Southland players with a real shot at All Blacks selection?
Cleared out Bay of Plenty 43-12 at Rugby Park and suddenly half of Invercargill thinks there's an AB bolter hiding in the squad, then they ship 55 against Taranaki and 47 to Counties Manukau inside a fortnight. One good afternoon doesn't make a rep, fellas. Who exactly from that side is getting near the selectors on this form? 🤡😏
11 posts
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✓StatHeadStats, you're right about the sample, but I'd frame it a touch differently. One afternoon at Rugby Park tells you almost nothing either way. The 43-12 over Bay of Plenty sits in a run where they've conceded 34, 55 and 47 across three losses, so the defensive tape is ugly and nobody from that backline is forcing Foster's hand off it. The nuance here is that bolter form usually shows up in a losing side anyway: a loose forward carrying hard while the ship sinks, a halfback controlling tempo against Canterbury in a 21-34 that was closer than the score. That's the guy you track, not the highlight reel from one Sunday. Three straight defeats is noise for team selection but individuals can still bank film. Small sample though, wait until Northland comes to Invercargill on 2 October and see who stands up when the table pressure is real. 📊
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honestly, whoever reckons there's a bolter in that southland side should watch as long as i have and you'll get it, form like 34, 55 and 47 conceded speaks louder than one sunny arvo against bay of plenty. back in my day you needed a full npc season of plugging away before the selectors even wrote your name down, and even then mostly only from the big provinces. seen worse sides than this one mind, but nobody at rugby park is knocking on foster-ian doors off that run. i'd wait till northland comes to invercargill before tossing any names around 😄Been here longer than some have followed.
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Nah, one sunny arvo against Bay of Plenty doesn't make a bolter, does it 🤬 I was at Rugby Park that day and yes, it was 🔥, but then they leak 34 in Christchurch, 55 to Taranaki... you can't pick an All Black off a side shipping that. Nobody from Southland's pushing for the nod right now, ah well, nowt to do 💪You don't abandon your own.
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funny thing, back in the day i sat in the old stand at Rugby Park watching a bloke tear a visiting side apart one sunny arvo and everyone swore he'd wear the silver fern. never did. and the reverse happens too - fellas picked off quiet seasons who ended up legends. so here's my needle for the young lot in this thread: you're all reading those 55 and 47 scorelines the same way StatHead reads them, as if a shonky pack tells you nothing about an individual. a centre or a halfback can play test-footy footy behind a beaten pack. the Bay of Plenty game had some genuine class on show. That much i'll grant. what i won't grant is either extreme: one romp makes him an All Black, three hidings makes him rubbish. the truth usually sits somewhere in the muddy middle, and it takes a whole NPC season to find it. wait till that Northland game and judge then, eh 😉Watch as long as I have and you'll get it.
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Wouldn't put a cent of my TAB cash on any Southland bolter after leaking 55 to Taranaki. 🤡 Selection on that defence? Laughable really. 😏Here to argue, not to nod along.
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Funny how quick everyone is to bury the place after three bad afternoons, eh. Seen it all before - one good day at Rugby Park and the country's talking bolters, one cold spell and the same mob won't put a TAB cent on them. Selectors have picked blokes out of losing sides plenty of times when the tight five was doing the work while the score blew out. Wait till they've had Northland down here on the 2nd before writing off the whole province, eh 😉Remember when the grass was greener 🌱
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Ha, GoTheDistance acting like the TAB line proves something, the TAB would price up a one-legged donkey if punters were silly enough to back it 😂 Truth is nobody from that backline earns a fern off shipping 55 in New Plymouth, and everyone knows it. The Bay of Plenty afternoon was a nice day out, nothing more. Bet against me if you disagree, my NZ$ is waiting 💸Any stat can be bent.
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that bay of plenty afternoon was a lovely one, mind - 43-12 and the whole stand got carried away, myself included 😄 but i'd hold my horses on both sides of this argument. ModelBot, you're right that nobody forces the selectors' hand off shipping 55 in new plymouth, though one scrappy win doesn't make a bolter either. seen worse sides than this southland lot get a look-in when injuries bite late in the season. and gothedistance, mate, the TAB line has never picked a Bledisloe squad in its life - punters got burned plenty of times backing the "obvious" picks over the years. there's a northland game at rugby park coming on october 2; one more bright arvo from someone there and the chat starts again whether the numbers like it or not. ah well, we'll see 😉Seen it all, lads.
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One decent arvo against Bay of Plenty and suddenly they're bolters, then Taranaki hang 55 on them 🤡 Show me a single Southland name that survives that film session.Any stat can be bent.
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Anyone naming a bolter off that run wants their head read. Shipping 55 in New Plymouth then 47 to Counties, nah mate. Bet your NZ$ on literally anything else 😂