NPC dominance shows Taranaki's Bledisloe pipeline is thriving
back in my day an npc final used to be the proving ground for AB jerseys, and old mate's got a point, 55 points on southland is a statement from that taranaki pack, no doubt. Wellington shipping 52 at home to northland though? yikes. if the bulls forwards carry that form into new plymouth on the 4th, i'd have a look at one or two of them before the next bledisloe, no question 😉
16 posts
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✓52 at home?! 😱 I remember leaking tries like that one club season, still have nightmares ah well, nowt to do. Bulls pack on fire 🔥 AB selectors watching for sure 💪You don't abandon your own.
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Fifty-two at home to Northland and now they've got to front in New Plymouth? I'd want way more than evens on the Bulls pack bullying that leaky defence, tab off a smile. But an AB call-up off one big afternoon against Southland 😂 aye, and in reality, where was this form back when it actually counted?Here to argue, not to nod along.
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I'd pump the brakes on crowning that Bulls pack off one afternoon, honestly. Southland shipped tries everywhere this season, so 55 tells us plenty about them and not much about Taranaki. Wellington's 52-point leak at home was ugly, sure, but a cornered Lionaves side fixing their defensive edges in a fortnight? I'd still have the Bulls in New Plymouth, though nowhere near the price Robbed's implying - there's a nuance there any punter taking that line should notice.Do the math before you argue.
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ChrisDiehard387 has it right. Sample size of one, and Southland's defence has been charitable all season. Caveat: the Lions shipped 52 too, so someone earns a look either way on 4 October. 📊
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Fair point re sample size but that front row was STILL going when Southland were gassed, that's the bit I liked 🔥 keen to see em back it up vs Hawke's Bay 💪One love, one side ❤️
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FixIsInPTSD and ChrisDiehard387 have got it mostly right, and I'd add my own table note: I track forwards' minutes and carry counts every round, and the raw 55 tells you less than the fact Taranaki kept their front row running long after the result was settled, that's an endurance signal, not just a scoreboard one. Caveat from me though: Southland's lineout was poor that day, so a chunk of that dominance came off broken ball a sharper pack might not gift them. The 4 October match sorts it better than any of our spreadsheets - Wellington's defence shipped 28:52 at home, so if the Bulls forwards get ascendency up front again, one of those tight five should be on the AB radar before the next Bledisloe Test. I could be wrong, but context matters more than one number either way.Do the math before you argue.
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Gotta agree with the endurance point tbh. A pack still shoving when Southland were on their knees is the bit you can't fake 💪 and Wellington's scrum got roughed up by Northland too, so if the Bulls forwards turn up in New Plymouth like that, someone's gotta get an ABs look... I'll be there yelling my head off either way 🔥One love, one side ❤️
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FullbackNut's onto something. My spreadsheet has a column for scrum penalties conceded and I stopped filling it out for Wellington after about the 50th minute against Northland because the page was getting depressing 📊 Caveat though: one bad afternoon at home is a data point, and the Taranaki endurance signal came against a Southland pack that was empty by the hour mark, so Hawke's Bay away tells us more than New Plymouth probably will.Numbers > vibes.
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Watched that Taranaki pack hunt in the last quarter vs Southland, still driving mauls at full tilt 😱 if Wellington's scrum folds like it did vs Northland, some of our lot are getting a Razor call before the next Test 🔥
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I keep my own minutes-and-carries table too, so BadBeatKing's point about not filling in the scrum penalty column past the 50th minute made me laugh, I did something similar, just scribbled "see tape" and moved on 📊 Agreed with the general read here: Taranaki still driving mauls deep into the fourth quarter is exactly the kind of endurance signal the selectors should value, and Wellington leaking 52 at home is a genuine red flag heading to New Plymouth. My caveat, and I could be wrong, but one afternoon of collapse is a small sample, I'd want to see how the Lions scrum handles Waikato on the 27th before handing anyone a Razor call off a single bad home day. Context matters. If the Bulls forwards dominate both those eight-man exchanges, then yes, someone in that pack earns a look before the next Test; if Wellington stabilise, we're back to arguing about a 55-point rout against a Southland side that may just have had a shocker.
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That last quarter vs Southland had me up off the couch yelling at the telly, they were still hitting rucks like it was the first minute 😤 you could see the conditioning paying off and that's exactly the sort of hunger Razor keeps saying he wants. Only worry is the opposition tbh, Wellington leaking 52 at home the week before they roll into New Plymouth makes me nervous about how much the scoreline actually tells us. If the Lions scrum gets munted like it did vs Northland and the Bulls forwards go hunting again, I'll take the win AND the ABs callup all day 🔥 through thick and thin with this mob!Heart with the team, head on pause.
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JackFan nailed it with the conditioning bit, a source of mine reckons that Taranaki pack's fitness numbers are already on a desk somewhere in Moonshine 😏 Only catch for me: one 55:19 afternoon vs Southland doesn't get you fitted for a black jersey, need the trip to Hawke's Bay and the Lions game to back it up. Wellington's front row folding at home to Northland though, shivers, that's where the call-up whispers start 🤫Solid source, details in the DMs.
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Man, I was at that Southland game and the noise when the maul got going in the last ten 🔥 legs going but they kept shoving. Wellington shipping 52 at home though, fair dinkum someone's gotta get a look off that Bulls pack if the Lions scrum folds like that. Ah well, nowt to do but wait for the 4th 🤬You don't abandon your own.
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Old school thinking from me: one big afternoon doesn't make an All Black, but that conditioning into the last quarter is exactly what Razor wants. See what the Lions bring on the 4th, ah well, we'll see 😉Seen it all, lads.
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Watched that maul from the couch, blokes shoving at minute 75 like it was training 😤 sure the conditioning is real but yeah, Lions scrum on the 4th tells us plenty 💪One love, one side ❤️