TT Rnd 1: Highlanders v Reds

[RugbyReg]

Fascinated by the team the Reds will pick. Thorn basically said they’ll rotate.

Wilson and Petaia you’d expect would be out.

Interested to see if we need a different team make up to beat the kiwis

I’d be happy to rest JOC (James O'Connor) and play Bryce at 10 and Jock at 15. In fact I want Jock back at fullback full time.

Uru straight to 8 and Vunivalu likely back too.

Perhaps rest Tupou? Not that we have a lot of depth at THP - perhaps Fotuaika plays there with Zander at 1.

Focus perhaps should be Crusaders at home the following week.

 

[Wilson]

Fascinated by the team the Reds will pick. Thorn basically said they’ll rotate.

Wilson and Petaia you’d expect would be out.

Interested to see if we need a different team make up to beat the kiwis

I’d be happy to rest JOC (James O'Connor) and play Bryce at 10 and Jock at 15. In fact I want Jock back at fullback full time.

Uru straight to 8 and Vunivalu likely back too.

Perhaps rest Tupou? Not that we have a lot of depth at THP - perhaps Fotuaika plays there with Zander at 1.

Focus perhaps should be Crusaders at home the following week.

Yeah, really worried about the amount of game time Tupou has put in lately, but I don't know if we can afford to be without him. Maybe it's just a case of benching him to lighten his load to 40 minutes or so, but make sure he's there at the end to bring it home.

Otherwise I'd assume Blyth and Srorovi will also come back into the 23 and probably one of Hoopert or Asiata.

 

[Dan54]

Yeah, really worried about the amount of game time Tupou has put in lately, but I don't know if we can afford to be without him. Maybe it's just a case of benching him to lighten his load to 40 minutes or so, but make sure he's there at the end to bring it home.

Otherwise I'd assume Blyth and Srorovi will also come back into the 23 and probably one of Hoopert or Asiata.

I think Tupou has played a lot too Wilson, though with a couple of weeks off in last month he should be ok now, but if not handled carefully maybe a bit tired later in year for tests etc.
I think this will be interesting game, not sure who reffing it etc, or what laws are being played. You would think scrum battles will be interesting, Reds loosies may have an edge, think perhaps if they get decent ball Clan's backline maybe a little better.
So quite hard to work out how it will go.
As said earlier laws they play under and interpretaions may also get players a little edgy, will be interesting to see how Tupou's angles at scrum time are handles and the little extra lattitude the Aus players are used to re the gate at ruck time etc etc.
But looking forward to it all reegardless!

 

[Ignoto]

Hunter must be touch and go or was it 4 weeks from the news release which would be end of May?

 

[Set piece magic]

banana slip game for the Reds. Highlanders have had a week off and won't have spent Sunday on the beers. We will have to rest Tupou, Wilson, Petaia. I don't think JOC (James O'Connor) should be rested, he was injured late last year and hasn't played that much. It's not like its been an incredibly long season. Need to dominate possession and territory, but without just aimlessly kicking the ball away like we did in the final.

Hopefully replacement players are motivated from not having much game time and really step up

 

[PhilClinton]

Actually looks like the Sunday effort wasn't as large as many expected, certainly not the Storm levels of partying in Byron.

Lots of Reds players looked to have been on the wind down on Sunday night based on their socials. So I don't think blaming a hangover will be a fair excuse! Rotation will definitely play a factor though. It's a bit of the catch with Taniela, you've got the best tighthead in Australia who can play 80mins, so his understudies dont get game time.

 

[Dan54]

Interesting the in the news the Clan pointing out maybe Tupou won't be allowed as much leeway with his angled scrumming let the mind games begin. I was saying that he did it when I was watching Reds at all their home games the last few years and actually think although he still does at times he has straightened a bit this year. Though to be fair I think as Justin Harrison said last week there were still one or two times he was in too far. But compliment to Tupou that it is getting mantioned!

 

[dru]

Tupou's angle could easily be pinged, especially when it is hitting the media so hard. You rely on the ref and interpretation, most of whom have never packed in the front row. The issue isn't as clear as the anti Tupou pundits claim though.

He is a big boy and can't physically be 100% square when bound to the hooker tight and a big head between the hooker and THP's fat rump. His job is to shear apart the opposing LHP for the opposing hooker. Something that Tupou does extremely well. Often the opposing LHP responds by holding his bind to the hooker and those combined forces see the LHP turned and turning Tupou. There is also a movement sideways that seems to be initiated by the LHP while being twisted.

