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Rugby Direct - Episode 163 · Rugby Direct

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from Newstalks EDB. Follow this
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: Straight down the Middle of Drum Dickney Scot try these pa.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: Get inside the game from every angle. It's Rugby Direct
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: with Elliot Smith and Leon Napier powered by News Talks EDB.
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: Welcome into Rugby Direct, powered by Habit Health, cackling all
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: your aches and pains from sports and work back again
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: to wrap a big weekend of rugby or get to
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: the black Ferns a bit later on in the podcast.
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: Sam Derry also going to join us blues Lot currently
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: on the sidelines with injury to join the pod as well.
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: But first and foremost, let's rattle through the weekend that
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: was in Super Ruggy Pacific Round fourteen. And I think
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: we have to start with Mawanda Pacifica and the Blues
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: on Saturday Nightly and twenty seven twenty one. I mean,
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: everyone's been talking about it, but this was the Ardie
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: Sava game and it's hard to remember a more influential
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: one man performance. And I don't I mean that in
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: a derogatory way to the rest of the Muanna players
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: because they certainly played their part of me claren toin
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: wifelosk would three try for goodness sake. But when people
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: think about this game in six months twelve months time,
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: it'll be remembered as the game where basically Artie won
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: the game for Whita Pacifica. He did.
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: And there is nothing on a rugby field that Artie
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: Severe can't do. At the moment. He's added the chip
• 1:41
  Speaker 3: and chase that the kicking game to his arsenal. He carries,
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: he gets turnovers, he's presence at the line outs, and
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: he wrapped up with Super Rugby MVP with two weeks
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: of the regular season remaining, and nobody would begrudge him
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: for that. And you extrapolate that performance out and it
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: is a DiMAGE how much one man can lift the team.
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: Arti has been the transformative, inspirational figure that Mauana needed
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: and he has surpassed everyone's expectations beyond that. Now, Mina
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: do I looked at the coaching team at the start
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: of the year and they added I think they added
• 2:28
  Speaker 3: a land of Soorkai slelm up A Suwer and they've
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: already got Tom Convent, Tryntona Umuger and Stephen Jones. So
• 2:35
  Speaker 3: it is a very balanced and impressive coaching team. But
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: Artie has undoubtedly set standards for others to follow, and
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: in terms of that goes beyond what happens on the field.
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: It's in terms of what it takes to be a
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: professional athlete. And then you see what he does on
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: the field, and how could you not follow a guy
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: like that?
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I mean he had the influence. All his
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: fingerprints are right across that game, right through, you know,
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: winning the match ceiling penalty at the end, but the
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: kicking chase he was doing to try in the first
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: spell that probably should have been given. You know, it
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: was a follow me sort of performance, and that was
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: what we've seen them from them when he's been on
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: the park this season. And it felt like Saturday night
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: was sort of not necessarily the final frontier because they
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: haven't beaten everyone that they need to and haven't obviously
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: made a playoffs, but beating the Blues coming into Auckland,
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: they weren't given the warmest to welcomes from the Blues.
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: There's been social media banter and inverted commas between some
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: of the players from some of the Blues players, but
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: it felt like that was a statement that they wanted
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: to make on Saturday night and it felt bigger than
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: what was on the field. It felt like there was
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: a bit of a message being sent around this team
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: being here to stay well.
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: It's great for rugby and great for Rugby and Auckland
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: because this is now a genuine rivalry and I thought
• 4:05
  Speaker 3: it would be that way earlier. They but the Blues
• 4:09
  Speaker 3: did it really comfortably in April when they met at
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: Eden Park, but clearly going to Albany Mina's adopted home
• 4:16
  Speaker 3: grounds was a different beast. And Wina have improved significantly
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: since April and they've now beaten four of the five
• 4:24
  Speaker 3: New Zealand teams this year. And they do play the
• 4:26
  Speaker 3: Chiefs again. It is a bloody tough run home for them.
• 4:29
  Speaker 3: They've got the Hurricanes and the Chiefs. But for me,
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: the turning point in their season was beaten the Crusaders
• 4:35
  Speaker 3: in christ Church, where a performance blended with physicality and flair,
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: and that performance I think made them truly believe. It
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: really was flip the switch. And you know, it's one
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: thing to have a one up performance, but it's quite
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: another to go down to christ Church away from home.
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: And bully the Crusaders really and you're right. How good's
• 4:59
  Speaker 3: the social media banter that Wyana has embraced now. I
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: saw tweets from Hoskinstituto which says, keeped out in us,
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: we just keep picking the right time. Don't care whose
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: side you're on. There's only one team in the nine,
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: and Mawana tweeted after their victory, keep on doubting this,
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: We just keep picking the right time. Don't care whose
• 5:18
  Speaker 3: side you're on. There's only one team that represents the Pacific.
• 5:21
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: I mean that's great, that's great for rugby, that's what
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: you want. But of banter, a bit of rivalry, a
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: bit of feeling between these two teams, and we saw
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: that on the weekend and there was feeling throughout that game.
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: I think early on Angus Gardner had to I'm not
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: sure who it was between, but you know, there was
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: a bit of pushing and shoving through words exchange and
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: Angus Garden's like, right, I know you mates, but you
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: can't actually do that on the rugby field. But there
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: was some feeling in there and I thought Mowana very
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: effectively got under the blue skin. Didn't show any stigal
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: in the first spell and your Tito Topolo to being
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: yellow card had hurt Mowana for a period of time.
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: But second spell they locked in and they really just
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: dominated that for second forty minutes. You know, it was
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: fourteen eleven at halftime in favor of the Blues. Well
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: after halftime there was only really one team in it.
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: I know Blues got to within a try of stealing
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: it at the end, but that was an exceptionally good
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: half hour of fort or forty minutes of Mwana pacific
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: a rugby to wear the Blues they continue to confound
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: this season and we might get sam Dera to give
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: us some answers as to what's exactly going wrong. But
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: fourteen eleven up at halftime, you know, yes, the tries
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: were score by there's a player in the bin or
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: you know one of them was. But they just failed
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: to fire a shot in the second spell and got
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: bullied by Mowana on the swore. What did you make
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: of I guess the Blues performance of a zero in
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: on that.
• 6:47
  Speaker 3: Yeah, the Blues are a bit of an enigma, aren't they.
• 6:49
  Speaker 3: Because they suggested that they'd turned a wee bit of
• 6:54
  Speaker 3: a corner, although the opposition was a wee bit lightweight
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: and dispatching the force and the drur You and I
• 7:01
  Speaker 3: both and most people were not convinced by that. But
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: it was the second time this year they've string back
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: to back performances to gain either and you felt like
• 7:11
  Speaker 3: maybe they bit of momentum coming into the playoffs that
• 7:14
  Speaker 3: they were gonna get the shit together and you make
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: a bit of a run to defend their title. But
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: they just they're so one dimensional. Yeah, they really are,
• 7:23
  Speaker 3: and it's predictable and teams know what's coming, and if
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: you front physically, particularly around the fringes, you stop their
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: one off runners and mine I didn't do that throughout
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: that match, but they did do it enough. Then you
• 7:38
  Speaker 3: blunt pretty much their own weapon.
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: Didn't use Caleb Clark enough, didn't use aj Lamb enough,
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: didn't see a lot of the ball in midfield. It
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: just felt a very one dimensional on attack. I don't
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: think they've got some of those selections right in the
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: back line. Zavvy twy looks very, very promising, but I
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: think they needed to go with perhaps a Harry Plumber
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: at twelve just to give them a bit more direction
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: on the Park. It felt like that was lacking. Rico
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: Yuani very very quiet again and couldn't have an influence
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: on the game, So try as they might. You know,
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: Patrick tweop a lot of upfront. Always gives you what
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: you want Hoskins to to do, you know, Doll and
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: Pupalai turned up. The obviously had injuries with Chat ruled
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: out late Christie and then Anton Signey going off a
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: horrible injury. But they're just not playing like the team
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: they were last year. We've said that a number of
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: times and again just looked really clunky on the weekend.
• 8:33
  Speaker 3: Yeah, maybe they are playing like the team they were
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: last year. They're just not as effective enough, and they
• 8:39
  Speaker 3: are missing guys like Offer, who I think was a
• 8:42
  Speaker 3: big part of their success last year, particularly at Set Peace,
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: and that real physicality. But you have to evolve and
• 8:50
  Speaker 3: what worked one year does not the next. And if
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: you stand still, you will be overtaken. And I think
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: it's really that simple with the Blues. They're not being
• 8:58
  Speaker 3: as efficient and effective and what they were doing last year,
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: whether it's the Set Peace look or converting their chances
• 9:06
  Speaker 3: when they get down to the opposition twenty two and
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: they've just there's not enough. They're not posing enough threats.
• 9:15
  Speaker 3: Teams know exactly what's coming and the devising plans to.
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: Stop it they are. Let's go back to Friday night,
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: the Crusaders beating the Warritars forty eight thirty three in Sydney. Look,
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: Crusaders never felt in danger of losing this one. They
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: were comfortably hit at halftime, but a lot of points
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: on the board in the first spell, a little bit
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: clunky after halftime, and then we disappointed not take a
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: bonus point away from Sydney because they probably deserved to.
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: And that's the question. I guess they've conceded a lot
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: of points this year. They've been able to score a
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: lot of points, but conceded a lot. But in terms
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: of a balance back from that, Chiefs lost the week before,
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: probably a pass mark for the Crusaders. Johnny mcnichkell looked
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: I thought good at fullback rivers Rayhanna looked a lot
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: better than he did the previous week. They had the
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: front football and they got going and it was a
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: case of job done for the Crusaders.
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: Yeah, a lot of questions around about why Mecha Springer
• 10:07
  Speaker 3: wasn't involved in this team thinking did he score four
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: five five tries in a match and then got dropped
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: the previous week. I would like to see him in
• 10:14
  Speaker 3: the mixt I think he's a really dangerous proposition. But
• 10:16
  Speaker 3: Johnny McNichol was really good from fullback. Yes, hard to
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: know quite what to take out of this game. The Crusaders,
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: like you say, we're very good, dominant in the first
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: half and when you build a lead like that you
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: can take the foot off of gas to a certain
• 10:29
  Speaker 3: extent by the Crusaders lineout was a bit wobbly, as
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: you mentioned. They can see a lot of points and
• 10:35
  Speaker 3: those areas where you would have concerns leading into the playoffs.
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: But look, Sydney has not been a happy hunting ground
• 10:43
  Speaker 3: for them. The Waratars have been much better at home
• 10:45
  Speaker 3: this year. The failure to get a bonus point could
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: potentially cost them top spot. That will hurt, That will frustrate,
• 10:54
  Speaker 3: but yeah, a case of job done. Really.
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah, They've got bigger challenges on the horizon to close
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: out their season, Honders and the brum Beads in the
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: final round. So that's a lot to work through in
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: terms of the Crusaders, and you know, whether they get
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: into those top two spots for the playoffs. Now in
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: New Zealand, Derby Friday Night Hurricanes Thissus the Highlanders can
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: roy Guard wins it after the sireen for the home
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: team and for me, this is probably the Highinder's best
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: performance since they beat the Blues way back in round two,
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: round three, whenever it was, they come out on the
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: losing side. But this is what we've wanted to see
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: from the hind Is this kind of what we saw
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: in the opening few weeks when Tabatavanawa has been talking
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: about as an All Blacks boulter and various other things.
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: He was good on the weekend. I thought taniel Talia
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: Tanielu Talia was very good. Number of good individual performances.
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: They deserved probably to at least take it the super point,
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: but they couldn't quite get there in the end and
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: the Hurricanes just refused to die. What did you make
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: of that performance?
