Samu Kerevi injury clouds Spring Tour selection

Hahah BF.. Duncan was included in the squad BF...but I do not here anything of Duncan P...as for paisami I think he was suppose to remain at home for preseason training...I think we should rather let JOC be next to QC simply because of the experience against NH teams...at least this way JOC can work himself back into the team...

G’day Madkiwi. I can understand their “bias”, they’ve played for the country. Mehrtens is supposed to provide some balance as an ex-AB (and cheap, living in Aus), while SBW provides diversity and the young lady, sorry I can’t remember her name, offers gender balance and some pretty good insights. For me, I can cope with “the bias” as long as it is truthful and not apologist as it seemed to be for the last coaching regime. The main play caller seems to have done a pretty good job for his first year. Some incorrect calls but hopefully that and the whole broadcast will improve with experience.

Being a new father there’s so many possible reasons for him to not be at his best a training. I remember how useful I wasn’t! Was he even back with the squad?

Hopefully he’ll be able to focus on simplifying his game and just making strong runs. He wasn’t great with ball retention vs France and abs but with Quade inside it’ll make life easier

I wished they trialled Duncan P at 12 to see what he has got but maybe he is not training the house down on the practice track..

Hodge at 12 is safe. I’d rather see Hunter have a crack outside Quade. Hunters game is very much like Kerevi and if he can run good lines Cooper will put him through them .

As soon as everyone worked out JP will always try and take the man on the outside when at 13 he became useless at 13. The glass man is an outside back for now.

The S.A commentators are nowhere near as bad as Morgan or Justin-what's-his-face?

How do the Boks supporters react to it? Commentary now no matter what Country seems to be about being biased, to create interest and debate.

Very biased and don’t pretend to be neutral.

Surely they cannot be worse?

You’re lucky you don’t get the SA commentators.

Kerevi showed the advantage of a big 12 who can break the line and get over the advantage line. We weren’t lateral when Kerevi came in so who ever plays 12 needs to ensure we don’t go back to being lateral and just wanting to get the ball to the wingers.

Kerevi out, Stan commentary crap! apart from that it was a great RC. And get rid of Mehrtens and SBW, hell as a Kiwi they make me cringe, and Harrison I had to throw an Aussie in there but he is average also.

Kerevi still a chance apparently, one report is it’s ligaments damage and not syndesmosis damage. They expect he could be okay for the Scotland game but almost definitely available for the England game. Fingers crossed.

Likewise, I’d like to think DR has prepped for this. I reckon Joc will continue to be our utility. He’s good in games that have broken up as his running game can come to fruition. But the WB forwards will be what is most important when we head North to give him a platform to succeed in. Seeing Ikitau step in at first receiver last night means we need a direct runner at 12. I wonder if Perese might get a look in then as others suggested in another thread. But I feel it’ll be Paisami who will be told to run it straight and nothing else. That has suited him at 13 in tests before and in super level but his handling will need to be much better than he showed vs ABs and France. Sophomore syndrome hit him a bit but with how young the team is generally it’s no surprise there’s fluctuations in performance by some. I heard though DR was originally planning to leave him behind.

I think the keys to besting England, Wales and Scotland lie beyond Kerevi in the forward pack still. Hopefully Arnold, Skelton etc can bolster and improve the existing base we’ve had in the RC. Kerevi is a big loss nonetheless but with Quade back in the side it’s better than Lolesio next to someone like Paisami. I am hopeful it’s minor but I fear otherwise for Samu. Big test of DR and his selections.

Growling??? :shocked:

Petaia best position, IMHO, is 13 but Len Ikitau has the jump on him. JP, when fit, is the more dynamic and adventurous and would feed his winger delightfully, if given the chance,. A good defender. Last night, I think, that he tended to overplay his hand, after being on the sideline for so long ...

Yeah fair call, Rhys. I do not feel super strongly on this one and will trust the coaching. staff to work out. who is best! Advantage of Hodge is that he is a big body that runs straight. JOC is more likely to crab and look for gaps.