British & Irish Lions vs Japan

[big ginger 8]

I think I was the first one to mention Kruis in the last while and I'm definitely not a bitter English fan.

I certainly hope you're right about life in Japan as Marx, Mostert, Kriel, Smith and Le Roux will certainly be a lot less threatening coming off a bender. Or RG Snyman not having played any rugby since August.

 

[ncurd]

So we've moved on from outlier view number 1 of Kruis, who's been hitting the sake bars out in Japan for the last year, should've been called up ahead of beard onto now outlier view number 2 that him and Launchbury should've been picked ahead of AWJ. Lol. You couldn't make it up.

I'd like to point remember 4 years ago when its the only time some Welsh players have beaten NZ in living memory. The score at 58 mins despite playing 14 men was 18-3, the legend that is AWJ gets subbed off....Kruis and Itoje play together 59th min Falatau scores the rest is hotory. The only time in the entire tour we were equal on points with him on pitch was either at 0-0 or when he came on for Warburton's HIA, the ABs went back into the lead 1 min after he came back on....we got back level after he came off.

 

[Welsh Exile]

AWJ couldn't last 9mins vs the Japanese, Kruis made it a whole season

I could do a season of slamming sake shots down me. Piece of ****.

 

[ncurd]

Hoenstly its quite an amazing stat AWJ that tour was almost the inverse Richard Hill.....we never won whilst he was on the pitch.

 

[Welsh Exile]

Yeah ok mate. You win. AWJ is a fraud. Never should've toured. Should've dragged Kruis out of the bar and got him in. Launchbury would've done the biz. Such a world class player. The South Africans really fear that English pack as well so I think you're right.

I think matey boy was right yesterday. We don't need experts. We need more people like you giving input and offering your wealth of knowledge on the game.

I mean, have any of you. Any of you at all even seen 5 minutes of Kruis playing out in Japan?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Hoenstly its quite an amazing stat AWJ that tour was almost the inverse Richard Hill.....we never won whilst he was on the pitch.

0-0 until he left the pitch on the weekend

Yeah ok mate. You win. AWJ is a fraud. Never should've toured. Should've dragged Kruis out of the bar and got him in. Launchbury would've done the biz. Such a world class player. The South Africans really fear that English pack as well so I think you're right.

I think matey boy was right yesterday. We don't need experts. We need more people like you giving input and offering your wealth of knowledge on the game.

I mean, have any of you. Any of you at all even seen 5 minutes of Kruis playing out in Japan?

You're confusing "should be in contention for a callup considering all the injuries" with "should be starting"

 

[Welsh Exile]

0-0 until he left the pitch on the weekend


You're confusing "should be in contention for a callup considering all the injuries" with "should be starting"

No I'm not mate. Do try and keep up and follow the conversation. Matey boy said if they were fit and in the squad then you'd be hard pushed (unless you're Welsh of course) to justify putting AWJ in the team ahead of Gray, Launchbury or Kruis.

 

[ncurd]

No I'm not mate. Do try and keep up and follow the conversation. Matey boy said if they were fit and in the squad then you'd be hard pushed (unless you're Welsh of course) to justify putting AWJ in the team ahead of Gray, Launchbury or Kruis.

I did and stand by that and by fit I mean Kruis playing in the premiership and international rugby thats why I said fully match fit.

 

[Welsh Exile]

I did and stand by that and by fit I mean Kruis playing in the premiership and international rugby thats why I said fully match fit.

Ohhhhhh, moving the goal posts now are we. Lol.

Which makes this point even more ridiculous.

 

[ncurd]

Ohhhhhh, moving the goal posts now are we. Lol.

Which makes this point even more ridiculous.

I didn't move the goals posts yesterday you were arguing he wasn't fully match fit and nobody disagreed with you just that his coaling is way higher than Beard's and we'd back him to possibly get above Beard's level by then but probably wouldn't pick him. But we besmirched a Welsh player and you want to belive were all saying things which we haven't.

