J
Juggernaut
Guest
I'm talking about the Spencer of old, when he was at his brilliant best.
and dont deny it, you also had a wet dream about him.
and dont deny it, you also had a wet dream about him.
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sambãd5
Guest
cullen missing out on the 03 wc was a con. A CON! im still going on about his 70m LEFT FOOTED kick he did against england when they came here. then that coaching ****** went on to say that we lost the wc because of inexperiance. THEN PICK CULLEN YOU BALD BARSTARD!
and im with you on spencer too. what a scapegoat of nz. untill we lost eveyone who wasnt a auckland basher loved him.
haha - that was classic. the look on his face of scoring a super 12 eliminating drop goal!
and im with you on spencer too. what a scapegoat of nz. untill we lost eveyone who wasnt a auckland basher loved him.
haha - that was classic. the look on his face of scoring a super 12 eliminating drop goal!
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candybum
Guest
Was this the game when he played for NZ Maori?
I agree with you one hundy percent! he was the best nz fullback that year! a view shared and agreed upon millions of people, ex all blacks, the media etc.. except for John "hone heke" mitchell and Robbie "no eye brows" Deans
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nam97
Guest
Yeah that 99 RWC backline was a f***ing joke. Hmmm....... let's put our best center (Umaga) on the wing, our best fullback (Cullen) at center, and our best wing (Wilson) at fullback.
What should have been 13. Umaga, 14. Wilson, 15. Cullen (whom were all regarded the best in the world at their main positions at the time), was TOTALLY reversed.
I mean, wtf was going through John Hart's scummy little head?!?!
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candybum
Guest
Wtf was going through John Mitchell's scrummy little head putting Mcdonald at center against Mortlock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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nam97
Guest
Exactly the same scummy little thoughts Hart had playing Cullen at center in 99, and exactly the same scummy little thoughts Henry had playing Muliaina at center in 07!
Holy ****, that's 3 RWC's in a row our boof headed coaches have decided to play our top fullbacks at center!
J
Jer1cho
Guest
Jake White played Francois Steyn (Usually a fullback) at centre, didn't work out too badly for us... :cheers:
D
danny
Guest
especially as he smoked 60 a day apparently. Would still pick Cullen ahead of him though in terms of timeless legendary full backs.
[/b][/quote]
Cullen was a great attacking fullback but what did he achieve at the world cup on the biggest stage of all. Also Blanco was consistently brilliant for a much longer period. [/b][/quote]
He only played in one World Cup, and was shunted out of position. If he had gotten a chance to play fullback he would've shone in that backline.
[/b][/quote]
I dont disagree that Cullen was an awesome fullback but I think history has judged Blanco as the greatest attacking fullback of all time. Ever see his lenght of the field try against Australia?
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candybum
Guest
Ah Cullen scored tons of those 
hehe Its hard to really compare the two. Different eras. But Cullen was definitely the best fullback in the modern era lol imo
hehe Its hard to really compare the two. Different eras. But Cullen was definitely the best fullback in the modern era lol imo
R
RC
Guest
*Cough*JPR*Cough*
Maybe not the best, but was a huge threat in attack. Ah, the good old days when you could have lambchops on the side of your face and not be mocked!
Maybe not the best, but was a huge threat in attack. Ah, the good old days when you could have lambchops on the side of your face and not be mocked!
R
Ripper
Guest
especially as he smoked 60 a day apparently. Would still pick Cullen ahead of him though in terms of timeless legendary full backs.
[/b][/quote]
Cullen was a great attacking fullback but what did he achieve at the world cup on the biggest stage of all. Also Blanco was consistently brilliant for a much longer period. [/b][/quote]
He only played in one World Cup, and was shunted out of position. If he had gotten a chance to play fullback he would've shone in that backline.
[/b][/quote]
I dont disagree that Cullen was an awesome fullback but I think history has judged Blanco as the greatest attacking fullback of all time. Ever see his lenght of the field try against Australia? [/b][/quote]
Cullen did those every second week before he ripped his knee and baldy-locks was put in charge.
That's just hindsight - at that time Umaga was still two years away from switching to centre and was still a wing first and foremost. We were screwed either way when in 1998 we preety much had to blow the whole team up and start from scratch 18 months out from the World Cup.
