Warm Up Match 4: Highlanders v British & Irish Lions (Dunedin)

[GoTheNaki]

Three years?
At my age I could be dead by then.
Bugger that, grab those Highlander boys now and create a competition camp among the 10's.

I honestly think give Perofeta the keys now tbh. Let Ihaia West go, sign Black, have the 2 scrap it out. I think Perofeta comes out on top. Kid has vision tbh. Saw him play grassroots up the road, he, along with Jordie Barrett, people have been claiming as the next things.

 

[GoTheNaki]

Ugh, phone with the double post.

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

I too think Perofeta is gonna be a great player. TBH Black might even be better off staying at the Canes, cos Perofeta will claim that 10 jersey at some point, and then Black will be stuck behind him for the rest of his NZ rugby career. At least at the Canes he's a good chance of out-lasting Barrett.
But yea, I rate Perofeta quite highly, I think he will be the long-awaited answer to the Blues fly-half woes.

 

[Ground We Won]

Losing Banks will be one of the hardest departures from the Highlanders since Nick Evans. Fletcher-Smith is a good player, particularly with ball in hand, but doesn't have anywhere near the level head and pin point accuracy of Marty, no one does actually. He's probably the most accurate kicker in professional world rugby, +90% accuracy every game is astonishing.

If the Blues don't want West, we will take him! I rate West, I think he just needed some confidence in his abilities and continuity. I don't think JK and Tana handled him particularly well. He's only 25, still has room for development.

The Blues 'rejects' have fared quite well down south. Their kind donations of Naholo, Fekitoa and Tevita Li have been most welcomed! It's not just a one way street though. Michael Collins has done well up north and would have found playing time pretty hard to come by down here, even with the current injuries list.

 

[smartcooky]

That is the last I heard about him. He signed for Treviso but didn't turn up because he couldn't handle playing in the northern hemisphere.

That last part is not right

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/...leaving-new-zealand-for-real-at-end-of-season


"However, kicking off his post-New Zealand career was put on the back-burner due to personal reasons."

I know what those personal reasons were, and they had nothing to do with what you have said.

 

[GoTheNaki]

Losing Banks will be one of the hardest departures from the Highlanders since Nick Evans. Fletcher-Smith is a good player, particularly with ball in hand, but doesn't have anywhere near the level head and pin point accuracy of Marty, no one does actually. He's probably the most accurate kicker in professional world rugby, +90% accuracy every game is astonishing.

If the Blues don't want West, we will take him! I rate West, I think he just needed some confidence in his abilities and continuity. I don't think JK and Tana handled him particularly well. He's only 25, still has room for development.

The Blues 'rejects' have fared quite well down south. Their kind donations of Naholo, Fekitoa and Tevita Li have been most welcomed! It's not just a one way street though. Michael Collins has done well up north and would have found playing time pretty hard to come by down here, even with the current injuries list.

Fekitoa and Naholo are both examples of JK being an absolute idiot. I never listen to a thing that guy says. Tevita Li is an average winger. Ball-hogs something chronic, that was on display vs the Lions, the kid always wants to be the star player. Tana wouldnt have liked that. I'd be surprised if he ever made the Black jersey.

 

[Ground We Won]

Has there been a point where this wasn't the case? Even when we had a predictions thread the most optimistic suggestion was managing to sneak the dead rubber game and lose 2-1

The majority of the traveling support I spoke with were fairly confident of a 2-1 victory prior to coming out. Most have changed their predictions, I feel like this Lions team really had a lot more potential in them and it's an opportunity missed. Still the games have all been close and gritty, I've enjoyed them.

I was impressed with the Lions support, particularly the Scottish who were all dressed in kilts, good banter all round and well behaved. A lot of them doing NZ in camper vans, it's pretty cool having them out here, a unique diverse invasion when they arrive in your city and it was great having them.

 

[Ground We Won]

Fekitoa and Naholo are both examples of JK being an absolute idiot. I never listen to a thing that guy says. Tevita Li is an average winger. Ball-hogs something chronic, that was on display vs the Lions, the kid always wants to be the star player. Tana wouldnt have liked that. I'd be surprised if he ever made the Black jersey.

I disagree about Tevita Li, he's been a really good addition to the team and a real team player. High work rate and commitment, I've been very happy with had an Osbourne, Li and Naholo rotation.

 

[ncurd]

The majority of the traveling support I spoke with were fairly confident of a 2-1 victory prior to coming out.

I don't know how many of the travelling support are real rugby fans...honestly were talking about people who can afford a 2 month holiday out of those who are already out there....even those going out for the tests like my brother in law dont really follow rugby. So i wouldnt take them as an indicative straw poll. Most are out for a jolly and probably couldn't name half the player left behind from theie own nations. I don't know any rugby fans who were predicting victory over here. A few might predict 1 win at best but most just look at the squad with dismay in some areas.