• 11:59
  Speaker 3: Very impressive performance from the Highlanders. They dominated large parts
• 12:03
  Speaker 3: of that game physically won a lot of contests. The
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: Hurricanes lost a lot of players and you none Punavi
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: a number of others carrying Knox that the midfielders really
• 12:16
  Speaker 3: Higgins and Billy Proctor, so interesting to see how they
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: pull up. But yeah, I think the Highlands will feel
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: that's one that's got away. They went to Wellington, really
• 12:26
  Speaker 3: took it to the Hurricanes. Fabian Holland was another one
• 12:28
  Speaker 3: that really stood up, challenged the Hurricanes line out. Got
• 12:31
  Speaker 3: a couple of steels there, so pressing his case for
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: national inclusion later this year, and the Hurricanes really got
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: out of jail. Can Royguard plays eighty minutes, sneaks over
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: at the death really important one for the Hurricanes to
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: stay in the mix. They do have a wee bit
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: of breathing room with a game in hand on the
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: likes of the Blues. But yeah, I expected a lot
• 12:53
  Speaker 3: more of the Hurricanes had got the train rolling in
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: recent weeks and all very nearly came off the tracks.
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it was nearly case of the Auckland rail system
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: in the end for the Hurricanes. But look they've got
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: the job done and and they built confidence from wins. Yes,
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: not maybe not performances, but wins getting a bit of
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: a roll on. You know, they've got a couple of
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: tough games to come. Reds Away more wanted to finish.
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: So when you look at that playoff mix. Brumbi's out
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: on top of the moment on forty three, but they've
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: got one buy to come the Chiefs, Crusaders and behind
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: on forty one. Reds, Hurricanes and mo Wanda Pacifica. You know,
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: Reds and Hurricanes and one have all got to play
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: each other in a little week's circle. So there are
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: points to be dropped, points to be one and the
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: Blues obviously on the outside as well looking in. So
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: the Hurricanes sit comfortably, but you know that's a big
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: game this weekend against the Reds and Brisbane.
• 13:46
  Speaker 3: It is and the Reds have been very good in Brisbane.
• 13:50
  Speaker 3: They towled up the Blues there and it's not an
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: easy place to go. Sun Court great venue. Very interesting
• 13:57
  Speaker 3: to see what the Hurricanes do with Brick Cameron back.
• 13:59
  Speaker 3: I thought he was good and Ruben Love probably played
• 14:01
  Speaker 3: his best rugby from fullback, sparked a breakout. So Rubin
• 14:06
  Speaker 3: Love started at ten the past three weeks and perform
• 14:09
  Speaker 3: reasonably will certainly the past couple of weeks not so
• 14:12
  Speaker 3: good against the Hanas without that front four platform. So
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: wouldn't be surprised to see the Hurricanes go back to
• 14:18
  Speaker 3: Brett Cameron at ten. And Reuben Love at fall Back.
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: Interesting, isn't it? And you look at that table. As
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: I mentioned, they're very very tightly congested. As we head
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: into the final couple of weeks of the season, the
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: Highland is playing the Chiefs. Just on the Highlanders performance,
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: They've got the Crusaders this week, Chiefs to finish. That's
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: a tough finish for the Highlands or already bottom of
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: the ladder. I wonder whether they may be targeted That
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: Hurricanes game is maybe not saying it out right, but
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: perhaps this is the one we can target and go
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: let's give our best performance for this one. It was
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: close but didn't quite get there.
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: Yeah. It's brutal, isn't it. And you can see them
• 14:55
  Speaker 3: running out of steam. That's three hugely taxing physical ki
• 15:00
  Speaker 3: we doubies in a row and you can see them.
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: They've already been blown out by the Chiefs and Hamilton
• 15:07
  Speaker 3: this year last push. But it's a big ask, it is, indeed.
• 15:11
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: We'll take quick break here on Rugby Direct, come back
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: with the second half of the podcast and Blues Lock
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: Sam Dowry on the way as well. Back with more
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: after this. Thanks to our friends at Habit Health.
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: This is Rugby Direct, a podcast for real rugby fans.
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: Every try trys sixty second, every tackle tackles, get up again,
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: I take him before after time it's Rugby Direct. You're
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: back with Rugby Direct. Time now for our final four.
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: The Black Ferns in Canada. Twenty seven piece scoring after
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: the siren in christ Church to make a draw. That
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: a conversion from the sideline to win it and go over.
• 15:53
  Speaker 4: Is a draw?
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: A fair result? And what do you learned from a
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: performance like that?
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: I think it is a fair result. Black fans probably
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: getting out of jail to certain degrax. We talked last
• 16:02
  Speaker 3: week that we expected more from than week one, talked
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: about a bit of us. They should have been better
• 16:09
  Speaker 3: week two and I don't think they work in it
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: are coming in cold. Good team have improved a lot
• 16:16
  Speaker 3: in recent years. So great to have a proper head
• 16:19
  Speaker 3: out to be tested, to be pushed like that. But yeah,
• 16:23
  Speaker 3: a number of work on for the Black Ferns. Would
• 16:25
  Speaker 3: you like to see extra time? No, it's a test match,
• 16:29
  Speaker 3: it's not a knock it's not a knockout competition. There's
• 16:33
  Speaker 3: no need for twenty seven all that was a fair result.
• 16:35
  Speaker 3: I thought there's no need for extra time. If if
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: the demanded kicked that from the touch line and one,
• 16:39
  Speaker 3: not great, but twenty seven all. If you can't get
• 16:41
  Speaker 3: it done in eighty in a test match, you don't
• 16:44
  Speaker 3: deserve an extra ten minutes.
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah, what what I would like to see that? I'm sorry,
• 16:48
  Speaker 2: did you have it?
• 16:48
  Speaker 3: I was just gonna say the punters would have liked
• 16:50
  Speaker 3: to a result.
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well you know, but okay, put it to you there. Okay,
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: I say, the opening game of the season plenty all
• 16:55
  Speaker 2: Blacks in France ends in a twenty seven all draw.
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: Would you like to see extra time?
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: No?
• 16:59
  Speaker 3: I agree, I think it's a draw is a viable
• 17:02
  Speaker 3: result in that context, unless you're deciding a title or
• 17:06
  Speaker 3: that sort of context. Yeah.
• 17:07
  Speaker 2: Absolutely. What I do want to see though, some of
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: those SEVENS players coming through Alan Bunting. I mean, understandable
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: because Georgia Miller, Stacy Wacker reci pot of Landa and
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: arrived in on the Monday and so didn't play them.
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: But I would like to see them against the United
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: States this weekend because time is running out. I mean,
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: I think they're guaranteed World Cup selections, but in terms
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: of getting them into a run on fifteen or twenty three.
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: This has to be the week against the United States
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: on Saturday. Portia Wooden Wickcliffe I thought was good, but
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: I think she needs to move into center. Playing her
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: on the wing, you need to get her hands on
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: the ball and she can be destructive in midfield. Amy
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: Duplassy is a solid option, but I think if you
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: can get portch wood in Wickcliffe and you've got a
• 17:49
  Speaker 2: number of talented wingers that can play alongside Woodman and Wickcliffe,
• 17:53
  Speaker 2: you get a lot more punch out of midfield then
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: probably what you're getting out of Amby Douplass. So Alan
• 17:58
  Speaker 2: Bunting sort of said that he sees her as a wing.
• 18:00
  Speaker 2: I think the time might be changing that. You know,
• 18:02
  Speaker 2: she played there for the Blues and player for the
• 18:03
  Speaker 2: match in the final. To move her in to the midfield, yeah, totally.
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: She needs to get a hand on the ball.
• 18:10
  Speaker 3: She was destructive there for the Blues and probably doesn't
• 18:13
  Speaker 3: she's wasted on the wing. Yeah, and probably doesn't have
• 18:16
  Speaker 3: the same out and outpace either that she used to have.
• 18:19
  Speaker 3: But you look at others, there's a catalog of players
• 18:24
  Speaker 3: who have moved in throughout their careers and yeah, I
• 18:28
  Speaker 3: think there's a change of thinking needed there Black.
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: Fans, United States. On Saturday afternoon, you can hear that
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: on Gold Sport and iHeartRadio number two. In the Final four,
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: Ireland last week axing their men's seven side. They would
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: do you to compete on the new second tier of
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: the league, they will not be obviously, what implications do
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: you think this has for the World Series in any
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: four New Zealand that line's gone where she don't need
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: a men's seven's program, We're going to do without it.
• 18:53
  Speaker 3: Well, sevens is in a complete state of flux. I
• 18:55
  Speaker 3: saw the International Players Association put out a statement having
• 19:01
  Speaker 3: a crack at World Rugby saying we need to be
• 19:03
  Speaker 3: consulted on any changes this is in and react to
• 19:09
  Speaker 3: World Rugby trying to set up some form of IPL
• 19:13
  Speaker 3: style sevens. Very rogue idea that the players clearly weren't
• 19:18
  Speaker 3: consulted about. I think if Ireland were in the top
• 19:21
  Speaker 3: tier the men's side, they wouldn't have been ax but
• 19:23
  Speaker 3: the fact that they haven't performed in recent times gave
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: Irish Rugby a window or an excuse to ax them.
• 19:30
  Speaker 3: But bring it home to a New Zealand context. If
• 19:34
  Speaker 3: New Zealand Rugby turned around at the end of the
• 19:36
  Speaker 3: season and said, well, the men aren't performing, We're not
• 19:38
  Speaker 3: funding them anymore. There'll be a hell of an outcry.
• 19:41
  Speaker 2: Probably, Yes, I've been I'm a third on the league standings,
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: not the season, just been the season before that. But
• 19:46
  Speaker 2: they've had a pretty big drop They were great at
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: the Olympics as well, but they've had a pretty big
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: drop off in the last twelve months. Would there be
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: an outcry? I don't know. I genuinely look at it
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: and go where is sevens at, especially in the men's
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: game at the moment, the women I think are doing
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: really you know, well, there is and one of the
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: reasons that the Irish gave was the pathways to the fifteens.
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: So they've lost thirty three million New Zealand dollars in
• 20:11
  Speaker 2: their financial statements. But if we look at sevens, what
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: is it existing for at the moment? Is it a
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: pathway to fifteen's or is its own individual sport? I
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: guess in the women's game there is pathways through the
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: fifteens if you want to take that path, and the
• 20:25
  Speaker 2: women sevens seems even a healthier state than the men's
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: at the moment. The Olympic question I suppose around it
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: is that you've got you know that that's come through
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: since twenty sixteen, but that was going to be the
• 20:39
  Speaker 2: savior of the sevens to an extent. In fact, it's
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: sort of now providing more questions around its future. I'm
• 20:46
  Speaker 2: must saying New Zealand will access seven men's sevens team,
• 20:48
  Speaker 2: but I guess there are questions around it and what
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: it's there for. Like in theory, could you take a
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: team out of the World Series and go, we're going
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: to try and qualify a year out from the Olympics,
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: and we're going to put in some more super ruggy
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: players or maybe even all blacks into it rather than say,
• 21:01
  Speaker 2: koreer sevens players, because you know, in New Zealand's in
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: the men's format, it's only taken what one medal from
• 21:08
  Speaker 2: three Olympic Games. So I guess the question that I've
• 21:11
  Speaker 2: gotten a roundabout way is what is the future of
• 21:13
  Speaker 2: New Zealand men's sevens.
• 21:14
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a great question. I think there does need
• 21:17
  Speaker 3: to be a different lens to the men's and women's game,
• 21:20
  Speaker 3: because the woman's very much is not a development but
• 21:25
  Speaker 3: a pathway, and we see that with the transition between
• 21:29
  Speaker 3: for the fifteen's World Cups, for the last World Cup,
• 21:32
  Speaker 3: for this World Cup, and it is a great way
• 21:35
  Speaker 3: to introduce young females to the game and remains that
• 21:39
  Speaker 3: way where the men we have seen some crossover in
• 21:42
  Speaker 3: recent times. I think maybe five or six for this
• 21:45
  Speaker 3: Super Rugby season came directly from last year's men's sevens.
• 21:50
  Speaker 3: But I have major questions about the future of the circuit,
• 21:55
  Speaker 3: of the relevance of the men's, of the funding. But
• 22:01
  Speaker 3: it is hard because of that historical piece when you
• 22:04
  Speaker 3: think about and we're going back a long time here,
• 22:06
  Speaker 3: but the height of the Culen, the Lomos, the Hong
• 22:10
  Speaker 3: Kong sevens. But everything evolves and changes.
• 22:13
  Speaker 2: It does, and it just feels like no one quite
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: knows what to do with the World Series at the moment.