If the LHP is turned and grasping his bind with a wing and a prayer - penalty to Tupou. If the LHP is bound and Tupou has started twisting/marching sideways, it's 50/50 call. More of those will go against him in TT and international.

 

[Dan54]

Tupous angle could easily be pinged, especially when it is hitting the media so hard. You rely on the ref and interpretation, most of whom have never packed in the front row. The issue isn't as clear as the anti Tupou pundits claim though.

He is a big boy and can't physically be 100% square when bound to the hooker tight and a big head between the hooker and THP's fat rump. His job is to shear apart the opposing LHP for the opposing hooker. Something that Tupou does extremely well. Often the opposing LHP responds by holding his bind to the hooker and those combined forces see the LHP turned and turning Tupou. There is also a movement sideways that seems to be initiated by the LHP while being twisted.

If the LHP is turned and grasping his bind with a wing and a prayer - penalty to Tupou. If the LHP is bound and Tupou has started twisting/marching sideways, it's 50/50 call. More of those will go against him in TT and international.

But as we know, every Reds supporter will swear that Tupou is straight, and opposition will swear he crooked, even yourself has said if LH turns in it penalty Reds, if Tupou turns in it 50/50. Twisting/marching sideways is a penalty, you have to drive straight, which not sure anyone does 100% anyway. I do think at times he does turn in to far, said it a couple of years ago (when supporting Reds) , but think he got better at it, but he still at times turns in too far.

 

[Derpus]

Tupous angle could easily be pinged, especially when it is hitting the media so hard. You rely on the ref and interpretation, most of whom have never packed in the front row. The issue isn't as clear as the anti Tupou pundits claim though.

He is a big boy and can't physically be 100% square when bound to the hooker tight and a big head between the hooker and THP's fat rump. His job is to shear apart the opposing LHP for the opposing hooker. Something that Tupou does extremely well. Often the opposing LHP responds by holding his bind to the hooker and those combined forces see the LHP turned and turning Tupou. There is also a movement sideways that seems to be initiated by the LHP while being twisted.

If the LHP is turned and grasping his bind with a wing and a prayer - penalty to Tupou. If the LHP is bound and Tupou has started twisting/marching sideways, it's 50/50 call. More of those will go against him in TT and international.

Pfft. No one knows what happens in a scrum, certainly not the ref. They just initiate the penalty randomizer chip in their brain and fart out a penalty every single scrum.

'attacking platform you say? never heard of such a thing'

 

[Zero_Cool]

I think the truth is every prop who has come up against Tupou has 'had a plan' and none of them (bar maybe Greg Homes) has come even close to matching him. The Brumbies were getting push off their own ball for fun! That's with AAAAA and Sio packing down and Lonergan is no slouch either, plus they had their biggest locks in to try to nullify that. I don't think anyone in World Rugby can come close to matching Tupou's strength in the scrum.
But I think all this attention around his 'angling in' and his recent work load etc probably a good week to bring him off the bench.

As for Hoopert he's got a heck of a shiner, not sure if he'd be cleared to play. What about Asiata, I heard he plays all 3 front row positions, obviously he's not replacement for the Nutella train, but Nonggorr doesn't look ready and unless Fotuaika (or Zander less likely IMO) is able to swap sides we might be left wanting for a replacement THP.

 

[Brumby Runner]

Tupou's angle could easily be pinged, especially when it is hitting the media so hard. You rely on the ref and interpretation, most of whom have never packed in the front row. The issue isn't as clear as the anti Tupou pundits claim though.

He is a big boy and can't physically be 100% square when bound to the hooker tight and a big head between the hooker and THP's fat rump. His job is to shear apart the opposing LHP for the opposing hooker. Something that Tupou does extremely well. Often the opposing LHP responds by holding his bind to the hooker and those combined forces see the LHP turned and turning Tupou. There is also a movement sideways that seems to be initiated by the LHP while being twisted.

If the LHP is turned and grasping his bind with a wing and a prayer - penalty to Tupou. If the LHP is bound and Tupou has started twisting/marching sideways, it's 50/50 call. More of those will go against him in TT and international.

Dru, I am one of those calling out TT for his angling in, and have done so since the Reds played the Force earlier on. This does not make me anti Tupou. I think he is a massive player and want him carving up opponents in test matches. I don't want to see him unduly penalised through poor or illegal technique which I believe is very apparent in his scrummaging in SRAu.

 

[Jets]

I really want Jock back at 15. Bryce is a solid bench option currently but he doesn't set the world on fire.

Uru for Wilson makes sense. Uru has been great this year and I was surprised he didn't come on earlier in the final.

