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Rugby Union
Mitre 10 Cup
ITM Cup - Round 1
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<blockquote data-quote="Darwin" data-source="post: 522301" data-attributes="member: 24910"><p>Just back from the Otago match, and I have to say that was one of the best matches I've been to in a long time. The atmosphere at the stadium was great, it was great to have all the players in their club socks too, as it really epitomized the Otago team culture this season. Both teams played pretty expansive rugby (if a little sloppy at times), and the fact we won probably helped too <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /></p><p></p><p>Overall Otago will be very happy with the 5 points, but they have plenty of areas to work on. Our Scrums and lineouts were both very poor. Scrums remain a major concern for me, as we were out scrummaged by Northland, who have a pretty average scrum themselves. The lineout throwing was also very poor (from both out hookers), so is another area that they need to do a lot of work in. I was really impressed with the work of Rob Verbakel, who has added some real physicality to his play in last season - his time away in Glasgow obviously was beneficial. Thomson was pretty quiet I thought, but did get a crucial lineout steal or two, while Evans and Grant were both very solid. I remain unconvinced about Ioane though - he is a very powerful ball runner, but he still loses the ball a lot in contact, and misses far too many tackles - I'm starting to wonder if he is better as a impact player off he bench (as he was used so effectively last season).</p><p></p><p>I don't want Ben Smith to get jealous, but I'm becoming a massive fan of Tanaka. His defense around the base of the breakdown is a bit of a concern, but his distribution is superb, and you can't question his courage - at one stage he tried to rip the ball out of the opposition players hands when he was 4 foot in the air and upside down! Hayden Parker had an excellent match - he controlled the game well, ran well when required, and his goal-kicking was superb - I still worry a bit about his defense though. Ellison did a good job of straightening the attack in midfield, while I thought our entire back three all played very well. I wasn't initially convinced with picking Spence on the wing (he is usually a midfielder), but he did a great job - he was solid under the high ball, chased kicks well, and was very physical in both attack and defense. Popoali'i was electric again - Otago rely so heavily on him to provide them spark, and he delivers every week. I was impressed with Ensor at fullback too (on his ITM Cup debut). He is a very elusive runner, and has a good kicking game, but still needs to do some work on his decision making.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Darwin, post: 522301, member: 24910"] Just back from the Otago match, and I have to say that was one of the best matches I've been to in a long time. The atmosphere at the stadium was great, it was great to have all the players in their club socks too, as it really epitomized the Otago team culture this season. Both teams played pretty expansive rugby (if a little sloppy at times), and the fact we won probably helped too ;) Overall Otago will be very happy with the 5 points, but they have plenty of areas to work on. Our Scrums and lineouts were both very poor. Scrums remain a major concern for me, as we were out scrummaged by Northland, who have a pretty average scrum themselves. The lineout throwing was also very poor (from both out hookers), so is another area that they need to do a lot of work in. I was really impressed with the work of Rob Verbakel, who has added some real physicality to his play in last season - his time away in Glasgow obviously was beneficial. Thomson was pretty quiet I thought, but did get a crucial lineout steal or two, while Evans and Grant were both very solid. I remain unconvinced about Ioane though - he is a very powerful ball runner, but he still loses the ball a lot in contact, and misses far too many tackles - I'm starting to wonder if he is better as a impact player off he bench (as he was used so effectively last season). I don't want Ben Smith to get jealous, but I'm becoming a massive fan of Tanaka. His defense around the base of the breakdown is a bit of a concern, but his distribution is superb, and you can't question his courage - at one stage he tried to rip the ball out of the opposition players hands when he was 4 foot in the air and upside down! Hayden Parker had an excellent match - he controlled the game well, ran well when required, and his goal-kicking was superb - I still worry a bit about his defense though. Ellison did a good job of straightening the attack in midfield, while I thought our entire back three all played very well. I wasn't initially convinced with picking Spence on the wing (he is usually a midfielder), but he did a great job - he was solid under the high ball, chased kicks well, and was very physical in both attack and defense. Popoali'i was electric again - Otago rely so heavily on him to provide them spark, and he delivers every week. I was impressed with Ensor at fullback too (on his ITM Cup debut). He is a very elusive runner, and has a good kicking game, but still needs to do some work on his decision making. [/QUOTE]
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