• 22:18
  Speaker 2: Obviously more changes on the way for next year, and
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: you know, there's all sorts of questions about where it
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: sits in the New Zealand program as well. You got
• 22:27
  Speaker 2: what two hundred odd Super Rugby players in the six
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: franchises based in New Zealand. Obviously some of those are
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: Fijian and someone in players from one to PACIFICA but
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: unless you're real seven specialists you are kind of already
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: dealing with. And I don't mean it's disrespectfully, but players
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: below the top two hundred in New Zealand.
• 22:48
  Speaker 3: All, let's break it down further. When was the last
• 22:50
  Speaker 3: time you actually sat down outside and of the Olympics
• 22:53
  Speaker 3: and watched the men's sevens that I honestly there might
• 22:59
  Speaker 3: have been one or two games, but very rarely because
• 23:01
  Speaker 3: of time zones. New Zealand doesn't have a tournament anymore.
• 23:04
  Speaker 3: It is really losing relevance.
• 23:06
  Speaker 2: Look, yeah, and it's hard because it's been always been
• 23:09
  Speaker 2: this globe trotting event, but it was always centered around
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: you know, we'll see them in Wellington. You know, you
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: might catch some of the Hong Kong sevens and all
• 23:16
  Speaker 2: that sort of thing. But it just feels like World
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: RABIY doesn't know what to do with it, and it
• 23:20
  Speaker 2: wants to be at the Olympics. It wants that spot there.
• 23:23
  Speaker 2: I just wonder whether maybe you know, not cut your
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: losses necessarily, but you're outside of a seven, outside of
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: a Olympics, you don't have it. It's not the Komwealth
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: Games anymore for it for twenty twenty six. So that's
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: another event gone. There's no World Cup anymore. So I
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: feels like World Rabih does not what to do with it.
• 23:41
  Speaker 2: It feels like, yeah, there's a as you said that
• 23:44
  Speaker 2: the top real state of flux around that topic. Three
• 23:47
  Speaker 2: will you draw a line through the Blues?
• 23:51
  Speaker 3: Well, a few weeks ago I said they'll make the playoffs,
• 23:53
  Speaker 3: but they won't won the title, and.
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: I will stick with that. Who do they coming for
• 23:59
  Speaker 2: in the playoffs? Then they've got one game to go,
• 24:02
  Speaker 2: more of two games and it gets a game in hand,
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: two games to go to the Blues one. Hurricanes have
• 24:08
  Speaker 2: two games to go. The Reds have two games to go. There,
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: you know they're on the outside looking at they are.
• 24:15
  Speaker 3: Is a very difficult run home for Moana, and I
• 24:18
  Speaker 3: think they will struggle to consistently back up those performances.
• 24:22
  Speaker 3: They've got the Chiefs and the Hurricanes. I can't see
• 24:26
  Speaker 3: them beating the Chiefs. They could tip up the Hurricanes.
• 24:29
  Speaker 3: So that's the make up great game for them. So
• 24:32
  Speaker 3: I will say they will sneak in at Mowana's expense.
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: I think you're probably right. I don't know. I mean,
• 24:39
  Speaker 2: I don't think they can win it, but I think
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: they can make the playoffs. They can sneak in because
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: as I said before, you know to reads Hurricanes, Moana,
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: they've all got to play each other sort of over
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: the next couple of weeks. Cannibalization, Yeah, but a cannibalization
• 24:52
  Speaker 2: going on there. Top number four Loyal Listen to Floyd
• 24:57
  Speaker 2: also pitched this as well. It was on the sheep
• 25:00
  Speaker 2: or ready to discuss. It's an interesting question. It's been
• 25:02
  Speaker 2: talked about a lot in the last forty eight hours
• 25:03
  Speaker 2: and in fact through the season. Ardie sav and the
• 25:06
  Speaker 2: All Blacks Captaincy, this question will not go way around
• 25:08
  Speaker 2: whether he is the better option to lead the All Blacks.
• 25:12
  Speaker 2: Where do you sit on this? We've seen what his
• 25:15
  Speaker 2: leadership has done for more onea Pacific. Could he do
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: the same for the All Blacks?
• 25:18
  Speaker 3: Yes, he could, and I think it is increasingly looking
• 25:23
  Speaker 3: like a misstep. And I can totally understand it from
• 25:28
  Speaker 3: Raiser's perspective. He had the relationship with Scott Barrett, and
• 25:32
  Speaker 3: we saw that with Ian Foster and Samkin that those
• 25:36
  Speaker 3: relationships are intrinsic to being on the same page getting
• 25:41
  Speaker 3: your messaging rights. But I think Scott Barrett's and he'd
• 25:46
  Speaker 3: probably say this himself was a reluctant All Blacks captain
• 25:48
  Speaker 3: is still very much growing into that role where Ardi
• 25:52
  Speaker 3: is ready now. And so I think we've seen how
• 25:57
  Speaker 3: inspirational he's been and the makeup of the All Blacks.
• 26:01
  Speaker 3: There's a number of Pacific Polynesian athletes in that team,
• 26:06
  Speaker 3: and I think Artie spom like no one else can.
• 26:11
  Speaker 3: So I think he should be the All Blacks captain.
• 26:15
  Speaker 2: He can lead him anyways. And it's not a knock
• 26:18
  Speaker 2: on Scott Barrett.
• 26:19
  Speaker 3: I just I feel like Artie would be a better
• 26:21
  Speaker 3: All Blacks captain and that would also allow Scott Barrett
• 26:25
  Speaker 3: to drop the shoulders Scott.
• 26:28
  Speaker 2: The depressions now on Scott Barrett. Isn't that because and
• 26:31
  Speaker 2: you know, not saying that Scott Robinson's going to make
• 26:33
  Speaker 2: the call and whatever, but he won't. He won't. But
• 26:36
  Speaker 2: Artie Savy has shown what he can do. Scott Barrett
• 26:40
  Speaker 2: hasn't played that well this year, struggle with injuries last
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: year and obviously the first season being All Blacks captain.
• 26:47
  Speaker 2: Can he deliver? Can he do both? I suppose it's
• 26:50
  Speaker 2: the question can he play to a world class standard
• 26:51
  Speaker 2: and can he lead the team. We've seen artists to
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: be a player to world class standard for more wider
• 26:56
  Speaker 2: pacifica and lead them exemplary. Whether that can translate to
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: Super Rugby level. A lot of the things he did
• 27:03
  Speaker 2: on Saturday night may not translate to Test level. He's
• 27:06
  Speaker 2: probably not going to do the outrageous chip and chase
• 27:10
  Speaker 2: necessarily he may do at Test level. I don't know,
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: but he probably put that in his pocket a little
• 27:14
  Speaker 2: bit Addie Sevia, But in some of those tuneovers, maybe
• 27:18
  Speaker 2: he doesn't get those at Test level when they're read
• 27:20
  Speaker 2: a little bit differently. But I think the onus now
• 27:22
  Speaker 2: is on Scott Barrett to go prove that you're a
• 27:25
  Speaker 2: world class player as well as world class captain.
• 27:27
  Speaker 3: There's different styles of leadership. Scott Barrett doesn't need to
• 27:30
  Speaker 3: be Artie Severe. Artie Severe is not going to be
• 27:32
  Speaker 3: Scott Barrett. So Artie Severe is the follow me type
• 27:35
  Speaker 3: skipper Scott Barrett as his own man, and the same
• 27:39
  Speaker 3: for Richie mccare and they're like some captaincy leadership styles
• 27:45
  Speaker 3: are vocal, some are performance based, and everyone's different. You
• 27:51
  Speaker 3: need to find what works for you. And Test rugby
• 27:54
  Speaker 3: is very different to Super and it's not it's also
• 27:56
  Speaker 3: not just on one guy, but his vice captain on
• 28:00
  Speaker 3: the on the on the evidence of the past eighteen months,
• 28:03
  Speaker 3: you would say Artie Severe should be the All Blacks captain.
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: Let's get into tipping now. We both picked four correctly.
• 28:11
  Speaker 2: I picked Mowana to beat the Blues though, and you
• 28:13
  Speaker 2: picked the Brumbies to beat the Reds and win the
• 28:16
  Speaker 2: opposite right around there. So the important news is that
• 28:18
  Speaker 2: I still have an eight point lead. Crusaders. Highland is
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: Friday nights at Orange Theory Apollo Projects am I Stadium
• 28:26
  Speaker 2: in christ Church.
• 28:27
  Speaker 3: Up the Landlers, but I'll tip the Thrusaders.
• 28:29
  Speaker 2: Crusaders. Job done. Read's Hurricanes. We blip a blip on
• 28:33
  Speaker 2: the old tracks for the hurricane the Cane train last week,
• 28:38
  Speaker 2: there's Lee's kiss take full advantage.
• 28:41
  Speaker 3: The Canes are pretty banged up, aren't they back. I
• 28:43
  Speaker 3: can't not tip them. We could, I'm not going to.
• 28:47
  Speaker 3: So there you go checks Mowana Pacifica and they do
• 28:52
  Speaker 3: it two weeks in a row. Wana they can, but
• 28:56
  Speaker 3: I will not tip them to do so. I am
• 28:59
  Speaker 3: going to tip them to do so. Forced warratas this
• 29:02
  Speaker 3: is the game you're almost looking forward to.
• 29:04
  Speaker 4: I know.
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: Perth on Saturday night.
• 29:07
  Speaker 3: Liam Yes will be sitting up for this one with
• 29:09
  Speaker 3: the popcorn and Lolly's very tough game to Tip, I
• 29:14
  Speaker 3: will go the tars.
• 29:16
  Speaker 2: I'm going to get the fourth time team to win
• 29:19
  Speaker 2: that one MVP Medal voting time now the official Super
• 29:22
  Speaker 2: Rugby MVP Medal has been decided. But this is the
• 29:25
  Speaker 2: real the real deal is Yeah. Yeah, Addie Savia already
• 29:29
  Speaker 2: had a six point buffer over Bowden, Barrett nineteen plays
• 29:32
  Speaker 2: thirteen Well Jordan and Quincapiere thirty, Belond nine, Rick and Artie.
• 29:36
  Speaker 2: Save gets any more points this week? A couple? Yeah, okay,
• 29:39
  Speaker 2: give us ones then then.
• 29:41
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so Ardie is going to get the three, get
• 29:43
  Speaker 3: the chocolates. Impossible. Isn't that to overlook such a herculean performance.
• 29:50
  Speaker 3: I'm going to give two to cam Rugard. I think
• 29:51
  Speaker 3: it's the first time that she's played eighty minutes. Is
• 29:53
  Speaker 3: a bit of anks among Hurricanes fans every time he
• 29:57
  Speaker 3: was replaced and so drop off Yeah, big time. And
• 30:02
  Speaker 3: the fact he scored the match winning try speaks to
• 30:04
  Speaker 3: his ability to go that long. So too to Rugad
• 30:07
  Speaker 3: and one to tough Aha. I thought he was a
• 30:10
  Speaker 3: center of vastly improved Harland's performance a couple of big
• 30:14
  Speaker 3: turnover turnovers on his own line and back to the
• 30:18
  Speaker 3: midfield where he it's close to the action.
• 30:20
  Speaker 2: It was pointed out to me last week that actually
• 30:21
  Speaker 2: forgot to give my three two webs in the podcast,
• 30:24
  Speaker 2: so I will make sure I do this week. Artie
• 30:26
  Speaker 2: gets my three, cam Roiger gets my two as well,
• 30:28
  Speaker 2: and Kira in time Woifelour gets my one point. So
• 30:31
  Speaker 2: Artie's lead now out to about twelve points, not insurmountable
• 30:37
  Speaker 2: necessarily because we do go through the playoffs as well,
• 30:40
  Speaker 2: but he's probably odds on favorite to win the MVP
• 30:44
  Speaker 2: Medal voting. Just one thing I did want to touch
• 30:46
  Speaker 2: on before we go to Sam Darrow, who's standing by
• 30:48
  Speaker 2: to jump in the studio. The fascical scenes on Saturday
• 30:52
  Speaker 2: night around the TMO decision that they went back three
• 30:57
  Speaker 2: phases and everyone had this say. Angus Gardner, the touch
• 31:02
  Speaker 2: judge who his name escapes me and Ben O'Keeffe all
• 31:05
  Speaker 2: had this say as to deciding whether they could rule
• 31:08
  Speaker 2: it out, whether it was in protocol or not. This
• 31:10
  Speaker 2: is further example of just too many rules, too much,
• 31:14
  Speaker 2: too many things in the rule book complicating rugby. I
• 31:18
  Speaker 2: think they made the right call because he was out.
