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I have been asked to consider the following by Lorraine…
I just read an article in a bout of boredom and here’s a quote from Graham Henry that stood out to me: “Isaia Toeva has been playing superbly. He has been the best centre in the Super 14.” I agree with him; even the cynical argument, “Yeah, when he keeps the ball in hand…” is losing its validity.
This bothers me. As the RRT men already know quite well, a man they call Snakey is my favourite centre (for assorted reasons). His recent form definitely hasn’t made him invincible. A centre can’t do much with the ball when he doesn’t get to touch it, though perhaps that’s just an excuse. Is Snake in danger of spending more time as a lawyer?
The key to the centre debate is subtle. The personnel on hand are of class and quality, but Ice has been making major steps over the past month. His top billing as an age group superstar was the promoter of his talent at the start, Smith decided early that he had something to offer, but few knew what. And rightly so, for you will recall that from Fullback his was not a success and from 12 he had a nightmare with the hands. We all see he can explode through thirty meters, he has the strength to carry tight forwards on his back as he surges toward the line and indeed he has a nose for tries. A good trait for any back to have. But look closer and you will see his trump card, the thing that puts his skill set before all others is as obvious as the nose on your face.
The Centre-Three Quarter, must be able to pass. At top speed, either side accurately. Ice can hit a 2 litre Tip-Top lid from 20 meters either side while on the charge, in fact, he can do it out to around 30 meters either side. Now a Rugby pitch is 70 meters wide, so in effect Ice can stand in the middle of the field and hit his winger out on the sideline, suddenly the All Blacks can attack wide, to around the 5 meter line with three passes.
Add in King Richard, Rodney of Petone, with the ability to operate wide all day, and your massive Springbok/English/Argentinean/Australian and Irish forward packs have suddenly a few more yards to run. By the 70th minute those yards add up.
But who Ice will partner is where I find the most interest; DC is a dead set certainty, people salivate about Quadzilla, and rightly so, he is a gift from the Rugby gods, an Inside Centre Three Quarter, with a Second Five-Eight skill set. Who wouldn’t lick their lips. But versatility has oft been the curse of a good player, Mauger is a specialist, he can create pressure, through two key elements, communication and vision and the prospect of him surgically dismembering opposition defences, revealing deficiencies and; most importantly, adding maturity to the sharpness of the All Blacks attack and pride in the defensive Blackline is what I hope to see as we roll toward the RWC final.
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Quadzilla?
Comment by Rose March 27, 2007 @ 11:17 am
Let me just say that, while I have wondered about Conrad Smith’s All Black inclusion, I would still pick him over someone like Toeava. As Jedi said, there needs to be maturity in the AB attack; The guy was chosen at the beginning of this Super 14 season to be the Hurricanes’ captain, for goodness sake! And, while people questioned a skinny, white boy’s defense when his career commenced, Conrad has proven that he can defend well at the highest level. So, Snakey, don’t be discouraged!
Comment by Lorraine Tyler March 27, 2007 @ 7:14 pmThe backline is all about balance, and the midfield needs only one person to be attempting the 50/50 passes and all that dangerous experimental stuff. Therefore, if Master Luke is at 12, Snake is good for 13, only if Mauger is 12 would Ice come into the picture as you may need a genuine linebreaker. With the back 3 you can also argue that Mauger and Snake may be the most accurate midfield to give them space. I will say however that Ice is playing very well at the moment,outside master Luke no less and come 2011 they could be the best combination ever, but Ice needs those years to get a clearer head on his shoulders. The same clear head the snake has now!
I will add that with maybe 2 Fijians on the wings, we need a real leader at 13 also, not doubting the Fijian flair, just wanting someone inside them to polish those edges!
As for defence, Luke falls off more than Snake, and as a little man trying to tackle the big men in my youth, i love watching those grasscutters Snake and DC do game in game out. “Can’t run without your legs, Bigger they are the harder they fall” all those chestnuts!
