AB Blindside - past, present & future

@MN5 said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

@reprobate said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

@Mauss said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

@brodean said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

There is ingrained habits but your post assumes too much of the players. Macdonald and Foster wanted to play wider games and Akira Ioane obliged. When Vern came along and wanted to keep it close Akira Ioane immediately followed the game pattern and stuck to it all year. So in the case of Akira Ioane I think it shows that clearly they were not ingrained habits.

Also Fifita when he went back to lock for the Canes played a very tight game and was one of the most physical players in the comp. He was also one of the most physical players in the stodgy NH.

My point is that I think it's better for coaches to develop the naturally built up game of a player rather than make them conform to preconceived requirements.

Some players can adapt and make major changes to their game, but it's certainly not the majority. Kaino and McCaw I think both changed the way they played significantly - Kaino before becoming a fixture for the ABs, and McCaw during his tenure. Michael Jones before those guys.
I agree that playing to a guy's strengths is almost always going to go better than making them play to their weaknesses. That's the tricky thing about building a team, putting all the strengths and weaknesses together such that overall the mix (and the roles given) lead to success - which is why you're bang-on with the coaches and their square peg / round hole weird use of different style players. I think it also makes looking at any position in isolation tricky - or even the loose trio without the contribution of the tighties (as per e.g. your post a while back on the different styles of play from the fringe prop candidates) being taken into account. In the current team, I guess the assumption is Lomax/Taylor/Williams/Barrett/Vaai/Savea/Sititi + who? They do lack an enforcer. They do lack a lineout target. They also lack a volume ruck-hitter.

It’s worth pointing out Ma’a Monu as one of these types. I’d argue he’s almost as big a loss as Kaino ( less so given Jordie has been good at times )

A bit off topic. I do think Kaino is our greatest blindside however we were dominant in the early tens even when he was injured and I feel that JB isn't close to Nonu yet. JB is still prone to brain farts and poorly executed kicks.

Nonu is just as big a loss as Kaino.

Given the talent options were Luatua, Squire, Fifita, Frizell, Papali'i, Hemopo, Ioane, and Finau I would say the only reason a long term six has not been developed to replace Kaino is coaching and player management failure. All of these guys were immensely talented.

It was just been a cycle of giving a guy a go and then tossing them on the heap, then looping back to them if they were still around.

I feel chucking Blackadder in there over Finau or Parker or Sititi is only going to delay one of those players development only for Blackadder to get injured again.

Why did Hemopo leave again? I thought he offered something, good workrate and aggression,

@brodean said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

Given the talent options were Luatua, Squire, Fifita, Frizell, Papali'i, Hemopo, Ioane, and Finau I would say the only reason a long term six has not been developed to replace Kaino is coaching and player management failure. All of these guys were immensely talented.

It was just been a cycle of giving a guy a go and then tossing them on the heap, then looping back to them if they were still around.

I feel chucking Blackadder in there over Finau or Parker or Sititi is only going to delay one of those players development only for Blackadder to get injured again.

Not to mention that he’s hardly a world beater when he is actually fit.

Some journalists who for some reason actually get paid to write about sport should hang their heads at the wanky drivel they wrote about him when he came back from injury as some sort of messiah.

Not sure about some of shit being talked about the Chiefs loosies here. We play wider than any other kiwi team. We commit fewer (forwards) players to cleaning as we rely on really quick cleans and carries. So, we may have fewer numbers of rucks hit as we need those rucks to be hit and cleaned well. (Edit: one of the things which is excellent this year is the accuracy of the clean across the forwards).

We are also getting a lot of our workrate out of our locks - Vaa'ii has hit more than 200 rucks at basically 90% effectiveness. It's not surprising to see Ah Kuio with greater ruck numbers than Finau for example, as Ah Kuio has been mainly playing at lock. He's slightly less effective but doing a great job, even though we have some hybrid players out there at times, it suits our speed game.