• 31:20
  Speaker 2: Artists have obviously played his case and said it's outside
• 31:22
  Speaker 2: the phases, and you know it probably is correct. But
• 31:27
  Speaker 2: they talked about five or six minutes and I still
• 31:29
  Speaker 2: the fan didn't not at the end whether they made
• 31:32
  Speaker 2: the right call in terms of the law book or
• 31:34
  Speaker 2: the wrong one.
• 31:35
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think common sense probably prevailed. But the whole process,
• 31:39
  Speaker 3: the confusion speaks to rugby's convolutedness, doesn't it. And it
• 31:45
  Speaker 3: just needs to have some hard and fast rules. Either
• 31:48
  Speaker 3: you want their intrusion or you don't. But there was
• 31:53
  Speaker 3: another example of this recently where they went so far back.
• 31:57
  Speaker 3: Who was that was that the Crusaders game? Yeah, I
• 32:00
  Speaker 3: can't remember, but it was the Blues against the Reds
• 32:05
  Speaker 3: in Brisbane and they went back twenty odd phases in
• 32:09
  Speaker 3: that regard. And it's unnecessary. You render so much of
• 32:13
  Speaker 3: the action irrelevance. So just make it clearer, because, like
• 32:18
  Speaker 3: you say, the viewer is the one that's sitting there
• 32:21
  Speaker 3: losing time and baffled by the end of it about
• 32:24
  Speaker 3: what's actually happening. If the refreeze don't know, how's the family.
• 32:27
  Speaker 2: And the temo it's this overarching thing that are supposed
• 32:30
  Speaker 2: to know and be correct on the rules, and yes,
• 32:34
  Speaker 2: adding another complicated layer. So look, sort it out, sort
• 32:39
  Speaker 2: it out. And as I said, I've said number of
• 32:41
  Speaker 2: times in the program, been the team right, Sam Dearry
• 32:45
  Speaker 2: going to join us on Rugby Direct blues Loot currently
• 32:48
  Speaker 2: endured with a shoulder injury. Let's go to our chat
• 32:51
  Speaker 2: with Sam Derek. Sam Darry, welcome to Rugby Direct.
• 32:53
  Speaker 4: Thanks for coming in, thanks for having me.
• 32:56
  Speaker 2: Well, it's been obviously a frustrating season for you to date.
• 33:00
  Speaker 2: I guess first and foremost, how's the injury progressing and
• 33:02
  Speaker 2: when can we might maybe see you back on the park.
• 33:04
  Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, that definitely has been frustrating, come to terms
• 33:08
  Speaker 5: of it all now. But Andrew's progressing well. I had
• 33:11
  Speaker 5: had a specialist appointment a week ago actually and gave
• 33:15
  Speaker 5: me the all clear to start lifting weights kind of
• 33:18
  Speaker 5: bench press above head press and all that kind of things.
• 33:21
  Speaker 5: Progressing too, a few skills and then kind of mapped
• 33:23
  Speaker 5: out a little bit more what the next kind of
• 33:27
  Speaker 5: two months look like. So yeah, still about two two
• 33:30
  Speaker 5: and a half months roughly away from playing, so targeting
• 33:33
  Speaker 5: the final NPC preseason game for Kennery and then hopefully
• 33:37
  Speaker 5: be available for round one. I think we've got Wellington,
• 33:40
  Speaker 5: so yeah, it's it's quite exciting having that kind of
• 33:44
  Speaker 5: set date and having something to work towards, you know,
• 33:46
  Speaker 5: whereas the first few months can be a bit difficult
• 33:49
  Speaker 5: where you kind of feel like you're working. You're obviously
• 33:52
  Speaker 5: working towards something, but it's so far in the distance,
• 33:54
  Speaker 5: you know, So having that end date in the near
• 33:57
  Speaker 5: future is exciting.
• 33:58
  Speaker 2: Has it been a frustrating year or did you manage
• 34:01
  Speaker 2: to say get over it quickly? We're kind of rehabit,
• 34:04
  Speaker 2: are you No?
• 34:05
  Speaker 4: I think that's I think you did right. Obviously, very
• 34:07
  Speaker 4: very straining. At first.
• 34:10
  Speaker 5: It took a week bit to come to terms with
• 34:12
  Speaker 5: I think, you know, it kind of didn't really seem real.
• 34:15
  Speaker 5: Kind of happened very quickly, and then was seeing surgeons
• 34:18
  Speaker 5: getting different opinions, and then about a week later I
• 34:21
  Speaker 5: was under the knife, and even then it was kind
• 34:23
  Speaker 5: of very surreal. And I don't think it was until
• 34:25
  Speaker 5: the first our first home game up here.
• 34:29
  Speaker 4: Was out. The game was in the sheds.
• 34:31
  Speaker 5: You know, you smell the deep peat, you get all
• 34:33
  Speaker 5: those kind of feels, and then all of a sudden
• 34:35
  Speaker 5: you don't get to go on the field. So that
• 34:37
  Speaker 5: was when it kind of hit home that this was
• 34:39
  Speaker 5: going to be the reality for the next six months.
• 34:41
  Speaker 5: But as you say, that's it was kind of about, Wow,
• 34:44
  Speaker 5: there's nothing I could do about it, so kind of
• 34:46
  Speaker 5: coming to terms with it, as you say, getting over
• 34:49
  Speaker 5: it and trying to focus on what I can to
• 34:52
  Speaker 5: improve my foot and outside of rugby as well.
• 34:55
  Speaker 3: Is this your first major injury carew.
• 34:59
  Speaker 4: It's the longest one I've had.
• 35:00
  Speaker 5: I broke my arm two years ago and that put
• 35:04
  Speaker 5: me out for about four months, but it was kind
• 35:05
  Speaker 5: of near the back end of Super and start of MPC,
• 35:09
  Speaker 5: so I think I actually only missed about maybe eight
• 35:11
  Speaker 5: to ten games, I think. So this has definitely been
• 35:15
  Speaker 5: the longest in terms of missed the whole season six
• 35:17
  Speaker 5: months rehab, whereas I I think a month or two
• 35:21
  Speaker 5: of the rehab for my arm was during the off
• 35:23
  Speaker 5: season between the two. So it has been But yeah,
• 35:28
  Speaker 5: I guess I've had a few niggles and stuff and
• 35:30
  Speaker 5: as I said, my arm, so it's kind of I
• 35:31
  Speaker 5: know what the process looks like.
• 35:33
  Speaker 3: Yeah, just in terms of the rehab and everything I've
• 35:35
  Speaker 3: heard from previous players, it can be quite a lonely existence.
• 35:38
  Speaker 3: I guess you know, us a team sport, used to
• 35:42
  Speaker 3: the camaraderie and doing things together. But if you're injured,
• 35:45
  Speaker 3: you're you're often off by yourself or isolated to a degree.
• 35:49
  Speaker 3: What's said experience been.
• 35:51
  Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, it.
• 35:53
  Speaker 5: Can be a Weever, I'm actually pretty fortunate, well fortunate
• 35:57
  Speaker 5: for me, maybe not for him, but Ran Paul, who's
• 36:00
  Speaker 5: in the Blues this year. He did a very very
• 36:02
  Speaker 5: similar injury, I think a week later than me. So
• 36:06
  Speaker 5: we both kind of come and go a wee bit
• 36:07
  Speaker 5: like I'm down and I shot a wee bit for
• 36:09
  Speaker 5: UNI and for seeing family and stuff, and he's down
• 36:12
  Speaker 5: in the mound to weep it. But we're lucky that
• 36:14
  Speaker 5: our training programs look lot quite similar, so we kind
• 36:16
  Speaker 5: of do a lot of it together. He's a week
• 36:18
  Speaker 5: or so behind me in his reheab, so he's kind
• 36:21
  Speaker 5: of always asking me what it's been like and all that.
• 36:23
  Speaker 5: But I've tried to stay as connected as I can.
• 36:26
  Speaker 5: I took a wee bit of a break through the
• 36:27
  Speaker 5: middle of the year, but when I'm in Auckland, I'm
• 36:29
  Speaker 5: going all the meetings, I'm helping out where I can
• 36:33
  Speaker 5: I'm in the gym with the boys, I'll be out
• 36:35
  Speaker 5: at training with it, just do a moone running.
• 36:37
  Speaker 4: Or whatever it is.
• 36:37
  Speaker 5: So it definitely can be lonely, but I've tried to
• 36:40
  Speaker 5: kind of stay as connected as possible, and I guess.
• 36:44
  Speaker 4: To try and help with that.
• 36:45
  Speaker 3: What are you studying?
• 36:47
  Speaker 5: Studying a commis degree, So there was one of the
• 36:50
  Speaker 5: things I decided i'd work on with with the injury.
• 36:52
  Speaker 5: So I've been kind of chipping away for about seven
• 36:54
  Speaker 5: years now and I've got four papers to go. So
• 36:57
  Speaker 5: I'm doing three this semester and hopefully all going well.
• 37:00
  Speaker 5: I only have one to do next semester.
• 37:02
  Speaker 3: Nice. Yeah, it's good to have a bit of a
• 37:03
  Speaker 3: balance in life, right.
• 37:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly.
• 37:05
  Speaker 5: And I think Mum and Dad have always been quite
• 37:08
  Speaker 5: big and I think I'm pretty keen on it as well.
• 37:09
  Speaker 5: I think obviously hopefully I don't have to use it
• 37:12
  Speaker 5: for another eighteen years all going well, but I think
• 37:15
  Speaker 5: at the end the end of my career, it might
• 37:17
  Speaker 5: just show that, you know, I can, you know, there's
• 37:19
  Speaker 5: more to me than just tossing the ball around and
• 37:20
  Speaker 5: running through things, you know.
• 37:21
  Speaker 3: Yeah, Perc, you touched on a little bit there. But
• 37:24
  Speaker 3: going back to cross Church for your hometown Elliott's from there,
• 37:29
  Speaker 3: I give them a lot of stick for it, big
• 37:30
  Speaker 3: Crusaders fans. Yeah, yeah, I won't hold that against them.
• 37:33
  Speaker 3: But you know, you turned a few heads, right. It
• 37:37
  Speaker 3: was a surprise you came through the cross Church schooling
• 37:41
  Speaker 3: system into the Canterbury ranks and the move to Auckland's.
• 37:45
  Speaker 3: From the outside in you it was a big risk.
• 37:47
  Speaker 3: You know, the Crusaders were the team they produced a
• 37:51
  Speaker 3: lot of all blacks. What was your thinking at that time?
• 37:56
  Speaker 2: Oh?
• 37:57
  Speaker 5: Mate, it was a very, very difficult decision. I never
• 38:00
  Speaker 5: never saw it as an option. I kind of always assumed,
• 38:04
  Speaker 5: as you say, kind of going through the academy down
• 38:06
  Speaker 5: in christ Church and assume that would be the past way.
• 38:10
  Speaker 5: And then it was actually a bit of a weird
• 38:12
  Speaker 5: one though, because I hadn't really grown up supporting the Crusaders.
• 38:14
  Speaker 5: Because my dad was I think he played one or
• 38:17
  Speaker 5: two games for a Tigo I was born down there.
• 38:20
  Speaker 5: He always supported the Hands growing up. My older brother
• 38:23
  Speaker 5: always supported the Hans growing up, so I kind of.
• 38:25
  Speaker 4: Was supported them as well.
• 38:28
  Speaker 5: And then, but yeah, I just came through the system
• 38:31
  Speaker 5: and always thought there would be the way I went,
• 38:32
  Speaker 5: and then Leon kind of gave me a call one
• 38:35
  Speaker 5: day and very unexpected and kind of just planted the
• 38:39
  Speaker 5: seed and then followed it up a couple of weeks later,
• 38:42
  Speaker 5: and then the Crusaders kind of came to the party and.
• 38:45
  Speaker 3: Had do you have much to do of Leon?
• 38:46
  Speaker 2: Before that?
• 38:47
  Speaker 3: Nah?
