All Blacks v Wallabies at Eden Park.
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@infidel I don't think that really has a heck of a lot to do with the ref eh. Considering he's been the top ref for a while, he just gets assigned more AB games. What might be more interesting would be who were the refs for our 3 losses since 2011 RWC?
Edit: Appears to be Clancy (Vs England) and Barnes x2 (SA, Aus).
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I think the ABs typically get really top drawer refs v teams that might push us, so they have zero impact on us winning or losing, while on the lesser games where we get a 2nd tier ref he might not be as good but the opposition is so awful we are winning no matter what.
On the odd occasion I've seen a shit ref display in an AB game its been v Samoa or Italy or someone & we were always wiining by 30 anyway.
The ones that annoy me are games between the shit top tier sides (Wales, Ireland) and the top lower sides (Samoa, Fiji, Georgia) where a bad ref can cost a minnow a win or consign a good team to a loss that shouldn't have happened & yet those are the games given shit refs as the spotlight is not on it the way it is Wales v England say.
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@Tregaskis said in All Blacks v Wallabies at Eden Park.:
@ACT-Crusader Agreed. Ardie is not seen as a starter (yet) against Tier 1 nations, after they had a look at him starting in the home Boks test.
Dixon covering 7 (if he's not already starting that game at 6).Not by Hansen. I wonder why. Ardie is so clearly the better players. Who does Todd play for?
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen says Ardie Savea better suited to bench role for now
Not
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@reprobate said in All Blacks v Wallabies at Eden Park.:
look on the bright side winger - at least one of the saveas who doesn't deserve to be there is getting a run mate.
That's a bit harsh, Ardie is pretty damn good in the back end of the game, off the bench. It's just he's proven he's not yet up to starting.
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Man for man, the 2015 AB were possibly the better side but I think the 2016 side, as a team, are better.
Remember the RC defeat against Australia, the poor discipline in the RWC semi-final against the Boks and most of all, the game against Georgia, IMO the poorest display by any AB team in decades.
Man for man, this 2016 side is possibly not as good but it has been more dominant : can you remember a team winning the RC with such a margin, scoring so many tries in every game ? -
For me every WC all sides have a transition phase where old guys who have clung on go, fringe guys who thought they had a shot go etc.
So they lose experienced starters & depth. Like post 2007 we lost the experience of Hayman, but also the depth of Evans. The difference this year is the way the last 4 years of selection has meant the switch has been seamless - for the ABs. For everyone else its been the usual mess.
As well as we are playing - and we are playing superbly, Australia, Wales, Ireland, England & SA are all transitioning with varying degrees of success. While France are in a club led death spiral.
The cattle on the park for the ABs this yerar has been great, but far more so its the way the likes of Todd, Cane, Crotty, Barrett, TJP, Crockett etc have been used in the previous 4 years, its been a selectorial masterclass in building depth, confidence, continuity etc. And you can see it again with guys like ALB, Ardie, Moala etc all being carefully slotted into the AB machine to develop & peak in 3 years.
We have very few one season (let alone one test) All Blacks anymore. Compare that to say, Eddie Jones yanking his centre after 25 minutes v Aussie this year, and then yanking his 7 after 30 in the last test.
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"Testing new ideas on the biggest stage – sometimes maybe some people might not think [now] is the right time but I think that's the time and that's the place where you see that if it really is something that can work in the future. We'll see how we go," Cheika said.
"Maybe it's not about if Bernard is a better option than Quade but more about the combination changing. I figured this was the right time."
Christ, he just exudes competence, doesn't he?
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@Rancid-Schnitzel I note commentators always rave on about BBBR's engine but Whitelock is just as fit and energetic. He doesn't stand out as much but I rate him very very highly.
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@nostrildamus said in All Blacks v Wallabies at Eden Park.:
@Rancid-Schnitzel I note commentators always rave on about BBBR's engine but Whitelock is just as fit and energetic. He doesn't stand out as much but I rate him very very highly.
Absolutely agree. Sam is not as prominent in the loose, but has a huge engine and is a massive contributor.
Made that key lineout steal in the QF as well. Critical.
That, and he's the modern skinny lock. At 115kg. FML.
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The Wallabies haven't won at Eden Park for 30 years and combined with such form poor, they are paying $10 to beat the All Blacks, who are at $1.03.
I tend to think that if things go to script then we'll win by 15-20 points - could blow out, but I suspect the Aussies are actually the best team we're going to play this year.
Playing the Argies, when Moody got yellow carded, we were on the back foot and under pressure. I'm wondering how much of a penalty would make this an even-stevens game and thinking a first half red card would certainly do it. If I were an Aussie I'd definitely want a piece of those $10 odds.
Meanwhile that quote comes from a stuff article about some guy who put $100K on the ABs to win all their games this year....at $1.50.
He's either rich enough not to worry or bought himself a fair amount of stress.
