@reprobate said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

I think he is very much on the small side for 6 or 8, and I'm not convinced he has the speed for 7. Very good player no doubt and still young, but I certainly don't regard him as a sure thing for long term AB starter.

Fair comments, he'd be quicker than all of Kirifi, Blackadder, Dalton and Jacobson as a 7 and I guess we won't know his best position until he actually gets more opportunity at international level.

I don't see him playing 6 unless he really needs to. I would see Sititi moving to 6 if Lakai came off the bench.

He's only 22 so I'd say over time he would put on another 2-4kg without losing his explosiveness. I'd like to see him play more 7 at Super level, I think 7 is his best position if he wants to make it at international level long term.

I think the biggest upside to Lakai is he is built differently to any 7 we've seen (even Savea). I've heard many people around the Wellington traps say that tackling him is like tackling a brick shithouse and seeing him up close you begin to understand why. A mix of genes from Guyana and Tonga makes for an impressive athlete.

find someone who loves you like canes4life loves players from Wellington. That's basically fan fic my guy.

@reprobate said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

I think he is very much on the small side for 6 or 8, and I'm not convinced he has the speed for 7. Very good player no doubt and still young, but I certainly don't regard him as a sure thing for long term AB starter.

He has promise and considerable potential upside, but only as an openside flanker if his engine is big enough. He's simply too small for 6 or 8 and there should be only one position for a bloke 6'2" in old money. Not two or three of them!

@antipodean said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

@reprobate said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

I think he is very much on the small side for 6 or 8, and I'm not convinced he has the speed for 7. Very good player no doubt and still young, but I certainly don't regard him as a sure thing for long term AB starter.

He has promise and considerable potential upside, but only as an openside flanker if his engine is big enough. He's simply too small for 6 or 8 and there should be only one position for a bloke 6'2" in old money. Not two or three of them!

Exactly what I've alluded to above.

Rieko may get a reprieve with perhaps not too many changes to the back 3 wanted and at least 1 (and possibly 2) changes already occurring

Perhaps controversial, I thought Rieko was fine on Saturday. He didn't set the world alight, but he carried well, and I would be confident in saying he defended very well (without knowing the stats on that).

I think Clarke is an upgrade as the power winger, but he has been injured for the ABs season to date.

@mariner4life said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

find someone who loves you like canes4life loves players from Wellington. That's basically fan fic my guy.

Ferner backs player from his own province to get more minutes in the Black jersey. This is not a new trend MY GUY.

Lakai mentions wouldn't even come close to the likes of those that harp on about Blackadder, Sotutu, Dalton etc etc and they aren't even in the squad. At least MY GUY is in the frame.

Aside from Higgins (only a matter of time), players from the Canes that I've backed heavily in the past (Roigard, Lakai, Proctor, Aumua, Love and previously ASav from a young age) have all become ABs, not a bad strike rate for supposed fan fiction.

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

Rieko may get a reprieve with perhaps not too many changes to the back 3 wanted and at least 1 (and possibly 2) changes already occurring

Rieko probably had one of his stronger games for a while, wouldn't be displeased if he kept his spot, then again I also see the upside to starting Clarke.

@frugby said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

Perhaps controversial, I thought Rieko was fine on Saturday. He didn't set the world alight, but he carried well, and I would be confident in saying he defended very well (without knowing the stats on that).

I think Clarke is an upgrade as the power winger, but he has been injured for the ABs season to date.

Yeah I agree, I think Rieko was unfairly lumped in with Reece, who played so badly his Crusaders coach dropped him while retaining the Blues winger. One thing I would say is despite Rieko's top end pace still being good, he doesn't offer the threat that he used to when he was younger on the wing, which is to be expected really. However the fact he can cover centre to such a high standard does make him a very valuable player to have on the pitch. I think they will look at a back three of Clarke - Jordan - Rieko this weekend.

@antipodean said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

@nostrildamus said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

@antipodean said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

@BerniesCorner said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

I quite like changing to QT 12 JB 13 mid game.

Refresh my memory of the times Jordie has played 13.

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Occupied positions by Jordie on start team :
Fullback : 91 times ( Fullback 51% )
Center : 77 times ( Inside Centre 38%, Outside Centre 4% )
Winger : 11 times ( Right Wing 6%, Left Wing 1% )
Fly-Half : 1 times ( Fly-Half 1% )

So about eight ties in ~200 games. Presumably none of them for the All Blacks. Any of them recently for the Canes?

