Maori All Blacks vs Fiji July 11th 2015

[Regan]

NZ Maori: 1. Joe Moody, 2. Ash Dixon, 3. Ben May, 4. Jacob Skeen, 5. Hayden Triggs, 6. Akira Ioane, 7. Mitchell Crosswell, 8. Blade Thomson, 9. Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 10. Marty McKenzie, 11. Kurt Baker, 12. Charlie Ngatai, 13. Matt Proctor, 14. Rieko Ioane, 15. Damian McKenzie.
Reserves: 16. Quentin MacDonald, 17. Brendon Edmonds, 18. Josh Hohneck, 19. Heiden Bedwell-Curtis, 20. Elliot Dixon, 21. Jamison Gibson-Park, 22. Otere Black, 23. Jason Emery



vs


Fiji TBA



Pretty excited about this game tbh. Interested to see how Proctor goes at centre - personally not a position I like him at but I'd suspect he'll probably get played there for the Canes next season so I hope he excels. Nice to see Ngatai is playing in this one too after his short debut yesterday. Not a bad squad even if I say so myself.

 

[Kiwi_]

Wonder why Fiji don't try and call up Patrick Osborne? Nadolo and Osborne on the wings would be something..

Also is James Lowe injured again? Kurt Baker barely got a sniff for us in the Super 15, surprised to see him in the starting line up. Surely Lowe should have got that spot..

 

[Regan]

Wonder why Fiji don't try and call up Patrick Osborne? Nadolo and Osborne on the wings would be something..

Also is James Lowe injured again? Kurt Baker barely got a sniff for us in the Super 15, surprised to see him in the starting line up. Surely Lowe should have got that spot..

Yeah Lowe's injured. He's having surgery and will be out for the ITM Cup as well.

 

[Kiwi_]

Damn..the National anthems are terrible and where's the crowd?

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Wow, great try from Fiji!

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TKB is looking solid, a lot better than Ellis (that's not hard), which is good news. Marty McKenzie reminds me of Kurtly Beale, best player on the park one minute, the worst the next. Needs to find some consistency to his game, he is young, so hopefully it comes with age.

Fijians make that group A even harder.

 

[Regan]

8-3 now, let's go NZ. Fiji not looking too bad.

 

[Kiwi_]

Nice try for Ioane, I swear he's gotten bigger.

Man it's odd seeing Nadolo goal kicking. He's such a big guy had no idea he was such a decent place kicker.

 

[Regan]

Nice try for Ioane, I swear he's gotten bigger.

Man it's odd seeing Nadolo goal kicking. He's such a big guy had no idea he was such a decent place kicker.

Haha yeah. Definitely going to be a star for Fiji come RWC time.

 

[Kiwi_]

Haha yeah. Definitely going to be a star for Fiji come RWC time.

Hope he's not injured too badly. They're playing well. The Maori team is definitely looking like a bunch of blokes thrown together for a Sunday game.

Gotta say, I've always had a hard time rating Marty McKenzie and this game is confirming why.

Only good thing I can say about this Maori team is TKB looks good.

26-10 HT and looks like Fiji will go on to score more.

 

[Regan]

Yeah can't see us winning this one tbh. Probably no surprise given the lacklustre nature of the side.

 

[bazwaz]

Anyone got a live stream / live blog ...can't find anything

Was ridiculous odds for this game $15 for Fiji to win by 8 or more...at home with their team of Sevens Stars , Super XV and NH stars...

 

[Kiwi_]

Yeah can't see us winning this one tbh. Probably no surprise given the lacklustre nature of the side.

Yeah, the Highlander guys were keen for a rest after the SR final. It's a bridge too far for them.

 

[bazwaz]

OK anyone know who scored the first try?..

 

[nik]

https://www.facebook.com/fijirugby?sk=wall

Live blog

 

[Regan]

Yeah, the Highlander guys were keen for a rest after the SR final. It's a bridge too far for them.

Yeah. I can't see them beating the NZ Barbarians side which has just been announced.

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This is better, game on now.

 

[bazwaz]

Volavola is the new Crusaders standoff..did Murimurivalu get injured?

..btw thanks nik ...cheers mate

 

[Kiwi_]

Wow! What a game.. As I mentioned earlier, Kurt Baker hasn't played enough Rugby to get a start. Proctor out on the wing is much better.

Maori team starting to look a lot better and you could say they deserve to win.

Fiji aren't much without Nadolo.

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Hohneck came on and had a really good impact. Unlucky Fiji, they really need to work on their discipline, they won't get away with some of the foul play they showed today at the RWC.

Nadolo really is key for them. They should hit Patty Osborne up as well. He could add some extra quality.

 

[bazwaz]

Whats the score ...?..all the blogs have dried up

Another heroic game winning try by Dixon by the sound of it

 

[Kiwi_]

It ended 27-26 for the Maori All Blacks.

I've been impressed with Otere Blacks developments this year as well.

 

[bazwaz]

Fiji struggling with discipline so I take it there was a heavy penalty count against them or was someone carded?

They blew a big lead and will be kicking themselves but a valuable lesson about playing the full 80 min I guess..

 

[bazwaz]

Found a highlight package for anyone interested...

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/spo...-thrilling-comeback-win-over-fiji-q00993.html