@Crucial said in Black Ferns v Wales RWC:

@RoninWC They've been saying for weeks that Ayesha won't be ready until Scotland at the earliest.
Trying Ruby T out at 15 could be seeing if there is a possibility of fitting her, Woodman and Ayesha into the back three.
I thought Tubic would have been starting 15 this week but I think they may have her nailed into a bench spot as she can cover 10 and 15 well.
It is a nice problem to have. There is no way they can bench Portia and if Ruby plays like last week she also has to be there. Exciting as Ayesha is, I do have reservations about her decision making and workrate so it will be interesting where this goes.

Okay thanks for the update @Crucial wasn't aware of that.

Hopefully Ruby does play well at fullback and we can get the 3 on the park, that would be a real handful for the opposition.

More changes than I was expecting based on Smith's comments. Demant will have to be the goal kicker, although Bayler has also done that job for Waikato.

Not sure Ruby has a good enough boot to play 15. Put through one particularly bad kick in the first game.

There seems to be talk from the coaches about making sure the backups can step in when required. The pool stages are not the time to tinker IMO, the team has had fuck all games together, and they need to build some combos. Foster has the right idea! Shame he's doing it when they should be tinkering to get it right for the RWC!

2007 comes to mind

@Machpants said in Black Ferns v Wales RWC:

There seems to be talk from the coaches about making sure the backups can step in when required. The pool stages are not the time to tinker IMO, the team has had fuck all games together, and they need to build some combos. Foster has the right idea! Shame he's doing it when they should be tinkering to get it right for the RWC!

2007 comes to mind

Minor injuries have stopped them getting the most likely top XV on the park. They have been working on combos instead. It isn't like they are changing stuff around for the sake of it.
I think that if we hadn't had to rebuild a whole squad then your idea would ring true. The 'backups' etc would have been given time during the year and pretty much the top team through maybe all but one RWC game.

@RoninWC said in Black Ferns v Wales RWC:

Looking forward to this match, should be quite a bit easier than last weeks game with less pressure and the expectation heaped on them for the match at Eden Park

Agree on the pressure side of it, but Wales look a bit better organised than the Wallaroos, barring their likely penalty count

@Crucial said in Black Ferns v Wales RWC:

@Machpants said in Black Ferns v Wales RWC:

There seems to be talk from the coaches about making sure the backups can step in when required. The pool stages are not the time to tinker IMO, the team has had fuck all games together, and they need to build some combos. Foster has the right idea! Shame he's doing it when they should be tinkering to get it right for the RWC!

2007 comes to mind

Minor injuries have stopped them getting the most likely top XV on the park. They have been working on combos instead. It isn't like they are changing stuff around for the sake of it.
I think that if we hadn't had to rebuild a whole squad then your idea would ring true. The 'backups' etc would have been given time during the year and pretty much the top team through maybe all but one RWC game.

Seems they're changing for the sake of it. We won't beat England with anything but our best team firing together. So, imo, chuck all your eggs in one basket, and cross your fingers.

But Clarke said that would not stop the New Zealand selectors from making several changes to the team that was announced on Friday.

"We've got to be in a position where if we had to make changes later in the tournament people are able to make those changes quickly, so it's a good time for us to practice that but there is a balance between getting a little bit of cohesion and momentum going as well.""

Always enjoyable to listen to Smith talk. Ayesha Leti-I’iga and Kennedy Simon are ahead of schedule to return next week.

Rest easy

Going to be a massacre

BFs by 40

@Bovidae you can see why he struggled at “corporate “ interviews.
Obviously knows what he’s talking about and doesn’t talk crap. The players love his communication but he comes across in these situations as unsure at times.
I think that these days people can see through the delivery to the smarts and abilities but back in the day he may have been judged as not confident.

Really good interview though. Talks a lot of sense. I particularly liked his explanation of the difference between the men’s and women’s game coaching wise.
“The men need to play well to feel good and the women need to feel good to play well”
I reckon he has summarised pretty much a lot of that big review in that sentence. No criticism of the previous coaches but maybe they didn’t quite see this. The culture and prep that works in the women’s game isn’t the same.
Perhaps that also explains the approach of giving everyone a shot and still trying things. They want a very together team of 32 to keep a camp that “feels good”. The ones that take the field will play well and the coaches will pick the best on field combinations for the game.

@Machpants said in Black Ferns v Wales RWC:

@Crucial said in Black Ferns v Wales RWC:

@Machpants said in Black Ferns v Wales RWC:

There seems to be talk from the coaches about making sure the backups can step in when required. The pool stages are not the time to tinker IMO, the team has had fuck all games together, and they need to build some combos. Foster has the right idea! Shame he's doing it when they should be tinkering to get it right for the RWC!

