Super Rugby Rnd 2 2020: NSFW Waratahs vs Auckland Blues

[Rugbynutter39]

Defence wins games so looks like Tahs won't be winning many games this season.

I am starting to get sick of though of the coaches and players talking about their young team as that just sounds like a lot of excuses for shit performance. Particularly as it is a lot of their more experienced players who are going missing and/or delivering shit performances.

Newsome needs to go as missed lot of critical tackles and for second week running prove completely ineffective and been invisible both in attack and defence. He is not super rugby standard.

Mason once fit needs to start in place of Harrison as Harrison's kicking game and game management was pretty poor. I actually think Gordon also is for second week running very hot and cold as dropped passes at critical times etc. Never thought I would say this but I am missing Phipps. Foketi the same for men as very hot and cold and not a big fan of him at this point.
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On the forwards yes missing that bit of mongrel. But moreso Tahs don't look like they have any structures or urgency around defence and in attack just seem to lack any confidence in how to execute with any fluidity.

Going to be a long season.

 

[Dismal Pillock]

thats quite enough out of you

I am sorry, you'll have to forgive me, the Blues were 0-8 away last season and the fact that they have actually travelled to somewhere outside Auckland and won a rugby match is a Haley's Comet moment that I am only now just starting to come to grips with.

As for how this concerns NSFW's season, they may as well have just watched one of those ice bits the size of Belgium plop into their arctic drink.

OMINOUS.

 

[Brumby Runner]

Its going to be a VERY, VERY long season. The Blues did everything they could to lose and still won by heaps.

Two things happened last season: The team management failed to hold Gibson to account for the recruiting clusterfuck. Instead they blamed Cron and told him he wasn't head coach material. The GM was so ashamed he quit and went to manage the Blues. Cron went to Japan, never to return, Gibson fell on his sword too late to matter. We picked up an ex-Canterbury coach in the hope that some of the magic would rub off. It hasn't.

Penney watched last week and then picked a team with Dempsey at 8, two powder-puff locks, Newsome on the wing and Maddocks on the bench. Could he not see that last week our scrum got owned by the Crusader's reserves? Yes, I know that Holloway is the closest thing we have in the squad to a power forward (the ludicrous nature of that statement is obvious but obviously true) but he picked eight others in front of him so Penney's been to the Gibson school of Rugby recruitment, where they teach that power is completely unnecessary for the modern game. Penney has got a squad that is as weak as I have ever seen it but he has done NOTHING to bolster it since he got here and NOTHING that's worked to try to improve it.

The assistant coaches have covered themselves in everything but glory. Our defence is execrable, our forward skills non-existent and our attack is clueless.

Its going to be a VERY, VERY long season.

Can't agree more Hawko. The Blues were just woeful in the last quater of the match. Time after time they kicked the ball away on first or second phase and on numerous occasions straight into touch on the full from outside their 22m line. That they were able to win speaks volumes for the ineptitude of the Tahs towards the end. I reckon it is time to shunt a few of the stalwarts who are not performing and start re-building in earnest. Beale, Simmons and Hunt probably need to join Mitchell and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) in the US of A.

 

[wamberal]

It's impossible to make wholesale changes to the squad now. We are very thin on the ground for locks in particular. Simmons is here to stay for the season. Beale is a current Wallaby. Rightly or wrongly, he is worth his place, even if it is on reputation. At least he has one. I do agree about Hunt, however. He is just a plodder these days.

 

[Froggy]

Well, this is going to be a long season. That was one of the most pathetic efforts I've seen from the Tahs, and that's saying something. Weak defence, dreadful ball handling, inaccuracy at the breakdown, poor scrummaging, but most significantly a total lack of energy and commitment. A heap of guys just wandering around, hoping someone else would do something. A fair bit of this comes down to leadership. How Simmons could be selected as captain (not sure he even warrants a starting spot), he's as inspiring as the flu, just wanders around with this morose look on his face, I think it was the second half before he had a carry. I would probably prefer to see Staniforth and either Holloway or Hanigan (when he's fit again) as the locks.

Where to start? The forwards just showed a complete lack of drive and urgency, with the possible exceptions of Hooper, HJH (Harry Johnson-Holmes) and Dempsey. Robertson got dusted in the scrums, might even be worth starting Bell next week, heck what have we got to lose, we're not semi-finals chances! Has any one of these forwards ever run onto a ball? The three I mentioned earlier are the only ones that seem to drive with their legs when they make contact.