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fcukernaut
Guest
I simply have just never liked Carlos Spencer as an All Black. Period. At club level he was always fantastic and creative and fun to watch. But the moment he stepped on the field for the All Blacks, he was never the quite the same. Sure he was brilliant at times but he was always an error prone guy even at the best of times. The only difference being that at the test level, top teams capitalize on mistakes. I predicted disaster a year out openly saying that if Spencer is leading the All Blacks we're doomed for failure. Sure me just being the spiteful asshole that I am had a lot to do with it, but also I had serious concerns about his decision making and the fact that he couldn't goal kick consistently. Having him in the lineup meant somewhere along the line you need to pick a goalkicker over perhaps a more talented player (mind you that didn't happen). Which might explain why Ben Blair was in the squad, though I don't really understand his selection either.
Overall, bad defence, no goal kicking and little experience was the death of the team.
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nick_w
Guest
especially as he smoked 60 a day apparently. Would still pick Cullen ahead of him though in terms of timeless legendary full backs.
[/b][/quote]
Cullen was a great attacking fullback but what did he achieve at the world cup on the biggest stage of all. Also Blanco was consistently brilliant for a much longer period. [/b][/quote]
He only played in one World Cup, and was shunted out of position. If he had gotten a chance to play fullback he would've shone in that backline.
[/b][/quote]
I dont disagree that Cullen was an awesome fullback but I think history has judged Blanco as the greatest attacking fullback of all time. Ever see his lenght of the field try against Australia?
[/b][/quote]
It's the age old argument of rugby past and present. Simply put, would JPR or Sergo survive in todays game which is full of an obsessive attention to detail? Different era's, different players i'm afraid, so in that case we will never have an even playing field to discover who truly was the greatest full back.
I simply have just never liked Carlos Spencer as an All Black. Period. At club level he was always fantastic and creative and fun to watch. But the moment he stepped on the field for the All Blacks, he was never the quite the same. Sure he was brilliant at times but he was always an error prone guy even at the best of times. The only difference being that at the test level, top teams capitalize on mistakes. I predicted disaster a year out openly saying that if Spencer is leading the All Blacks we're doomed for failure. Sure me just being the spiteful asshole that I am had a lot to do with it, but also I had serious concerns about his decision making and the fact that he couldn't goal kick consistently. Having him in the lineup meant somewhere along the line you need to pick a goalkicker over perhaps a more talented player (mind you that didn't happen). Which might explain why Ben Blair was in the squad, though I don't really understand his selection either.
Overall, bad defence, no goal kicking and little experience was the death of the team.
[/b][/quote]
Spencer is one of those players I have nothing less than compete and absolute respect for. Despite his lacklustre performance in a black jersey and his poor form with the boot, he was, and still is, so entertaining to watch. There were a fair amount of errors, but he went out and made risks to try and make something of it. Agreed, by far the greatest fly half to ever wear the All Black No10 shirt, but certainly an influential and positive member of the All Blacks during his time with the blackness.
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dundeesmiffy
Guest
:blink:
[/b][/quote]
Yes, He has similar properties as Tana Umaga and he performed very well (in the first half when he was given the space) in that position for the Barbarians against SA, had the second half been as fast paced as the first I think Ma'a Nonu would have been a shoe in for MOTM.
I don't think he has the pace to compete on the wing at international level but from what I've seen of him I enjoy his style of play. I can only hope he stays with Union and is given a shot at the international game, lest be driven to League, as wikipedia informs me the Gold Coast ***ans have shown interest in him, should he choose to convert codes.
Also, if we are supporting choices with video evidence.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpUlzj3_pis
J
Juggernaut
Guest
Yeah that 99 RWC backline was a f***ing joke. Hmmm....... let's put our best center (Umaga) on the wing, our best fullback (Cullen) at center, and our best wing (Wilson) at fullback.
What should have been 13. Umaga, 14. Wilson, 15. Cullen (whom were all regarded the best in the world at their main positions at the time), was TOTALLY reversed.
I mean, wtf was going through John Hart's scummy little head?!?! [/b][/quote]
Well Umaga only seriously took up playing centre in 2000.
from wiki... "The first Bledisloe match in 2000 would go down as arguably the greatest game of all time, indeed it was dubbed "the game played in heaven".[12] He signed a new four year contract with the NZRU, and when Alama Ieremia took up a contract in Japan Tana Umaga decided to shift his focus to centre, despite scoring 9 tries in just 7 tests on the wing that year."
