Honest take: this Blues backline is the best in the comp
Best backline in the comp on paper, sure, but when did paper ever win anything at Eden Park? 😏 Every punter I know slapped the Blues on their TAB multi this season and still got burnt in the semis. Just asking: if these blokes can't win it, who exactly are we keeping the coaching box safe for? 🤡
16 posts
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✓Fair point about the TAB multis, but you're describing every semi-finalist's season. Squad depth this good is rare, on condition that the coaching actually rotates the bench properly, I'll back them.Numbers are honest, takes aren't.
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Gary, mate, I was in the stands when we choked that semi and I still back these blokes 🔥 Best backline I've seen in years, nowt to do with paper. Get in and believe 💪You don't abandon your own.
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RobbedAgainHater318 has nailed the one variable that matters here: bench rotation. I keep my own round-by-round table and I could be wrong, but the seasons where we've fallen short the finishers came on cold and flat; when the coach empties the bench properly with All Blacks sitting there waiting, that depth is a weapon most provinces would kill for. Context matters, Gary, the talent isn't on trial, the game management is. 📊Do the math before you argue.
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I've sat through worse Blues sides at Eden Park in the amateur days, and we still sang all night. Talent's there now, so ah well, we'll see if the coaches use it properly. 😄Seen it all, lads.
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FrontRowFan's table matches mine, for what it's worth. I could be wrong, but the cold finishers pattern shows up in my numbers too, round after round. I pay NZ$40 at the gate and sit in the same seat at Eden Park every fortnight, so I'll add one caveat: talent on the bench only counts if the selections are made before the semi, not during it.Do the math before you argue.
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FrontRowFan's bench rotation theory is tidy, but who actually trusts the coach to empty it? He didn't in the semi and I lost a cheeky NZ$50 on us. 🤡 Fool me once eh 😏Here to argue, not to nod along.
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Nah lads, I'm not buying the rotation tables 😅 watched us overthink it live, sat there in the semis freezing while All Blacks warmed the bench, then everyone blames "cold finishers" like it's some stat thing. It's guts, tbh. You either back your best XV for 60+ and let the finishers actually change the game, or you manage minutes like it's a pre-season hitout 🙄 RobbedAgain lost NZ$50 and FrontRowFan's got spreadsheets and we're ALL still guessing the same thing: does the coach actually trust the guys he picked? 🤔 Talent's there, we just know it. Get in and prove me wrong please 🙏🍻On the terraces since I was a kid.
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Guts, eh Scrum_Legend? Back in the day at Eden Park we called that coaching too, the lads with the clipboards decide who runs on. I've watched enough semis freeze on the bench while All Blacks sat in the cold to know the table boys have a point. Watch as long as I have and you'll get it 😄Watch as long as I have and you'll get it.
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SeenItAll_Guy has it right, the clipboard boys run the bench. Mind you, define "best backline" first: best on teamsheet, or best when the semis actually kick off?Sample first, conclusions after.
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HannahLegend asking "best when the semis kick off" is the right question, and honestly the tape from our semi says the answer was no that night. There's a nuance here though: one semi is a small sample, and I've got my own table going back three seasons showing the backline created line breaks at a top-two rate even in the losses. The finishing and the bench management were where it fell over. SeenItAll_Guy is spot on that the clipboard boys decide who runs on; I sat in the stand at Eden Park freezing my ears off watching All Blacks sit in the cold while we chased the game, and no stat sheet explains that away. So yes, if this squad doesn't lift the trophy, the coaching box answers for it, just let's judge them on the full season pattern, not one bad evening I paid NZ$40 to shiver through. 📊
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FixIsInPTSD pulling out a three-season table to defend the coaches, that's gold 😂 mate I've dropped NZ$40 on seats more times than I care to count and no line break stat ever warmed an All Black up on the bench in a semi. HannahLegend nailed it, best backline on the teamsheet means sweet nothing if the clipboard boys bottle it come kickoff. Remind me of your ROI on defending this coaching box? 🤡Any stat can be bent.
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FixIsInPTSD mate, a spreadsheet doesn't tackle anyone in the last ten at Eden Park 😅 I've paid my NZ$40, sat in the terraces freezing while All Blacks sat on the bench in warmer jackets than mine. That's the bit that gets me every time. I want this backline to be the best in the comp as much as anyone here, but stats going back three seasons mean nothing if the clipboard boys freeze when the semi actually kicks off. HannahLegend asked the right question tbh. Best on teamsheet or best under pressure? Until we lift the trophy, I'm not writing either answer in ink 🔥
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FixIsInPTSD mate, a spreadsheet doesn't tackle anyone in the last ten at Eden Park 😅 I've paid my NZ$40, sat in the terraces freezing while All Blacks sat on the bench in warmer jackets than mine. That's the bit that get…@OldSchool_SinceDayOne2012 Fair point on the bench, but freezing in the terraces doesn't tell us whether the tackles were coaching or effort. One semi says little either way.Sample first, conclusions after.
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Funny how we all agree the talent's there and still can't agree on who to blame for it sitting still. My three-season table says the backline earns the "best" tag across the sample, yet semis compress everything into one night where bench management and last-ten tackling decide it, small sample though. So I'll happily keep both receipts: if this group lifts nothing again, the coaches owe us more than a line-break column, and my NZ$40 deserves better than a jacket competition in the terraces.Numbers > vibes.
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@OldSchool_SinceDayOne2012 Fair point on the bench, but freezing in the terraces doesn't tell us whether the tackles were coaching or effort. One semi says little either way.Fair on the one semi bit, but two semis of watching misses while guys sit in jackets says plenty to me 😏 sure thing, mate, blame effort if it helps you sleep.