@brodean said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Frank said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@brodean said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Wurzel said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

Speaking of Dagg and ex players not being critical of current ABs, evidently he’s not a Rieko fan… and wasn’t when they played together

View embedded content

Finally someone says something. Thank heavens.

The fact in a decade Rieko hasn't developed the skills to take the high ball or develop a kicking game says a lot.

It also says a lot about these coaches.

They talk about both sides of the ball but throw Rieko on the wing when presumably they know he struggles under the high ball. If they don't know - and if their plan was to play Rieko on the wing - then why weren't they using the pre AB squad naming camp in BOP and the French series trainings to really test out Rieko under the high ball.

There are some things Rieko has improved on in his career - defensively he has gotten much better and his passing has improved compared to where it was when he first came on the scene.

But it screams of Razor not having the sack to drop a guy that the NZR signed to a deal through to the 2027 RWC.

He doesn't need a highball game at centre and he didn't need a kicking game with Havili and JB being his main two partners.

Does need to know how to pass well though doesn't he.

See it as a close call between him and Proctor however.

Jesse Kriel passed zero times in the 2023 RWC final. The game has moved on from silky Bruce Robertson types.

LOL - I guess that makes his lack of skill development okay then.

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@brodean said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Wurzel said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

Speaking of Dagg and ex players not being critical of current ABs, evidently he’s not a Rieko fan… and wasn’t when they played together

View embedded content

Finally someone says something. Thank heavens.

The fact in a decade Rieko hasn't developed the skills to take the high ball or develop a kicking game says a lot.

It also says a lot about these coaches.

They talk about both sides of the ball but throw Rieko on the wing when presumably they know he struggles under the high ball. If they don't know - and if their plan was to play Rieko on the wing - then why weren't they using the pre AB squad naming camp in BOP and the French series trainings to really test out Rieko under the high ball.

There are some things Rieko has improved on in his career - defensively he has gotten much better and his passing has improved compared to where it was when he first came on the scene.

But it screams of Razor not having the sack to drop a guy that the NZR signed to a deal through to the 2027 RWC.

He doesn't need a highball game at centre and he didn't need a kicking game with Havili and JB being his main two partners.

He didn't move to centre until 2020 - where was the development of a high ball game in 2018 or 2019 following his breakout 2017 season? Where is any evidence he has worked on his high ball game in the last 2 months ? As I state above - this is also on the coaches when switching him back to wing this year - they've switched a guy back there who doesn't have high ball skills and their plan is to have Will Jordan covering it.

As for a kicking game this also would have been beneficial to him as a winger before he switched to midfield - Rieko would often be in the back field as cover with no kicking option to go to or not have a kick ahead option when the opportinity arose when he was put into space - not to mention another kicking option in the backline would always be an asset to his team and a string to his bow. Effectively it would have made him less one dimensional. Nonu didn't 'need' a kicking game either but he developed an excellent one over time. Heck even at a franchise level Lam in his first proper season at 12 this year displayed development of a kicking game.

Nonu played at 12 where a kicking game is required

Conrad Smith kicked very rarely.

Rieko Ioane has only had one full season on the wing for the Blues where the players develop their skills. The great majority of his Blues career was spent in the midfield and at center when the team went from chronic cellar dwellers to winning a SRT title, an SRP title and multiple semi finals.

@Frank said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@brodean said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Frank said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@brodean said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Wurzel said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

Speaking of Dagg and ex players not being critical of current ABs, evidently he’s not a Rieko fan… and wasn’t when they played together

View embedded content

Finally someone says something. Thank heavens.

The fact in a decade Rieko hasn't developed the skills to take the high ball or develop a kicking game says a lot.

It also says a lot about these coaches.

They talk about both sides of the ball but throw Rieko on the wing when presumably they know he struggles under the high ball. If they don't know - and if their plan was to play Rieko on the wing - then why weren't they using the pre AB squad naming camp in BOP and the French series trainings to really test out Rieko under the high ball.

There are some things Rieko has improved on in his career - defensively he has gotten much better and his passing has improved compared to where it was when he first came on the scene.

But it screams of Razor not having the sack to drop a guy that the NZR signed to a deal through to the 2027 RWC.

He doesn't need a highball game at centre and he didn't need a kicking game with Havili and JB being his main two partners.

Does need to know how to pass well though doesn't he.

See it as a close call between him and Proctor however.

Jesse Kriel passed zero times in the 2023 RWC final. The game has moved on from silky Bruce Robertson types.

LOL - I guess that makes his lack of skill development okay then.

His passing game at centre has good enough for the Blues to win a championship and for the ABs to go within 1 point of winning an RWC final with 14 men. You could in no way suggest it was Ioane that stopped us from winning that RWC final. Cane and Frizell were carded. Mo'unga and JB missed kicks.