I am not arguing, I am only providing a source.

@Canes4life said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

@mariner4life said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

find someone who loves you like canes4life loves players from Wellington. That's basically fan fic my guy.

Ferner backs player from his own province to get more minutes in the Black jersey. This is not a new trend MY GUY.

Lakai mentions wouldn't even come close to the likes of those that harp on about Blackadder, Sotutu, Dalton etc etc and they aren't even in the squad. At least MY GUY is in the frame.

Aside from Higgins (only a matter of time), players from the Canes that I've backed heavily in the past (Roigard, Lakai, Proctor, Aumua, Love and previously ASav from a young age) have all become ABs, not a bad strike rate for supposed fan fiction.

Lakai seems to be our typical size at 7, just about McCaw size. If anything, he is quite stocky for a 7. And a cm or two smaller than Wallace, maybe.

It is funny being a Canes fan, you have to decide between pushing for Lakai, Kirifi or (if he returns or for nostalgia's sake), Savea. Nice predicament to have!

@Snowy said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

@family-man said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

A Georgian ref next game I see ‍️

Well having just read all of the first test thread and the Black ferns one, we can rest assured that if any calls go our way @MiketheSnow will be sure to point them out.

maybe he thinks we got the rub, maybe he thinks AB fans are getting cocky and he wants to correct? But for the second, I am not sure, the related threads have been fairly pessimistic!

@nostrildamus said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

@Canes4life said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

@mariner4life said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

find someone who loves you like canes4life loves players from Wellington. That's basically fan fic my guy.

Ferner backs player from his own province to get more minutes in the Black jersey. This is not a new trend MY GUY.

Lakai mentions wouldn't even come close to the likes of those that harp on about Blackadder, Sotutu, Dalton etc etc and they aren't even in the squad. At least MY GUY is in the frame.

Aside from Higgins (only a matter of time), players from the Canes that I've backed heavily in the past (Roigard, Lakai, Proctor, Aumua, Love and previously ASav from a young age) have all become ABs, not a bad strike rate for supposed fan fiction.

Lakai seems to be our typical size at 7, just about McCaw size. If anything, he is quite stocky for a 7. And a cm or two smaller than Wallace, maybe.

It is funny being a Canes fan, you have to decide between pushing for Lakai, Kirifi or (if he returns or for nostalgia's sake), Savea. Nice predicament to have!

Yeah it's not bad at all. We never have many World Class tight five players (especially locks) but for some reason the Canes have always had an abundance of good loosies.

My personal preference is Lakai as he can cover 8 but I guess Razor prefers Kirifi right now. I think for Lakai having both Kirifi and Savea to learn from is pretty awesome at such a young age and hopefully that bears fruit later in his career.

@Canes4life said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

Rieko may get a reprieve with perhaps not too many changes to the back 3 wanted and at least 1 (and possibly 2) changes already occurring

Rieko probably had one of his stronger games for a while, wouldn't be displeased if he kept his spot, then again I also see the upside to starting Clarke.

His only problem was that he showed a decided lack of gas when he was finally given space down the left wing. Lumbering is probably a good word to describe it

Noah Hotham available for this test match.

@Chris said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

Noah Hotham available for this test match.

Hmmm, Ratima available too? If so, there's your 1 and 2 halfback for this game, if not, do they start Hotham or does he come off the bench?

@African-Monkey said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

@Chris said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

Noah Hotham available for this test match.

Hmmm, Ratima available too? If so, there's your 1 and 2 halfback for this game, if not, do they start Hotham or does he come off the bench?

I think Ratima is still out, maybe Hotham comes back off the bench.

Ratima hasn't been great so far this season. I'd almost prefer Christie over him (vomits in mouth)

Not being in NZ can someone please post Dagg's radio show this week when he lays into Jordan for not being able to catch high balls?

No Eben, no DDA?!

@pakman said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

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Will Razor roll the dice too?

@pakman said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

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That looks like a team that wants to play Tony ball. Will ask a lot more questions of our defence than last week and I think having Snyman and Esterhuizen on the bench gives them far more impact than last week's bench. Not sure how good their backline will be on defence though. Could be a very high scoring game.

@stodders said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

@pakman said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

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Will Razor roll the dice too?

@stodders said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

@pakman said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

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Will Razor roll the dice too?