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nam97
Guest
Yeah that 99 RWC backline was a f***ing joke. Hmmm....... let's put our best center (Umaga) on the wing, our best fullback (Cullen) at center, and our best wing (Wilson) at fullback.
What should have been 13. Umaga, 14. Wilson, 15. Cullen (whom were all regarded the best in the world at their main positions at the time), was TOTALLY reversed.
I mean, wtf was going through John Hart's scummy little head?!?! [/b][/quote]
Well Umaga only seriously took up playing centre in 2000.
from wiki... "The first Bledisloe match in 2000 would go down as arguably the greatest game of all time, indeed it was dubbed "the game played in heaven".[12] He signed a new four year contract with the NZRU, and when Alama Ieremia took up a contract in Japan Tana Umaga decided to shift his focus to centre, despite scoring 9 tries in just 7 tests on the wing that year."
[/b][/quote]
Well ok, but that's not the really the wider picture. What justifies playing Cullen at center and Wilson at fullback?
S
sambãd5
Guest
I simply have just never liked Carlos Spencer as an All Black. Period. At club level he was always fantastic and creative and fun to watch. But the moment he stepped on the field for the All Blacks, he was never the quite the same. Sure he was brilliant at times but he was always an error prone guy even at the best of times. The only difference being that at the test level, top teams capitalize on mistakes. I predicted disaster a year out openly saying that if Spencer is leading the All Blacks we're doomed for failure. Sure me just being the spiteful asshole that I am had a lot to do with it, but also I had serious concerns about his decision making and the fact that he couldn't goal kick consistently. Having him in the lineup meant somewhere along the line you need to pick a goalkicker over perhaps a more talented player (mind you that didn't happen). Which might explain why Ben Blair was in the squad, though I don't really understand his selection either.
Overall, bad defence, no goal kicking and little experience was the death of the team.
[/b][/quote]
all i can say about spencer is that when he threw the ball between his legs and did no look passes that went to a player who scored - you were smiling too. the simple fact was, mertz was just - just underform, and carter was in his first season of test level. we simply didnt have anyone left - apart from mitchells bum buddy macdonald who is, aparantly, a god at 1st 5.
yes spencer was a risk taker. but it did open peoples eyes to what can be done. like in the wc, when he was going to go for touch, he then tap kicked and scored a try. im not saying hes the best 5/8 ever, but at the time, he was extremely entertaining to watch, and was murdered undeservingly after the wc.
C
candybum
Guest
Yeah that 99 RWC backline was a f***ing joke. Hmmm....... let's put our best center (Umaga) on the wing, our best fullback (Cullen) at center, and our best wing (Wilson) at fullback.
What should have been 13. Umaga, 14. Wilson, 15. Cullen (whom were all regarded the best in the world at their main positions at the time), was TOTALLY reversed.
I mean, wtf was going through John Hart's scummy little head?!?! [/b][/quote]
Well Umaga only seriously took up playing centre in 2000.
from wiki... "The first Bledisloe match in 2000 would go down as arguably the greatest game of all time, indeed it was dubbed "the game played in heaven".[12] He signed a new four year contract with the NZRU, and when Alama Ieremia took up a contract in Japan Tana Umaga decided to shift his focus to centre, despite scoring 9 tries in just 7 tests on the wing that year."
[/b][/quote]
Well ok, but that's not the really the wider picture. What justifies playing Cullen at center and Wilson at fullback? [/b][/quote]
He thought that because Cullen had experience at center (because he played there for nz schoolboys, not sure if that was his permanent position back then), Because he wanted Umaga, Lomu, Wilson and Cullen in the line up. So he thought Wilson, who's very capable of playing fullback be moved there, Lomu and Umaga on the wings and well Cully at center. Didn't do that badly as i can recall but that wasn't the position that got him to be the most lethal attacking player at that time. I think Umaga only had experience playing center when he played League and for the JK's, at that time.
R
Ripper
Guest
I simply have just never liked Carlos Spencer as an All Black. Period. At club level he was always fantastic and creative and fun to watch. But the moment he stepped on the field for the All Blacks, he was never the quite the same. Sure he was brilliant at times but he was always an error prone guy even at the best of times. The only difference being that at the test level, top teams capitalize on mistakes. I predicted disaster a year out openly saying that if Spencer is leading the All Blacks we're doomed for failure. Sure me just being the spiteful asshole that I am had a lot to do with it, but also I had serious concerns about his decision making and the fact that he couldn't goal kick consistently. Having him in the lineup meant somewhere along the line you need to pick a goalkicker over perhaps a more talented player (mind you that didn't happen). Which might explain why Ben Blair was in the squad, though I don't really understand his selection either.