TT has only played 2 games in the last month. I'd keep him going but look to replace him as we need to build some depth at THP as guys sitting on the bench for 80 don't learn anything.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Wright. Would he go back to 6 with ASY (Angus Scott-Young) to lock or the bench?

Centres will probably stay the same as the weekend, although I'm not that impressed with Stewart this year.

 

[Derpus]

I really want Jock back at 15. Bryce is a solid bench option currently but he doesn't set the world on fire.

Uru for Wilson makes sense. Uru has been great this year and I was surprised he didn't come on earlier in the final.

TT has only played 2 games in the last month. I'd keep him going but look to replace him as we need to build some depth at THP as guys sitting on the bench for 80 don't learn anything.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Wright. Would he go back to 6 with ASY (Angus Scott-Young) to lock or the bench?

Centres will probably stay the same as the weekend, although I'm not that impressed with Stewart this year.

Could be a chance to give Petaia another shot at 13 if Vunivalu is back. It felt like you guys were missing a bit of that strike power in the final that has served you so well this year.

I don't see what Jock adds from the wing, either. I'd just have Daugunu on and one of Hegarty or Jock on the bench.

 

[Ignoto]

Honestly the moaning about Tupou is absolutely laughable. Scott Allen did a piece on Ben Alexander on this very site when the Wallabies did the exact same thing Tupou is doing, but to the British Lions.

Wasn't a problem then. Tupou got called out once on the weekend and after that it wasn't an issue. If he gets constantly pinged in a game, we can re-asse, but right now, is mountains out of mole hill stuff.

 

[dru]

Dru, I am one of those calling out TT for his angling in, and have done so since the Reds played the Force earlier on. This does not make me anti Tupou. I think he is a massive player and want him carving up opponents in test matches. I don't want to see him unduly penalised through poor or illegal technique which I believe is very apparent in his scrummaging in SRAu.

Fair enough I wasn't really intending to name call.

I do however think your read on Tupou's scrum technique is incorrect all the same. There is a real battle happening and there are consequences from it. His technique is actually sensational imo. The ramifications however are with the optics and he will get pinged occasionally if he allow that twist to continue unabated.

 

[Dan54]

It's certainly not an anti TT thing, the fact is at times he does turn in too far, as I said he doing it less now than a couple of years ago, and as he get's more experience will hopefully do it even less. Same as I mentioned a couple of years back you could see he was 'working' his shoulders, what props used to do a lot. he still a young man in prop age, and is doing bloody well.

Be interesting to see the 21yo man mountain from Crusaders country, Tamaiti williams (born in Perth), he is real tall for tighthead and bloody wide he's 1.93 tall and 137 kg, he only had a few minutes in a couple of games for Crusaders, but think evry scrum (about 3 only) he has packed down in he has won a penalty!

 

[Wilson]

Could be a chance to give Petaia another shot at 13 if Vunivalu is back. It felt like you guys were missing a bit of that strike power in the final that has served you so well this year.

I doubt Petaia will be fit for this game, but if he is I'd like to see him at 13 again. He carved the highlanders up from 13 last time we played against them.

 

[liquor box]

But as we know, every Reds supporter will swear that Tupou is straight, and opposition will swear he crooked, even yourself has said if LH turns in it penalty Reds, if Tupou turns in it 50/50. Twisting/marching sideways is a penalty, you have to drive straight, which not sure anyone does 100% anyway. I do think at times he does turn in to far, said it a couple of years ago (when supporting Reds) , but think he got better at it, but he still at times turns in too far.

I think he angles in, just like the THP on all teams.

Maybe he is "worse" than others but if both sides are at fault then it is let go as there is no part of the laws I am aware of that award penalties on how much you break a law.

Does he turn in too far or is he breaking the opposing LHP and Hookers bind and this is what make him look bad

 

[Sword of Justice]

Honestly the moaning about Tupou is absolutely laughable. Scott Allen did a piece on Ben Alexander on this very site when the Wallabies did the exact same thing Tupou is doing, but to the British Lions.

Wasn't a problem then. Tupou got called out once on the weekend and after that it wasn't an issue. If he gets constantly pinged in a game, we can re-asse, but right now, is mountains out of mole hill stuff.

Yep. I've never scrummaged but I have put my shoulders into the backside of my fair share of front rowers and I don't think I can ever really recall a tight head being singled out for boring in. It's just not something that gets looked out for by refs because it's extremely difficult in real time to determine whether it's the LH or the TH and also because it's not nearly as effective as a LH boring in. Tupou is opening himself up to the LH pushing into his side but he is just so powerful that he can deal with it.