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

In the pole I put up, only 3 people out of 45 thought the Lions would take the series and 31 thought it would be a whitewash for NZ. So yea, not many ever really gave the Lions a chance. The tour so far has been more or less what was expected.

 

[ncurd]

He's probably the most accurate kicker in professional world rugby, +90% accuracy every game is astonishing

What's his range like and if short does he take 40+ meter kicks?

I honestly don't know but usually when people post amazing kicking stats for a player I discover that the stats are a bit inflated. Dan Parks for Scotland was the master at this year after year they'd brag he had the highest kicking % of any nations player. But if you watched he'd take all the kicks you'd expect most players to make but anythign mildly difficult he would hand the tee to someone else. This his stats were great but no really indicative of how good a kicker he was.

 

[Ground We Won]

Fair enough. I'm sure people who are spending that sort of money to come out here are going to be optimistic too.

 

[MikeTheNative]

I thought all the SR team will be tough games and I'm not surprised they lost some. I thought they were going to hammer the provincial barbarians though.

 

[Gavin]

That last part is not right

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/...leaving-new-zealand-for-real-at-end-of-season


"However, kicking off his post-New Zealand career was put on the back-burner due to personal reasons."

I know what those personal reasons were, and they had nothing to do with what you have said.

That was what I mean when I said couldn't handle it in the northern hemisphere. The distance to NZ he couldn't handle at that time.

The big question is, is he Italian qualified?

 

[Bada-Bing!]

I thought JJ was distinctly average today, he can't defend and is way below the quality of Fox or Henshaw

JJ can't defend? That is complete ******. What so Fox can pass? Henshaw should stick to 12.

 

[MikeTheNative]

JJ can't defend? That is complete ******. What so Fox can pass? Henshaw should stick to 12.

I feel as though some people see that JJ is a centre and under 15 stone so they assume he can't defend. He was bumped off two times yesterday but he reads the play well and usually tackles well.

 

[smartcooky]

I'll posit this question carefully; if you were a NZ Super Rugby team, would you take Farrell as a 10.

Not a chance. IMO, all he offers is sharpshooter goalkicking.

If he has vision, I haven't seen it. If he has the ability to effectively take the ball to the gain line on attack, I haven't seen it.

I'd pick any of the SR 10's on show in NZ. I'd have Foley, Kyle Godwin (Brumbies) or Quade Cooper. Hell, I'd have Dan Biggar before I'd have Farrell.

 

[ncurd]

Hell, I'd have Dan Biggar before I'd have Farrell.

This is from the VC playbook of utter nonsense. Biggest is nothing more than decidedly average in all aspects whereas Farrell like it or not (and I'm not his greatest fan) is the current European player of the year (cue moronic slight about European players).

However ultimately I see Farrell as a playmaking 12 rather than a 10. He gives England a much needed extra dimension when playing there and even though he was kind of playing 12.5 on Saturday when he was playing at second receiver the Lions looked good in attack. His defence in both positions is top notch.

I think then on the vision front he's not as naturally instinctive as others but the extra time he gets at 12 is all he needs.

 

[Penne Rara]

Marty Banks, what can I say? He's my Highlanders player of the year, a modest hero who does the job perfectly week in week out without complaint and without the flashy BULLSHIT Sopoaga attempts. An exceptional player and a genuine legend. He clawed us back into the game after Sopoaga literally kicked and threw the game to near brink of oblivion. I said from the start Banks should have started, but I'm just glad he came on and saved us, it was really fitting for how this season has unraveled for the Highlanders and Marty Banks will no doubt get the player of the season award.

Marty has a natural confidence, calmness and poise in his approach to rugby that make him such a reliable option when every other sophisticated weapon seems ineffective. He's the southern Beaver, an underrated hero who looks pretty average and has no xfactor or fancy ability but knows when to step up. I want to remember this game and tell my children that I once witnessed his match-saving penalty kick against the mighty Lions.

I don't want to be harsh on Sopoaga. He had a tough night and tried his best but some of his decisions were taken under immense pressure and his ABs selection obviously put some more on his shoulders. While it is maybe a bit too soon for him to start against the Lions, he can ponder this experience and hopefully become a better footballer. I was implying Mckenzie would do a better job than him and that may well be possible, even though he's had very little experience as a five eighth. Dmac is a fearless rugby player and the bigger the challenge, the better he becomes. Coaches just need to let him do his magic and not confine his running rugby by forcing him to play tight.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

Also clear NZ fans don't know anything about the scrum laws.

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