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New Zealand v Tonga

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MidlandsMan

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Cant wait for the start of it lads , will the all blacks field a weaker team v Tonga or have a full strength side out?
 
Full strength - I reckon
Start of the tournament and all that - will want to get a win under their belts as well, after two losses on the trot, and Tonga won't just roll over and let them past


Can't wait too - Glad that the first match is at 9.30am rather than 2/4/6am like some of the other matches are (i'm going to be nocturnal for most of September :lol: )
 
It's the opener, in front of a filled Eden Park, and they have over two weeks after that game to the game against France, so I'm guessing full stregth.

What do you guys think will be the score? I think it will be something like 60-15, with Tonga managing to score two or three tries.
 
TRF_Olyy said:
Full strength - I reckon
Start of the tournament and all that - will want to get a win under their belts as well, after two losses on the trot, and Tonga won't just roll over and let them past


Can't wait too - Glad that the first match is at 9.30am rather than 2/4/6am like some of the other matches are (i'm going to be nocturnal for most of September :lol: )
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Whos your fancy to win it TRF , i think it was a bad thing for Austrailia beating the all blacks saturday , did you see the game and what you make of it . You did well against our boys , we were brutal though and heaslip and wallace were huge losses.
 
For me, personally, New Zealand - Australia do look strong, but only when Cooper and Genia have a solid base to work off of (if their forwards are getting dominated then they look pretty poor, just with flashes of magic from the backs - Cooper especially can go to pots if he gets rattled)
Will certainly be an interesting tournament though :D
 
Wish I could be at this game. I'm hoping Tonga will put up a good fight. Be their usual aggressive selves but none of this stupid overly aggressive nonsense that gives away penalties etc.
I'm interested to see how our forwards will go against the ABs because our forward pack isn't half bad.

What ever happens, I just hope they don't injure any of the ABs!!!
 
I think the All Blacks have indicated they will be at near full strength.

It would be a tad ridiculous running out a B side for the opening game lol. We all know what happened to the Aussies the last time they took on Samoa.
 
expecting some injuries outta this one...cant wait
 
i'm going to predict 40 - 18 but i hope tonga do really well, i even hope they pull off a miracle upset and win. Tonga have huge forwards and NZ have small forwards compared to past NZ teams, so Tonga might be able to bully them in the forwards,Tonga also have very good backs like Iongi, Taniela Moa, Fatafehi and a great goal kicker in Morath. I just hope they don't get penalized to death
 
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Muzzy said:
i'm going to predict 40 - 18 but i hope tonga do really well, i even hope they pull off a miracle upset and win. Tonga have huge forwards and NZ have small forwards compared to past NZ teams, so Tonga might be able to bully them in the forwards,Tonga also have very good backs like Iongi, Taniela Moa, Fatafehi and a great goal kicker in Morath. I just hope they don't get penalized to death
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40-18?.. I'd be happy with that scoreline. I think NZ will field close to full strength but will sub players a lot sooner than usual.
 
187 said:
40-18?.. I'd be happy with that scoreline. I think NZ will field close to full strength but will sub players a lot sooner than usual.
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I think the score will be closer than you guys think... remember they have kurt morath and he is one hecc of a kicker... so i would say the score will be 24-28 to tonga... come on guys... we gotta have faith and support our island teams... plus its gonna be a like a home game for both teams... so i think tonga has a real good chance
 
Manu Samoa said:
I think the score will be closer than you guys think... remember they have kurt morath and he is one hecc of a kicker... so i would say the score will be 24-28 to tonga... come on guys... we gotta have faith and support our island teams... plus its gonna be a like a home game for both teams... so i think tonga has a real good chance
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Love your confidence and faith mate. I'm really looking forward to this tournament. You're right about how it's basically a home game for both teams. That'll be the case for all our PI teams.
 
Manu Samoa said:
I think the score will be closer than you guys think... remember they have kurt morath and he is one hecc of a kicker... so i would say the score will be 24-28 to tonga... come on guys... we gotta have faith and support our island teams... plus its gonna be a like a home game for both teams... so i think tonga has a real good chance
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I think that you have either been smoking something that wasn't tobacco, or you have been knocking back the Kava!!