We have Jacobson at 7, which means we can achieve balance. I'm not sure that he is fast enough to play there for the ABs, but arguably that is the way of replicating our game plan at the next level (with either him or Blackadder or Paps at 7), but it likely means putting either Ardie or Sititi on the bench, as we can then pick a Parker or Finau at 6, and one of the explosive players at 8.

I'm not saying I would do that, btw but it helps us achieve balance.

@brodean said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

Given the talent options were Luatua, Squire, Fifita, Frizell, Papali'i, Hemopo, Ioane, and Finau I would say the only reason a long term six has not been developed to replace Kaino is coaching and player management failure. All of these guys were immensely talented.

It was just been a cycle of giving a guy a go and then tossing them on the heap, then looping back to them if they were still around.

I feel chucking Blackadder in there over Finau or Parker or Sititi is only going to delay one of those players development only for Blackadder to get injured again.

The longer they persistent with EB the more suspicious I become that Razor and Ryan will not solve the loose forward problem

@canefan said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

@brodean said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

Given the talent options were Luatua, Squire, Fifita, Frizell, Papali'i, Hemopo, Ioane, and Finau I would say the only reason a long term six has not been developed to replace Kaino is coaching and player management failure. All of these guys were immensely talented.

It was just been a cycle of giving a guy a go and then tossing them on the heap, then looping back to them if they were still around.

I feel chucking Blackadder in there over Finau or Parker or Sititi is only going to delay one of those players development only for Blackadder to get injured again.

The longer they persistent with EB the more suspicious I become that Razor and Ryan will not solve the loose forward problem

At what stage does ‘I used to work with his Dad’ wear off ?

I cant be bothered checking the team sheets for this, as @Bovidae probably remembers off the top of his head. Has Parker started at 7 this year? I wonder if some of his greater involvement per minute just reflects him spending more time playing in the middle at 7 (arguably a great thing that he has this versatility).

@gt12 said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

Not sure about some of shit being talked about the Chiefs loosies here. We play wider than any other kiwi team. We commit fewer (forwards) players to cleaning as we rely on really quick cleans and carries. So, we may have fewer numbers of rucks hit as we need those rucks to be hit and cleaned well. (Edit: one of the things which is excellent this year is the accuracy of the clean across the forwards).

We are also getting a lot of our workrate out of our locks - Vaa'ii has hit more than 200 rucks at basically 90% effectiveness. It's not surprising to see Ah Kuio with greater ruck numbers than Finau for example, as Ah Kuio has been mainly playing at lock. He's slightly less effective but doing a great job, even though we have some hybrid players out there at times, it suits our speed game.

We have Jacobson at 7, which means we can achieve balance. I'm not sure that he is fast enough to play there for the ABs, but arguably that is the way of replicating our game plan at the next level (with either him or Blackadder or Paps at 7), but it likely means putting either Ardie or Sititi on the bench, as we can then pick a Parker or Finau at 6, and one of the explosive players at 8.

I'm not saying I would do that, btw but it helps us achieve balance.

According to those stats the Canes and the Crusaders play wider.

Also I think most people are leaning towards Parker or Finau ¯_(ツ)_/¯

After watching Blackadder's performance last night, I was wondering what kind of mental gymnastics people would perform in order to criticise his play. I have not been disappointed.

@Old-Samurai-Jack said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

After watching Blackadder's performance last night, I was wondering what kind of mental gymnastics people would perform in order to criticise his play. I have not been disappointed.

Nothing too strenuous in terms of mental gymnastics, busy and ineffective seem to sum things up pretty accurately

Didn't get injured but still managed to take a 10 minute rest in the game.

@Old-Samurai-Jack said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

After watching Blackadder's performance last night, I was wondering what kind of mental gymnastics people would perform in order to criticise his play. I have not been disappointed.

