All Black Watch - Week 3

[donmcdazzle]

Neither would be too huge of a loss really. Not ideal for our depth but if either of them were our first choice 7, then that isn't a good situation for the AB's.

 

[Darwin]

I wouldn't be too worried about losing Todd, but I feel Braid is very underrated, and could develop into a very good test player. He has really improved his work at the breakdown over the last year or so, carries the ball well, and is a reliable defender - I thought he was pretty inspirational against the Crusaders last weekend. I'm picking him to have a massive Super Rugby season. Obviously he no Ritchie McCaw, but who is

 

[Aedaphon]

I wouldn't be too worried about losing Todd, but I feel Braid is very underrated, and could develop into a very good test player. He has really improved his work at the breakdown over the last year or so, carries the ball well, and is a reliable defender - I thought he was pretty inspirational against the Crusaders last weekend. I'm picking him to have a massive Super Rugby season. Obviously he no Ritchie McCaw, but who is

But he's in his 30s... May well develop into a great test player but why play him when Sam Cane is waiting in the wings and shows just about as much potential as a test-level openside?

 

[Darwin]

But he's in his 30s... May well develop into a great test player but why play him when Sam Cane is waiting in the wings and shows just about as much potential as a test-level openside?

You have you Braids mixed up. Dan Braid is in his 30s and plays for Sale. Luke is his more talented younger brother (he is 24) who still plays for the Blues.

 

[Aedaphon]

You have you Braids mixed up. Dan Braid is in his 30s and plays for Sale. Luke is his more talented younger brother (he is 24) who still plays for the Blues.

As soon as I wrote that I knew something was wrong. I blame the pain meds post surgery <_<

 

[Darwin]

As soon as I wrote that I knew something was wrong. I blame the pain meds post surgery <_<

Fair enough Hope you are recovering well!

 

[austingtir]

Looks to me like the AB selectors are going to be left with a vastly improved and confident weepu and most likely kerr barlow as halfbacks this year.

Aaron smith is **** i dont rate him a chance at wearing a AB jersey again. Looks like a possum in the headlights behind that highlanders pack just like in the test against England.

 

[Darwin]

Looks to me like the AB selectors are going to be left with a vastly improved and confident weepu and most likely kerr barlow as halfbacks this year.

Aaron smith is **** i dont rate him a chance at wearing a AB jersey again. Looks like a possum in the headlights behind that highlanders pack just like in the test against England.

Did you miss his performances for the Highlanders and All Blacks last season? When he is firing he brings a whole new dimension to the All Blacks backline. Consistency was certainly an issue, but he has some standout performances for the All Blacks last year - I'm sure the AB's selectors won't get rid of him because he had a couple of poor matches. He hasn't stood out for the Highlanders this season (behind a beaten pack in both matches), but has hardly been poor. If/when the Highlanders pack gets on top again I expect he will see the best out of him...

Kerr-Barlow is probably more inconsistent than Smith, and though Weepu looks better this season his clearance is still very slow. I'm hoping Perenara re-discovers last seasons form, as he looks the most promising of the lot..

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

I don't think Kerr-Barlow has any problems with consistency any more (no more than any other player, anyway). It was definitely a problem for him earlier in his career, but that was mainly when he was an impact sub and often tried to do a bit too much.

 

[Darwin]

I don't think Kerr-Barlow has any problems with consistency any more (no more than any other player, anyway). It was definitely a problem for him earlier in his career, but that was mainly when he was an impact sub and often tried to do a bit too much.

He has certainly improved his consistency, but I still think he is a bit inconsistent. He started to string together a number of strong performances towards the end of last years Super Rugby season, but looked like he regressed during the ITM Cup. When he concentrates on doing the basics he is a very handy player though...

 

[William18]

Looks to me like the AB selectors are going to be left with a vastly improved and confident weepu and most likely kerr barlow as halfbacks this year.

Aaron smith is **** i dont rate him a chance at wearing a AB jersey again. Looks like a possum in the headlights behind that highlanders pack just like in the test against England.

This is so ridiculous. Smith revolutionized the way our backline played. He had some bad performances last year but far more good ones.

 

[austingtir]

Did you miss his performances for the Highlanders and All Blacks last season? When he is firing he brings a whole new dimension to the All Blacks backline. Consistency was certainly an issue, but he has some standout performances for the All Blacks last year - I'm sure the AB's selectors won't get rid of him because he had a couple of poor matches. He hasn't stood out for the Highlanders this season (behind a beaten pack in both matches), but has hardly been poor. If/when the Highlanders pack gets on top again I expect he will see the best out of him...

