Ireland vs All Blacks (2018)
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Some things that we are doing is puzzling to me.
For instance, it seems strange as to why we are not employing a rush defence when all the top teams are doing it. It's not like our current D is so great anyway. Ireland pretty much won that game on the back of their rush defence. Am sure they wouldn't have made the easy metres in the 1st half either if we had been in their faces.
I have always had a lot of confidence in the coaching team but that's gone this year. Worrying times.
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The squad has passengers like Franks , A Smith, SBW, and NMS. These guys are average repeatedly, and yet other up and comers aren't being given an opportunity.
I know McCaw was a once in a lifetime player, but where we miss him more is captaincy. His head was so cool it was Arctic. You think Smith and co would be fucking about with box kicks every two mins with Richie in charge? Or players acting like headless chooks? Read was once a great player, but his legs look tired, and he's not a great captain under pressure at all. The ABs lacked direction today, like each of them was waiting for someone else to do the brilliant thing that would snatch the win. And nobody did. Ireland beat us up in the forwards, and forced us onto the back foot for most of the game. Our backline had no structure. it wasn't pretty. Meh.
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@chris-b actually I think both forwards and backs were crap. But much harder to be good in backs if forwards not going forward. Issues with forwards - those first half penalties were primarily them and some just very poor from senior players, we didn’t win contact ( poor ) or tackle ball, two penalties in first half at scrum time when we were dominated.
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@kev Yeah - they got dominated for 60 minutes today, but generally I think they're a pretty solid pack. I don't have too many concerns that when we need a big effort from them at the RWC that we will get it.
I think there's a few more fundamental issues in the backs, right now.
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Was a good game of rugby to watch. Loved seeing the ABs under huge pressure two weeks in a row. Just an English foot away from being a complete horror of EOY tour.
Thought Ardie and Scott Barret were the pick of the forwards while the midfield defended strongly. We really need a plan b when plan a (Bbbr) doesn't play well.
Beaudy continues to struggle but I didn't think RM looked much better. Just played a different game that Ireland took in their stride. Heaps of flat and short passes but they never seemed like scoring.
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@mn5 said in Ireland Vs All Blacks:
Reads whinging to the ref is pretty embarrassing.
.....and I don't recall an AB debut half as eagerly anticipated as Akira Ioanes. Ever. His fern legend is the stuff Charlie Ngatai could only dream about.
Test debut (to be all pedant), it wouldn't be half as anticipated if Hansen had just thrown him a bone in the early season matches or against Japan.
If ref wasn't complaining to the ref we'd likely be complaining too - Barnes actually put both Read and Best in their place ... which was quite funny.
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@nepia said in Ireland Vs All Blacks:
Barnes actually put both Read and Best in their place ... which was quite funny.
That is one of the problems with Barnes. He is an arrogant, know all.
Yes, refs need to control, but they need to listen too.
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@nepia yep, gotta be in the eR of the ref or people will moan he isn't talking to the ref enough.
Yea I'm not a fan of Barnes style, but he was pretty consistent today.
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@taniwharugby said in Ireland Vs All Blacks:
@nepia yep, gotta be in the eR of the ref or people will moan he isn't talking to the ref enough.
Yea I'm not a fan of Barnes style, but he was pretty consistent today.
In typical Barnes fashion there were a few 'flat' passes missed - yet a perfectly fine pass was pulled up.
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@nepia haha yeah that was very funny (given his history with forward passes) and I reckon if he'd let it go, we had won the ball and were looking good down the right side..but yeah, you come to expect him to not know what a forward pass is.
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@snowy said in Ireland Vs All Blacks:
@nepia said in Ireland Vs All Blacks:
Barnes actually put both Read and Best in their place ... which was quite funny.
That is one of the problems with Barnes. He is an arrogant, know all.
Yes, refs need to control, but they need to listen too.
Yep when he shot down Read in particular that was funny as fuck and unfortunately made our captain look a bit of a tool.
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In a year the last few games may seem like a distant memory but it seems more and more likely we are seeing the wheels come off. 3 halves of rugby without a try isn't AB rugby, win or lose. If this is keeping the powder dry, there better be a ton of powder or we are setting ourselves up for not only a world cup failure but an Aussie-like slide down the rankings.
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Barnes was really good except that imaginary forward pass. Common sense with the aerial battle and thought he didn't let the crowd get to him too much. Those penalties in the last part of the 1st half were so dumb from the ABs they should have been yellow for "retarded play".
Akira is not being picked exactly because of the nature of the game last night. If that comment needs further explanation then you need to go back and watch Akira play without the blinkers on.
It is obvious to most except us AB fans that the team is in decline. Some of the pre-game analysis from the more knowledgeable NH punters was spot on. -
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Isn't it funny how we all watch the same game, but come to very different conclusions?
I thought DMac was about our best player for the first 50 minutes. He was good under the high ball, despite a lot coming his way, and with heaps of pressure. He did the bulk of the heavy lifting at first receiver in that half as well, with Barrett playing the ranging role. He took the line on repeatedly, and made their defense nervous most times (hence the reason a bloke built like a halfback was the only one not getting smacked), and that take of the chip and offload to Barrett was glorious. He also kicked quite well. I was actually disappointed when the coaches did their "sub by numbers" and took him off.
Whereas we get the curious case of Scott Barrett. He's getting a heap of love, and did play a good game. But my opinion, he played a good game as a sort of 3rd lock, tight and tough and good at set piece. The problem there is he was playing blindside, and i thought his lack of foot speed cost us. Now, that's not really his fault, he's not a quick guy, and asking him to play that way is unfair. But, with Read getting pretty fucking slow, i thought our loose forwards were smashed around the park. Watch how often their 3 loose forwards turned up out wide and had free rein at the breakdown because our guys couldn't get there in time. Ardie had a lot to do as by far the quickest forward we had.
