All Blacks' centre pairing...

[ranger]

I'm not convinced Cruden starting will really help the Canes, as goal-kicking aside Kirkpatrick has been pretty solid, while Cruden has been pretty poor when he's come on. To be honest though unless the Canes sort their forward pack out (and manage to get some quality ball to the backline) I don't think it's going to matter who plays at first-five!

I think the canes desperately need Cruden back in there. They have always had a loose and soft forward pack but the backs have been able to work with it in the past, largely due to the attack from anywhere gameplan. The main problem i have with Kirkpatrick in this regard is that he doesn't really threaten the defense, you can really afford to drift off this guy, couple that with the pedestrian running game of both Keats and Eaton and you have one stagnant backline from the get go. With 9 and 10 not drawing defenders in, all they are doing is congesting the midfield and leaving Nonu and Smith with no holes or seams to work with. They are great attackers but the opposition can afford to mark them out of the match.
Cruden has his flaws but one thing he can do is run the football.

I really can't see the advantage of sticking with Kirkpatrick, or even selecting him for the entire squad in the first place. On the subject of dodgy appointments, whose idea was it to give Hammett the job anyway? I thought i guy like Dave Rennie would be a better bet than a recently retired player from another cachement who has never been a head coach before..

 

[Sam Owen]

Bro it look llike Ma'a just slipped off him going around the legs,the only thing Ma'a did wrong was the miss tackle but most guys would of got beaten by Oliver that close.People have to remember Nonu is playing behind a crap 1st five and a under power forward pack if Nonu was in the Crusaders and SBW was in the Canes im sure the story would be different.Nonu plays better when Carter is at 1st five for the All Blacks.

Yeah true that, attack wise, its always uplifting playing alongside DC and yes Olivier is quite a strong line breaker at times. However Ma'as defence can be a little suspect at times not all the time, the good thing is Im sure Ma'a would have learnt from it, Im sure its crossed his mind today and he'll be better off from it.

 

[Bossco]

Wonder how much a prospective semi with the Boks is going to play on selections especially the back three. If they are going to regress back into that box kick/territorial/pressure style game, can't see them wanting anyone who hasn't been fully tested under the high ball.

 

[nickdnz]

I think the canes desperately need Cruden back in there. They have always had a loose and soft forward pack but the backs have been able to work with it in the past, largely due to the attack from anywhere gameplan. The main problem i have with Kirkpatrick in this regard is that he doesn't really threaten the defense, you can really afford to drift off this guy, couple that with the pedestrian running game of both Keats and Eaton and you have one stagnant backline from the get go. With 9 and 10 not drawing defenders in, all they are doing is congesting the midfield and leaving Nonu and Smith with no holes or seams to work with. They are great attackers but the opposition can afford to mark them out of the match.
Cruden has his flaws but one thing he can do is run the football.

I really can't see the advantage of sticking with Kirkpatrick, or even selecting him for the entire squad in the first place. On the subject of dodgy appointments, whose idea was it to give Hammett the job anyway? I thought i guy like Dave Rennie would be a better bet than a recently retired player from another cachement who has never been a head coach before..

I agree that Cruden needs to start again. The problem with the Canes, is that they've always been a very hit or miss team, and Cruden fits right into that. He'll either have a blinder in terms of his running game, or he'll be pretty average. But with Kirkpatrick, he is just miss. His running game is almost non-exsistant, and his play making just isn't up to scratch. Meanwhile he's destroying Cruden's chances for a RWC, which would only help him as a player for the future.

In terms of Hammet being selected, I can see where they were coming from. It was a knee jerk reaction to Rod McQueen saying he wanted Hammet as his second in command, and they were willing to offer a bit of money for it, so in a bid to keep him in NZ they gave him the Canes job, with the thiking that if they added more structure to the Canes, they would improve. With that in mind, it is ludacris that Rennie was not given the job. There is no more deserving coach in the world than him and in honesty, I think the Canes' style of play would only improve with him.

 

[d1e1m]

While the Canes certainly do need Cruden to offset the average game of Kirkpatrick, he hasn't developed far enough to get back into the AB setup and the worst thing that could happen to him is to rush him back into any pressure situation. And the Canes really need some steel in that forward pack because even with their attack from anywhere style, they're only getting pushed back and pinned down everywhere on the field. It wasn't long ago that they had both Waldroms, Collins, Masoe (yes i know thats been a few years, but they had Mike Patterson and Scotty Waldrom with them last year) that at least ensured they were competitive at the breakdown. Maybe it's just that they're severely underperforming and playing very individualistically, regardless its sad watching a team that was a perennial contender just fall apart game after game.

On-topic, on this form, SBW looks miles better than Ma'a in every aspect of the game. While with Ma'a, you need to commit one or 2 defensively strong players most of the time, SBW requires at least 3 or 4 because the Saders don't just send 1 man running a line next to him, they send 2 or 3 (Guilford, Carter + Dagg or Maitland or Freuan) and he will find that open man 9/10 with very little risk of interception in the way he throws that flat and/or quick ball out right as the runner reaches him.

I've always maintained that the only credible litmus test for a prospective AB center is how they deal with the Stormers midfield of JdV, Fourie and De Jongh because I think that forms the strongest defensive mid in world rugby. Sure they're not going to bring offensive XFactor except for JdV snipes and fends but these men are not too far behind Conrad SMith in terms of discipline and defensive capability. If a NZ center can beat them, he can beat anybody.

edited: stupid spelling and grammar rules

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

I agree that Cruden needs to start again. The problem with the Canes, is that they've always been a very hit or miss team, and Cruden fits right into that. He'll either have a blinder in terms of his running game, or he'll be pretty average. But with Kirkpatrick, he is just miss. His running game is almost non-exsistant, and his play making just isn't up to scratch. Meanwhile he's destroying Cruden's chances for a RWC, which would only help him as a player for the future.

In terms of Hammet being selected, I can see where they were coming from. It was a knee jerk reaction to Rod McQueen saying he wanted Hammet as his second in command, and they were willing to offer a bit of money for it, so in a bid to keep him in NZ they gave him the Canes job, with the thiking that if they added more structure to the Canes, they would improve. With that in mind, it is ludacris that Rennie was not given the job. There is no more deserving coach in the world than him and in honesty, I think the Canes' style of play would only improve with him.

Rennie didn't apply...

 

[Icemn]

9. Cowan
10. Carter
11. Ranger
12. SBW
13. Smith
14. Maitland
15. Jane

One hell of a backline...

Still Early days....what about Toeava???? he is world class this year!!! what about ranger? Jane is off form so is Nonu....what about Gear???

McAlister is also not bad, but i want him to be 2nd/backup flyhalf for the world cup....

Rocokako is also playing a good game....Poki is not bad....AND HOW CAN YOU GUYS FORGET DAGG :O and what about Guilford???