 

[Welsh Exile]

I'm definitely interested in hearing how Kruis has been playing out in Japan. I'm assuming all you Kruis advocates have been watching all his games. It's not like you'd have this strong feeling about it without having watched him play for the last year.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

Playing in Japan > Playing for Ospreys in the Pro 14. Just saying. Kruis is in a team coached by Robbie Deans, who had plenty of success with NZ teams and has proven ability. AWJ is a 6 nations only player. He's mediocre at club level and often been shown up outside the 6N. Also at his height, the Kruis and Itoje partnership easily beat AWJ and went on the get a world equalling winning streak, including things like whitewashing Aus (which Wales never achieved).

 

[Not Mike Brown's Sock]

I'm definitely interested in hearing how Kruis has been playing out in Japan. I'm assuming all you Kruis advocates have been watching all his games. It's not like you'd have this strong feeling about it without having watched him play for the last year.

Having not watched top league personally, but reading a couple of articles about his evolution (I believe it was Rugby World and I can't remember the other one) they seemed to suggest that he had added a whole new dynamic, running and offloading aspect to his game that wasn't really there before and dropped a load of weight.

I'm not saying that's justification for him being better than AWJ, but when he was playing for Sarries I would have said he was a fair chunk better than AWJ, and if he's still near that level + having added a new aspect of his game in his 8 months in Japan I'd back him to be better than AWJ still.

 

[Welsh Exile]

Having not watched top league personally, but reading a couple of articles about his evolution (I believe it was Rugby World and I can't remember the other one) they seemed to suggest that he had added a whole new dynamic, running and offloading aspect to his game that wasn't really there before and dropped a load of weight.

I'm not saying that's justification for him being better than AWJ, but when he was playing for Sarries I would have said he was a fair chunk better than AWJ, and if he's still near that level + having added a new aspect of his game in his 8 months in Japan I'd back him to be better than AWJ still.

That's a long winded way of saying "No I haven't seen him at all so don't have a clue"

 

[Welsh Exile]

Playing in Japan > Playing for Ospreys in the Pro 14. Just saying. Kruis is in a team coached by Robbie Deans, who had plenty of success with NZ teams and has proven ability. AWJ is a 6 nations only player. He's mediocre at club level and often been shown up outside the 6N.

That's another no from another expert. Anyone actually seen him play or are we just saying he should be in contention (or test team if you're mad) without having seen a single minute from him?

 

[Not Mike Brown's Sock]

That's a long winded way of saying "No I haven't seen him at all so don't have a clue"

But as I said - he was better than AWJ when he left 8 months ago, so is probably still better now.

 

[Welsh Exile]

But as I said - he was better than AWJ when he left 8 months ago, so is probably still better now.

Wow. Ok buddy.

 

[Welsh Exile]

I'm surprised none of you lads have coached professionally. You seem to have a good grip on a coaches mindset.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

That's another no from another expert. Anyone actually seen him play or are we just saying he should be in contention (or test team if you're mad) without having seen a single minute from him?

I've never met a Welshman more up AWJs backside than you tbh... Kruis was better than AWJ before he left and you want to argue that after being coached by a coach with a proven pedigree that he will come back worse than St Whinge who himself has been mediocre for Ospreys and whose whole claim is from being in the team that got the jammiest 6N win in history. Yeah ok...

We may not have seen Kruis in the last 8 months but we have seen St Whinge and nothing about what we have seen suggests he is better than Kruis was or likely is.

 

[Groundhog]

Don't really care about the wider Kruis v AWJ argument, but the idea that Top League is a bum retirement league is not the case, its a high tempo style of play with a lot of offloading and keeping the ball alive and the level of fitness required is pretty high. Saffas definitely have no reserves about picking Japan based lads. Kruis (who I don't have an opinion on really) is definitely going to be fitter than RG who is still going to be rehabbed with the Boks when he gets home for example.