NPC Final - Auckland vs Canterbury (free entry)
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@siam said in NPC Final - Auckland vs Canterbury (free entry):
Didn't know the score, youtubed the All Blacks channel for the highlights. Got excited, wow of a game even in highlights
fluffybunnies switched from the 33 all equaliser to 40-33 and that's it. No last try, I assume there was a last try?
Production standards people, standards.
Yep... WTF? I saw a comment in the thread suggesting it was a rather good one also.
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Well, finally got to a keyboard after the game. What a farking unbelievable experience. Everything you want in sport rolled into a couple of hours. We had a bunch of kids in our group, and you can bet they'll all want to go to more games next season.
Firstly, well done to the administrators for free entry. 20k must be the biggest crowd in provincial games for, what 10-15 years? Since the 9/9/9 model got demolished. The crowd just kept coming in, they kept opening up new parts of the stadium, and it was a great atmosphere. I suspect if yo uvalue that in terms of exposure and engagement, it pays for itself.
Auckland were woeful in the first half, strangely tentative. We missed those 3/4 forwards - in Christchurch we could defend a maul, but were just not able to stop it. Result: a 17-0 lead, YC and penalty try. I was surprised given the dominance (and expected weather) why Canty didn't go for the corner at the end of the first. THat would have won the game - penalties at that point help, but don't close it out. And this is from someone who's a dedicated 'take the 3' person!
Canterbury were clinical all game. Solid, but unspectacular. Whitelock L and Romano their key players - to be frank , not many other players stood out for them.
A word on the weahter - I was watching metservice rain radar in Half 1-- could see it rolling in. Thankfully they opened the southern stand for punters, or it would have been a wet wet second 40, and with kids probably pulling the pin early.
Rather than talk about the game specifics (and how frustrating Glen J is as a ref), I wan tto talk about changes in Auckland. I haven't bothered going to see them for a few years, despite having a season ticket. They have looked terrible - disorganised, uninterested, arrogant, and awful. This year that has changed bigtime. I have been most impressed with their mental toughness and resilience all year. We had no right to win the games against Wel and Naki - but we did through sheer refusal to give up. It's a characteristic of some of the great late 90's Crusaders teams and All Blacks, and this group had it is spades. The clutch conversion by Plummer was as pressure a kick as you'll see, and is just an isolated example of mental toughness.
To do what they did yesterday, coming back from 17-0 down, missing players and leaders, and still finding a way to come back from every punch that Canterbury landed was remarkable. After last year avoiding relegation, I was just stoked to see them play well and win some games. Making the playoffs was a bonus, hosting playoffs exceeded that, and winning the final at home in front of a crowd like that is just sensational.
I did not expect to say it this year, but I am exceptionally proud of the team, their mental toughness and resilience, and how they have put pride back in the famous blue and white hoops.
It finally feels like a healthy environment to be in, where people are achieving to their potential. Sadly, I suspect that we won't keep the coaching team next year - they'll get offered opportunities too good to turn down.
I'm going to finish with some optimism. We're on the up - the new (ish) contracting model means that we are able to retain some of the talent that we produce, and the future is bright for Auckland rugby at last. This supporter is stoked.
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@tim said in NPC Final - Auckland vs Canterbury (free entry):
@siam Yeah, they missed the last try (ex-Crusaders player Fukofuka). I was annoyed too.
He scored right in front of where we were, didn't ground the ball (hid it with his body), and then scooted 15 m closer to the posts.
Question for those who may have watched - woudl Auck have got the trophy if it was tied at the end of extra time? I thoguht it likely as we both beat them in round robin, and finished first, but buggered if i'd looked up the rules before heading to the ground
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Well done Auckland.
Thought we lost it when we subbed Drummond and Romano far too early. Romano was the most dominant forward on the park. Still not convinced by Thorne and Maddock.
Akira clearly a far better ball runner than Whitleock and did bloody well to drag Auckland back into the game, but it's pretty obvious what his "work ons" are. Namely defense and ruck work where Whitelock is far better.
He's big and strong enough to be a lot more aggressive in these areas. Hopefully we see it next season
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@nepia said in NPC Final - Auckland vs Canterbury (free entry):
@kirwan Yep, this thread is a crack up. It's all Whitelock was so dominant in the first half, yeah a first half when Canterbury dominated possession and territory. Where was Whitelock in the 2nd half when Akira dragged Auckland by the scruff of the neck into the game? The only noticeable thing was being offside and not get carded for it.
@chchfanatic said in NPC Final - Auckland vs Canterbury (free entry):
Was a great game of footy won by the best team all season. Canterbury played awesome today but just couldn’t get up. Today showed why whitelock is an all black and ioane is a pretender. The crusaders were offered ioane to try and sort him out. Razor just laughed at them and said he’s not what we’re looking for.
You never go full retard.
Stats will probably prove me wrong but I thought Whitelock was immense on defense and at the breakdown all game. He was a bit of a lone presence at times when our bench forwards came on in the second half.
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@sammyc game high thirty tackles, reed second on 29. Akira 5 tackles with two missed. Akira twenty runs for 74m, eight defenders beaten. Luke 16 runs 37m, one each clean break and defender beaten. Totally different players, but this starts don't paint a great picture for akira on defence, fatialofa, and the other two lose towards made around 15 tackles each.
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@machpants said in NPC Final - Auckland vs Canterbury (free entry):
@sammyc game high thirty tackles, reed second on 29
Best game I've ever seen Prinsep play
Where do you get these stats?
