Tri-Nations 06: Game Three; Kiwis vs Lions

[DIEHARD]

I'm so pumped for this Test Match!

I love Test Matches even those not featuring the Kangaroos. They re something special where I can put my anxiety on the shelf and just enjoy the best of two nations rip into one another.

I'm going for the Lions, who is everyone going for?

[~Wild Child~]

hmm... not much of a choice but...I would never back the Poms .... over any country.... in any sport...Ever.
So... I guess I'll just have to go with New Zealand to win


KIWIS TO CREAM THE POMS :win:

:!: Go_The_Doggies.....We're finally on the same team :lol!:

[DeeGan]

I am going for our neighbours the Kiwis in this contest though can't complain with either victor. I wouldn't mind seeing the Poms getting to the final.

[Poida]

the only time id ever back the poms is if they play south africa in cricket.
otherwise go the kiwis here

[Titanium_BD1103]

From: www.foxsports.com.au

Kiwis make four changes
From staff writers
October 24, 2006

NEW ZEALAND coach Brian McClennan today made four changes for the Tri-Nations rugby league Test with Great Britain in Christchurch on Saturday night.

Two were forced, with wing Shontayne Hape and centre Steve Matai ruled out with injuries picked up in the 20-15 loss to Australia in Melbourne last Saturday.

Tame Tupou has been named to replace Hape, with the experienced Nigel Vagana moving from five eighth to centre and Jerome Ropati partnering Stacey Jones in the halves.

McCleannan named Frank Pritchard to replace Tony Puletua in the second row.


New Zealand Test team

Brent Webb, Tame Tupou, Nigel Vagana, Iosia Soliola, Manu Vatuvei, Jerome Ropati, Stacey Jones, Ruben Wiki (c), Nathan Fien, Roy Asotasi, David Kidwell, Frank Pritchard, Simon Mannering.

Reserves: Motu Tony, Nathan Cayless, Jason Cayless, David Fa'alogo. 18th man: Adam Blair.

I think these are some good choices, with Ropati offering a lot more than Vagana at 5/8th and Vagana will be a good and very useful centre and hopefully it will see Mannering stay in the forward line...

[Grimmace]

Lions Look Good for Start Against Kiwis

Tuesday, October 24, 2006 - 9:58 AM

Great Britain coach Brian Noble is hoping the New Zealand side took Saturday night?s Gillette Tri Nations loss to Australia as hard as it looked on Television to give his side a big chance in Christchurch this Saturday night.



The defending champions have lost both matches to Australia, despite leading game two 15-8 with just 8 minutes remaining and Noble thinks the Kiwis might be a little flat after getting themselves up twice to play the Kangaroos.



?I hope so, I hope so. History will tell, but when you?ve got someone like Ruben Wiki in charge, the level of intensity he plays with week in week out I still think we need to be very ready for the start of the game.?



However Skipper Jamie Pea**** isn?t as hopeful as his Coach, he doesn?t believe the Kiwis will be the slightest bit off their game despite the two losses to start the series.



?I don?t know about that. I think they?ve got better in each game they?ve played and they?ll probably improve again against us, they?ve really gelled as a team they looked a lot more cohesive on Saturday night as opposed to game one.

They played with all their emotion and everything but there was still a lot of skill and teamwork behind everything.?



Despite some of his key players and himself being in Sydney for less than a week to prepare for the series Noble is upbeat that the Lions can match it with the Australians and New Zealanders, even after the impressive start to the series.



?The standard was very high. I thought the element of ball control and physicality of the game and the quality of the skill was there for all to see with an exciting finish in the second one.



The Kiwis snatched defeat from the jaws of victory didn?t they and that?s a credit to the Australians because that test match element is what it?s all about, everybody?s tested to their full potential in every facet of the game. You have to give as much in the 78th minute as you have in the 1st.?



The new faces in the Australian side have stood up to be counted in the opening matches of the series but Noble says that doesn?t give him any sleepless nights.



?They?re a challenge whoever they put out there. So we know what to expect, you can show them pictures but you?ve got to be very ready to play and I sense the hunger on our boys. But we?ve got to deal with New Zealand in Christchurch before we think about the Aussies.?



The Lions have arrived in Sydney in two groups to prepare for the series and have had just one hit out against a Newcastle representative team with a 40 points to 6 win to blow out the cobwebs.



While Australia and New Zealand have had two games Pea**** says the Lions preparation has been faultless.



?We?re enjoying it actually, it?s the best preparation we?ve had as a Great Britain team really. We were out early, there?s no jet lag behind us, we?ve got no excuses we just need to go out and play as best as we can.

There?s not much pressure on us and not much is expected of us as you tell by the long odds the bookies are offering on us so we just have to enjoy our football.?



The Skipper also believes attitude and desire will go a long way into how they perform in their first hit out in Christchurch this Saturday night.