Overall, bad defence, no goal kicking and little experience was the death of the team.
[/b][/quote]
all i can say about spencer is that when he threw the ball between his legs and did no look passes that went to a player who scored - you were smiling too. the simple fact was, mertz was just - just underform, and carter was in his first season of test level. we simply didnt have anyone left - apart from mitchells bum buddy macdonald who is, aparantly, a god at 1st 5.
yes spencer was a risk taker. but it did open peoples eyes to what can be done. like in the wc, when he was going to go for touch, he then tap kicked and scored a try. im not saying hes the best 5/8 ever, but at the time, he was extremely entertaining to watch, and was murdered undeservingly after the wc.
[/b][/quote]
People blame him for the semi final in 2003, but they forget that he wasn't the one missing a bunch of kicks and getting outmuscled up front (as well as getting steamrolled at 13 like Panadol was), and he was the sole reason we scored our try - all Thorne had to do was virtually fall his sorry carcas in the direction of the try line. I remember Chiro or Gay Guy making a post a couple of years ago about how MacDonald ran different lines to Umaga, and if Umaga had been playing in that backline move it wouldn't have been intercepted.
And the on the whole fullback / centre thing, the only time that can really be blamed is 2003 IMO when Panadol got steamrolled by Mortlock. Cullen made a decent fist of it in 1999, it wasn't like he imploded Nonu-at-Twickenham style. Ditto with Mils at Cardiff (Although Toeava did look a hell of a lot better when he came on).
Is there footage of the game mentioned above where he got run over by Jamie Noon and a rookie Anthony Allan?
C
candybum
Guest
I simply have just never liked Carlos Spencer as an All Black. Period. At club level he was always fantastic and creative and fun to watch. But the moment he stepped on the field for the All Blacks, he was never the quite the same. Sure he was brilliant at times but he was always an error prone guy even at the best of times. The only difference being that at the test level, top teams capitalize on mistakes. I predicted disaster a year out openly saying that if Spencer is leading the All Blacks we're doomed for failure. Sure me just being the spiteful asshole that I am had a lot to do with it, but also I had serious concerns about his decision making and the fact that he couldn't goal kick consistently. Having him in the lineup meant somewhere along the line you need to pick a goalkicker over perhaps a more talented player (mind you that didn't happen). Which might explain why Ben Blair was in the squad, though I don't really understand his selection either.
Overall, bad defence, no goal kicking and little experience was the death of the team.
[/b][/quote]
all i can say about spencer is that when he threw the ball between his legs and did no look passes that went to a player who scored - you were smiling too. the simple fact was, mertz was just - just underform, and carter was in his first season of test level. we simply didnt have anyone left - apart from mitchells bum buddy macdonald who is, aparantly, a god at 1st 5.
yes spencer was a risk taker. but it did open peoples eyes to what can be done. like in the wc, when he was going to go for touch, he then tap kicked and scored a try. im not saying hes the best 5/8 ever, but at the time, he was extremely entertaining to watch, and was murdered undeservingly after the wc.
[/b][/quote]
People blame him for the semi final in 2003, but they forget that he wasn't the one missing a bunch of kicks and getting outmuscled up front (as well as getting steamrolled at 13 like Panadol was), and he was the sole reason we scored our try - all Thorne had to do was virtually fall his sorry carcas in the direction of the try line. I remember Chiro or Gay Guy making a post a couple of years ago about how MacDonald ran different lines to Umaga, and if Umaga had been playing in that backline move it wouldn't have been intercepted.
And the on the whole fullback / centre thing, the only time that can really be blamed is 2003 IMO when Panadol got steamrolled by Mortlock. Cullen made a decent fist of it in 1999, it wasn't like he imploded Nonu-at-Twickenham style. Ditto with Mils at Cardiff (Although Toeava did look a hell of a lot better when he came on).
Is there footage of the game mentioned above where he got run over by Jamie Noon and a rookie Anthony Allan? [/b][/quote]
That is because "panadol" was afraid of getting smashed by Mortlock
Umaga was indeed superior to Mortlock imo hehehe