Marvellous! Jedi
Comment by Duncan March 28, 2007 @ 4:40 amQuadzilla=Luke McAlister. I like it! He certainly does have those freakish quads, so large that the Aussie game commentators could not stop talking about them recently.
Comment by Rose March 28, 2007 @ 11:24 amTough one, because that is the area where we are most fortunate depth wise. Mils can also play there, and he will be fit again then. Duncan nailed it with that combinations analysis. How many spots do we have for France? I ask this because I would take them all.
Comment by Gato March 29, 2007 @ 6:34 amCentre is the area with more attrition within the backs because it concentrates the biggest defensive load (unit-wise 10-12-13). I would hate not to have all of the gunners available in case something happens. Even Mr Indestructible (quoting Jonah) was once hurt.
Substitution-wise here go the sets (not considering fresh blood from S14): Piri-Byron DC-Luke / Aaron-Luke-Conrad / Aaron-Mils-Conrad-Ice-Ma’a /Joe-Sitiveni-Rico-Ma’a-Mils-Leon / Mils-Leon.
If we can take them all I say take them all. If we have space for extra players from the S14 then we are spoilt for choice (Brett, Isa, etc.)
Evening all,
Who to excl is a bigger problem than who to incl …Why would you excl Howlett who is landing hits that would make a prop grin … decisions, decisions … Let’s be honest – no matter who is “in” & who is “out” – The only dead certainty is those that do not suffer the burden of ultimate responsibility will, unasked, offer a preponderance of unqualified opinion which will cease only when (not if) Ted & his boys bring home the WWE trophy. Should the unthinkable occur, the unqualified will bay at length over the choices made & how different they should have been. The only way to stop all this carry on – take them all & loan them out to teams that are no threat the way Fiji used at the HKG Sevens Tournaments of old !
Comment by Rugby Princess March 29, 2007 @ 11:16 amMy mistake
Comment by Gato April 3, 2007 @ 4:18 amDid not mean to exclude Howlett. Doug’s the man at 11,13 or 14!
The most impress thing about Toeva this year has actually been the tries that he has not scored. Sound ridiculous? Watch the tape and you will find that two or three times this year (Lions and Waratahs come to mind) he has been stopped just sort of the line. However, on these breaks he has not tried to do too much. Instead of trying something 50/50 to get over the line, he pulls up, stays to his feet for an extra second or two, and then places the ball perfectly in the ruck for the next guy. Unselfish and effective!
Comment by Caleb Borchers April 3, 2007 @ 11:02 pmHey, Caleb, that is why Tuialii was a real hero at the Crusaders game this weekend. He scored a try, but he also set up others.
Rugby Princess, your comment puts me in mind of why it is okay for Kiwi players to go overseas. Not the young ones that we need for the future, but the guys who are fabulous players and know they will no longer get selected for the ABs. (Or the ones who need a little discipline and come back like Troy Flavell. Yes, Kev, he is a god!) When Kiwi players go overseas, the other teams get some idea of how to play Kiwi-style and everybody improves. (But the other teams/countries should not improve too much, of course.)
Comment by Rose April 9, 2007 @ 11:25 amSince my first comment on this topic, Ice has been playing at a high level every week. One could have thought he would have a bad game here and there but he is getting better and better. I agree that he is not pushing things too far and trying to hard.
What i really like is that 1/2 the time he just gives the ball to his outsides with space, but when he does decide to do something himself, he does it sooo explosively that he is too much to handle. And his offloads under pressure are fantastic. That pass to Devin to score was a case in point, rather than slip it to the person closest (who would probably have scored, but who was marked) he summed it up perfectly and sent a perfect pass to an unmarked player. A good example of his explosiveness and deft touch would be the gap and offload to Braid he did for Tuitivakes try which is up there for try of the year. That was literally something out of nothing!
Selection time: Ice on form and versatility, Snake for insurance
Nuff Said!
Comment by Duncan April 11, 2007 @ 3:17 amHas to be Jason Eaton. It’s all about the mullet.
Comment by MattaH April 11, 2007 @ 3:21 am