• 38:47
  Speaker 4: No, I hadn't had.
• 38:48
  Speaker 5: I hadn't had really. Oh, actually a wee But I
• 38:50
  Speaker 5: went to school with his son, Harry. It was a
• 38:53
  Speaker 5: year above me, I think, so. I think i'd maybe
• 38:55
  Speaker 5: met him then, but but not from a rugby point
• 38:57
  Speaker 5: of view, but I guess yeah, I kind of looked
• 39:02
  Speaker 5: at it and saw I think there was the COVID year.
• 39:05
  Speaker 4: I think it was, so.
• 39:05
  Speaker 5: I think it was when the maybe Leon's first year.
• 39:08
  Speaker 5: I'd had quite a good season and then went over
• 39:10
  Speaker 5: to South Africa and won all the games over there
• 39:12
  Speaker 5: or something, and we're kind of starting to build quite
• 39:14
  Speaker 5: nicely and kind of waged up where I might sit
• 39:19
  Speaker 5: in the picking order in christ Church and in Auckland.
• 39:24
  Speaker 5: Weighed up a heap of different things. I think it
• 39:26
  Speaker 5: probably took me almost a month or two to make
• 39:27
  Speaker 5: my decision. Like I would wake up one day sure
• 39:30
  Speaker 5: that I was coming up here and the next I'd
• 39:31
  Speaker 5: think I was going to stay, so yeah, and then
• 39:35
  Speaker 5: ultimately just decided that, you know, the opportunity up here
• 39:40
  Speaker 5: was not only from a rugby point view, but also
• 39:43
  Speaker 5: just from a life point of view. Like I kind
• 39:46
  Speaker 5: of thought if I stayed in christ Church with the
• 39:48
  Speaker 5: Crusaders that I potentially could be there till I was
• 39:51
  Speaker 5: all going well thirty four to thirty five, and all
• 39:53
  Speaker 5: of a sudden, I'm thirty five years old and never
• 39:55
  Speaker 5: really left christ Church. So sat it as a coo
• 39:57
  Speaker 5: opportunity from that point of view as well, getting out
• 39:59
  Speaker 5: of christ Church moving to Auckland, and also in terms
• 40:03
  Speaker 5: of playing time. Obviously there was still qualitie locks in
• 40:06
  Speaker 5: Auckland at the time, but potentially not as well established
• 40:10
  Speaker 5: as the guys and the Crusaders that you had Luke Romano,
• 40:13
  Speaker 5: Sam Whitelocke, Scott Barrett, Mitch Dunshake, Quinn Strange. So it's
• 40:19
  Speaker 5: some pretty impressive cattle there. But yeah, I'm very glad
• 40:23
  Speaker 5: I made it, and I've never looked back since.
• 40:25
  Speaker 2: How valuable is Simon Like Patrick Tweop, a lot who
• 40:28
  Speaker 2: have been in that transition, I guess coming up from
• 40:30
  Speaker 2: christ Church and having a leader like him to work
• 40:33
  Speaker 2: alongside learn off as a lock. How valuable is someone
• 40:35
  Speaker 2: like him being in your rugby creatives?
• 40:37
  Speaker 4: Yeah? Yeah, he's been awesome.
• 40:40
  Speaker 5: Him and everyone else, all the players, all the locks
• 40:43
  Speaker 5: that I've been fortunate enough to play with, have helped
• 40:46
  Speaker 5: me a heap in my in my journey. But Patty's
• 40:48
  Speaker 5: been you know, you look at who he is. He's
• 40:50
  Speaker 5: a you know, he's not he doesn't speak speak the most,
• 40:53
  Speaker 5: but when he does it carries a lot of weight.
• 40:55
  Speaker 5: And he's obviously a very physical and dominant player, and
• 40:58
  Speaker 5: he's helped me with that in a lot of different areas.
• 41:01
  Speaker 5: And then I think someone like Luke Romano also was
• 41:03
  Speaker 5: massive for me. Him and I had a really good
• 41:05
  Speaker 5: relationship through Canterbury through his when he came up here
• 41:10
  Speaker 5: and played his time up here. He was actually a
• 41:14
  Speaker 5: very kind of big mental for me, I guess, and
• 41:16
  Speaker 5: he was always massive and same with Petty around trying
• 41:18
  Speaker 5: to get me to understand my size were probably you know,
• 41:21
  Speaker 5: growing up a skinny white boy, you never seem to
• 41:25
  Speaker 5: think that you're you're going to be big, and then
• 41:26
  Speaker 5: you kind of start to put on a bit of
• 41:27
  Speaker 5: size and you're not used to kind of using it
• 41:29
  Speaker 5: and manipulating situations to suit your size. So he was
• 41:34
  Speaker 5: really really Gramano was really big for me in their aspect,
• 41:38
  Speaker 5: and so was Petty.
• 41:39
  Speaker 2: Was there a moment where it clicked and said, hey,
• 41:41
  Speaker 2: hang on, I'm a two hundred and four seemed to
• 41:43
  Speaker 2: me to bloke, I can use the size on the
• 41:45
  Speaker 2: rugby field to my advantage.
• 41:48
  Speaker 5: I actually think that almost was away but we played
• 41:51
  Speaker 5: it was super round. Maybe three years ago. We played
• 41:57
  Speaker 5: Fiji Drewer in Melbourne and I kind of just had
• 42:01
  Speaker 5: been romana. I've been working a lot with me around
• 42:03
  Speaker 5: kind of running onto the ball and trying to dictate
• 42:07
  Speaker 5: contact as opposed to catching, and you know, obviously you
• 42:10
  Speaker 5: want to use your feet, but just kind of using
• 42:12
  Speaker 5: your momentum and your size. And had a couple of
• 42:14
  Speaker 5: good carries in that game, a couple of good tackles
• 42:16
  Speaker 5: as well, And I mean them coming up to me
• 42:18
  Speaker 5: after the game and saying, you finally figured it out,
• 42:20
  Speaker 5: And I said, now you just got to do it
• 42:21
  Speaker 5: every week. And I think that part they are doing
• 42:23
  Speaker 5: it every week. I'm still kind of working on. But
• 42:26
  Speaker 5: I think that was a year bit of a confidence booster.
• 42:28
  Speaker 5: I think and yeah, building me up to dominating contact area.
• 42:34
  Speaker 3: How are were you when you move to Aalkland?
• 42:37
  Speaker 5: It was twenty twenty one, so I think I was
• 42:40
  Speaker 5: twenty and then turn twenty one midway through the year.
• 42:44
  Speaker 3: And so twenty four now I guess you know you
• 42:47
  Speaker 3: you go on and off the fields, but in terms
• 42:49
  Speaker 3: of your touched on the size, the physical composition, can
• 42:55
  Speaker 3: you give us a bit of an insight about how
• 42:57
  Speaker 3: you go about putting on weight as it's eating rice
• 43:02
  Speaker 3: noodles whatever it is, because generally speaking, test locks are
• 43:07
  Speaker 3: what one hundred and twenty and thirty kgs? So how
• 43:11
  Speaker 3: much weight have you had to put on? And more specifically,
• 43:13
  Speaker 3: how do you go about it?
• 43:15
  Speaker 5: I think when I came up from memory, I was
• 43:17
  Speaker 5: about one hundred and seven, and I remember it was
• 43:19
  Speaker 5: the first kind of thing they talked about, was putting
• 43:21
  Speaker 5: on weight, and it's I think, I like, it's always
• 43:24
  Speaker 5: been the thing for me, obviously very lucky with my
• 43:26
  Speaker 5: height and it's I guess maybe having a frame that
• 43:30
  Speaker 5: I can carry it. So it's always been the thing
• 43:34
  Speaker 5: for me, and it was obviously my mum's nutritus with
• 43:38
  Speaker 5: the ab so having here on my corner has definitely
• 43:42
  Speaker 5: been very helpful. And honestly, at first when I first
• 43:45
  Speaker 5: came up here, it was anything and everything, Like it
• 43:48
  Speaker 5: was mainly around making sure I was having the protein
• 43:52
  Speaker 5: hits throughout the day, but then around that just anything
• 43:55
  Speaker 5: and everything. Like I think I remember my first year
• 43:57
  Speaker 5: up here, the trainer Phil Herey who's over in Japan now.
• 44:02
  Speaker 5: I think I remember him saying to me like, oh,
• 44:04
  Speaker 5: you can, like if you wanted to, you can go
• 44:07
  Speaker 5: to bed and just before you get bed, you can
• 44:08
  Speaker 5: make it smoothie and when you get up to go
• 44:11
  Speaker 5: to the toilet in the night, you just have your smoothie.
• 44:13
  Speaker 5: And I was just like I was like, far, that's
• 44:16
  Speaker 5: all even extreme, Like it enough, I'm quite going to
• 44:18
  Speaker 5: do that, Like I'm pretty keen just to lie down
• 44:20
  Speaker 5: and sleep for a while. But like it was to
• 44:23
  Speaker 5: that point like I was so skinny and light that
• 44:26
  Speaker 5: they were just trying to peck weight on me anyway
• 44:28
  Speaker 5: they could. And I think I can't remember, but I
• 44:31
  Speaker 5: think I was about one twelve, one thirteen that first
• 44:33
  Speaker 5: super season. But since then it's just been a kind
• 44:36
  Speaker 5: of gradual growth. Probably skim folds probably aren't where they
• 44:40
  Speaker 5: need to be at the moment, which is quite ironic
• 44:42
  Speaker 5: giving Mum's role. But I think because of as you say,
• 44:45
  Speaker 5: the position I'm in and unfortunate enough that my fitness
• 44:49
  Speaker 5: is one of my strengths that I can seem to
• 44:52
  Speaker 5: carry it right around the field. So I guess it's
• 44:56
  Speaker 5: about trying to find that happy medium. But it's still
• 44:57
  Speaker 5: something I'm working on, like especially with the injury, not
• 45:00
  Speaker 5: being out of gym too much for the better part
• 45:03
  Speaker 5: of two months, trying to work on getting their size
• 45:06
  Speaker 5: back up and eating well and little bit more weight.
• 45:09
  Speaker 3: Was one O seven when you sort of came up here,
• 45:13
  Speaker 3: what won twenty ish? Now?
• 45:14
  Speaker 5: Yeap, So I won twenty through Super last year back
• 45:17
  Speaker 5: back around about one eighteen through the AB season, so
• 45:22
  Speaker 5: pretty keen to try and sit around that kind of
• 45:24
  Speaker 5: one eighteen to one twenty mark for the time being,
• 45:26
  Speaker 5: and maybe as I get older that lifts up a
• 45:28
  Speaker 5: wee bit.
• 45:28
  Speaker 3: But yeah, yeah, and you must notice it, I guess,
• 45:31
  Speaker 3: having played international rugby and the like, and you probably
• 45:35
  Speaker 3: didn't play the South African teams, but yeah, coming up
• 45:37
  Speaker 3: against some of those bigger locks, you know it's the difference.
• 45:39
  Speaker 5: And yeah, oh, definitely definitely. I played one game against
• 45:42
  Speaker 5: South Africa off the bench and I think I had
• 45:46
  Speaker 5: one carry and got stripped to.
• 45:48
  Speaker 4: The ball, So still a few work on there.
• 45:51
  Speaker 5: But yeah, you definitely notice it, and even at super level,
• 45:54
  Speaker 5: like as I say, like what Romano and Patty talk about,
• 45:58
  Speaker 5: like just using your size to I guess us a
• 46:00
  Speaker 5: bit of footwork to get a slight weak shoulder, and
• 46:02
  Speaker 5: then just using your body height, your feet, all your
• 46:07
  Speaker 5: hard parts and my area, just trying to go through
• 46:09
  Speaker 5: through the collision. And even if you might make contact
• 46:13
  Speaker 5: and fall, you know, being tall, you kind of fall
• 46:15
  Speaker 5: two meters and then you place. You know, you're already
• 46:17
  Speaker 5: kind of over the game line. So you definitely notice
• 46:20
  Speaker 5: it in the collisions. You notice when you're cleaning rucks,
• 46:24
  Speaker 5: when you're making tackles. It just means you, I think
• 46:26
  Speaker 5: it just means your technique potentially it doesn't have to
• 46:28
  Speaker 5: be as good, so you can kind of get away
• 46:31
  Speaker 5: with a bit more I guess, but obviously in an
• 46:33
  Speaker 5: idea wild your techniquess good and you got the Wight
• 46:35
  Speaker 5: Pine in you.
