Would NZ pick Nadolo ?

[Flyingdolphins]

Absolutely. Listen bro you might get away with bull****ting the northern hemisphere guys but not me. I have numerous family and friends spread out all over New Zealand and I visit them regularly. I have the ones who migrated with their kids who are primary or high school level. And when I'm there I usually go and watch them play rugby and I can see the influence of Pacific island talents. This lifts the standards of rugby even from primary school level all the way to the national team level. When you add the coaching and financial support you can see these are the reasons the All Blacks are the best. In England and France they have the same coaching and financial support but they don't have the influx of Pacific islanders. And that in a heartbeat is the reason the All Blacks are the best.

My point is that I know exactly what I'm talking about and in the case of Nadolo I also have the stats to back it up. Those are the facts. The topic of this thread is "would NZ pick Nadolo" and I think that they would. The Crusaders did and he delivered so I see no reasons why the All Blacks can't pick him too especially when he showed in the same competition as Savea that he was better and the stats backs that up.

And you're disagreeing because you are one eyed.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

Absolutely. Listen bro you might get away with bull****ting the northern hemisphere guys but not me. I have numerous family and friends spread out all over New Zealand and I visit them regularly. I have the ones who migrated with their kids who are primary or high school level. And when I'm there I usually go and watch them play rugby and I can see the influence of Pacific island talents. This lifts the standards of rugby even from primary school level all the way to the national team level. When you add the coaching and financial support you can see these are the reasons the All Blacks are the best. In England and France they have the same coaching and financial support but they don't have the influx of Pacific islanders. And that in a heartbeat is the reason the All Blacks are the best.

My point is that I know exactly what I'm talking about and in the case of Nadolo I also have the stats to back it up. Those are the facts. The topic of this thread is "would NZ pick Nadolo" and I think that they would. The Crusaders did and he delivered so I see no reasons why the All Blacks can't pick him too especially when he showed in the same competition as Savea that he was better and the stats backs that up.

And you're disagreeing because you are one eyed.

And those stats are?

 

[Flyingdolphins]

You haven't been paying attention have you. Between Nadolo and Savea in the super rugby season just gone Nadolo played far less games but still managed to score more tries, made more line breaks, gained more meters, had more try assist and had more tackles.

 

[Darwin]

And those stats are?

Nemani Nadolo (the artist formerly known as Ratu Nemani Driu Nasiganiyavi)

Born: 31 January 1988, Sigatoka, Fiji

 

[Flyingdolphins]

6 foot 5 height
137 kg weight
Runs 100 metres in less than 11 seconds

 

[donmcdazzle]

Absolutely. Listen bro you might get away with bull****ting the northern hemisphere guys but not me. I have numerous family and friends spread out all over New Zealand and I visit them regularly. I have the ones who migrated with their kids who are primary or high school level. And when I'm there I usually go and watch them play rugby and I can see the influence of Pacific island talents. This lifts the standards of rugby even from primary school level all the way to the national team level. When you add the coaching and financial support you can see these are the reasons the All Blacks are the best. In England and France they have the same coaching and financial support but they don't have the influx of Pacific islanders. And that in a heartbeat is the reason the All Blacks are the best.

My point is that I know exactly what I'm talking about and in the case of Nadolo I also have the stats to back it up. Those are the facts. The topic of this thread is "would NZ pick Nadolo" and I think that they would. The Crusaders did and he delivered so I see no reasons why the All Blacks can't pick him too especially when he showed in the same competition as Savea that he was better and the stats backs that up.

And you're disagreeing because you are one eyed.

That might be the most hypocritical comment I've ever seen on TRF.

If Julian Savea was Joseveti Savivatu then you would be agreeing with everyone else (not just NZers by the way) in saying he is the best winger in the world.

I grew up and have played rugby in NZ since the age of 4 so yip I have a pretty good idea of how our system works, but thanks for the crash course. I know what I'm talking about too, and the fact is he would not be picked. He doesn't have the all round game to make the grade for the AB's. Simple as that. For his strength and pace, he couldn't catch ebola in a Liberian hospital and turns like the Queen Mary.

 

[donmcdazzle]

6 foot 5 height
137 kg weight
Runs 100 metres in less than 11 seconds

Hahahahaha. Not only have you given him probably 12kgs of extra weight, you've knocked a couple of seconds off his 100m time.

 

[Flyingdolphins]

That might be the most hypocritical comment I've ever seen on TRF.