?You?ve just got to look at the positives; if you dwell on the negatives like they?ve had more time to gel and stuff like that it?s not going to work out for you. So if you look at the positives we?re going to be a bit fresher than they are and hopefully that?ll come good for us.?
Source: NRL

[Go_The_Doggies]

:!: Go_The_Doggies.....We're finally on the same team :lol!:

Hahaha wow thats a first. :rotflmao:

And tbh i'm happy with what changes my fav coach Bluey has done!!..I'm glad Nigel is out of the number 6 jersey, good to see Ropo there, he really did play awesome in the back end of the NRL for the Warriors..HERES HOPING FOR FOUR TRIES ON SATURDAY!! ..............very unlucky of Adam Blair to miss out, in saying that i'm glad J.Cayless is fit and healthy..ffs he had me worried..as did Motu..glad he is fit and ready to go!!

GO THE KIWIS <3

[DIEHARD]

Ropati at 5/8th. Now this is what I wanted!

[Meh]

Some good changes that leave mannering in the front line too, hopefully vagana can offer more in the centres than he did in the 5/8 role, good to see ropati there aswell. im really hoping for a kiwis win here...all my aussie friends gave me enough crap today after last weekend :dead:

[Go_The_Doggies]

Some good changes that leave mannering in the front line too, hopefully vagana can offer more in the centres than he did in the 5/8 role, good to see ropati there aswell. im really hoping for a kiwis win here...all my aussie friends gave me enough crap today after last weekend :dead:

I would just gave them the finger. :rotflmao:

[Meh]

Well that was my initial response on the plus side they all hate gasnier anyway haha
but we really do need a win here and unless the brits can take the final, tri nations is all but dead once again.

[DIEHARD]

Jerome Ropati could be Kiwi's Lockyer

There are a few theories on why Australia got out of a tight jam in Melbourne in a way the Kiwis would struggle to match.

Maybe it came down to a handful of Kiwi errors at the vital stages opening the door enough for the Kangaroos to kick it wide open.

For mine though, the biggest overall difference between the sides over two tests can be summed up in two words, the first of which is Darren.

The brilliant Mr Lockyer, the husky-voiced champion, is not only a great footballer. He revels in maintaining an even keel when to the outside observer his team's hopes are sunk.

Which automatically begs the question: where is New Zealand going to get a Darren Lockyer? Nowhere for now is the obvious answer.

But the best long-term No 6 bet has to be Warrior Jerome Ropati and the time to find out his capabilities is now, even with the defence of the Tri-Nations title on the line.

The Kiwis may have got ahead of themselves when Stacey Jones slotted the 72nd minute field goal for a 15-8 lead at the Telstra Dome.

Yet this was a situation almost tailor-made for Lockyer. He has got both Queensland and Australia out of similar scrapes before. Lockyer is the man most likely to be calm in a storm.

The moment that turned the test Australia's way was classic Lockyer. Spotting an opportunity to the left he sprang and sent Greg Inglis away with a perfect long pass.

Lockyer was obviously born with certain gifts but his abilities have also been acquired in the hurly-burly of NRL, State of Origin and test football.

It's difficult imagining that New Zealand standoff Nigel Vagana could have performed similar deeds. Whatever the Kiwi selections may indicate, Vagana still looks like a centre - and a superb one at his best - playing out of position.

He retains the try-scoring knack he showed as a Warriors reserve grader in the mid-1990s, when the star-struck club failed to nurture his talent through to first grade.

And Vagana can still be a major asset in the centres for the Kiwis, probably in place of the aggressive Steve Matai, who is under an injury cloud this week anyway.

This would leave Ropati, who has played test and club football from fullback to hooker, free to make standoff his home, especially as the Kiwis' dummy half stocks have now improved. Ropati is not a sure bet and his concentration is sometimes under question, but this is a moment to invest in the future. He has a widely skilled game, but needs to build experience.

This Tri-Nations would also ease Ropati in to the test standoff role while Stacey Jones is on the scene.

A major asset that Ropati has over Vagana is the potential to match what Lockyer did in the 75th minute of the Melbourne test. Ropati can take the ball at pace and throw sharp passes on the run.

Great Britain could give the Kiwis a sterner test than many might imagine. Their starting XIII at least look very strong. But they are not in Australia's league.

Ropati will never learn how to get his team out of scrapes - the way Lockyer does - unless he gets put into them.

I'm not one to heavily link the Warriors and Kiwis, because the Kiwis need their identity and the New Zealand game needs diversity.

But there would be a two-way benefit if Ropati were allowed to cut his teeth as a test standoff. New Zealand and the Warriors are crying out for a world-class No 6. This is as good a time as any to kick the process along.

Source: NZ Herald

[DIEHARD]

I'm a fan of Ropati at 5/8th, hope it works out.

