All Blacks vs Ireland
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Feels like Ireland are at the beginning of a steady decline. They have an ageing squad with a lot of key players getting long in the tooth. And the players primed to take their place just aren’t getting the big game experience due to the dominance of this team over the past few years.
Exactly the same thing happened with England leading up to 2003, then fell off a cliff after all those guys retired after the WC win.
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@The-Irishman said in All Blacks vs Ireland:
@Jet I think you're an Irishman masquerading on here as a kiwi, you know too much....
Hasta La Victoria Siempre
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Ireland will be hugely disappointed with their performance. So many unforced errors and so many silly infringements, they even got away with a bit at ruck time so the penalty count could have been even worse for them. That's the least accurate performance I have seen from them in a long time, though admittedly I don't watch them very often.
For the ABs - lots of positives after a win in enemy territory like that.
- Sititi is the real deal, he's either been very good or outstanding every time he has started. Today he was very good against a big Irish pack - at 22 that is quite incredible. The start he has had to his test career reminds me of the way the GOAT started... just seems made for it.
- DMac's clearances alone make him our best bet at 10 and he was also very good in all aspects of his play. Best 10 we have had since DC IMO.
- Rieko was awesome on defense and at ruck time, and always dangerous with the ball in hand holding a lot of attention.
- Our bomb squad made an immediate difference, I was calling for them to be brought on with Roigard at the 50 minute mark and I think if they were we could have arrested control a bit sooner. But we have the makings of a bench that is 'impact' instead of 'injury cover' there.
- SB, Vaa'i and PT locking combo is as good as any in the world. PT has really come of age as a leader after a standout Super season.
- Aumua was a beast at hooker, starting to realise his potential. Had an impact in all facets - ruck time, defense, ball in hand and solid at set piece bar one not straight, which under the new rules shouldn't have been called anyway.
I still think we are making too many errors and poor decisions that let the other side back in though - Ireland squandered a lot of opportunities in that 2nd 40 with unforced errors. But overall a step in the right direction, particularly with the bench closing out the game which has been absent all season.
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Jordan's strike rate is absolutely incredible. Ireland contained him well overall but he just always manages to find a way to get over the try-line - Cullen like in that regard.
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And one other thing - Roigard has a sweet left boot, gets huge distance which takes a lot of pressure off DMac at 10. I think we are better off with him starting and Ratima on the bench.
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@Jet said in All Blacks vs Ireland:
@akan004 said in All Blacks vs Ireland:
I love this mad bastard.
Giving team talks in the huddle and I’m thinking “I wouldn’t even have you in my 23 bro”
Mad fucker.
His last photo on that instagram slide - (for real)
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@Canes4life said in All Blacks vs Ireland:
Is this a turning point for the ABs? I feel like we are just starting to click and some of the combinations, particularly off the bench are really starting to flourish.
I had a similar thought.
Not quite Paris 04 EOYT performance but it does feel like this team is starting to develop it's own identity.
Rather than deer in the headlights when going gets tough the team is starting to dig in.
There's now difference makers right across the 23 rather than just players making up the numbers.
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@Jet said in All Blacks vs Ireland:
Loved Scott Barrett grabbing collars. No idea what it was about but fuck em. No backwards steps.
McCarthy fancies himself.
Onya Scoot.
Yeah, I actually was getting a bit pissed off when we were helping their blokes off the floor. Immaterial now but I wanted to see some ruthlessness. Save it for after the match.
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Half their team isn’t Irish. And the rules have thankfully changed.
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@Jet said in All Blacks vs Ireland:
Half their team isn’t Irish. And the rules have thankfully changed.
They all have Irish names though don't they?
One is even named after an Irish whiskey.
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Have to say, JGP is an absolute brilliant player.
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This ABs team definitely feels like a diamond in the rough that’s starting to find its feet. Having said that, don’t underestimate how much Cane and some of the older heads have contributed. They may not be world-beaters anymore, but they know what hard yards and high performance feels like. There are signs of the potential there, and best of all, most of the positivity is from the new breed.
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I was very happy with that grinding win. I loved the fact that when they kept infringing we just kept piling on the points.
The new following kick interpretations are doing my head in. Jordie ran a straight line to the ball and got pinged. Then for one kick Telea essentially had to zig zag around Irishmen, whereas last week the ref was calling out make a path. WTF is going on?
Why do the NH have fresh out of film school directors for their footage? I don't want to see a behind tracking shot of the kick off. Also, the Irish coverage is as bad as Sky when it comes to replay. A call is made, then a break for the scrum, rather than show us the actual replay so we can see why the scrum was ordered they go around all the players for a minute or so.
Why is the NH game built around decoys? Have they had a coaching clinic from Deans recently entitled "My best back plays from when I was the greatest Crusader coach"?
For as much as the Irish like to wank on about how they don't boo kicks they do a fair bit of booing during the game. Come down from your moral high ground, it's just cultural to not boo when kicking.
Have only read a few pages back but sounds like peeps were complaining about DMac during the match - WTF???
Scooter getting a lot of hype, I think it's his best game of the year, but he didn't shade the other two. I guess the hype is a reflection of just how poor in comparison to his usual form he's been this year.
It looks like we may have turned a corner, I hope so.
Wow, a lot of grumpy stuff in that post, when I'm really happy with the win.
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@No-Quarter said in All Blacks vs Ireland:
Jordan's strike rate is absolutely incredible. Ireland contained him well overall but he just always manages to find a way to get over the try-line - Cullen like in that regard.
Currently has the second highest strike rate (tries per game) of any player with more than 30 tries - behind Ohata (who comes with the minnow caveat).
Will doubtless come back to the pack a bit toward the end of his career, but a decent shot not just being NZ's highest try scorer, but all time - although that Georgian will doubtless score lots more.
Will has drawn level with Jonah and Rieko today, played fractionally under half Rieko's games.
List of leading rugby union test try scorers - Wikipedia