Do you seriously believe that Tonga can beat the All Blacks.

I would consider it a fail if the All Blacks don't crack 50

Previous history would suggest that were Tonga to beat the All Blacks, at Eden Park, it would be the greatest upset in the history of rugby

 
lol a bit harsh, but I tend to agree that the all blacks will be a shoe in if they play a full strength side
 
smartcooky said:
I think that you have either been smoking something that wasn't tobacco, or you have been knocking back the Kava!!

Do you seriously believe that Tonga can beat the All Blacks.

I would consider it a fail if the All Blacks don't crack 50

Previous history would suggest that were Tonga to beat the All Blacks, at Eden Park, it would be the greatest upset in the history of rugby

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I have to disagree with you Smartcooky, i dont think they're being as far fetched as you may think. While I dont think it is going to happen, This Tongan team will be far stronger than any the All Blacks have played on those three occasions and this will be as close to a home game at a RWC as Tonga will likely ever get. I can atleast almost guarantee that the scoreline will look alot better than those past results. Below is what I believe the Tongans will field if they choose to play at full strength against the All Blacks and with the team below I think that it is VERY UNLIKELY, however not IMPOSSIBLE, that this Tongan outfit can be enough to compete with the All Blacks on their best day.

Starters
1. Soane Tonga'uiha
2. Ephraim Taukafa
3. Kisi Pulu
4. Sione Timani
5. Joe Tuineau
6. Villiami Ma'afu
7. Finau Maka (c) (Nili Latu would be there if he was in the squad but atm he is on injured reserve and from my understanding be the first player to join the team when a player is ruled out with injury.)
8. Samiu Vahafolau
9. Taniela Moa
10. Kurt Morath
11. Villiami Iongi (All blacks better beware of this guy as he is in white hot form for Tonga and has blistering pace to make any team pay if caught napping)
12. Siale Piutau
13. Alipate Fatafehi
14. Fetu'u Vainikolo
15. Vunga Lilo

Reserves
16. Aleki Lutui 17. Alisona Taumalolo 18. Halani Aulika 19. Paino Hehea 20. Sione Kalamafoni 21. Semisoni Fisilau 22. Andrew Mailei
 
Should be a very physical game. Think Tonga will do well in the forward exchange. Whether Tonga gets enough quality ball for there backline to shine remains to be seen. One thing for certain though, they will have plenty of support and won't die wondering..

All Blacks 42 Tonga 10
 
I seriously doubt that Tonga will play anything like their full strength side. They will have pinned this game as a lost cause, and will want to keep their powder dry for must win games v Canada and Japan. Then they will want to rip into France, as beating them is their only real chance of qualifying for the playoffs.
 
smartcooky said:
I seriously doubt that Tonga will play anything like their full strength side. They will have pinned this game as a lost cause, and will want to keep their powder dry for must win games v Canada and Japan. Then they will want to rip into France, as beating them is their only real chance of qualifying for the playoffs.
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Alright, let me tell you something smartcooky, we islanders have heart and when it comes to playing for our country we're gonna give it everything we have, if we believe we can achieve, maybe i was smoking something other than tabacco and sipping on heineken when i predicted the way the score will come out but hey im sticcing with that score... 28-24 to tonga.
 
God i just hope NZ field atleast 90% of the same players each game.... and not make 11 or 9 changes each game like they always do!!! they break their own f@@#$%#$^g momentum each WC and it makes me sick cuz that is why the lost the WC previously!!! look at how they dominated from last year till mid tri-nations, cuz they field more or less the same squad and only making a small number of changes each game.... that is why Aus won the 3N...by playing the same team and cuz of the ab underachiving.... if the AB play with +-90% of the same players every game...nobody will stop them!!!!
 
Read and Thomson will miss the first game (Read is actually missing most of the pool stage).

What do you think GH will do? I see two options:

One option is to use the fact that Thomson is injured and replace him permanently by Messam, or

Use Whitelock as a loose forward cover on the bench. He looked all right at 6 against Oz, I think.
 
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