RugbyRebels

kudos Pumas.

Bizarre RC in general. I had assumed that the pecking order would've been South Africa, gap, NZ, gap, Australia, Argentina, but with this result and Australia fairly comfortably taking care of the Saffers, it's hard to see how it'll go.

Ordinarily, you'd say Aus are in the box seats, but I'm assuming Australia will lose both games to you because they're still scared of you.

Puja

players have to cop it a bit for being a tad clueless in the face of puma excellence at breakdown and defence. But he picked em.

Cody Taylor you plonker. I don't think we won a single lineout of our own once he started taking the throws.

Great defense from Argentina, we didn't have an answer in the second half. Could see how much the win meant to them, congrats.

It's like our basic skills have withered. We have a serious breakdown problem that the opposition know they can exploit. Someone please put poor Sam Cane out of his misery.

morepork wrote:It's like our basic skills have withered. We have a serious breakdown problem that the opposition know they can exploit. Someone please put poor Sam Cane out of his misery.

decision making was chronic all game both in play and tactically.

Outcoached by M Chekiayourself before you reckya yourself.

I wonder if the same group of people that decided to appoint the Foz through the world cup are also being their considerable talent to the commercial arm of NZR bankrolled by the Silver Lake deal?
Oh, look, it's Mark Robinson. And Richie McCaw, obviously on account of his massive asset management experience. May as well get Foster on the board too. This will get messy.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all ... ake-entity

Eugene Wrayburn wrote:Could you feckers please win? You're killing my buzz from the series win.

I'm sorry, did I not make myself clear????

Takes a bit of the sting out of Scotland letting the series go against Argentina though.

Mikey Brown wrote:Takes a bit of the sting out of Scotland letting the series go against Argentina though.

True that. Though I think you boys sometimes catastrophise too quickly anyway.

New Zealand: 15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 David Havili, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane (c), 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Sam Whitelock, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements: 16 Dane Coles, 17 George Bower, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Brodie Retallick, 20 Dalton Papali’i, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Quinn Tupaea

A lot of corporate-sounding drivel coming from Fozzie and the AB camp. I wish they'd start Christie and Papali'i. The backline just look a mess. Not great.

cripes, that's muddled things up

Rugbywang continues. Guess we will be beaten next week then. No team has won two in a row.

Ioane is pretty lethal given a tad of space.Savea should be at 7,Cane's stats notwithstanding.

cashead wrote:

morepork wrote:Rugbywang continues. Guess we will be beaten next week then. No team has won two in a row.

The Argies did when they won last week.

I knew that...

Banquo wrote:Ioane is pretty lethal given a tad of space.Savea should be at 7,Cane's stats notwithstanding.

Ioane gets quite a bit of flack on these boards, but I think he is growing into the 13 role pretty well and improving with every outing. He has the advantage of real speed and will generally out gas his opposite number given half a chance.

cashead wrote:

Banquo wrote:Ioane is pretty lethal given a tad of space.Savea should be at 7,Cane's stats notwithstanding.

You spelled Papali'i wrong.

Savea's doing fine at 8.

That may be so, but he’d be finer at 7. That said I’m woefully out of touch with your domestic and super rugby- are there any good physical 8’s knocking about?

cashead wrote:Cullen Grace, who should've been selected and deserves better than a 3-minute cameo in a losing test two years ago, and Marino Mikaele-Tu'u.

Cool. Mind just spotted that yer man Papali'i is quite the unit. So who should be playing instead of Frizzell?

Are Ioane or Sotutu just not consistent enough? Both seem like they could offer a bit of physicality and a bit of that linking game that’s been missing since Read.

cashead wrote:

Banquo wrote:

cashead wrote:Cullen Grace, who should've been selected and deserves better than a 3-minute cameo in a losing test two years ago, and Marino Mikaele-Tu'u.

Cool. Mind just spotted that yer man Papali'i is quite the unit. So who should be playing instead of Frizzell?

Someone who doesn’t have a history of randomly attacking women in bars.

yep.

Mikey Brown wrote:Are Ioane or Sotutu just not consistent enough? Both seem like they could offer a bit of physicality and a bit of that linking game that’s been missing since Read.

I think that is the issue with A Ioane. He sometimes looks great but then you don't notice him for large spells. He suits a particular type of game.

Sotutu is a bit different. Much less experience so not fair to say he has been inconsistent. I think the main issue with him is that he is more of an out and out right and they are happy with Savea there. Sotuto is probably also seen as more suited to an open game than a tight scrap.

Moving Savea wouldn't be a priority for me either. I prefer Papali'i and Savea to Savea and Sototu.

What use is all of this if they are coached by a potato?

New Zealand: 15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 David Havili, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Hoskins Sotutu, 7 Sam Cane (c), 6 Scott Barrett, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements: 16 Dane Coles, 17 George Bower, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Akira Ioane, 20 Dalton Papali’i, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Quinn Tupaea

Christie should be starting. Big day for Hoskins....I really hope he nails it. Ardie is out for the birth of his child, so Sam's Cane stays in but he really is the one that should be making way for the young bloods.

I'd also like to see Ian Foster get a proper hair cut. He looks like a disabled substitute PE teacher at a boring school.