• 46:36
  Speaker 2: How do you look back at twenty twenty four Blues
• 46:38
  Speaker 2: Championship All Black Stay Boo, pretty big year? Yeah, how
• 46:42
  Speaker 2: do you look back at last year.
• 46:44
  Speaker 5: It was awesome, but I mean it's it's tough because
• 46:48
  Speaker 5: you're never really satisfied. You know, there's still things that
• 46:50
  Speaker 5: I would want to work on and am still driving towards.
• 46:54
  Speaker 5: So you kind of look back at it and you're like, yeah,
• 46:55
  Speaker 5: that was great and it's ticked off a lot of
• 46:58
  Speaker 5: goals I had. But at the same time, it's kind
• 46:59
  Speaker 5: of like, what's next, you know, And that was I
• 47:02
  Speaker 5: guess taken away.
• 47:03
  Speaker 4: Weave it by the injury, but.
• 47:06
  Speaker 5: You know, being rugby player an athlete, yeah, it is
• 47:10
  Speaker 5: kind of tough to stop and smell the flowers at times,
• 47:13
  Speaker 5: I think, because, as you say, it was awesome, but
• 47:17
  Speaker 5: you know, you make it and then you're wanting to start,
• 47:19
  Speaker 5: or you wanted to make the twenty three, and then
• 47:21
  Speaker 5: that happens and you're wanting to you know, there's always
• 47:24
  Speaker 5: something more that kind of comes on top of the
• 47:26
  Speaker 5: goals you might have already had. So it was great,
• 47:29
  Speaker 5: but you're very excited about trying to get back in there,
• 47:31
  Speaker 5: I guess and do it again.
• 47:32
  Speaker 2: You you mentioned that's too African experience. It's someone that
• 47:35
  Speaker 2: didn't play super in South Africa.
• 47:36
  Speaker 4: What was that like?
• 47:37
  Speaker 2: Sold out? Alice Park, the Cape Town Stadium as well.
• 47:40
  Speaker 2: Those were big pressure cooker environments. What was it like
• 47:43
  Speaker 2: playing and being part of the all black environment.
• 47:45
  Speaker 5: In terms of the whole experience, it was incredible. As
• 47:48
  Speaker 5: you say, they've kind of missed that through super and
• 47:51
  Speaker 5: I remember hearing a lot of the boys talk about
• 47:53
  Speaker 5: it and talk about the atmosphere and everything, and yeah,
• 47:56
  Speaker 5: it was unbelievable that they just love their footy over there.
• 48:00
  Speaker 5: They're very passionate Alice Park, it just feels like everyone's
• 48:04
  Speaker 5: on top of you.
• 48:06
  Speaker 4: But no, it was awesome.
• 48:07
  Speaker 5: Obviously disappointing results over there for us and potentially probably
• 48:12
  Speaker 5: disappointing performances myself as well, but in terms of an
• 48:15
  Speaker 5: actual experience of playing in that environment, learning what it's
• 48:19
  Speaker 5: like feeling that pressure, I absolutely love today. It's it's
• 48:25
  Speaker 5: where you want to be as a footy player. It's
• 48:26
  Speaker 5: the games you watch. You know, you remember getting up
• 48:29
  Speaker 5: and at three am in the morning as a kid
• 48:31
  Speaker 5: watching the games, the flyover before the game, the whole
• 48:35
  Speaker 5: kind of experience that goes along with it.
• 48:38
  Speaker 4: It was.
• 48:38
  Speaker 2: It was just incredible and interview till you suffered the
• 48:41
  Speaker 2: knee injury before the Irish Test, Yeah, during the week.
• 48:45
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 48:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so you came home after that. But were you
• 48:48
  Speaker 2: obviously on track to be ready for the super season
• 48:51
  Speaker 2: this year with that need? Yeah?
• 48:52
  Speaker 5: Yeah, so that was just it was a Grade two
• 48:55
  Speaker 5: MCL sprain, so it was I think it was about
• 48:58
  Speaker 5: four to six week recovery, So yeah, it was.
• 49:02
  Speaker 4: On track.
• 49:03
  Speaker 5: I think I went back up to Auckland in about
• 49:05
  Speaker 5: December last year to kind of check in with the
• 49:07
  Speaker 5: physios and they all happen with how I was going,
• 49:09
  Speaker 5: and then yeah, I went back a couple of weeks
• 49:10
  Speaker 5: before we meant to start doing a bit of training.
• 49:13
  Speaker 5: So yeah, everything was was kind of on track and
• 49:15
  Speaker 5: until it wasn't.
• 49:16
  Speaker 2: I guess what's just change text like, what's what's been
• 49:19
  Speaker 2: quite have been like as a as a mentor as
• 49:21
  Speaker 2: a blues coach to you with obviously started under Leon,
• 49:24
  Speaker 2: now Verne's coming last couple of years. What have you
• 49:26
  Speaker 2: learned under under Vincotts.
• 49:28
  Speaker 5: Yeah, he's been amazing, been very fortunate to have to
• 49:31
  Speaker 5: have two great coach as well.
• 49:32
  Speaker 4: A the Blues.
• 49:33
  Speaker 5: Leon was awesome as well, and Vern's kind of come
• 49:35
  Speaker 5: in and just really really built that hard edge. You know,
• 49:39
  Speaker 5: he's very old school. He tells her how it is.
• 49:42
  Speaker 5: But I think I responded quite well to that, that
• 49:44
  Speaker 5: kind of coaching. You know, growing up, Dere was a
• 49:48
  Speaker 5: wee bit like that as well, so you know, it's
• 49:51
  Speaker 5: it's quite familiar to me, and I think it brings
• 49:53
  Speaker 5: the best out of me.
• 49:54
  Speaker 4: You know, he's it's it's I wouldn't say it's very rare.
• 49:59
  Speaker 5: You see him happy, like he is happy when we
• 50:00
  Speaker 5: have good performances, but it's you know, he's I guess,
• 50:03
  Speaker 5: kind of similar to what I touched on before. He's
• 50:05
  Speaker 5: always looking for more because he knows that, I guess,
• 50:08
  Speaker 5: the potential we have as a team. And yeah, him
• 50:12
  Speaker 5: coming in obviously we're very lucky to have some great
• 50:15
  Speaker 5: athletes and some very physically dominant players, but building that
• 50:19
  Speaker 5: hard edge, that ruthlessness throughout the year, and you know,
• 50:23
  Speaker 5: it's potentially something that we might have struggled with this year,
• 50:25
  Speaker 5: but that's kind of what he brings to the table,
• 50:27
  Speaker 5: and he's been amazing for us and in form as
• 50:29
  Speaker 5: a player.
• 50:30
  Speaker 3: How much of a shift in style was it from
• 50:32
  Speaker 3: Leon to vern because from the outside it does seem
• 50:35
  Speaker 3: significant and it did seem to really work for you
• 50:39
  Speaker 3: last year, and maybe teams have figured it out of
• 50:42
  Speaker 3: it this year. Yeah, how much of a shift has
• 50:45
  Speaker 3: that style being?
• 50:46
  Speaker 4: It was? Yeah, it was massive.
• 50:49
  Speaker 5: I really enjoyed it though, because playing in New Zealand,
• 50:52
  Speaker 5: you throughout the Academy systems, through NPC through Super everyone
• 50:56
  Speaker 5: kind of plays quite similarly. Like you have your your structures,
• 51:00
  Speaker 5: whether it's a two four two or one three three
• 51:03
  Speaker 5: one or whatever it is, and you it's quite strict
• 51:06
  Speaker 5: within that and you you know, everyone has that kind
• 51:09
  Speaker 5: of similar approach, whereas he kind of just flipped it
• 51:11
  Speaker 5: completely on its head for what all of us had seen.
• 51:14
  Speaker 5: And it definitely took a while. I remember throughout preseason
• 51:17
  Speaker 5: it was there was a lot of adjusting to it
• 51:19
  Speaker 5: and him trying to get rid of the structure and everything.
• 51:23
  Speaker 5: But I guess, yeah, it just kind of helped us
• 51:25
  Speaker 5: see the game in a different way, and you know,
• 51:28
  Speaker 5: it's obviously quite a European style of play, and yeah,
• 51:33
  Speaker 5: it was.
• 51:33
  Speaker 4: It was awesome.
• 51:34
  Speaker 3: You know.
• 51:34
  Speaker 5: I think, as I said, we having physical athletic players,
• 51:39
  Speaker 5: you know, with Hoskins Paddy Aki last year offer, like
• 51:46
  Speaker 5: I guess, just using them the best we can to
• 51:49
  Speaker 5: kind of beat teams up and go forward was incredible,
• 51:54
  Speaker 5: and I think you see it filtering in a wee
• 51:56
  Speaker 5: bit throughout how other teams are playing out, Like you
• 51:59
  Speaker 5: see how the Chiefs have kind of started to play
• 52:00
  Speaker 5: a webit They have maybe a wee bit more of
• 52:03
  Speaker 5: a balanced approach where they can kind of go to
• 52:04
  Speaker 5: that game if they need. And it's something that we're
• 52:07
  Speaker 5: trying to do as well, is that we don't just
• 52:09
  Speaker 5: want to be a one trick pony. You know, you
• 52:11
  Speaker 5: might have your strengths, but you know, being able to
• 52:14
  Speaker 5: go to it when you need and play away from
• 52:16
  Speaker 5: it when when when you don't. But no, I honestly
• 52:19
  Speaker 5: absolutely loved it as a kind of student of the
• 52:21
  Speaker 5: game and all that. It was awesome to kind of
• 52:23
  Speaker 5: see a different style and see it work as well
• 52:25
  Speaker 5: when a few people kind of doubted us as well.
• 52:27
  Speaker 3: You touched on a little bit there last year, you know,
• 52:29
  Speaker 3: hugely physically physically dominant and directs. It's hard, but can
• 52:35
  Speaker 3: you pinpoint maybe what worked last year and maybe what
• 52:38
  Speaker 3: hasn't this year for the Blues?
• 52:41
  Speaker 4: That's a great question.
• 52:42
  Speaker 3: How long how long we got?
• 52:43
  Speaker 4: Yeah? No, honestly, I think it's a lot of it. No,
• 52:51
  Speaker 4: it's a very tough one. It's a very tough one.
• 52:54
  Speaker 5: You know, we won't make any excuses about the year,
• 52:56
  Speaker 5: but we have a lot of injuries and we've lost
• 52:58
  Speaker 5: a lot of close games. But potentially last year we
• 53:00
  Speaker 5: might have won. So I think it's kind of come
• 53:02
  Speaker 5: down to a lot of like small little moments within
• 53:05
  Speaker 5: within that, as I say, kind of touched on it before,
• 53:09
  Speaker 5: like our ruthlessness last.
• 53:10
  Speaker 4: Year, we were we were very hungry. We were.
• 53:15
  Speaker 5: Wanting to kind of get to that mountaintop, I guess,
• 53:18
  Speaker 5: and and you know, I think our conversion rate in
• 53:22
  Speaker 5: the twenty two was I can't remember what it was,
• 53:24
  Speaker 5: but it was it was pretty sharp. I think, you know,
• 53:26
  Speaker 5: we'd get down there and we'd be patient and we'd
• 53:28
  Speaker 5: come away with points. And it's potentially an area where
• 53:31
  Speaker 5: we haven't been as good this year. We had a
• 53:33
  Speaker 5: very strong mall last year as well that helped us
• 53:36
  Speaker 5: both up the field and in the twenty two, and
• 53:39
  Speaker 5: potentially haven't been able to use that as much as
• 53:41
  Speaker 5: we would like this year. And I think, as you
• 53:44
  Speaker 5: touched on potentially as well, we bit of last year
• 53:47
  Speaker 5: it was quite new, but I guess by the end
• 53:49
  Speaker 5: of the season team still knew we were going to
• 53:51
  Speaker 5: do it, but maybe this year they bit more clued
• 53:53
  Speaker 5: onto it. But there's a number of different factors and
• 53:56
  Speaker 5: I think, as you say, it's hasn't been as successful
• 54:00
  Speaker 5: for us of a year this year, But you know,
• 54:03
  Speaker 5: I think as I say, there's been a lot of
• 54:04
  Speaker 5: close games the Chiefs in Hamilton, the Crusaders and christ
• 54:08
  Speaker 5: here Brumbies at home holand Is down in Duned, and
• 54:10
  Speaker 5: I think they are all one or two points and
• 54:13
  Speaker 5: those are games that last year we won and everyone's
• 54:16
  Speaker 5: kind of singing our praises and for a number of
• 54:19
  Speaker 5: different reasons we haven't and now we're in this position.