I think Razor will roll the dice
He's gonna got out on a limb and make one change.

@Canes4life said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

Ferner backs player from his own province to get more minutes in the Black jersey.

I really can’t stand it when Ferners get all provincial one-eyed when it’s the All Blacks we are talking about.

But hey, didn’t Scooter, Fletch, Codie and Will play well.

Aphelele Fassi, Cheslin Kolbe, Canan Moodie, Damian Willemse, Ethan Hooker, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Cobus Reinach, Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi (capt), Ruan Nortje, Lood de Jager, Thomas du Toit, Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche. Bench: Marnus van der Merwe, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Wilco Louw, RG Snyman, Kwagga Smith, Grant Williams, Manie Libbok, Andre Esterhuizen

Firstly a Monday team selection. Love the innovation.

Secondly, he’s picked the better halfback to start but the quicker halfback to finish.

Thirdly, in the history of Springbok rugby has a captain been dropped effectively mid-series?

Fourthly, a conventional 5/3 bench suggests to me that he is more concerned about his backline play so needs options.

@Frank said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

@stodders said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

@pakman said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

View embedded content

Will Razor roll the dice too?

I think Razor will roll the dice
He's gonna got out on a limb and make one change.

I think there will be 3.

@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

@Canes4life said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

Ferner backs player from his own province to get more minutes in the Black jersey.

I really can’t stand it when Ferners get all provincial one-eyed when it’s the All Blacks we are talking about.

But hey, didn’t Scooter, Fletch, Codie and Will play well.

Kind of taking the piss mate, hence why I said Lakai or Jacobson as bench cover over Kirifi (also a Hurricane) in my initial comments, because they cover more positions. It’s just whenever I mention a Hurricane some on here get a little pissy.

That Boks team is a smoke screen. No way it doesn't change before Saturday.

@akan004 said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

@pakman said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

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That looks like a team that wants to play Tony ball. Will ask a lot more questions of our defence than last week and I think having Snyman and Esterhuizen on the bench gives them far more impact than last week's bench. Not sure how good their backline will be on defence though. Could be a very high scoring game.

Herein lies (at least some of) the Boks problems at the moment.
The introduction of a more attacking mindset (and to be clear - I am in favour) has affected our usually great defence.
If they can get the defensive pattern right to work with Tont-ball, we'd be in a better place.

Then we just have to work on:
Lineouts
Mauls
Rucks
... basically everything else.

@Billy-Webb would there be time to work on that stuff when they still haven't got the midfield lift off a ruck perfected?

@Chris said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

@African-Monkey said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

@Chris said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

Noah Hotham available for this test match.

Hmmm, Ratima available too? If so, there's your 1 and 2 halfback for this game, if not, do they start Hotham or does he come off the bench?

I think Ratima is still out, maybe Hotham comes back off the bench.

Christie is playing OK, but as others have said, needs to be pulled earlier as he faded a lot last week. I'd def do Ratima if fit and poss. look for Hotham to start

I just hope Christie and Rieko are replaced.

@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

@Chris said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

@African-Monkey said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

@Chris said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

Noah Hotham available for this test match.

Hmmm, Ratima available too? If so, there's your 1 and 2 halfback for this game, if not, do they start Hotham or does he come off the bench?

I think Ratima is still out, maybe Hotham comes back off the bench.

Christie is playing OK, but as others have said, needs to be pulled earlier as he faded a lot last week. I'd def do Ratima if fit and poss. look for Hotham to start

Doesn't look like Ratima is fit based on the official update. Hotham will be touch and go.

@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

@Chris said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

@African-Monkey said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

@Chris said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

Noah Hotham available for this test match.

Hmmm, Ratima available too? If so, there's your 1 and 2 halfback for this game, if not, do they start Hotham or does he come off the bench?

I think Ratima is still out, maybe Hotham comes back off the bench.

Christie is playing OK, but as others have said, needs to be pulled earlier as he faded a lot last week. I'd def do Ratima if fit and poss. look for Hotham to start

It probably depends a bit on whether or not Hotham is 85% or 95%.

@Frank said in All Blacks vs Springboks II:

I just hope Christie and Rieko are replaced.

If Christie plays (due to injuries) I'd like to see him get the hook at half time or just after, give Preston a half. I'd like Clarke to replace Ioane

We should really fuck him up and name our team on Saturday morning.