France v All Blacks
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Glad to get out of that one as we were outplayed for most of it yet still found a way to win. The season couldn't finish soon enough as we were really beginning to tire. Credit to the French they were fantastic and on another day it could have gone their way.
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Barnes had a good game if you ignore the many, many, many things he got wrong. Calls out French 6 at KO but still let's him get within a few yards of the ball - that's offside. ABs all offside at final KO and nothing. Savea has ball ripped while already on the ground - penalty or knock on but nothing. French 9 is literally standing there with his hands on the ball and nobody is allowed to touch him. At least 3-4 ruck infringements every time (by both sides) and he randomly calls one now and then. The only good thing was that his randomness meant no side gained much from him.
In other words he was a bit shit? Typical Wayne Barnes reffed game
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@Kirwan Really? Cane brings a hell of a lot more physicality in the tackle. He was also producing turnovers before his injuries.
That would be great if he was play six, but Todd is getting way more turnovers in limited opportunities.
If we are going to continue to not put numbers in at the ruck we need a seven that can get us turnovers. With Cane it's always a surprise when he gets one. I'd guess that the locks get more than he does.
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@Kirwan Really? Cane brings a hell of a lot more physicality in the tackle. He was also producing turnovers before his injuries.
That would be great if he was play six, but Todd is getting way more turnovers in limited opportunities.
If we are going to continue to not put numbers in at the ruck we need a seven that can get us turnovers. With Cane it's always a surprise when he gets one. I'd guess that the locks get more than he does.
Agree Todd has been outstanding every game he's played. I think Cane is physical enough to play 6, a Cane-Todd-Read trio might not be a bad bet if we can't find a starting 6 post-Kaino.
It's been a steep learning curve for Ardie this year, and he'll only be better for it. A bit more bulk (as Hansen has talked about) will help him a lot. Has a big future but he's nowhere near the finished product one or two of my fellow Canes fans made him out to be.
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@Kirwan I think they play different games, lets not forget in his last few years Richie didnt get many t/o's which is why the world loved Pocock so much...
That being said, the way Todd is playing, however different to Cane is surely pressing his claims for more starts.
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I see your point, but I'm still not that convinced about going for turnovers - unless you've go a ref like today who let things go a bit wild. I reckon our defense looks much much better when we focus on aggressive tackles and then getting men across the field, rather than attacking the breakdown too much - I think it's hard to focus on turnovers without putting more men towards the BD (unless Todd or anyone just happens to be there on their feet when someone falls over, then we seem pretty good at seizing the opportunity). Today, we were at our best in the last 10 minutes of the first half when I thought it looked like we changed tactics a bit and went back to tackle, set defence, rather than tackle and look for turnover opportunities.
Having said that, Todd is clearly world class and is better than Savea right now. I'd carry Todd on the bench right now, and get Ardie to focus on putting on more weight,
Overall, the player I'm most worried about is Kaino - maybe he's just tired but he looks well below his best. I don't think we have a replacement ready either.
Read has also had too much rugby and needs a break (and surgery, which is a worry).
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And those fucking jerseys can piss right off!
Wide camera shots I was looking at the wrong team...
Sorry but am fed up with the whinging about the jerseys. It's part of the deal these days, the ABs need revenue to retain their best players and that involves making compromises with sponsors such as AIG and Adidas etc. It's something I can live with if it means keeping someone like BFA in the country. What was wrong with the jerseys anyway? Looked as good if not better than the all white ones imo. As long as the black jersey is not tampered with, people should just chill out.
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@Siam Right now , I think The RC is a bit weak ,
Its an odd situation , but if we were in a comp with England , Ireland and France , they would give us more grief than Aus , SA and the argies , well in 2016 anyway , that could turn around quickly ,
But I think its not just that they are better , they give us different challenges that we arent quite used to , Australia are still probably harder to defend against , but we are kind of used to that , Ireland are going to make it much harder for you to get any pill , which they did to us twice, and we arent quite used to that .
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Very deliberate plays to repeatedly chip kick, coaches get to see the results of both that play on loop, as well as our defence when starved of possession. It's funny how people screech that we need Pocock as we never have the ball, completely ignoring the amount of times we willingly hand it over.
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@kiwiinmelb said in France:
Its an odd situation , but if we were in a comp with England , Ireland and France , they would give us more grief than Aus , SA and the argies , well in 2016 anyway , that could turn around quickly ,
As it did from this time last year.
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Hmmm. People whinging about Barnes in a test we actually won. Are we now Irish fans or something?
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@Billy-Tell said in France:
Hmmm. People whinging about Barnes in a test we actually won. Are we now Irish fans or something?
I think the feeling is both sides and everyone watching were pretty confused by a fair bit of inconsistency. He didn't favour one side in that regard, which is why a fair chunk of posters didn't have a problem with him today.
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@akan004 everybody understands the finance adidas brings just like everybody understands that NZRU get the final sign off on the jersey.
Don't harp on about how adidas get to laud it over us.
The jersey design was a radical departure from the one solid colour we've become accustomed to.
You like it, I don't. Save us the lecture and bleating about keeping Ben Smith.
You got the retail revenue sharing agreements for these jersey sales to add any substance to your strawman?
I'm going to guess these don't fly of the shelves and won't be used again
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@Billy-Tell said in France:
Hmmm. People whinging about Barnes in a test we actually won. Are we now Irish fans or something?
Don't know about the irish. The sample size of them having a win is too small. I thought most of their whinging came after the game they lost though.
Regardless, I don't see why only complaining about a ref after a loss is a good thing. You just come across as a sore loser then (like the Irish/Aussies this year).
The refs performance should be analysed no matter what the result. -
@akan004 everybody understands the finance adidas brings just like everybody understands that NZRU get the final sign off on the jersey.
Don't harp on about how adidas get to laud it over us.
The jersey design was a radical departure from the one solid colour we've become accustomed to.
You like it, I don't. Save us the lecture and bleating about keeping Ben Smith.
You got the retail revenue sharing agreements for these jersey sales to add any substance to your strawman?
I'm going to guess these don't fly of the shelves and won't be used again
We are talking about the use of the alternative strip once every two years. It's hardly something to get worked up about. And the NZRU have done most things right in the last ten years or so, so am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure they would have had their reasons for signing off on it. I would rather trust their judgement than that of some pundit on the street who is not privy to the contractual agreements that the NZRU have with their sponsors.
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When was the last time the ABs had a midfield in which the most experienced player was only 21?
@Stargazer @Tim Taufua looked good at 7 for the Baabaas vs SA. If he has a future at international level, he needs to focus on openside. I think Kaino will come back refreshed next year as the Lions tour is an obvious carrot for the AB veterans. But at 33 next year might be his lot.
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And those fucking jerseys can piss right off!
Wide camera shots I was looking at the wrong team...
Sorry but am fed up with the whinging about the jerseys. It's part of the deal these days, the ABs need revenue to retain their best players and that involves making compromises with sponsors such as AIG and Adidas etc. It's something I can live with if it means keeping someone like BFA in the country. What was wrong with the jerseys anyway? Looked as good if not better than the all white ones imo. As long as the black jersey is not tampered with, people should just chill out.
Being at the game I found the white strip made it easier to discern the players v the opposition so the rationale for the alt strip worked in practise. Tho the strip also resembled the Brumbies kit for what it's worth.
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I like the jersey.
