Just what are you doing?
Just when you had the rugby public in the palm of your hand,just when everyone was thinking 'we have got it right'...you go and throw out some curve balls!
Aaron Cruden as a halfback?Are you serious?Why on earth would you want to go doing that to last years IRB Under 20 player of the year,who incidentally won the award while playing 1st 5!
And you dump Isaac Ross,tell him to stay at home from last years tour to "bulk up" and be more physical,then tell him to focus on his mobility because you now see him as a loose forward!Seriously?
Guildford plays out of his skin yet he is goooone in favour of a bloke who got 20 minutes and blew a try!Granted,Rene Ranger is explosive and a huge talent,but for goodness sakes just come out and be honest with us and tell us you are still experimenting!Kahui and Ranger are wing cover?Oh dear,have you heard of Hosea Gear!(Hey that rhymes too :) )
And John Afoa...what?Has he played at prop in the last few weeks or has he made the side on the basis of his one game at hooker for the BaaBaas?And is he now a hooker that props or a prop that hooks?Specialist positions?Remember the last few World Cups?Ouch!
Did Adam Thompson start a test?And what may have happened had he started 3 First Class games in 2 weeks like Liam Messam was able to do because Messam was a Maori?Again,not that I dont agree with the selections but it all seems rather odd.
Luke McAlister was rushed back in last year and was hopelessly out of form,suffered injuries and was persisted with.Now he is injury free and in great form and he cant make it.Go figure!
Oh well,we can only hope and trust!
Straight Shooter-telling it like it is
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Dear Mr Shooter
ReplyDeleteWhile I have no need to explain my selections to anyone because I have many years of experience and you don't. I will try to ease your fears by telling you how it is.
Arron might be a halfback. He might not. The fact is - we are concerned that he is too small and has clearly become a target at 10. We also worry that his lack of kicking ability will hamper his game. We have sat and watched Fourie Du Preez run the Springbok behemoth from 9(not Steyn from 10) and have realised this position is now a playmaking position. Why would we not at least consider moving him there if he thought he could do it? Its called - adjusting to the game as it changes. That might be something some supporters have trouble with.
Isaac is a class player. Unfortunately he had a tendency to play far too loose and this was impacting on our ability to maintain possession and clear bodies from rucks. We would still like to see him as a lock but his natural game is now more suited to 6. We have not thrown him to the dogs. In fact, the opposite is true, we are working with him to fix the issue.
Yes Zac Guilford has been outstanding in the last 2 years-hence his rise to the black jersey. By his own admission, he was not playing at his peak during the June tests. He has work to do and is clearly part of our plans. Just because he is not playing in the 3N doesn't mean we don't want him. Hosea, on the other hand, is not listening to what we want him to do. We have asked him to put the same emphasis on defence as he does on attack. The All Blacks are a team. That means we play for each other. We need our wingers to work very hard off the ball and support the fullback at all times. Hosea hasn't really gone for that idea yet. If he wants to go North, rather than improve his game, so be it. We hope he doesn't as he will certainly be part of our team in the future.
Adam Thompson is simply too costly. He has not adapted to the new rules yet and infringes with horrible regularity. We can't have that in our game when people like Morne Steyn kick from within their own half. He is smart and he will fix that part of his game and be better for it. He has not been cast out. We see potential in Liams high workrate. Because he works so hard and likes to cover so much ground he appears to make more mistakes. Its a double-edged sword. He has huge potential in any of the loose positions, we just have to hone his skills a little and get him to look after his own job before covering for others.
While you may think Luke has been in good form, we would disagree. He played all of 80 minutes through the entire S14 and was adequate during the Maori games. His refusal to lead a defensive line and habit of tackling with his face tells me he is a little gun shy now and who could blame him. Under pressure he goes quiet, much like Matt Giteau does. The Northern hemisphere does not tend to improve players who go there. You should know that.
Afoa is a work in progress. You may not have noticed we do not have many good hookers left uninjured. We've had to pick Corey Flynn which should tell you how dire the situation is. John works extremely hard around the field and scrummages well. If he could master throwing and hooking he could be invaluable as cover for all 3 spots in the front row.
I hope this all makes sense Mr Shooter. Steve Tew told me to write "go F%$# yourself Mr Shooter" but I value my public and believe supporters have every right to their view. I just wish they would think about things first sometimes.
Yours faithfully
Mr G Henry
Haha,brilliant work Mr G.Henry! Thanks for taking the time to reply.
ReplyDeleteS.S