I think the "experts" here on this forum will probably agree with you tomorrow once they've had a look at the replay without the added skewering effect of a few pints. Naki is usually an astute judge of players' performances, but either he`s had a few too many tequilas tonight or his contacts subscription has been fiddled with. Barrett wasn't amazing but nothing terrible either, he did some pretty decent things while he was on. I've seen far worse All Black fly-half debuts.

his performance was average overall and came on when the game was pretty much already won

not really tested on his debut

yode

So easy amidst all the hype and BS to overlook the fact that Cruden was starting only because of DC's injury, Cane was having his first run-on cap, and Barrett was a debutant tonight.

Against a team fired-up to the gills by its performance last week and genuinely believing it had a chance to break a century-long duck.

I'll take these lads

And your point is what,,,exactly ?

26 - 0 when he came on and the AB scored an additional 34 points, unanswered, against an Irish team desperate not to be held to 0.

And a backrow that many claimed was superior to the ABs' backrow (not true of course)

In my opinion NZ wouldn't have needed a DG to win it last week if Cruden had started, in fact I think it could have been a comfortable victory.

-1

It's obviously very much a hypothetical and he would have had to deal with a different set of conditions less conducive to that attacking style.

None of the new guys disgraced themselves.

Cruden looked polished before he was crocked. Barretts distribution was excellent and his kicking in play was top drawer. His goal kicking needs a bit of work but he took the ball to the line well. I loved how he held off the pass and wrong footed the Irish close in defence.

Aaron Smith is the find of the year.

Romano looked dangerous all night.

I can't point to a player in black who had a bad game. Weepu even looked fit and poised!

I was pleasantly surprised by Barrett's tackling, and thought he had a pretty good game overall. But yeah, Ireland were a well-beaten side early in the game, which made his debut far easier than it would normally have been.

Cruden, Cane, Romano - all very good indeed.

exactly as i said, not really tested

the game was dead and buried, the irish were in disarray,our fowards were dominant for the whole length of time he was on the field, he missed a few kicks, one good pass that help set up a try

overall hard to say anything but average

The lack of distribution was evident last week. I think Henry midweek said the ABs planned for a wet weather game and didn't change when that didn't eventuate. In front of their home crowd the Crusaders last week were generally poor. They got the win in the end however.

For the first time in a long time, core members of the team are facing strong challenges for starting roles. I'm looking forward to the RC to see how these challenges progress.

Which core players are facing challengers?

The locks, Macaw at 7, Carter, Nonu.

Huh?

For the locks i think it's a race to see who partners Rettalick. Compared to Whitelock, Reattalick makes more tackles, hits more rucks, and is bigger physically. Romano adds more balance to the team as he's a genuine running option. Something we've lost with Thorn going. He adds more size for the scrum, which is something we place a lot of emphasis on. No one like Williams.

Cane looks like a young Macaw, he looks suited to international rugby. Rettalick and Cane look like 50 test AB's off the bat.

I think Carters better individually than Cruden, but Cruden's got better form. He also has a proven combination with SBW. Carter will always be better than Cruden defensively.

Besides Rettallick none of these challengers have done anywhere near enough to displace the incumbants. But they are starting to place real pressure on players that have been head and shoulders above the competition for so long. Like i said I'm looking forward to see how this competition develops.

I think Nonu needs to show how much he wants the jersey back. He was dissapointing in a straight head to head against SBW, with his team well in the game. He'll get a chance through the RC as they'll rotate the team for the Argie tests.

Doesn't this remind you of a young Rocs?

Looks like the Chiefs are the new Crusaders...

Sbw still needs to prove himself against the other Sanzar nations in tests as does Cane, Romano, Retallick, A Smith, and to a lessor extent Cruden. We produced an excellent effort against a beat up and demoralised Irish team.

Fuck i completely forgot Smith. He's been so impressive i immediately thought of him as the incumbent (which he is). Amazing performances.

Before the game, one of my mates, a Crusaders fan texted and said "Too many Chiefs".

He is very quiet today but I think I did text the words "You reckon?" quite a few times last night.

The difference this year is SBW will get the chance to do so. And if he fails he'll get another shot. A Smith is the incumbent 9, Rettalick has a locking spot.

There is no way that Ireland team didn't think they could beat the AB's this week. Don't dismiss the opposition, enjoy the performance.

Do you still not rate Conrad, Buzz?

Why is it, that every time i post regarding SBW I'm compared to others? I'm Not Buzz, Im not Douche. I post multiple times about other players and not a comparison is made, i post 1 response to SBW and suddenly I'm someone else? WTF

Sorry, I thought you said you were Buzz on another thread.

I am interested in the concept of Retallick and Romano. Retallick has the same high work rate as Whitelock but Retalick is the only jumper in NZ who can consistently put genuine pressure on the opposition throw apart from maybe Donnelly. Retallick has the potential to be close to Matfield in the lineouts. Sam Whitelock is a Bledisloe, TN, World Cup winner. We should probably just rotate the locks.

It does! Dave Rennie and Wayne Smith are looking to build a dynasty.

Because the game was "Dead and Buried and he missed a few kicks", he looked average, right I understand what you are trying to say then.

Barret will be the next RWC number 10 - IMHO ...

Cruden was terrific but is just too injury prone - and won't be getting any bigger.

Barrett will have to improve his game 10-fold if he's going to be worth of a RWC spot. Sure, he has time, but he's light years from the Carter/Cruden standard at the moment.

I thought him very good indeed ...

Cruden can't seem to last a whole game -

It is a concern, yes. Both AC and DC (ha) seem to be broken more often than not.

Before being injured, Cruden was putting on one of the most dominating flyhalf displays I've seen in a long time. If he stays fit, he's gonna be best flyhalf in the world by next world cup methinks.

any news on Cruden's injury?

Apologies if already in the thread

Barrett will improve.
This Disability Boy will not and hopefully will not be given a Black jersey ever again.

I'd say Barrett is about at the same level as Cruden was at the same age. It'll be interesting to see whether he's got the ability and dedication to work on his weaknesses as much as Cruden has.

HK: I don't think there has been any news yet.

Slade was a huge selection blunder. Unfortunate that he's had such a bad run of injuries, but there's no way he'll make it back into the ABs, even when he's fully fit again.

Apparently it's an Achilles injury that he's had for a while. Too soon to know how long he'll be out.

Injury sounds a bit ominous. Hopefully it's not too serious. One of the news articles talked of 'several weeks' out. Sounds like he might not be contributing to the rest of the S15, which would be a shame.

Chiefs will be gutted as the talk is that Kahui is out for longer than first thought too. I knew that this would happen though.