If he dominates and is durable in the test matches I assume he will be given to play, I'll happily be proven wrong. But as Razor has said, SR performance isn't important to him, and EB has considerable form to back up my opinions

@Old-Samurai-Jack said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

After watching Blackadder's performance last night, I was wondering what kind of mental gymnastics people would perform in order to criticise his play. I have not been disappointed.

His main criticism is that he is always injured for long periods. This prevents both him and another player reaching their true potential for the AB's when the coaches continually try to bring him back into the AB's.

Durability is an attribute of a player worth considering when you're wanting to build a cohesive team.

@brodean

We play wider than 1st receiver / 2nd receiver than any other kiwi team with more passes. It may not be sideline to sideline but we are looking to use the wider channels more than most other teams.

@MN5 said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

@Old-Samurai-Jack said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

After watching Blackadder's performance last night, I was wondering what kind of mental gymnastics people would perform in order to criticise his play. I have not been disappointed.

Nothing too strenuous in terms of mental gymnastics, busy and ineffective seem to sum things up pretty accurately

You don't even watch bro, just repeat soundbites like you do memes.
He was effective last night (YC aside), and he was also very effective in his 40 minutes the week prior.

@reprobate said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

@MN5 said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

@Old-Samurai-Jack said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

After watching Blackadder's performance last night, I was wondering what kind of mental gymnastics people would perform in order to criticise his play. I have not been disappointed.

Nothing too strenuous in terms of mental gymnastics, busy and ineffective seem to sum things up pretty accurately

You don't even watch bro, just repeat soundbites like you do memes.
He was effective last night (YC aside), and he was also very effective in his 40 minutes the week prior.

That’s 110 total minutes. That’s incredible for him.

I take it all back

@MN5 said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

@reprobate said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

@MN5 said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

@Old-Samurai-Jack said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

After watching Blackadder's performance last night, I was wondering what kind of mental gymnastics people would perform in order to criticise his play. I have not been disappointed.

Nothing too strenuous in terms of mental gymnastics, busy and ineffective seem to sum things up pretty accurately

You don't even watch bro, just repeat soundbites like you do memes.
He was effective last night (YC aside), and he was also very effective in his 40 minutes the week prior.

That’s 110 total minutes. That’s incredible for him.

I take it all back

Nobody is arguing that he isn't always injured - if anything that makes the performances more impressive. Though I suppose he's had a lot of practice at coming back from injury, should have it down pat by now.

@gt12 said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

I cant be bothered checking the team sheets for this, as @Bovidae probably remembers off the top of his head. Has Parker started at 7 this year? I wonder if some of his greater involvement per minute just reflects him spending more time playing in the middle at 7 (arguably a great thing that he has this versatility).

Not this year.

He had a few games at 7 last season but he's been exclusively used at 6 and 8 in 2023.

@brodean said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

Jason Ryan loves him some Blackadder and I can't see him looking past him.

If he loved him wouldn't he give him some months to recover?
Has Blackladder lasted 6 or even 4 weeks this season without injury?

I thought Blackadder played really well last night, against more than decent opposition. But looking at his game - close to source, lots of involvements, tackling around the waist rather than up high - I'm always wondering whether his game isn't best suited to 7.

But then you have another issue, which is that he isn't particularly fast or dynamic around the ruck. Now Sam Cane was pretty similar, especially in his later years, but we also saw that he was actively targeted in this sense last season, with attackers running strike moves to isolate and pass him by. So it would probably be the same for Blackadder.

To me, there's growing clarity around the loose forward roles in Super Rugby and this, I think, should translate to AB selection. You have opensides who are very mobile, excel at the breakdown and who have an active but loose role on attack as a carry and link player (Savea, Kirifi, Lasaqa). Then you have number 8s who are high-volume carriers and are able to physically impose their carry game through the middle of the field (Sititi, Lakai, Sotutu and Lio-Willie).

That just leaves blindside, which is probably still the most varied position amongst the NZ SR sides. Players like Finau, Parker, Flanders, Shields, Iose, Choat, Segner, Howden, Withy, Grace, and Blackadder have all played there, which is a mix of mostly opensides and number 8s.

