All Blacks Suffering Pragmatism Deficit?
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@booboo said in All Blacks Suffering Pragmatism Deficit?:
@nzzp said in All Blacks Suffering Pragmatism Deficit?:
@MN5 said in All Blacks Suffering Pragmatism Deficit?:
@Rapido said in All Blacks Suffering Pragmatism Deficit?:
@taniwharugby said in All Blacks Suffering Pragmatism Deficit?:
@Jaguares4real said in All Blacks Suffering Pragmatism Deficit?:
hese 3 sides are a bit behind but it;s not a massive distance btw these sides
Margins for error rare tiny If you don't bring your A Game you're very likely to get turned overWhile I think Australia are a chance, I think they are an outside chance, I dont see Scotland having any chance at all...they would need to beat 3 of the top rugby nations on consecutive weekends.
Argentina I am on the fence with, they are good enough, but not sure they are mentally ready to go all the way as I think they are still not a genuine International force beating teams consistently.
I see it as being the most open world cup since 1995. 5 contenders for the comp then and now. Not the same 5 though.
I think I'm in agreement with your 5 contenders.
Overall, I'm in agreement with J4r that it is the most competitive in history, as the quality below the 5 contenders sees 4 other teams who could go deep and do plenty of damage to contenders hopes.
Where as in 1995 outside the big5, Scotland were OK, and the rest were trash.
Still devastated at Emile Ntamacks last minute try that meant Scotland had to get Lomu’d cos at that stage they woulda comfortably got past Ireland in a quarter.
I'm still devestated about France being robbed by the refs in teh torrential semi against SA. That prop damn well scored
Prop? Abdelatif Benazzi I thought. No.8 IIRC.
My memory is farked now. You're absolutely right - I remember it being a prop, but it was Benazzi.
I was convinced in normal definition, in the wet, from an angle that he'd gone over. I think a lot of French were as well. Who knows how that final could have gone then - or whether France would keep the 'biggest chokers at RWC' tag still (3 finals, no wins)
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@Jaguares4real said in All Blacks Suffering Pragmatism Deficit?:
That won't worry ENG IRE up north or Springboks or Pumas as well
It blew England away in the 2nd & 3rd quarters at Twickenham in 2018
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@MrDenmore said in All Blacks Suffering Pragmatism Deficit?:
Inevitably, they put themselves under unnecessary pressure. And because their attack-at-all-costs mentality is now so predictable, they make it easier and easier for their opponents to shut them down
IMHO there's been a big increase in silly errors in the last couple of seasons when they suddenly upped the pace.
I think they need to maybe slow the decision making down a touch, get the decision right and reduce the error rate in execution.
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That's only half a game England should have won that game
ABs pack is good but there are multiple sides who have better packs: SA ENG IRE
Backline is where ABs have the edge
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@Jaguares4real said in All Blacks Suffering Pragmatism Deficit?:
That's only half a game England should have won that game
The AB's eased off in the last quarter.
After all, It was only a friendly.;
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@Jaguares4real said in All Blacks Suffering Pragmatism Deficit?:
ABs pack is good but there are multiple sides who have better packs: SA ENG IRE
'better' is an interesting concept. At the elite level, you trade off; bulk and power goes up, but mobility goes down and you can run into fitness issues. I think we tend to have a smalle rpack than most, but focus on skills and athleticism. Can get dominated physically sometimes, but a mentally tough forward pack can ride through that, and then raise the intensity towards the end of halves.
Our setpiece is sufficiently competitive, and arguably we are (with Sam Whitelock) becoming quite dominant on the opposition lineouts. He helped win us that SF agains the Bokke last world cup, and constant steals are a real pain for otherwise dominant packs.
Overall, I don't think it's as clear as you say @Jaguares4real. We don't have real weaknesses, and do have some real strengths. Just have to be used to getting dominated at times phyiscally for the tradeoffs I guess
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