Round 8. Lions v Hurricanes

[mimic]

Do you think there's enough room in the Blues for D Smith?

Rudi Wulf has been playing pretty good, especially in defence, he's a real worker..
Although, I do agree that D Smith would've scored more tries with the Blues..

But with Rokocoko and Howlett in the Blues, D Smith could very well find himself in the draft again ala Tony Koonwaiyou
Cos Smith won't be on the bench.. And it would be a waste to have someone of his talent having no game time unless theres an injury to the All Black wingers..

 

[THE CHIROPRACTOR101]

david smith is way better then koonwaiyou...we cant let another one slide..howlett is aging..id would like to put forth an idea for him to have a go at the fullback position for auckland...interms of adjusting to a different gameplay he is one of the few quick learners in rugby

i dont rate rudi wulf higher then david smith....fair nuff he carved up this year thanks to the full support of nucifora and the gameplay of his team mates...now..if david smith had all of that...then ask yourself is there room for him up here

and..he belongs here

 

[mimic]

I guess they could try him there in the NPC, and see how it goes at fullback..

Howlett is still in his 20's.. His experience will count.. He still has speed..

Sure Smith is better than Wulf and Koonwaiyou, but he's not better than Rokocoko and Howlett. And you don't often see wingers on the bench, unless you have the luxury or shuffling players around who can play more than just on the wing.

Would you rather see him getting game time for the Hurricanes, or see him sit with the Auckland crowd?

I can only see him getting gametime for the Blues if there is an injury to our All Black wingers..

Although, if he could prove that he's a solid fullback, he could very well find himself in the Blues outfit~!

 

[THE CHIROPRACTOR101]

it all depends tho..and yes id rather see him on the bench for the blues..then to have our blues play against him..call it a staunch auckland fan stance or what ever...we dont know if hes better then rokocoko or howlett..coz he simply hasnt been tested the way they have and we will only find out when he does get tested in that...david smith has given the npc the big shake up when he debuted..rokocoko simply hasnt fired at that level..yet rokocoko has played top tier games on test level and smith hasnt...he is still young..hopefully he will be given those opportunities...

rokocoko was a bolter in 2003 for the all blacks...he played regurly well for the sevens...he was a bench player along with rico gear when the blues had caucau and howlett on the wings..yet he was given limited gametime to play in the blues and showed potential..that very year he became a rugby superstar with the trust of john mitchells selection panel...david smith hasnt been given that..but he can be in that similar situation upon boarding a blues team..even if he sits on the bench...the only thing he has over rokocoko is that he has showed way more potential then joe did at his age

simple

 

[Juggernaut]

Last I heard, Howlett signed a new contract with the NZRFU till 2009, so we can expect to see him play regularly for Auckland & The Blues in the time being barring injuries.


Anyway, the Canes were hopeless. They need to find someone better to play five-eight to dictate play and unleash the talented backline at his disposal.

Their season is over, all they can do now is play for pride and look forward to next year's competition.