@brodean said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Frank said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@brodean said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Frank said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@brodean said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Wurzel said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

Speaking of Dagg and ex players not being critical of current ABs, evidently he’s not a Rieko fan… and wasn’t when they played together

View embedded content

Finally someone says something. Thank heavens.

The fact in a decade Rieko hasn't developed the skills to take the high ball or develop a kicking game says a lot.

It also says a lot about these coaches.

They talk about both sides of the ball but throw Rieko on the wing when presumably they know he struggles under the high ball. If they don't know - and if their plan was to play Rieko on the wing - then why weren't they using the pre AB squad naming camp in BOP and the French series trainings to really test out Rieko under the high ball.

There are some things Rieko has improved on in his career - defensively he has gotten much better and his passing has improved compared to where it was when he first came on the scene.

But it screams of Razor not having the sack to drop a guy that the NZR signed to a deal through to the 2027 RWC.

He doesn't need a highball game at centre and he didn't need a kicking game with Havili and JB being his main two partners.

Does need to know how to pass well though doesn't he.

See it as a close call between him and Proctor however.

Jesse Kriel passed zero times in the 2023 RWC final. The game has moved on from silky Bruce Robertson types.

LOL - I guess that makes his lack of skill development okay then.

His passing game at centre has good enough for the Blues to win a championship and for the ABs to go within 1 point of winning an RWC final with 14 men. You could in no way suggest it was Ioane that stopped us from winning that RWC final. Cane and Frizell were carded. Mo'unga and JB missed kicks.

You could argue that the Blues won that championship without the outside backs or Rieko doing much other than tackling. Their key differences were having Ioane and Hoskins in top form, and no BB.

@reprobate said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@brodean said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Frank said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@brodean said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Frank said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@brodean said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Wurzel said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

Speaking of Dagg and ex players not being critical of current ABs, evidently he’s not a Rieko fan… and wasn’t when they played together

View embedded content

Finally someone says something. Thank heavens.

The fact in a decade Rieko hasn't developed the skills to take the high ball or develop a kicking game says a lot.

It also says a lot about these coaches.

They talk about both sides of the ball but throw Rieko on the wing when presumably they know he struggles under the high ball. If they don't know - and if their plan was to play Rieko on the wing - then why weren't they using the pre AB squad naming camp in BOP and the French series trainings to really test out Rieko under the high ball.

There are some things Rieko has improved on in his career - defensively he has gotten much better and his passing has improved compared to where it was when he first came on the scene.

But it screams of Razor not having the sack to drop a guy that the NZR signed to a deal through to the 2027 RWC.

He doesn't need a highball game at centre and he didn't need a kicking game with Havili and JB being his main two partners.

Does need to know how to pass well though doesn't he.

See it as a close call between him and Proctor however.

Jesse Kriel passed zero times in the 2023 RWC final. The game has moved on from silky Bruce Robertson types.

LOL - I guess that makes his lack of skill development okay then.

His passing game at centre has good enough for the Blues to win a championship and for the ABs to go within 1 point of winning an RWC final with 14 men. You could in no way suggest it was Ioane that stopped us from winning that RWC final. Cane and Frizell were carded. Mo'unga and JB missed kicks.

You could argue that the Blues won that championship without the outside backs or Rieko doing much other than tackling. Their key differences were having Ioane and Hoskins in top form, and no BB.

Yes you could argue that but as they say defence wins championships and the Blues defence has been near the best the last two years with Rieko as the preferred 13.

Defence is something Proctor seems to be struggling with at test level and I would argue that at test level in tight games defence is more important than passing game at 13.

People have been talking about Proctor as some kind of defensive leader but with his passing game and defensive leadership the Pumas made 7 line breaks to our 1 in the last game.

@brodean said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@brodean said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Wurzel said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

Speaking of Dagg and ex players not being critical of current ABs, evidently he’s not a Rieko fan… and wasn’t when they played together

View embedded content

Finally someone says something. Thank heavens.

The fact in a decade Rieko hasn't developed the skills to take the high ball or develop a kicking game says a lot.

It also says a lot about these coaches.

They talk about both sides of the ball but throw Rieko on the wing when presumably they know he struggles under the high ball. If they don't know - and if their plan was to play Rieko on the wing - then why weren't they using the pre AB squad naming camp in BOP and the French series trainings to really test out Rieko under the high ball.

There are some things Rieko has improved on in his career - defensively he has gotten much better and his passing has improved compared to where it was when he first came on the scene.

But it screams of Razor not having the sack to drop a guy that the NZR signed to a deal through to the 2027 RWC.