I think the AB selection this year should really try to cement their vision on what they want from a blindside, with openside and number 8 becoming relatively straightforward, in my view. It’s a chance to bed in the loose forward-selection for the next few seasons, at least, which should really help the team.

But is Wallace actually the best 6? Arguably he was the best 6 for the ABs over the last season. So even if he is better at 8 perhaps they might still play him at 6. Unlikely though unless they don't want to move Savea.

If they play Sititi at 6, that means Savea at 8, and who at 7? Jacobson, Blackadder, Kirifi? All make for a small back row.

I’m yet to clear my mind of the thinking that Finau is a bit of a flat track bully. But he has the ingredients for sure.

NZ Rugby currently having trouble finding big bodies - we don’t produce big bodies as a nation naturally and a lot are going to basketball.

@taniwharugby said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

If they play Sititi at 6, that means Savea at 8, and who at 7? Jacobson, Blackadder, Kirifi? All make for a small back row.

I personally think playing Savea at 7 gives them more/better options then the next step is which are the best 6/8 and surely Sititi is there. Then the question is, is he best at 8 then choose a 6, or can he fill that 6 role and there is a better 8 alternative than 6 alternative?

@nostrildamus if they play Ardie at 7, Sotutu could play 8, but if they want Sititi at 8, it means they are likely to play Blackadder at 6, back to the small back row....as much as I don't wish ill on a player, but if Blackadder isn't available, that brings probably both Finau and Parker as options, and getting chances too.

@taniwharugby said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

@nostrildamus if they play Ardie at 7, Sotutu could play 8, but if they want Sititi at 8, it means they are likely to play Blackadder at 6, back to the small back row....as much as I don't wish ill on a player, but if Blackadder isn't available, that brings probably both Finau and Parker as options, and getting chances too.

Yes I'll leave it to all those unbiased Crusader fans to tell me EB is having a stormer run of form but I kind of think - been there, tried that, waited in the hospital waiting room long enough....

@zedsdeadbaby said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

I’m yet to clear my mind of the thinking that Finau is a bit of a flat track bully. But he has the ingredients for sure.

And he’s a penalty magnet. That stood out big time tonight in the second 40.

Finau doesn’t have a place in this discussion after today’s game.

He’s got the size and tools but isn’t ready.

At his age, he shouldn’t be coming to it, so maybe next year.

@gt12 said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

Finau doesn’t have a place in this discussion after today’s game.

He’s got the size and tools but isn’t ready.

At his age, he shouldn’t be coming to it, so maybe next year.

The issue, I feel, was Parker coming off. It forced Finau into the middle and he's just not a great decision maker in that space at the moment. He struggles playing in close connection with his fellow forwards.

@Mauss said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

@gt12 said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

Finau doesn’t have a place in this discussion after today’s game.

He’s got the size and tools but isn’t ready.

At his age, he shouldn’t be coming to it, so maybe next year.

The issue, I feel, was Parker coming off. It forced Finau into the middle and he's just not a great decision maker in that space at the moment. He struggles playing in close connection with his fellow forwards.

Yeah, very little mention of Wrampling having to play loose forward - which is kind of a big deal.

@zedsdeadbaby said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

NZ Rugby currently having trouble finding big bodies - we don’t produce big bodies as a nation naturally and a lot are going to basketball.

It's something that's really noticeable at age grade level as well, for example when playing Australia. They seemingly have this endless pipeline of tall, athletic players in both the backs and forwards, despite the presence of basketball and AFL.

It makes it extra tough when players like Akira Ieremia - a big body with good coordination - leave early to places like Japan.

Clear from this weekend's games that NZ has far too many strong loose forwards for Razor and co to not build a world-class trio. Who knows whether it includes Blackadder or not, but there are no excuses.

6 - Flanders, Howden, Parker
7 - Savea, Blackadder, Jacobson
8 - Sititi, Sotutu

France are bringing over a B-team, the selectors need to try some new things while they still have the opportunity.