• 54:22
  Speaker 4: So it's it's a difficult question answer.
• 54:25
  Speaker 3: Picking up on the coaching theme, leon Vern, did you
• 54:29
  Speaker 3: have Razer with Canterbury?
• 54:31
  Speaker 4: No, I didn't.
• 54:31
  Speaker 5: Even with Canterbury, I did an ITC, which is like
• 54:35
  Speaker 5: an interim training contract for an under twenty guy when
• 54:37
  Speaker 5: you're coming through. I think they're called NDCs, now I
• 54:41
  Speaker 5: did did. I think it's like a ten week training
• 54:43
  Speaker 5: season or training off season with the Crusaders. So I
• 54:47
  Speaker 5: did that in my when I was nineteen, I think,
• 54:49
  Speaker 5: and that was when raiser Jase Ryan's got a handsome,
• 54:53
  Speaker 5: real coach in the Crusaders. So was very fortunate through
• 54:56
  Speaker 5: that as well to get some obviously top tier coaching
• 54:59
  Speaker 5: obviously all all best coaches now, So yeah, that was
• 55:03
  Speaker 5: that was awesome and grew a lot through that as well.
• 55:06
  Speaker 3: What was can you give us some that's about RAS's
• 55:09
  Speaker 3: first year is all black coach? What was your experience,
• 55:12
  Speaker 3: Like we hear a lot about you know, he's a character,
• 55:14
  Speaker 3: he's different, he loves theming. But what was your experience
• 55:18
  Speaker 3: of Humm as a coach and his year first year
• 55:21
  Speaker 3: with the Ablicks?
• 55:22
  Speaker 4: It was awesome, incredible coach.
• 55:25
  Speaker 5: All of them are like you see, you see why
• 55:29
  Speaker 5: they've been so successful because their rugby knowledge is incredible
• 55:33
  Speaker 5: and as you say, the way Raiser kind of themes
• 55:34
  Speaker 5: up as seasons and he just knows the kind of
• 55:38
  Speaker 5: right buttons to push to get the best out of players.
• 55:40
  Speaker 5: He's very personable and he you know, he's got great
• 55:46
  Speaker 5: assistance in great places, and everyone just kind of nails
• 55:48
  Speaker 5: their own role. You know, Razor does his part and
• 55:50
  Speaker 5: kind of oversees the whole thing, and then Scott Henson
• 55:53
  Speaker 5: does a great job with the attack, Tombody Elson does
• 55:56
  Speaker 5: a great job with the d Jason Holland with the
• 55:58
  Speaker 5: set piece, and then Jace Ryan, who's an incredible coach,
• 56:03
  Speaker 5: works bloody hard and he just you know, does an
• 56:05
  Speaker 5: amazing job with the fours. And as I say, you
• 56:07
  Speaker 5: can see why the Crusaders had such a dominant full
• 56:10
  Speaker 5: pack for a number of years and then you know
• 56:12
  Speaker 5: we still do. But a large part of their identity
• 56:15
  Speaker 5: was built by jas by Razor, by all of those guys.
• 56:19
  Speaker 4: So yeah, it was. It was awesome when I learned
• 56:22
  Speaker 4: a lot.
• 56:22
  Speaker 3: Any themes you can share of us that resonated. I
• 56:26
  Speaker 3: talked to Reuben Love and he talked about ker Evans
• 56:30
  Speaker 3: and how there was a clip shown of Sherlock Holmes
• 56:35
  Speaker 3: and visualization breaking out of a cell and then that happening.
• 56:42
  Speaker 3: But yeah, any sort of themes that resonated with you
• 56:44
  Speaker 3: throughout the year, Oh.
• 56:46
  Speaker 4: There was heaps. There was heaps.
• 56:49
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I think a lot of it's quite in house,
• 56:50
  Speaker 5: but but yeah, obviously touched on it. But Kerry Carry
• 56:53
  Speaker 5: is amazing as well. A lot of the stuff he
• 56:55
  Speaker 5: does around We do mental skills work at least once
• 56:58
  Speaker 5: a week as a team, and then there will usually
• 57:01
  Speaker 5: be your own individual time as well, and he's been
• 57:03
  Speaker 5: messively helpful for me as well. And there's a number
• 57:06
  Speaker 5: of different techniques where it was visualization, whether it's learning
• 57:09
  Speaker 5: how to kind of I guess, not compact well, compact mentalized,
• 57:13
  Speaker 5: I guess, around making years and moving on from it and.
• 57:17
  Speaker 4: All sorts of stuff.
• 57:18
  Speaker 5: But yeah, as I say, you just we're just so
• 57:21
  Speaker 5: lucky in that environment that you're just surrounded by all
• 57:24
  Speaker 5: these different people in different fields that are all just experts,
• 57:26
  Speaker 5: and everyone's just kind of trying to nail their own role,
• 57:28
  Speaker 5: which I guess is the whole identity of the team,
• 57:32
  Speaker 5: you know, as everyone being experts in their own area
• 57:34
  Speaker 5: and just you know, you don't have to worry about
• 57:37
  Speaker 5: trying to do X, Y and Z or you're all
• 57:39
  Speaker 5: you're worrying about is naming your own own thing on
• 57:42
  Speaker 5: the field and letting everything else take care of itself.
• 57:45
  Speaker 3: What about your your relationship with your with your mum
• 57:47
  Speaker 3: mostly was obviously in the all blacks. Is it uncomfortable?
• 57:51
  Speaker 3: Was it uncomfortable at first? And then you get used
• 57:53
  Speaker 3: to it? Did you call her mum? That's such a
• 57:56
  Speaker 3: unique dynamic, right, Yeah.
• 57:58
  Speaker 4: Honestly, it was a very unique dynamic.
• 58:00
  Speaker 5: I was, Yeah, I was pretty apprehensive about it at first,
• 58:03
  Speaker 5: Like I when I got named, well, when I got
• 58:06
  Speaker 5: told I was coming as injury color last year, I
• 58:08
  Speaker 5: was up here in Auckland and I was going to
• 58:11
  Speaker 5: be away for three weeks. So I kind of flew
• 58:12
  Speaker 5: home that night for a couple of days, and Mum
• 58:16
  Speaker 5: was flying out the next day earlier than me, and
• 58:20
  Speaker 5: I kind of said, I didn't sit down any guidelines,
• 58:23
  Speaker 5: but I said, like, you know, like you just do
• 58:25
  Speaker 5: your own thing, like just treat me like any player, please,
• 58:27
  Speaker 5: And she's like, yeah, of course, of course, and said goodbye.
• 58:30
  Speaker 5: And I literally said that, I said, I'm saying goodbye
• 58:32
  Speaker 5: to he is my mum. For three weeks, I would
• 58:34
  Speaker 5: see you up there in a professional capacity. And she
• 58:37
  Speaker 5: was very good about it, because I imagine, like, you know,
• 58:40
  Speaker 5: I don't know what it's like to be appearent, but
• 58:41
  Speaker 5: I imagine your son telling you that probably isn't the
• 58:43
  Speaker 5: nicest thing to hear. But she was very good about it,
• 58:47
  Speaker 5: and the first kind of couple of weeks she was
• 58:51
  Speaker 5: she was very good. She kind of keepped a distance
• 58:53
  Speaker 5: and she might shoot me the odd texts like like
• 58:55
  Speaker 5: you know, keen to catch up with you, and I'd
• 58:58
  Speaker 5: kind of try and sneak grounds and.
• 58:59
  Speaker 4: No one saw. It was very funny, like very quickly.
• 59:03
  Speaker 5: Once I got to know a lot of the boys,
• 59:04
  Speaker 5: everyone would give me a lot of stick like I'd
• 59:07
  Speaker 5: start to say like his cat like ironically and the
• 59:09
  Speaker 5: voice of like, oh, come on mate, you know, and
• 59:12
  Speaker 5: then there's a couple of times I at me.
• 59:14
  Speaker 4: There was one time where I think it was about
• 59:18
  Speaker 4: my third week in camp.
• 59:19
  Speaker 5: We were playing England up here, staying at the park
• 59:22
  Speaker 5: Hide and I had had a promo or something, and
• 59:25
  Speaker 5: I come in late for dinner and she was sitting
• 59:28
  Speaker 5: down having dinner and I thought, I'll sit down here
• 59:29
  Speaker 5: to dinner with it. You know, it'd be quite nice
• 59:31
  Speaker 5: and no one else is around, and you know, like thinking,
• 59:34
  Speaker 5: I'm not a sneaged ay window that I can get
• 59:36
  Speaker 5: away with it. And then it must have just been
• 59:38
  Speaker 5: as one of the message windows was ending and about
• 59:41
  Speaker 5: fifteen of the boys all roll through, and everyone just
• 59:44
  Speaker 5: giving me a tiny little bit. You know, everyone's got
• 59:46
  Speaker 5: something to say about it. Oh isn't this cute? I
• 59:49
  Speaker 5: look at you two, and I was just like, but now,
• 59:51
  Speaker 5: once once I got kind of I guess comfortable in
• 59:55
  Speaker 5: the environment and got to know everyone was.
• 59:57
  Speaker 4: I was happy and it was. It was awesome.
• 59:59
  Speaker 5: She was very good about it, and the boys were
• 1:00:00
  Speaker 5: awesome about it. But you know, it's kind of initial stage.
• 1:00:02
  Speaker 5: We're essentially starting a new job with trying to make
• 1:00:05
  Speaker 5: new mates and stuff, and you got your mum looking
• 1:00:07
  Speaker 5: over your shoulder that I was really I'm sure of that.
• 1:00:09
  Speaker 4: But no, it was good Sam.
• 1:00:11
  Speaker 2: You just resigned with New Zealand Rugby and the Blues
• 1:00:14
  Speaker 2: and obviously staying with Canterbury as well for another three
• 1:00:16
  Speaker 2: years through twenty eight. Was it a fairly straightforward decision?
• 1:00:19
  Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, it was. Yeah.
• 1:00:22
  Speaker 5: We actually one of my fat mates asked me this
• 1:00:24
  Speaker 5: last night and I just, you know, like it's I'm
• 1:00:27
  Speaker 5: exactly where I want to be, doing exactly what I
• 1:00:29
  Speaker 5: want to do. As I say, it was a big
• 1:00:32
  Speaker 5: decision to come up to Auckland five years ago, but
• 1:00:34
  Speaker 5: since then I've never looked back. They've been awesome, treated
• 1:00:38
  Speaker 5: me so good as Liam She had been from christ
• 1:00:41
  Speaker 5: which thought, you know, the reception I got up here
• 1:00:44
  Speaker 5: might be a bit mixed, but everyone's just been incredible,
• 1:00:47
  Speaker 5: welcoming with open arms, giving me great opportunities, helped me
• 1:00:53
  Speaker 5: out off the field, on the field and in terms
• 1:00:56
  Speaker 5: of playing career. Like I'm twenty four, I love live
• 1:01:01
  Speaker 5: in New Zealand. I love living in New Zealand, I
• 1:01:03
  Speaker 5: love living in Auckland, love being able to go back
• 1:01:04
  Speaker 5: to Krash each MPC, And yeah, it was it was
• 1:01:07
  Speaker 5: a no brainer.
• 1:01:08
  Speaker 2: As you mentioned earlier, so round about late July potentially
• 1:01:12
  Speaker 2: for a return to the park if you alloyed yourself,
• 1:01:15
  Speaker 2: maybe thought of when hopefully you might be able to
• 1:01:17
  Speaker 2: get back in the All Blacks environment, if you get
• 1:01:19
  Speaker 2: a few games under your belt or the direct distance.