He doesn't need a highball game at centre and he didn't need a kicking game with Havili and JB being his main two partners.

He didn't move to centre until 2020 - where was the development of a high ball game in 2018 or 2019 following his breakout 2017 season? Where is any evidence he has worked on his high ball game in the last 2 months ? As I state above - this is also on the coaches when switching him back to wing this year - they've switched a guy back there who doesn't have high ball skills and their plan is to have Will Jordan covering it.

As for a kicking game this also would have been beneficial to him as a winger before he switched to midfield - Rieko would often be in the back field as cover with no kicking option to go to or not have a kick ahead option when the opportinity arose when he was put into space - not to mention another kicking option in the backline would always be an asset to his team and a string to his bow. Effectively it would have made him less one dimensional. Nonu didn't 'need' a kicking game either but he developed an excellent one over time. Heck even at a franchise level Lam in his first proper season at 12 this year displayed development of a kicking game.

Nonu played at 12 where a kicking game is required

Conrad Smith kicked very rarely.

Rieko Ioane has only had one full season on the wing for the Blues where the players develop their skills. The great majority of his Blues career was spent in the midfield and at center when the team went from chronic cellar dwellers to winning a SRT title, an SRP title and multiple semi finals.

Rieko Ioane was pretty much exclusively a left winger only for the ABs for three straight seasons 2017 - 2019, nearly 25 tests on the left wing with a handful of appearances from the bench - he had plenty of time to develop his skills under the high ball. Compare that with someone like Richard Kahui who only had one test start on the wing (in 2008) before the RWC - and in that RWC he showed real commitment under the high ball and with his kick chase.

Again - this isn't exclusively a Rieko thing - how has Sevu Reece not improved under the high ball in all his time playing wing - and the coaches - how they do they stick two poor players under the high ball on the wing? There's fault all around.

@brodean said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Wurzel said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

Speaking of Dagg and ex players not being critical of current ABs, evidently he’s not a Rieko fan… and wasn’t when they played together

View embedded content

Finally someone says something. Thank heavens.

The fact in a decade Rieko hasn't developed the skills to take the high ball or develop a kicking game says a lot.

It also says a lot about these coaches.

They talk about both sides of the ball but throw Rieko on the wing when presumably they know he struggles under the high ball. If they don't know - and if their plan was to play Rieko on the wing - then why weren't they using the pre AB squad naming camp in BOP and the French series trainings to really test out Rieko under the high ball.

There are some things Rieko has improved on in his career - defensively he has gotten much better and his passing has improved compared to where it was when he first came on the scene.

But it screams of Razor not having the sack to drop a guy that the NZR signed to a deal through to the 2027 RWC.

He doesn't need a highball game at centre and he didn't need a kicking game with Havili and JB being his main two partners.

It is a bit mad that we are criticising a guy who played centre for the last 5 years for not developing strength under the high-ball while the guys who have been playing wing and fullback throughout that time and still do seem to be escaping criticism for also being complete numpties under the high ball.

@Frank said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@brodean said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Wurzel said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

Speaking of Dagg and ex players not being critical of current ABs, evidently he’s not a Rieko fan… and wasn’t when they played together

View embedded content

Finally someone says something. Thank heavens.

The fact in a decade Rieko hasn't developed the skills to take the high ball or develop a kicking game says a lot.

It also says a lot about these coaches.

They talk about both sides of the ball but throw Rieko on the wing when presumably they know he struggles under the high ball. If they don't know - and if their plan was to play Rieko on the wing - then why weren't they using the pre AB squad naming camp in BOP and the French series trainings to really test out Rieko under the high ball.

There are some things Rieko has improved on in his career - defensively he has gotten much better and his passing has improved compared to where it was when he first came on the scene.

But it screams of Razor not having the sack to drop a guy that the NZR signed to a deal through to the 2027 RWC.

He doesn't need a highball game at centre and he didn't need a kicking game with Havili and JB being his main two partners.

Does need to know how to pass well though doesn't he.

See it as a close call between him and Proctor however.

He passes just fine - not perfect, but fine. The issue he has is the same one that Proctor is facing now - a lack of time and space with which to use the ball. This is primarily the result of how this and the last regime structured their backline attack and also the two blokes inside him who can’t pass for shit either.

I don’t know if there is a centre in NZ who could, under those conditions, throw the kind of perfectly timed flat spiral passes to wide wingers and fullbacks that people seem to be expecting here - not Rieko and not Proctor either.

As for the comment earlier about Rieko tucking and ducking, that is totally fair and quite frustrating. But, I think it is also fair to suggest that this is something he has developed to get himself over the gain line and not get smashed by his opposing centres when playing so flat and flat footed as part of our backline structure.