In the backs, Gordon was a mixed bag, dropping that last pass was unforgiveable. Unlike others here, I would persist with Harrison at 10. Yes, he took some poor options at times, but he's tough, has a big boot, played behind a pack that was getting belted (and Gordon throws him some real hospital passes) and nothing I've seen from Mason suggests he would be any better. Don't get the criticism her of Hunt, I though he was our only back to earn his place. Newsome has to go, in two matches I don't think he's made a tackle, and he refuses to catch the ball on the full. Mark N (Nawaqanitawase)., while a great prospect, to me just doesn't look strong enough for this level of football yet, needs another year. Maddocks and Clark on the wings please. And Beale is Beale, patches of attacking brilliance, patches of awful. We don't have the depth not to play him at the moment.

These guys need a real rev-up at training this week, this needs to be the low point of the season!

 

[Rebelsfan]

Don’t despair, this week , nsfw tahs v melb f rebels - one of thems got to windespite themselves

 

[Running_rugby_1954]

Some of the selections are so strange.

Robertson is a tight head Prop. HJH (Harry Johnson-Holmes) is a loose head.

Simmons as captain is the strangest decision I have ever seen.

Harrison wasn’t even the starting 10 at his club side for the past 3 years. Why do they choose a bloke that has been playing fullback to be their starting 10, when there was a kid winning premierships at 10 for his club they have overlooked?

Newsome is in front of Maddocks.. why?

Insane.

 

[eastman]

Its going to be a VERY, VERY long season. The Blues did everything they could to lose and still won by heaps.

Two things happened last season: The team management failed to hold Gibson to account for the recruiting clusterfuck. Instead they blamed Cron and told him he wasn't head coach material. The GM was so ashamed he quit and went to manage the Blues. Cron went to Japan, never to return, Gibson fell on his sword too late to matter. We picked up an ex-Canterbury coach in the hope that some of the magic would rub off. It hasn't.

Penney watched last week and then picked a team with Dempsey at 8, two powder-puff locks, Newsome on the wing and Maddocks on the bench. Could he not see that last week our scrum got owned by the Crusader's reserves? Yes, I know that Holloway is the closest thing we have in the squad to a power forward (the ludicrous nature of that statement is obvious but obviously true) but he picked eight others in front of him so Penney's been to the Gibson school of Rugby recruitment, where they teach that power is completely unnecessary for the modern game. Penney has got a squad that is as weak as I have ever seen it but he has done NOTHING to bolster it since he got here and NOTHING that's worked to try to improve it.

The assistant coaches have covered themselves in everything but glory. Our defence is execrable, our forward skills non-existent and our attack is clueless.

Its going to be a VERY, VERY long season.

What did you expect Penney to be able to do with the cattle he has available in all seriousness? Do you really think that picking Holloway at 8 would really have made any material difference? The fact is that this is potentially the weakest squad the Tahs have in years, and any changes that Penney is trying to implement won't be apparent by Round 2 in torrential rain. Let's give him a few more weeks yet.

 

[Hawko]

Don’t despair, this week , nsfw tahs v melb f rebels - one of thems got to windespite themselves

That match will decide the wooden spoon. And yes I know its only round 3.

 

[eastman]

Newsome should not be playing Super rugby though.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Wow the Tahs really are hot garbage aren't they. Hooper appears to be the only bloke really ripping in week after week. The majority of the rest of them seem off the pace or disinterested. I won't bag the young blokes like Harrison, because they are at least a chance to develop and we know they are talented. The older players have no such excuse.

 

[Brumby Runner]

It's impossible to make wholesale changes to the squad now. We are very thin on the ground for locks in particular. Simmons is here to stay for the season. Beale is a current Wallaby. Rightly or wrongly, he is worth his place, even if it is on reputation. At least he has one. I do agree about Hunt, however. He is just a plodder these days.

Wamb, I'm not advocating wholesale changes to the squad, just what I think are essential changes to the established lineup in the match day 23s. I reckon it is past time for a renewal of the Tahs game day roster and for a new beginnings.

Three players I would replace are :

- Rob Simmons (has always been over-rated and is now playing at a career low level. He didn't even to seem to be aware that he was captain during the Blues match, with Michael Hooper seeming to be taking the leadership role);

- Kurtley Beale (over the hill and has never been a team man. Don't think it is all his fault though as he has been touted as X-Factor since his school days. Plays as though he has to create every opportunity, however, at least in recent times, for every opportunity he does create he has multiple deficiencies in his game);

- Karmichael Hunt (no more than a useful Super player. Reputation outweighs his skill levels. Over-rated).

