'I'm hearing a bit of razzle, they are just going to throw the kitchen sink' - South preparing for an ambush of the favoured North
Saturday night’s North vs South clash, the first since 2012, has brought anticipation and intrigue around what will unfold when New Zealand’s best players go head-to-head.
Speaking on this week’s Aotearoa Rugby Pod, Blues duo Tony Lamborn and James Parsons joined Crusader Bryn Hall to discuss how intense they think the clash will be, and whether there will be fireworks despite most of the players being teammates at their Super Rugby franchises.
“I’m hearing a bit of razzle, they are just going to throw the kitchen sink,” Lamborn said of what he had heard from the South Island squad.
A highlight of the week’s lead-up was a back-and-forth in the media between Anton Lienert-Brown and his brother Dan, who have been placed on opposite teams despite growing up together in the South Island. Lamborn scored the first round to Dan over the supposed tackle discussed by the two in the media from the Chiefs-Highlanders game in Super Rugby Aotearoa.
“I did see the clip with the Lienert-Brown boys, I actually thought Daniel got the better of him there. Anton tries to put a shot on, but his brother is bigger and stronger mate. You are going nowhere,” opined Lamborn.
“I would say, knowing Anton [Lienert-Brown], he’s going to be searching for him,” predicted Blues hooker Parsons.
“There seems to be a good brotherly rivalry there but also not just between them, there has been some good banter by the coaches, the players, it does lead into quite a fierce rivalry I suppose.
“It is all tongue and cheek Monday to Thursday, but I think around Friday-Saturday it will be all business and it will be all on.”
Hall explained that playing against your club teammates adds a little bit extra, as you never want to have to deal with your teammates having one over you. The ramifications of losing could be held over you for up to a year.
“I saw Gus [North Island prop Angus Ta’avao] go into the South changing room on All Blacks TV, and getting a bit of chirp there but those competitors want to get the better of it, especially when you come up against teammates that are in different camps, any chance to get a little win in contact or cheap shot, or the W, it holds well over the next year.
“I just think it’s going to be an epic game of footy to watch,” Blues flanker Lamborn said.
A number of young players have the opportunity to impress the All Black selectors, including Bryn Hall’s Crusader teammates Will Jordan and Tom Christie who he said were excited for the challenge ahead.
“Will Jordan’s performances probably speak for themselves, and warrant, potentially an All Blacks selection, but Tom Christie has also done extremely well to get the selection but probably a little bit down the pecking order,” said Parsons.
“It’s a massive opportunity to show his wares, in terms of his prep during the week and then playing.”
Hall predicted that Tom Christie would be one who will thrive inside the All Black-like environment.
“He’s a hard worker, he’s got leadership capabilities and obviously captained New Zealand under-20s so just his general professionalism for a young man is pretty impressive. I think for him, it was time in the saddle, playing big minutes and finding out a few things to have a good understanding of what it takes at Super Rugby level.
“He’s a guy that is going to probably flourish in that environment.”
The opportunity to impress selectors can lead to younger players trying to do too much, and Lamborn warned against trying to overplay the game. When asked about who could potentially fall into that trap, he highlighted two contenders for the All Blacks 15 jersey.
“That Will Jordan, he’s pretty sharp. If he gets a crack I think he could be one that could overplay his hand a little bit,” he said.
“I think Damian McKenzie has a lot to prove as well. He’s been out of that mix now for a long time and he’s got a jersey to play for. He could overplay, try too hard and try do things himself. I don’t see the selectors enjoying that too much.
“Other than that, it’s a good opportunity for the boys to put their hand up and give it a good crack.”
Another explosive area for competition is the loose forwards, where the North Island side held an enormous amount of depth.
“I’m looking forward to the loose forward trio of the North. There is just a lot of good guys in that squad. They are pretty stacked, that’s one selection that I’m looking forward to seeing. A lot of those Blues boys, Akira and Hoskins are deserving,” said Hall.
“You got Boshier in there, you got Ardie, it’s going to be hard-fought to get a spot,” added Parsons.
Comments on RugbyPass
Hold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
40 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
1 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
5 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
40 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
40 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to commentsThis is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?
35 Go to commentsWow, didn’t realise there was such apathy to URC in SA, or by Champions Cup teams. Just read Nick’s article on Crusaders, are Sharks a similar circumstance? I think SA rugby has been far more balanced than NZs, no?
4 Go to commentsBut here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.
40 Go to commentsIt could be coincidental or prescient that the All Blacks most dominant period under Steve Hansen was when the Crusaders had their least successful period under Todd Blackadder and then the positions reversed when Razor took over the Crusaders.
40 Go to commentsDefinitely sound read everybodyexpects immediate results these days, I don't think any team would travel well at all having lost three of the most important game changers in the game,compiled with the massive injury list they are now carrying, good to see a different more in depth perspective of a coaches history.
3 Go to commentsSinckler is a really big loss for English rugby.
2 Go to commentsThanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause
40 Go to comments