If Julian Savea was Joseveti Savivatu then you would be agreeing with everyone else (not just NZers by the way) in saying he is the best winger in the world.

I grew up and have played rugby in NZ since the age of 4 so yip I have a pretty good idea of how our system works, but thanks for the crash course. I know what I'm talking about too, and the fact is he would not be picked. He doesn't have the all round game to make the grade for the AB's. Simple as that. For his strength and pace, he couldn't catch ebola in a Liberian hospital and turns like the Queen Mary.

So you're saying All Blacks props can also play wing you since the requirements to be an All Blacks is to be all round and nothing about being a specialist.

 

[Flyingdolphins]

Hahahahaha. Not only have you given him probably 12kgs of extra weight, you've knocked a couple of seconds off his 100m time.

Mate he's heavy. He's got heavy bones. It's a Fijian thing

 

[donmcdazzle]

So you're saying All Blacks props can also play wing you since the requirements to be an All Blacks is to be all round and nothing about being a specialist.

If that is the point you have taken from my comment then you're a lost cause (as if we didn't know that already).

 

[Flyingdolphins]

If that is the point you have taken from my comment then you're a lost cause (as if we didn't know that already).

So in your own words tell me what is the job of an All Blacks winger and prop? You know since I'm a lost cause and you're Mr know it all.

 

[nickdnz]

So in your own words tell me what is the job of an All Blacks winger and prop? You know since I'm a lost cause and you're Mr know it all.

Well, an All Blacks wingers job is to be positioned on the wings in most defensive and offensive setups. While there his job is fielding kicks from deep, defending as the last man of a defensive line, chasing kicks, catching high balls, starting and linking in counter attacks, finishing tries etc. If the All Blacks selected players purely based on your criteria of what a winger does, Lelia Masaga would would surely have played a lot more tests than 1, seeing as he was probably one of the best runners, steppers and prolific try scorers. The reason wingers like Cory Jane and Ben Smith are generally selected, is because they are more complete wingers. They're not a liability defensively as they are great at catching high balls, solid at tackling etc. Ironically two Fijian wingers - Joe Rokocoko and Sitiveni Sivivatu missed out on the 2011 RWC, because they were deemed to be lacking in those skills. Now I'm sure Rokocoko and Sivivatu are in fact, barely talented wingers who wouldn't have made the Fijian 7's team unless every other Fijian back, loose forward and a handful of locks all died suddenly in a plane crash - but it shows that the emphasis on being a very quick and elusive winger just wasn't worth the disadvantages associated with lacking some more basic skills. Asaeli Tikoirotuma was another winger who was very quick, but he again didn't have any of the extra skills that would make the All Blacks be interested which is why he decided to play for Fiji.

Nadolo as a winger got dropped out of the Waratahs team, dropped out of Exeter, wasn't particularly wanted by Bourgoin and eventually went to Japan. Now last season he had a good season, but why do you think the Waratahs, Exeter and Bourgoin were particularly interested in retaining him? The answer is because despite his size (130kgs would probably be pushing what he was at his least fit - he's closer to 125kgs as the Crusaders team profile has him at http://crusaders.co.nz/the-team/nemani-nadolo), he's not all that complete a winger. I think some of his disadvantages are overstated, but he's not especially quick for a winger and he certainly doesn't have the nuances to his game that the All Blacks selectors look for.

 

[Flyingdolphins]

You're saying Cory Jane isn't a liability in defence because he can catch high balls. In a game you can drop the fly half to link up with the full back one on each side to return kicks and the wingers could just be deep. I still remember Cory Jane being runned over by Naqelevuki in a super rugby game. Now imagine it's a 5 metre defence and someone like Nadolo runs straight at Jane at full speed. 9 out of 10 Nadolo will score that try. Also someone like Ratini can kick the ball over him in broken play and beat him for pace as Tikoirotuma showed in a super rugby match too. So you see they are in fact a liability too in defence especially when he plays a team that prefers to run it more than kick. Now on the attacking bit, in broken field play Jane is average and if he's given the ball with space he simply can't out run the likes of Ratini yet if it was Ratini with the ball Jane wouldn't even come close. In a game coaches can realign backs defence. They can easily drop 10 back to help 15 return those kicks. Sivivatu and Rokocoko weren't pick in 2011 because they were past their best. In 2003 when Rokocoko was at his best he still wouldn't have made the Fiji team because Caucau was there.