• 1:01:22
  Speaker 4: Yeah, it's obviously the goal, but I think.
• 1:01:26
  Speaker 5: You know, I know that I haven't played a game
• 1:01:29
  Speaker 5: in eight months or whatever, so you know, I know
• 1:01:33
  Speaker 5: that I've got to get some game time onder my
• 1:01:34
  Speaker 5: belt first and that's going to be through the NPC,
• 1:01:37
  Speaker 5: and I'm really excited about that. And obviously it's very unfortunate.
• 1:01:39
  Speaker 5: And you know, at the start of the year I
• 1:01:41
  Speaker 5: set myself some goals and have had to tweak them
• 1:01:45
  Speaker 5: because of the injury. And you know, I'm at peace
• 1:01:48
  Speaker 5: with whatever. I just I'm just keen to get out
• 1:01:50
  Speaker 5: and just play footy to be fair, and that it'll
• 1:01:54
  Speaker 5: be with Canterbury to start, and whether that looks different
• 1:01:57
  Speaker 5: down the line. I'm not sure, but I'd say that
• 1:01:59
  Speaker 5: it's like you're going to be MPC for me this year,
• 1:02:01
  Speaker 5: which is which is very exciting. Been with Kenneby for
• 1:02:04
  Speaker 5: about six years now, I think, and haven't I haven't
• 1:02:07
  Speaker 5: won a championship, so it's a pretty messive goal. And
• 1:02:11
  Speaker 5: I've got a lot of really good mates down there
• 1:02:13
  Speaker 5: that I've kind of come through the academy with, played
• 1:02:16
  Speaker 5: rugby at school against and Worth, so it's a team
• 1:02:19
  Speaker 5: I love playing for and can't wait to get down there.
• 1:02:23
  Speaker 3: What about away from the field, Yeah, you have a
• 1:02:25
  Speaker 3: bit of balance lifestyle. What do you how do you
• 1:02:30
  Speaker 3: sort of balance it because it is very intense rugby,
• 1:02:32
  Speaker 3: you know, you can can be all consuming and you're
• 1:02:36
  Speaker 3: still a young man. It's important to have other other interests.
• 1:02:39
  Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, definitely, definitely in terms of hobbies and stuff.
• 1:02:43
  Speaker 5: I love golf, love my golf. I'm not very good
• 1:02:45
  Speaker 5: at it, but as they love it. You've got a
• 1:02:48
  Speaker 5: good crew up here and down to christ who like
• 1:02:51
  Speaker 5: to get out. So that's actually been quite a tough
• 1:02:52
  Speaker 5: part of the injury as I haven't been able a
• 1:02:54
  Speaker 5: goal for either, so kind of my two kind of
• 1:02:57
  Speaker 5: main loves my goal for my footy. You've been taken away,
• 1:03:00
  Speaker 5: so it's been difficult. But no, and other than that,
• 1:03:04
  Speaker 5: I love very social, Like I love spending time with
• 1:03:07
  Speaker 5: my friends, and that's an awesome part about christ each
• 1:03:10
  Speaker 5: Orklane as well as I've got friends and family and
• 1:03:12
  Speaker 5: christ Chach and a lot of friends up here as well,
• 1:03:14
  Speaker 5: so we got to kind of bounce between the two
• 1:03:16
  Speaker 5: is awesome. And even like through this injury period, that's
• 1:03:19
  Speaker 5: that's kind of a good time to focus a bit
• 1:03:22
  Speaker 5: more on that. You know, you get a wee bit
• 1:03:25
  Speaker 5: more time to you know, your weekends are is busy
• 1:03:27
  Speaker 5: with games and stuff, so you can go out for
• 1:03:30
  Speaker 5: lunch or see people, or go for some trips away
• 1:03:32
  Speaker 5: or whatever. And I guess I've loved that aspect of
• 1:03:37
  Speaker 5: the injury. I guess it's probably the only shining light maybe,
• 1:03:40
  Speaker 5: But yeah, like I've moved in with some mates from
• 1:03:44
  Speaker 5: school and a flat up here for this kind of
• 1:03:46
  Speaker 5: six months as opposed to living with rugby players that
• 1:03:48
  Speaker 5: I've done for the last four years since I've been
• 1:03:50
  Speaker 5: up here. So yeah, I guess he's the injury is
• 1:03:53
  Speaker 5: a bit of an opportunity to get away from rugby
• 1:03:55
  Speaker 5: webit so that when I come back, I'm fresh excited
• 1:03:59
  Speaker 5: to kind of get stuck in for hopefully a decent
• 1:04:01
  Speaker 5: stint of injury free footy.
• 1:04:03
  Speaker 3: And obviously your heart and even everything's a vista in
• 1:04:06
  Speaker 3: the Blues. But who do you say he is odds
• 1:04:09
  Speaker 3: on favorite? So I used to win sleeper this year.
• 1:04:13
  Speaker 5: Well, I mean we're not out of it yet, We're
• 1:04:17
  Speaker 5: still Yeah, so I think I honestly reckon, Like we've
• 1:04:22
  Speaker 5: showed in that game in Hamilton and that game in
• 1:04:25
  Speaker 5: christ Hitch. You know, we were within a point or
• 1:04:28
  Speaker 5: two of beating the two top teams in the comp
• 1:04:31
  Speaker 5: is on the table. So I think we obviously now
• 1:04:36
  Speaker 5: it's a we've been out of a control, but if
• 1:04:38
  Speaker 5: we beat the Tars and a few other results go away,
• 1:04:41
  Speaker 5: we sneak and I think we're going to be very dangerous.
• 1:04:43
  Speaker 5: But outside of us, I think, you know, it's the
• 1:04:47
  Speaker 5: Crusaders and Chiefs says it has kind of been the
• 1:04:49
  Speaker 5: last two, three, four, whatever it is years. You know
• 1:04:54
  Speaker 5: that game down there a couple of weeks ago was
• 1:04:55
  Speaker 5: awesome and the Chiefs probably showed that the potential of
• 1:04:58
  Speaker 5: the team to beat you know, they've gone to the
• 1:05:01
  Speaker 5: final the last two years and their own haven't quite
• 1:05:03
  Speaker 5: got over the two year in our own haven't quite
• 1:05:05
  Speaker 5: got over the humps, So you know they've got that
• 1:05:08
  Speaker 5: fuel I guess to try and.
• 1:05:12
  Speaker 4: You know, go one more, I guess.
• 1:05:14
  Speaker 5: But then obviously you got the Crusaders coming off a
• 1:05:16
  Speaker 5: down season last year as well, so based on form
• 1:05:20
  Speaker 5: this year, I think those two the teams to beat,
• 1:05:22
  Speaker 5: but I wouldn't ride us off just yet.
• 1:05:24
  Speaker 3: And you said you're a big student of the game,
• 1:05:27
  Speaker 3: do you do you see any big shifts or evolutions
• 1:05:31
  Speaker 3: over the last couple of years, both, I guess personally
• 1:05:34
  Speaker 3: and stylistically in terms of teams.
• 1:05:37
  Speaker 5: I think as I kind of touched on around that
• 1:05:39
  Speaker 5: kind of the approach we kind of took to the
• 1:05:42
  Speaker 5: game last year around not as much structure, kind of
• 1:05:46
  Speaker 5: more one off or even know, zero pass plays. As
• 1:05:51
  Speaker 5: I say, it's quite a European style. And you know,
• 1:05:54
  Speaker 5: we're in New Zealand have often like to kind of
• 1:05:57
  Speaker 5: back our skill set. Obviously we've got big players, but
• 1:06:00
  Speaker 5: compared to South Africa and France, we're potentially not the
• 1:06:02
  Speaker 5: most physically or most biggest teams, I guess. But yeah,
• 1:06:08
  Speaker 5: I guess in Super Rugby. That's probably been the approach
• 1:06:10
  Speaker 5: I've noticed. I know Mardy Burke's the attack coach with
• 1:06:14
  Speaker 5: the Chiefs. He tried to implement a bit of that
• 1:06:17
  Speaker 5: kind of game playing game style with us at Kennerby
• 1:06:21
  Speaker 5: last year, and I guess he's adopted that with the Chiefs.
• 1:06:26
  Speaker 5: And as I say, it's being from coming through the
• 1:06:29
  Speaker 5: academy and everything, you're always taught to use your skill. See,
• 1:06:32
  Speaker 5: not that we're not in this style, but yeah, it's
• 1:06:35
  Speaker 5: definitely definitely a different style and I think especially potentially
• 1:06:39
  Speaker 5: with those new kicking laws as well.
• 1:06:42
  Speaker 4: Don't know if I'm the biggest fan of them.
• 1:06:44
  Speaker 5: It's probably something we've struggled to weave it with at
• 1:06:46
  Speaker 5: the Blues this year as well. Around not being able
• 1:06:48
  Speaker 5: to protect the catcher. You see teams kicking a lot more,
• 1:06:52
  Speaker 5: you know, not over playing in their own halves as much.
• 1:06:56
  Speaker 5: You know, you kind of won two three rucks in
• 1:06:58
  Speaker 5: the middle of the field and if you're not going
• 1:06:59
  Speaker 5: anywhere getting to a kick, because it's essentially if the
• 1:07:02
  Speaker 5: kick's good, it's a fifty to fifty because you're you know,
• 1:07:05
  Speaker 5: the attacking team are the defending teams always trying to
• 1:07:07
  Speaker 5: catch it where the attacking teams just coming and trying
• 1:07:09
  Speaker 5: to tap it back. And as I say, it's not
• 1:07:13
  Speaker 5: a role I'm a big fan of, just for a
• 1:07:17
  Speaker 5: number of reasons. But you know, it's, as I say,
• 1:07:20
  Speaker 5: it's the way it is, and teams have had to
• 1:07:21
  Speaker 5: adapt to that, whether it be around the pressure they're
• 1:07:24
  Speaker 5: putting on the kicker or work under the high ball
• 1:07:28
  Speaker 5: and all that kind of things. As I say, probably
• 1:07:31
  Speaker 5: something we haven't adapted too well. With the Blues in
• 1:07:32
  Speaker 5: the weekend you saw a wee bit of it trying
• 1:07:34
  Speaker 5: to tap it back and people picking it up. It
• 1:07:36
  Speaker 5: just kind of creates a bit of chaos. So I
• 1:07:39
  Speaker 5: guess that's probably something you're talking about with that style
• 1:07:41
  Speaker 5: of play. Yeah, but those are probably the two things
• 1:07:44
  Speaker 5: I've noticed this year.
• 1:07:45
  Speaker 2: We'll see. I really appreciate you coming in for rugby
• 1:07:47
  Speaker 2: ric mist like with the rehabit the next couple months
• 1:07:49
  Speaker 2: and looking forward to seeing you back on the park
• 1:07:51
  Speaker 2: in Julyish.
• 1:07:52
  Speaker 4: Appreciate it, Thank you very much.
• 1:07:54
  Speaker 2: Interesting for Sam Dearry and very much looking forward to
• 1:07:56
  Speaker 2: seeing him back out in the park for the Mighty
• 1:07:58
  Speaker 2: Canterbury in a bit of NPC preseason and who knows
• 1:08:01
  Speaker 2: maybe back in the All Black set at some point
• 1:08:03
  Speaker 2: later in the year.
• 1:08:04
  Speaker 3: Smart man, doesn't he given the Crusaders the side step?
• 1:08:07
  Speaker 2: Well, I didn't realize that he wasn't even a Crusaders fan.
• 1:08:10
  Speaker 2: I went to supported from from way back, so my
• 1:08:13
  Speaker 2: respector has grown. No, he's a top blokers sam Darien,
• 1:08:16
  Speaker 2: as I say, looking forward to seeing him out on
• 1:08:18
  Speaker 2: the park again soon. That'll do us right the direct
• 1:08:20
  Speaker 2: sir with Habit Health taking all your aches and pains
• 1:08:22
  Speaker 2: from support and work. Thanks to Last and Bars English.
• 1:08:24
  Speaker 2: We will see you next week.
• 1:08:29
  Speaker 1: For more from News Talks ed B listen live on
• 1:08:32
  Speaker 1: air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
• 1:08:35
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