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@machpants said in NPC Final - Auckland vs Canterbury (free entry):
@sammyc http://www.espn.com.au/rugby/playerstats?gameId=292887&league=270563
cheers fella, thanks for the link. This tells the story I think- Auckland dominated after the break
AKL | CHC
38% / 79% Possession 1H/2H 62% / 21%
31% / 83% Territory 1H/2H 69% / 17% -
@sammyc said in NPC Final - Auckland vs Canterbury (free entry):
Well done Auckland.
Thought we lost it when we subbed Drummond and Romano far too early. Romano was the most dominant forward on the park. Still not convinced by Thorne and Maddock.
Akira clearly a far better ball runner than Whitleock and did bloody well to drag Auckland back into the game, but it's pretty obvious what his "work ons" are. Namely defense and ruck work where Whitelock is far better.
He's big and strong enough to be a lot more aggressive in these areas. Hopefully we see it next season
I only just caught up with the replay and if Akira wants to get in the ABs he seriously needs some body language coaching.
The AB group generally back themselves to upskill a player when they see unusual raw talent like his, but if he jogs around at AB camps like he did in this game can totally see why, when added to his work ons, the selectors are reluctant. Impressions count, and a guy with his shoulders slumped and hands by his sides just doesn’t look engaged in the game, instead he looks like he’s waiting to do something when he feels like it. Frustrating, because he’s got good game when he wants to bring it. -
FFS, that’s a new low. Now he has to improve his body language?
I prefer he keeps performing goal line turnovers, holding up mauls, scoring try’s from the scrum, etc,etc
You know, being a great rugby player.
Next we’ll be talking about facial expressions, oh wait he’s been criticised for that too.
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@kirwan said in NPC Final - Auckland vs Canterbury (free entry):
FFS, that’s a new low. Now he has to improve his body language?
Dude, don't feed the troll. Akira has been done to death on here; either people see what he does on the paddock, or they prefer Luke Whitelock.
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@sammyc said in NPC Final - Auckland vs Canterbury (free entry):
Well done Auckland.
Thought we lost it when we subbed Drummond and Romano far too early. Romano was the most dominant forward on the park. Still not convinced by Thorne and Maddock.
Akira clearly a far better ball runner than Whitleock and did bloody well to drag Auckland back into the game, but it's pretty obvious what his "work ons" are. Namely defense and ruck work where Whitelock is far better.
He's big and strong enough to be a lot more aggressive in these areas. Hopefully we see it next season
Romano walked off pretty gingerly, might not have had a choice there.
The ruck work might be a team tactic, they had Akira quite wide a lot of the time. And he plays a bit like a seven at times, getting into position for the next ruck for the turnover. He’s won us games doing exactly that.
Works for Auckland because we have Dalton, Olmstead and Gibson providing the balance. It’s a case of using the players talents appropriately. Could he play tight? Sure, he’s immensely strong, but is that he best use of him?
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@nzzp said in NPC Final - Auckland vs Canterbury (free entry):
@kirwan said in NPC Final - Auckland vs Canterbury (free entry):
FFS, that’s a new low. Now he has to improve his body language?
Dude, don't feed the troll. Akira has been done to death on here; either people see what he does on the paddock, or they prefer Luke Whitelock.
Fair point, it’s trolling with a healthy dose of tall poppy syndrome.
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Just watched a replay of the final having attended the game yesterday..Evan Olmstead extra time was bloody outstanding...!
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@Crucial does have a point about Akira, and I say this as someone who is in Team Akira. Remember back to Hansen's criticisms of Luatua, it was mainly about workrate, or lack of it in their eyes.
We can all argue about how players are used by their teams but clearly at the moment there are parts of Ioane's game that the AB coaches want improved before he gets his chance.
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Canterbury started well and Auckland looked nervous. They also didn't react well to Jacksons offside line. It took until the second half for Auckland to realise they could push the offside line too
Cantab fans should be asking questions about the selections this year. 10/12 has not functioned and the the good backs from 13-15 don't get enough ball.
The balance is wrong in the forwards too, Romano is the only genuine ball carrying option. They lack a Nasi Manu type of player.Speaking of Aucklands pack I thought there were dominant after that first 33mins. Finishing the game with 62% possession 65% territory and the Cantabs had to make twice the number of tackles that Auckland made. We beat them up and the points followed.
After the horror start it was 26-9 for the rest of regular time and the only blip was the Cantab try in extra time.In the final 67mins it was 6 tries to 1
The question was just if the hole was too big. A better selected Cantabs side would have done more damage when they had the advantage..
Choat has stood up well for a guy with very little experience. Ioane and Olmstead were immense, Seu had a hell of a match off the bench. Plummer easily out played his opposite (hopefully his normal goal kicking form returns??). TJ Faiane's form continued and he was so clam as captain.. so many strong performances under pressure
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@kirwan said in NPC Final - Auckland vs Canterbury (free entry):
FFS, that’s a new low. Now he has to improve his body language?
I prefer he keeps performing goal line turnovers, holding up mauls, scoring try’s from the scrum, etc,etc
You know, being a great rugby player.
Next we’ll be talking about facial expressions, oh wait he’s been criticised for that too.
Yeah, yeah.
Instead of the kneejerk reaction why don’t you address the point which is that if the AB selectors are watching a group and one possible is looking very different to the others in the attitude they are conveying they may add that to the others questions they have about them.
I love the dynamics Akira brings to a game when he is involved and would love to see him do well in the ABs. I’m simply suggesting a reason why the selectors are a bit cold on him and, I feel that is the case, can understand where they are coming from.
I recall many on this board making similar comments about Sivivatu’s apparent disinterest at times in games.