2007 comes to mind

Minor injuries have stopped them getting the most likely top XV on the park. They have been working on combos instead. It isn't like they are changing stuff around for the sake of it.
I think that if we hadn't had to rebuild a whole squad then your idea would ring true. The 'backups' etc would have been given time during the year and pretty much the top team through maybe all but one RWC game.

Seems they're changing for the sake of it. We won't beat England with anything but our best team firing together. So, imo, chuck all your eggs in one basket, and cross your fingers.

But Clarke said that would not stop the New Zealand selectors from making several changes to the team that was announced on Friday.

"We've got to be in a position where if we had to make changes later in the tournament people are able to make those changes quickly, so it's a good time for us to practice that but there is a balance between getting a little bit of cohesion and momentum going as well.""
I think perhaps Mach, as Wayne Smith says they still not sure of their No1 lineup. As he says he came into the job with very little knowledge of the women's game, and they had what 5-6 tests trying to get squad down to the 32 for WC. In a normal situation I agree, you would want the No1 line up running together a few times, but you really want that to of happaned over the year. He has to I think balance out playing that team together with keeping the whole squad match fit. We would probably be critical if going into semis or final, had a few injuries and not having adequate match fit players ready to go. I can kind of understand the balancing act they going through.

@Crucial Really hope Wayne Smith stays and coaches in NZ, we need his expertise and all his rugby smarts. Several England clubs are sniffing around, and I wouldn't put it past England RFU to make a bid as well.

@Crucial yeah watched that last night ,

And that line about the differences between the men and women was interesting , I reckon men coaching women who get to hear that will be thinking wow , makes so much sense but had never thought much about it before .

Less than 5 minutes in and Wales already doing everything they can to time waste. FFS why do WR allow this bullshit?

No 3 is both crap in the scrum and dumb

@Crucial said in Black Ferns v Wales RWC:

Less than 5 minutes in and Wales already doing everything they can to time waste. FFS why do WR allow this bullshit?

Black Ferns doing everything they can to give Wales the ability to time waste.

Our girls don't seem to have an issue finding quality at 6. Big hard runners.

Ruby Tui saves the day again

What a surprise. A long passage of play and a Wales player takes a knee.

That was an intentional knock on from Wales and she called it against us.

Shouldn't have a ref from the same country...

@Machpants said in Black Ferns v Wales RWC:

No 3 is both crap in the scrum and dumb

She’s not having a good start that’s for sure. Is usually a rock in the scrum

@Crucial said in Black Ferns v Wales RWC:

@Machpants said in Black Ferns v Wales RWC:

No 3 is both crap in the scrum and dumb

She’s not having a good start that’s for sure. Is usually a rock in the scrum

Oh dear. She's not helping the smart tag.

@Crucial said in Black Ferns v Wales RWC:

@Machpants said in Black Ferns v Wales RWC:

No 3 is both crap in the scrum and dumb

She’s not having a good start that’s for sure. Is usually a rock in the scrum

Bloody shit on the line too, pathetic

Wales getting on the wrong side at every tackle with little or no effort to roll and being ignored.

@Bones said in Black Ferns v Wales RWC:

Wales getting on the wrong side at every tackle with little or no effort to roll and being ignored.

It's the only way they ref in this comp, awfully.

Demant needs to stop running cos she can't hold onto the ball in the tackle

Thank fuck for Chelsea, cos 3 was almost held up again, she went at the line so high. And with two pre bound illegally

Ruby T doing her best DMac impression.

@Machpants said in Black Ferns v Wales RWC:

Demant needs to stop running cos she can't hold onto the ball in the tackle

Still can't hold it in the tackle

@Crucial said in Black Ferns v Wales RWC:

Ruby T doing her best DMac impression.

But effective, unlike DMac. Mainly cos the Welsh have never seen the like unless they've played 7s

@Machpants said in Black Ferns v Wales RWC:

It's the only way they ref in this comp, awfully.

Oh this time she corrects her knock on call from the replay - but only when it goes against NZ.

Fuck that was a hit.

Nice. Take the ref and the cheats out of the equation.

This 6 is quality, beautiful offload.

Jonah woodman

@Machpants said in Black Ferns v Wales RWC:

Jonah woodman

Yep my thoughts, a real power winger.

@Machpants said in Black Ferns v Wales RWC:

Jonah woodman

I was about to write something similar haha

@Machpants said in Black Ferns v Wales RWC:

Jonah woodman

It's weird how she seems more effective at 15s. I feel like she's broken more tackles already this tournament than she has in the past year in 7s.

That scrum is a disgrace, how do you get that smoked when you're the world champs?

Any idea how good Wales' scrum is compared to England?