Lam benches Williams
11 Apr 2012
All Blacks lock Ali Williams has been relegated to the bench for the Blues’ clash with the Sharks.
Williams is replaced by Liaki Moli in the starting second row. Coach Pat Lam said the move will be beneficial for the team as a whole.
‘Ali has started every game and he’s working himself into some good rugby but we need some fresh legs and I think Ali coming off the bench will give us that leadership at a crucial time in the match,’ Lam said.
‘In Filo Paulo and Liaki, you’ve got two young guys who have been pushing hard at training and when they’ve been given the opportunity, particularly last week, they brought a lot of energy. We’re going to need that and Ali will bring that off the bench.’
Flanker Luke Braid returns from suspension and will partner his older brother Daniel, who didn’t start last week because of a stomach bug. Chris Lowrey shifts to No 8 to fill in for the injured Brad Mika.
Blues - 15 Rudi Wulf, 14 Hadleigh Parkes, 13 Benson Stanley, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 11 Rene Ranger, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Chris Lowrey, 7 Daniel Braid, 6 Luke Braid, 5 Liaki Moli, 4 Filo Paulo, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Subs: 16 Tom McCartney, 17 Tevita Mailau, 18 Ali Williams, 19 Peter Saili, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Michael Hobbs, 22 George Moala.
10 Comments
11 Apr 2012, 07:22 am
will not play for the All Blacks again
mellopuff Enforcer
11 Apr 2012, 10:01 am
Blues would be better off benching Lam
for good
11 Apr 2012, 10:06 am
Blues will beat the Sharks…
11 Apr 2012, 10:30 am
@greatest13gerber(greatest13gerber)-1:
Enforcer?
He never was an enforcer.
11 Apr 2012, 10:57 am
Well, well, well for all the preaching the Kiwi mafia do on this site and telling us how bad and racist us Saffas are, this story paints a different picture:
“Under-fire Blues coach Pat Lam couldn’t help but choke up during his weekly press conference when he revealed details of racism being directed at him, his family and the Blues on social media.” – superxv . com
11 Apr 2012, 11:41 am
@bokfan1(bokfan1)-5:
blah blah blah blah
funny how you immediately seize upon anything that you think, makes NZ look bad
and seemingly view it as if it is the absolute truth
classic
11 Apr 2012, 12:25 pm
@spartan(spartan)-6: I dont think I have had the “pleasure” before of conversing with you. I also havent posted a comment in a while, so not sure where your perception comes from.
What you describe in your post above is basically exactly what the Kiwi trolls on this site have done – commenting and insulting people and a country they have very little knowledge of.
Nowhere in my comment did I say it is “absolute truth” – but I would imagine that Lam being visibly upset would suggest it did happen.
Methinks you do protest too much – a classic sign of resorting to defensiveness instead of addressing the issue.
Classic indeed
11 Apr 2012, 15:13 pm
BLUES or RUBBLE SHARKS – a difficult call indeed
11 Apr 2012, 21:34 pm
@bokfan1(bokfan1)-7: bokfan1 – hmmmm, yes embarrassing in this day and age that theres still racism around. i dont know of any kiwi though that would deny that it doesnt exist in NZ. its an embarrassing emotion left over from our hunter gathering days.
if your trying to score points off this article then consider it a try under the posts. but lets talk rugby instead.
no matter how the world feels about the boks and AB’s i’d like to think that we are brothers in rugby…albeit brothers who fight with each other all the time but still share a connection.
11 Apr 2012, 21:35 pm
Lam’s clutching at straws here, but how much worse can it get?
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