My suggestion fwiw, would be :

Robertson, Fitzpatrick, HJH (Harry Johnson-Holmes), Staniforth, Holloway, Swinton, Hooper (c), Dempsey, Gordon, Harrison, Kane, Foketi, Moeroa, Clark, Maddocks. Players like Will Harris, Pat Tafa, Angus Bell, McDonald on the bench. That would be a team I could support against most in Super, but not the Brumbies.

 

[Dan54]

Perofeta was surprisingly good. Telea is playing very well.
.

Was pleased the way Perofeta went too Kiwi, and with Telea going well, is meybe just maybe a tiny bit of depth starting to show. Geez Ranga Robinson went well when he came on, he doesn't know how to hold back does he?

 

[Dan54]

Been a while since I seen a team with so many that looked so disinterested in doing hard work as the Tahs last night, even Hooper at times looked like he was giving up on really tryong.

 

[Drew]

Marky Mark (Nawaqanitawase) needs a bit of bench time to come on later in the game, he can then run at tiring defences and work on his leg drive in defence and clean outs. His body position was okay on their first try he was just too passive, needs to hit and drive. Would prefer moeroa for hunt at 12 as he seemed in his limited time to just have strong carries and quick recycles. Hunt, has a fair bit of upside in his spirit and commitment, but sometimes that clouds his ability to be accurate in his roles. What seems to be hurting Harrison other than sloppy, slow ball is having Beale and hunt stepping in to help him whenever they please. Because of that I think we lose a fair bit of structure and direction. Forwards? A real second row would be handy. Hooper, HJH (Harry Johnson-Holmes) and Dempsey had a dig, most of the others not so much. We definitely need a wrecking ball in the pack (Pity Hunt isn’t larger) to give our attack some thrust. If we don’t have that we need Moeroa at 12.

 

[RugbyReg]

Some of the selections are so strange.

Robertson is a tight head Prop. HJH (Harry Johnson-Holmes) is a loose head.

Simmons as captain is the strangest decision I have ever seen.

Harrison wasn’t even the starting 10 at his club side for the past 3 years. Why do they choose a bloke that has been playing fullback to be their starting 10, when there was a kid winning premierships at 10 for his club they have overlooked?

Newsome is in front of Maddocks.. why?

Insane.

interesting to see you make a rare post away from the schoolboys page. It's yet another one slamming the selection of Will Harrison and pushing this 'unnamed' other Randwick player.

Perhaps someone you coached at Waverley?

 

[mst]

Don’t despair, this week , nsfw tahs v melb f rebels - one of thems got to windespite themselves

I am praying hard for a draw!

 

[Rugbynutter39]

Can't agree more Hawko. The Blues were just woeful in the last quater of the match. Time after time they kicked the ball away on first or second phase and on numerous occasions straight into touch on the full from outside their 22m line. That they were able to win speaks volumes for the ineptitude of the Tahs towards the end. I reckon it is time to shunt a few of the stalwarts who are not performing and start re-building in earnest. Beale, Simmons and Hunt probably need to join Mitchell and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) in the US of A.

That makes no sense BR as Beale, Simmons and Hunt have actually been the better performers. While Gordon, Foketi, Newsome, Faulkner have been the poor or more mixed bag performers....

 

[Froggy]

RN, I agree re Beale and Hunt, not so sure about Simmons.

 

[Brumby Runner]

RN, my point is that I believe it is past time the Tahs really renewed their whole presence as a Super Rugby team. They have been deteriorating after luckily making the finals in 2018 with those particular senior players. This year is not promising I'm sure you'll agree.

I believe there is a lack of commitment to the cause (aka culture) across pretty much the whole team ATM, and that now is the time to make the cuts necessary to allow a fresh start to be made. A fresh start should include a whole new approach to playing the game. No more reliance on one or two X-factor players who arguably have a net negative influence because of deficiencies in other parts of their games. Good, solid players who have a simple game plan to execute and who are prepared to put the all in to achieve for the team.

I take your criticism of some of the other players, and largely agree. Gordon has not been impressive in the two games but we know he is better than that and he is not in the age group where he is unlikely to get his form back - see Simmons, Beale and Hunt. Foketi ditto, but also I think adversely affected by the influence Beale has over the whole attacking structure of the Tahs at present. Newsome and Faulkner have never really been consistent Super Rugby standard and wouldn't be in my team.