So I was rewatching the Chiefs-Blues game and Beehre had an impressive cameo. Not just the massive try at the death but his carrying and cleaning was really good as well. He has nimble feet and seems, to me, to be really mobile around the field.

Looking at his season’s stats before the Chiefs game – 9.7 carries/80, 18 attacking rucks/80 at 82.5%, 16 tackles/80 at 95%, 5.7 defensive rucks hit/80 (Opta); 178 post-contact metres, 11 defenders beaten, 3 line-breaks, 2 tries across the season (RugbyPass) – he seems to get through a decent amount of work in an effective manner.

He also seems to have a bit of a niggly edge about him and thrives in the close quarters. So a bit of an enforcer with a solid lineout game, dynamic mobility and a high volume of defensive involvements.

Perhaps this is a bit of a strange one but: Beehre as a bolter for the blindside position?

I think it could work at Test level (I’d keep him at lock for Super Rugby). If the selectors do go in the direction of a bigger body at blindside, I think he could be an intriguing option.

Don't think they'll go anywhere near Beehre as a Blindside option but I was tipping him as a second row bolter earlier in the year. He's probably not going to make the first selection unless there are injuries to a couple of the other more senior guys, but he's there or thereabouts.

@Mauss I thought he was superb for the Blues off the bench today.

@reprobate said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

@Mauss said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

@gt12 said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

Finau doesn’t have a place in this discussion after today’s game.

He’s got the size and tools but isn’t ready.

At his age, he shouldn’t be coming to it, so maybe next year.

The issue, I feel, was Parker coming off. It forced Finau into the middle and he's just not a great decision maker in that space at the moment. He struggles playing in close connection with his fellow forwards.

Yeah, very little mention of Wrampling having to play loose forward - which is kind of a big deal.

Wrampling was the Chiefs best player.

@Mauss

Beehre is a real workhorse and I'm a fan of his.

I do have sympathy for your idea about having a bigger player at six - a Kaino sized player at least.

The thing about the bigger options you mentioned is that none of them are as big as PsTD. And none of him are close to having the same engine. Probably only Finau is as dynamic too.

When Scott Barrett first started playing Super Rugby he would have been 5kg lighter and he had a lot more pace. IMO he could have been a world class blindside if he was developed there. He's been very good at a lock at times but its tough to say he has been world class.

The thing is Razor played him at lock and apart from maybe 1 or 2 games never seemed to entertain the idea of playing him at blindside. Instead Razor has gone for much smaller, lighter guys who are jack of all trades type guys - at 6. I think the biggest guy he's played at 6 for the Crusaders was probably Cullen Grace? So I'd be surprised if Razor ends up going with a bigger style blindside.

@brodean said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

The thing is Razor played him at lock and apart from maybe 1 or 2 games never seemed to entertain the idea of playing him at blindside. Instead Razor has gone for much smaller, lighter guys who are jack of all trades type guys - at 6. I think the biggest guy he's played at 6 for the Crusaders was probably Cullen Grace? So I'd be surprised if Razor ends up going with a bigger style blindside.

Of course, all of this is just hypothetical. And you make a good point about Razor's previous selection tendencies.

For what it's worth - I don't think coaching selection is ever set in stone, but let's set that aside for now - Razor did select bigger blindsides once, as head coach of the NZ U20s in 2015 and '16. He picked guys like Mitchell Dunshea (SR lock), James Blackwell (SR lock), and Fin Hoeata (NPC lock) at blindside for certain games during those tournaments, so I guess there's some precedent. Not a lot, though.

But we'll see what they'll do soon enough. Let's just say, I won't be particularly shocked if he picks Blackadder as his blindside against France.

@brodean said in AB Blindside - past, present & future:

Cullen Grace

Absolute dog shit player. Best thing about Crusaders shit 2024 was that morons like TJ finally stopped talking him up as an AB.