 

[Darwin]

Yeah come on Nick. You are foolishly basing Jane's defensive ability solely on his ability to catch high balls. Anyone can see that. Jane missed a tackle on a Fijian player 5 years ago. That tells us all we need to know about his defense....

Everyone knows defensive ability is based solely on size and pace. As we all know every Fijian winger is 100kg+ and can run the 100m in under 11 seconds so they are all flawless on defense.

 

[nickdnz]

It is great to see such devotion on the forum again.... I swear he has just copied posts from young Nicknz from 5 or so years ago and relaced 'Hosea Gear' with 'Fijian wingers'

Yeah come on Nick. You are foolishly basing Jane's defensive ability solely on his ability to catch high balls. Anyone can see that. Jane missed a tackle on a Fijian player 5 years ago. That tells us all we need to know about his defense....

Everyone knows defensive ability is based solely on size and pace. As we all know every Fijian winger is 100kg+ and can run the 100m in under 11 seconds so they are all flawless on defense.

Don't expect me to play along in your sardonic logic.

Anyway, I was 100% right on Hosea Gear. Hosea Gear set the record for most tries in a provincial season with 14. That's more than Caucaunibuca, Vunibaka, Bobo, Rokocoko, Sivivatu, Vidiri etc. Since they played in the same competition as Fijian wingers, that makes him better. ALSO Rico Gear holds the record for most tries in a Super Rugby season with 15 tries. THEREFORE it is obvious that Maori wingers with the last name Gear are clearly the best wingers of all time, better than all Fijian wingers that played in the same competition. In fact if any Fijian winger tried to tackle a Maori winger with the last name Gear, the Gear winger would just run through them or over them or kick over the top, because I say that's what they would do (based off what they've done before in one match that I remember).

 

[Flyingdolphins]

You're forgetting Gear is one of my favourite wingers and player. Massively underrated. But if you wanna be silly remember Gear recently played in the top 14 same competition as Talebula and other Fijian wingers. Last season Talebula was top try scorer. Also in the same Toulouse team as Gear was another Fijian winger Matanavou who also scored more tries that Gear. I can go one but I like Gear and thinks honestly he's better than Rokocoko.

Yeah come on Nick. You are foolishly basing Jane's defensive ability solely on his ability to catch high balls. Anyone can see that. Jane missed a tackle on a Fijian player 5 years ago. That tells us all we need to know about his defense....

Everyone knows defensive ability is based solely on size and pace. As we all know every Fijian winger is 100kg+ and can run the 100m in under 11 seconds so they are all flawless on defense.

Mate at least I can pinpoint a game that showed Janes defensive weaknesses. Nick can't, saying Nagusa catch a ball and Nalaga is weak under high balls. I mean has he even been watching them play especially the latest European Championship games.

 

[psychic duck]

Mate at least I can pinpoint a game that showed Janes defensive weaknesses. Nick can't, saying Nagusa catch a ball and Nalaga is weak under high balls. I mean has he even been watching them play especially the latest European Championship games.

He's right on both counts, those would be the weaker elements of their game.

 

[Flyingdolphins]

No it isn't mate. Nagusa's weakness was he doesn't pass much and Nalaga was positioning and Clermont have worked hard to improve that element of his game. What games exactly are you guys watching that leads you to those conclusions. I've been watching their club games in the top 14 and I watched them in the Pacific Nations games I fail to see what you've said.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

No it isn't mate. Nagusa's weakness was he doesn't pass much and Nalaga was positioning and Clermont have worked hard to improve that element of his game. What games exactly are you guys watching that leads you to those conclusions. I've been watching their club games in the top 14 and I watched them in the Pacific Nations games I fail to see what you've said.

Don't listen to psychic duck, mate. He's just another typical, one-eyed kiwi.

 

[Flyingdolphins]

Fair enough. I answered the topic of the thread saying in my opinion Nadolo would be picked for NZ based on his super rugby performance on season just gone and then he got all sensitive and before I know it we've gone from that point to Fijian wingers and NZ wingers on to sevens and arguing about tactics. Hahaha blimey that was one hell of a journey mann. I have alot of respect for NZ players and don't want to come across as someone who don't rate NZ wingers because I do rate them highly. The likes of Lomu, Kirwan, Wilson, Howlette, Gear and Smith are some of my favourite players who have achieved alot.