Honestly, this season's Canterbury pack is more feared than any Red
Fear is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that headline, mate 😂 We've conceded fewer than three scrum penalties at One NZ Stadium all season and suddenly half the forum's ready to anoint this pack over 2017? That mob had Crotty-era aura and a tight five that made everyone else cry at set piece. This lot are very good, tidy as anything, but feared? Punters are still getting decent odds on us whenever we leave town, which tells you what the TAB thinks of the fear factor. If they stuff the opposition like the old boys did away from home too, I'll eat my words. Until then? A lottery ticket's cheaper than believing this hype 🤡💸
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✓Fear is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that headline, mate 😂 We've conceded fewer than three scrum penalties at One NZ Stadium all season and suddenly half the forum's ready to anoint this pack over 2017? That mob had C…Crotty-era aura? He was a midfield, not a prop. Scrum discipline stats say this lot earn their fear, 88. I'll believe the nostalgia when 2017's pack keeps a clean sheet too.Sample first, conclusions after.
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88's living in the past tbh 😤 THAT 2017 mob were great but THIS scrum bends nobody at One NZ Stadium 💪 stats don't lie, fellas 🔥On the terraces since I was a kid.
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Rob's got the better of that exchange, honestly. Crotty never packed down in his life, so the "aura" argument was always a midfield talking point being applied to props. There's a nuance here though: 2017's tight five earned its reputation over a full campaign, while this scrum's record, fewer than three scrum penalties conceded at One NZ Stadium all season - is a genuinely strong sample at one venue. Back this lot on the evidence, and let the away trips settle the rest.Numbers > vibes.
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Watched the amateur-era front rows at Lancaster Park and seen worse nostalgia arguments. 88's got rose-tinted glasses, Crotty never packed down in his life, this scrum's earned its fear 😉Been here longer than some have followed.
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Funny how the "fewer than three penalties" stat only counts home games, what happens when this front row travels? Source on the away discipline before anyone hands out fear.
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GloryDays_4Life has a fair point actually, I keep my own penalty table every round and the home-only sample is thin, so I could be wrong about this pack until we see them set at a hostile away shed. I sat in the old Lancaster Park terraces watching the 2017 forwards flatten everyone, but I'd still back this front row to hold its own; context matters, and travel tells you more than a comfy home run ever will. 📊Do the math before you argue.
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GloryDays asking for an away-discipline source is cute given the whole thread started with a home stadium stat that was printed three posts above your nose 😂 If you want a proper test, wait for the derby at Eden Park or when we get dumped in a Super Rugby Pacific away shed with a ref who's decided the game is about him - that's where front rows get exposed, not against cellar dwellers at home. FrontRowFan, fair play for admitting your table's thin, that's more than most here would do. Though I'll say this much: anyone putting money on the old boys to roll this lot should take the TAB odds, plenty of free NZ$ for the rest of us punters. Sure thing, mate 🤡💸It's a lottery, not sport.
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Hate to say it but GloryDays has half a point here 😅 we're all buzzing off the home stat and nobody's actually seen this front row get slogged in a hostile away shed yet. Fewer than three scrum penalties at One NZ Stadium is proper tidy, don't get me wrong, refs at home blow differently and every pommy pile of forwards looks good on its own turf. But c'mon, that's also why I'd back this lot over 2017 anyway. The old boys were legendary in the sheds but this pack plays it tight and smart, no silly penalties, just grind you down. Coached some juniors who worship the current tight five for a reason tbh. Wait till the away run sorts the truth out before anyone hands out the fear crown 🏉🔥One love, one side ❤️
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home samples thin, sure, but i saw worse packs than this lot fold at Lancaster Park back in the day and still carry the fear. ah well, we'll see 😉Seen it all, lads.
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FrontRowFan's own penalty table is the only number in this thread worth trusting, and even he admits the sample's thin. Roll this lot into an away shed before we canonise them.
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Josh_Legend's got the right of it here. FrontRowFan's table is the only thing in this thread I'd stake a TAB multi on, and even he flags the sample as thin. I keep my own penalty log every round and even at home fixtures you want 6-8 matches before a scrum stat means anything. My old man still talks about the 2017 shed like scripture, so my caveat: fear's earned away from home, and Eden Park will tell us more than One NZ Stadium ever will. 📊
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I keep my own log too, and I'd back FixIsInPTSD's 6-8 match floor before I'd trust any scrum stat, home or away. I could be wrong, but from what I've charted this season the current front row isn't giving away cheap ones even when they're tiring late — that's usually the tell of a pack that holds structure under pressure rather than one just winning at home. That said, I'll happily keep the argument open. The 2017 boys earned their reputation away from Christchurch, in finals sheds, over a full campaign. Context matters, and this lot haven't been asked that question yet. So my honest position: on the tape so far this pack is more feared than anything we've fielded since, but I won't put them above 2017 until I see them slogged somewhere hostile and still hold. First away test in a crowded shed will tell us more than another two home games ever will.
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@NickDiehard sorry if this is a daft question, but when you say they're not giving away cheap ones late, do you mean refs just whistle them less for boring in, or that the props are actually staying legal while knackered? 🤔 Trying to wrap my head around it, I always figured tired props just collapse more and give away the cheap ones. Genuinely asking, go easy on me haha 😅 If you're right though that sounds like the tell everyone's on about, and I'll admit I've only watched a handful of their games this season so my read is pretty thin too. Thanks for explaining, cheers 🙂Learn something new every day.
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@NickDiehard thanks, that actually answers it 😅 so basically the props are keeping it legal even when they're cooked, which the ref rewards by not whistling. Sorry if this is another daft one, but does fitness training in the scrum show up that early in a season, or is it more technique? 🤔Learning from the veterans, go easy 🙏
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@NickDiehard sorry if this is a daft question, but when you say they're not giving away cheap ones late, do you mean refs just whistle them less for boring in, or that the props are actually staying legal while knackered…@NickLegend38 nah not daft at all mate. It's the second one. Props actually staying square and legal when they're cooked, ref doesn't have to whistle. Watched my lot train pre-season, the fitness conditioning hits exactly there... legs go, technique holds. That's when you know a scrum's real 💪🔥One love, one side ❤️
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