[Queenslander]

England's little league giant
By Dean Ritchie
October 25, 2006

HE stands no taller than jockey Darren Beadman and is the lightest player in Test match history.

Australia rugby union halfback George Gregan is 8cm taller and 12kg heavier.

Tiny league immortal Clive Churchill weighed 9kg more and was also taller.

Welcome to the world of Great Britain utility player Rob Burrow.

The Leeds utility player spoke yesterday about his staggering size, or lack of it: 165cm and weighing 66kg.

Burrow, 24, is 3cm shorter than Geoff Toovey and 7kg lighter than Allan Langer.

British teammate Stuart Fielden is an astonishing 46kg heavier than Burrow. And Aussie prop Willie Mason is 30cm taller.

Some may suggest Burrow is likely to get thrown out of the arena when Australia's monster pack gets hold of him.

But Great Britain coach Brian Noble said: "Don't let his size lull you into a false sense."

Burrow said yesterday he was unconcerned at his tiny stature. "It's not new to me. As a junior I wasn't big so I've learned to handle it," he said.

"I like to use my size to my advantage. It is a physical game so if you don't like that, you don't play it.

"But the big guys find the smaller guys harder to tackle."

Sizing up Langer and Toovey, Burrow said: "They are people I look up to, fantastic players."

Noble gave reasons why Burrow would be dangerous in the Tri-Nations.

"He's certainly tough enough ? he's been small all his life," Noble said.

"Young Toovey played at Manly and everyone said he was too small. He was a fantastic player.

"Rob has electrifying speed and is a tough kid. The blokes find it hard to handle him."

Burrow has stood up to the rigours of England's Super League competition, playing 159 games for the Rhinos.

He can play halfback or dummy-half and could prove elusive off the bench.

The British camp was in awe of the intensity in last weekend's Test between Australia and New Zealand.

"It was a great game ? a lot of passion," Burrow said.

"It was very physical. I think we will have to play physical to match them."

Burrow rejected talk Great Britain would be the weakest link in this year's triangular series.

"Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but we are confident in our own ability," he said. "We're not here to make up the numbers. The hitout we had against Newcastle (invitational team) last weekend was good for us. It got the rustiness out."

Burrow also denied New Zealand could be flat in its match against Great Britain this weekend in the wake of the Kiwis' two big Tests against Australia.

"I don't think so," he said. "They'll be up for the game."

The Daily Telegraph

[DIEHARD]

Ropati wants lengthy stay in No.6

Kiwi utility Jerome Ropati is hoping his international rugby league career will soon mirror his more settled existence at the New Zealand Warriors.

After playing Mr Fixit for the NRL club after making his debut in 2003, Ropati, a former hooker and centre, finally found his niche at five-eighth this year, the position he feels best suited to.

On Tuesday Kiwis coach Brian McClennan concurred with Warriors counterpart Ivan Cleary by selecting Ropati to start at five-eighth for Saturday night's Tri-Nations clash against Great Britain at Jade Stadium, Christchurch.

Ropati started the Kiwi's tournament opener against Australia on the bench before being thrust into the starting line-up at hooker for last weekend's return bout against the Kangaroos in Melbourne.

Now the 21-year-old is anxious to make sure the No.6 shirt is not on loan.

"It's a position I've played most of the year at, a position I'm comfortable with (now) and Bluey's (McClennan) given me the opportunity," Ropati said.

"I've cherished those opportunities I got at fullback and hooker, and to play No.6 is a bonus. I'd like to make it my own."

His transition should be smoothed by Stacey Jones, the experienced playmaker who was a fixture at halfback when Ropati made his first grade debut at the tail end of the 2003 NRL season.

The duo played in the halves only "three of four" times before Ropati ended up in the centres or as one of the Warriors' several options at dummy half.

However, Ropati has no doubt they will gel quickly.

"You can't buy Stacey's experience, his knowledge of the game. I remember how we structured the game and he hasn't changed."

Ropati, meanwhile, believes his game needs an upgrade in the tactical kicking department to take some of the onus off Jones, who is sure to be targeted.

"I haven't had too many kicks during the season," Ropati said, adding McClennan had urged him to work on his punting.

Naturally, the halves battle will have an impact on the outcome on Saturday night and Ropati is under no illusions about the difficulty of the assignment facing the Kiwi duo.

The Lions will be steered around the park by St Helens halfback Sean Long, who this year passed the 200-game mark in the Super League.

"He's like Stacey, he's been around the game for quite a while and he directs them in such a way that they've become a dangerous side," Ropati said.

McClennan had to compensate for injuries when settling on his team after centre Steve Matai and Shontayne Hape were ruled out with shoulder and knee problems respectively.

Tame Tupou comes onto the flank he vacated for Hape after the Tri-Nations opener against the Kangaroos in Auckland while Nigel Vagana reverts from pivot to centre.

SMH