Kerr-Barlow is probably more inconsistent than Smith, and though Weepu looks better this season his clearance is still very slow. I'm hoping Perenara re-discovers last seasons form, as he looks the most promising of the lot..

Of course but you must admit the other teams were pretty rubbish until we played England they had read us like a book and showed all the flaws. SA and the aussies would of taken notes from that game.

I feel like when the forwards are on the back foot Smith is more of a hinderance than a help. The AB's will not get games like they did last year the other teams will be far better. I wouldnt even risk him this year.

All he has is a good clearance..... thats it there is no redeeming factors to the rest of his game and he looked totally out of his depth against england and again tonight.

Kerr Barlow is more worthwhile to develop even with the holes in his game.
Weepu brings other skills and experience that the other halfs obvoiusly dont have.

 

[austingtir]

This is so ridiculous. Smith revolutionized the way our backline played. He had some bad performances last year but far more good ones.

For 1 season playing like that doesnt work for long. I honestly think this season isnt going to get any better for him.

 

[donmcdazzle]

For 1 season playing like that doesnt work for long. I honestly think this season isnt going to get any better for him.

Weepu is hopeless I hope he never gets another sniff. He is in slow motion, and is still fat. All of our team got exposed against England, doesn't mean you bin the whole lot of them.

and having a fast clearance is the most important thing for a halfback, option taking would be the second most. Smith is the best hands down at clearing the pill, and his option taking is better than tkb and tj at this point.

 

[austingtir]

Weepu is hopeless I hope he never gets another sniff. He is in slow motion, and is still fat. All of our team got exposed against England, doesn't mean you bin the whole lot of them.

and having a fast clearance is the most important thing for a halfback, option taking would be the second most. Smith is the best hands down at clearing the pill, and his option taking is better than tkb and tj at this point.

I dont like Weepu either but he's the only obvious choice once you rule out smith.

All of our other halfbacks cant box kick for crap which is hugely important at super15 and test level.

 

[Aedaphon]

I dont like Weepu either but he's the only obvious choice once you rule out smith.

All of our other halfbacks cant box kick for crap which is hugely important at super15 and test level.

Kerr-Barlow and Perenara are coming through... Give it a couple of years and the ABs will have a comfortable set of choices.

 

[Darwin]

Of course but you must admit the other teams were pretty rubbish until we played England they had read us like a book and showed all the flaws. SA and the aussies would of taken notes from that game.

I feel like when the forwards are on the back foot Smith is more of a hinderance than a help. The AB's will not get games like they did last year the other teams will be far better. I wouldnt even risk him this year.

All he has is a good clearance..... thats it there is no redeeming factors to the rest of his game and he looked totally out of his depth against england and again tonight.

Kerr Barlow is more worthwhile to develop even with the holes in his game.
Weepu brings other skills and experience that the other halfs obvoiusly dont have.

There is no denying Smith had a bad game against England. So did the rest of the team! If Weepu had started against England I don't think the result would have been any different. I do agree that the AB's game-plan was rather predictable last season, but that wasn't because of Smith. Indeed we often got away with a predictable game-plan because of Smith's brilliant passing - the opposition knew exactly what we had planned, but because we got the ball out so quickly they weren't able to stop us! One of the reasons the opposition teams were apparently 'poor' last season was the speed at which Smith delivered the ball to the backline.....

Smith does still need to work on varying his game, and his box-kicking is still a work in progress. Because he lacks the variation in his game he can struggle a bit when his forwards are on the back foot. Weepu may be slightly better in these sort of games, but why would the AB's pick a halfback on the assumption that our forward pack will be dominated? I could understand the Aussie picking a halfback like this, but we gain dominance or parity in 90% of games. In games like this there is no other halfback in the country I would rather have, as he brings a dimension to the All Blacks backline we haven't seen in years. I don't think there is any coincidence that our wings starter scoring tries again last season....

I think you are completely underestimating Smith. Not only is he the best passing halfback in the country (if not the world), he is a dangerous runner around the base, and a pretty reliable defender (despite his lack of size). I'm curious, what was so bad about his game versus the Cheetahs? I can't recall him making many (if any?) mistakes, his passing was accurate, and I don't recall him missing a tackle. He didn't make any breaks with ball in hand, but the Cheetahs were all over the Highlanders around the fringes. I thought it was a pretty solid display by Smith.

I don't rate Weepu at all - why you would want a halback that slows down any quick ball the forwards produce is beyond me. Both Kerr-Barlow and Perenara are phenomenally talented, while Andy Ellis is still playing good rugby for the Crusaders. Though he will never be a great All Black he actually did a good job for us in 2011 (he was easily the pick of our halfbacks that season).

