an argument that things will at least be tight-ish.

Basically because Brodie Retallick is back.

 

[Dan54]

Well I got 5 mates that will be trying to get money back on trip, they were bookrd for Wellington test, and I had got tickets so Shit happens!!

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Updated reporting from stuff.co.nz:

"In a shared New Zealand Rugby (NZR), Sanzaar and Rugby Australia (RA) statement, RA chief executive Andy Marinos confirmed the Wallabies had been in a secure bubble on the Gold Coast since their victory against France in Brisbane last weekend.

"He aimed for a “positive outcome in the coming days”, with confirmation NZR boss Mark Robinson is working closely with the New Zealand government in a bid to bring Australia across the ditch.

"Further changes to the Rugby Championship schedule will be announced in due course, with South Africa Rugby and Argentina Rugby Union also involved in the tournament, which was slated to be primarily played across New Zealand and Australia the next two months."

So, single-round RC plus second Bledisloe, all done & dusted in four weeks, anyone?

 

[zer0]

Just play the full competition in NZ. IIRC Argentina and South Africa already have to quarantine anyway so only Beldisloe I might be impacted. If so, postpone it to the 14th, continue to play II on the 21st but in Un Zud, then III on the 28th. Week off then into the RC once the other two are allowed out to play.

Would be keen to go see a live match or two between ARG/AUS/SAF if that happened.

 

[Wilson]

Just play the full competition in NZ. IIRC Argentina and South Africa already have to quarantine anyway so only Beldisloe I might be impacted. If so, postpone it to the 14th, continue to play II on the 21st but in Un Zud, then III on the 28th. Week off then into the RC once the other two are allowed out to play.

Would be keen to go see a live match or two between ARG/AUS/SAF if that happened.

I think they'll be working toward that contingency, but RA will move heaven and earth to make sure there is still 1 home Bledisloe, probably just shifted to the end of the program.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Just play the full competition in NZ. IIRC Argentina and South Africa already have to quarantine anyway so only Beldisloe I might be impacted. If so, postpone it to the 14th, continue to play II on the 21st but in Un Zud, then III on the 28th. Week off then into the RC once the other two are allowed out to play.

Would be keen to go see a live match or two between ARG/AUS/SAF if that happened.

It means asking the Wobs to be away from home for something like seven or eight weeks at a time when there's some scary shit happening in Aus. I'm not sure they'll be up for that (just as AB likely wouldn't be if the situation were reversed).

 

[Ignoto]

Just play the full competition in NZ. IIRC Argentina and South Africa already have to quarantine anyway so only Beldisloe I might be impacted. If so, postpone it to the 14th, continue to play II on the 21st but in Un Zud, then III on the 28th. Week off then into the RC once the other two are allowed out to play.

Would be keen to go see a live match or two between ARG/AUS/SAF if that happened.

Or you know, we could play the entire RC in Queensland where there's three stadiums.

Living and training in Townsville or the Gold Coast region in winter is a pretty mint place to be. Imagine spending 7-8 weeks in Dunedin sober......