 

[austingtir]

There is no denying Smith had a bad game against England. So did the rest of the team! If Weepu had started against England I don't think the result would have been any different. I do agree that the AB's game-plan was rather predictable last season, but that wasn't because of Smith. Indeed we often got away with a predictable game-plan because of Smith's brilliant passing - the opposition knew exactly what we had planned, but because we got the ball out so quickly they weren't able to stop us! One of the reasons the opposition teams were apparently 'poor' last season was the speed at which Smith delivered the ball to the backline.....

Smith does still need to work on varying his game, and his box-kicking is still a work in progress. Because he lacks the variation in his game he can struggle a bit when his forwards are on the back foot. Weepu may be slightly better in these sort of games, but why would the AB's pick a halfback on the assumption that our forward pack will be dominated? I could understand the Aussie picking a halfback like this, but we gain dominance or parity in 90% of games. In games like this there is no other halfback in the country I would rather have, as he brings a dimension to the All Blacks backline we haven't seen in years. I don't think there is any coincidence that our wings starter scoring tries again last season....

I think you are completely underestimating Smith. Not only is he the best passing halfback in the country (if not the world), he is a dangerous runner around the base, and a pretty reliable defender (despite his lack of size). I'm curious, what was so bad about his game versus the Cheetahs? I can't recall him making many (if any?) mistakes, his passing was accurate, and I don't recall him missing a tackle. He didn't make any breaks with ball in hand, but the Cheetahs were all over the Highlanders around the fringes. I thought it was a pretty solid display by Smith.

I don't rate Weepu at all - why you would want a halback that slows down any quick ball the forwards produce is beyond me. Both Kerr-Barlow and Perenara are phenomenally talented, while Andy Ellis is still playing good rugby for the Crusaders. Though he will never be a great All Black he actually did a good job for us in 2011 (he was easily the pick of our halfbacks that season).

Smith cant box kick for crap and that is a huge flaw in his game you have to have it for an AB 9 it puts alot of pressure on the rest of the team as the highlanders found out with their compounding errors last tonight. And Weepu was excellent for the blues this afternoon.

This game against the cheetas proved my point just because smith is running around like headless chook throwing lightning passes out to anyone going in the right direction doesnt mean its good.

 

[Darwin]

Smith cant box kick for crap and that is a huge flaw in his game you have to have it for an AB 9 it puts alot of pressure on the rest of the team as the highlanders found out with their compounding errors last tonight. And Weepu was excellent for the blues this afternoon.

Box-kicking is certainly a weakness in Smith's game (probably the only major one). He has made some improvements in this area, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. He actually kicks the ball very well, he just needs to learn when to use it (he either uses all the time, or not at all), and how far to kick (he often over-kicks, leaving his chasing players no chance to compete). However Smith's lacks of a quality box-kicking game had nothing to do with the Highlanders struggling last night. The Highlanders had plenty of territory, the just continued to make basic errors in the backline. He delivered good ball to the backs throughout the match - the fact they were unable to do anything with it was hardly his fault!

Weepu played ok for the Blues, but no better than Smith. His clearance has sped up a bit, but it is still painfully slow at times.

This game against the cheetas proved my point just because smith is running around like headless chook throwing lightning passes out to anyone going in the right direction doesnt mean its good.

??? I didn't see him playing like a headless chook at all. He simply delivered quick (and accurate) ball to his backline (and forward runners) which is exactly what you want your halfback to do!

I suppose it comes down to what you want out of your halfback. If you have the premier backline in world rugby I think the best decision if to deliver them fast ball to work with, therefore having a halfback with a superb passing game makes sense to me.

 

[Larksea]

I'm actually starting to think that this may be a bad year for the AB's, and that may not be a bad thing in the long run. Not as bad as having a bad year on a world cup year!

Reasons: Crusaders look fairly average
Kieran Read Looks a bit tired and stressed, he has taken a lot on his shoulders as the Crusaders captain and star player.
McCaw wont be around for much of this year and we simply can't rely on him coming back and fixing everything if we have problems.
Front Row I think could be a problem. Hore and Mealamu are getting pretty old. Woodcock is in a similar boat, I thought Toby Smith was a ready made test loosehead but for some reason he can't even get a start for the chiefs. Owen Franks Doesn't look his best.
No Kahui, no SBW, no conrad smith, no Ellison, no Jane

Keys for success, this year and going forward.

Ben Smith - nuf said he should be starting tests week in and week out for the All Blacks at either 13 or 14.
Young Talent at 1 & 2 and midfield.
Owen Franks and Charlie Faumuina to find form.
Kieran Read to get a bit of rest at some stage so he is in better shape come test footy time.
Savea to continue his dramatic rise to basically be the best winger in the world.
Charles Piutau 2013 All Black?