Bledisloe #1
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@Stargazer said in Bledisloe #1:
Ah, another TSF meltdown. Everyone completely overreacting as usual.
Sorry dude. We just lost by 21 points. Overreaction? Seriously?
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@Mokey said in Bledisloe #1:
a SETTLED backline
Yep that would help, but forwards still need to find a way out of reverse and neutral...gone are the days we deal to teams in 2nd or 3rd gear.
How is Mounga supposed to get his game going starting outside TJ one week, AS next, inside SBW then ALB...then there is our midfield, it looks like the days prior to Nonu-Conrad where I think we went 25 tests without starting the same midfield on consecutive tests.
Our combos should be starting to gel now rather than still looking for them.
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@taniwharugby Our musical backline is a shambles, and it really doesn't help to have Smith at the end. He is a far better fullback, and needs time to gather a bit of steam now. He can't explode from a standing/few steps start, he just 'dances'.
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@booboo said in Bledisloe #1:
@Stargazer said in Bledisloe #1:
Ah, another TSF meltdown. Everyone completely overreacting as usual.
Sorry dude. We just lost by 21 points. Overreaction? Seriously?
Well it's only our worst equal margin, not worst on it's own...
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@booboo said in Bledisloe #1:
@Stargazer said in Bledisloe #1:
Ah, another TSF meltdown. Everyone completely overreacting as usual.
Sorry dude. We just lost by 21 points. Overreaction? Seriously?
It's only the most points New Zealand have ever conceded in a Test Match
As well as worst defeat overall in terms of pts conceded + margin of defeatIt's only 6th time ABs have conceded 40+ points
1999 to 2000 was a particularly bad year for AB defencesShit just got serious for ABs
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@pakman said in Bledisloe #1:
@pakman said in Bledisloe #1:
@kiwiinmelb said in Bledisloe #1:
@ACT-Crusader said in Bledisoe #1:
@kiwiinmelb said in Bledisoe #1:
@Siam said in Bledisoe #1:
@Crucial I guess all of us remember where we were for that game. The emotional rollercoaster was immense.
In the cold light of day though, jeez our defence to let them back in was a black mark.
But, a win's a win
I was pissed off we let them back in that easily , I didnt enjoy that game the way most did for that reason..... but Im probably a grumpy bastard .
If we are being honest with ourselves, the Aussies had a better side than ours and I know even when we were up that OZ would make some sort of run.
Yep 100 %, and it used to piss me off
I remember well walking back to the car after that fateful day in 1978 when the world tilted on its axis. Took over 30 years for AB dominance over Wannabees to be restored.
I feel much the same today.
If last night was at Eden Park then there would be something like that, but we were playing in Perth.
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@Yeetyaah players have become mentally lazy - the penalties conceded this year, the dropped passes, poor technique shown by SB. The Coaches keep telling us it’s the start of the test season. Well last night was the delivery night and a big fail, prior to the send off.
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@kev said in Bledisloe #1:
@Yeetyaah players have become mentally lazy - the penalties conceded this year, the dropped passes, poor technique shown by SB. The Coaches keep telling us it’s the start of the test season. Well last night was the delivery night and a big fail, prior to the send off.
We've consistantly been the amongst the worst nations for penailties and cards for ages
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The backline issues have been a real problem. In my view the best backine over the past 3 years has been
9- A. Smith
10- B. Barrett
12- R. Crotty
13- A. Lienert-Brown
11- R. Ioane
14- W. Naholo
15- B. Smith21- TJ. Perenara
22- D. McKenzie
23- SB. WilliamsA number of players in there that have been criticised pillar to post, but it has functioned with the right balance of defence, attack and speed.
But every one of our midfielders including ALB have been injured and we simply don’t have the experienced depth that we’ve had in the past to make a replacement. Part of it is selections and part of it is cycle of player movements.
The Carter/Nonu/Smith combination didn’t play every test but they played a hell of a lot together, but when one was out we had someone that was ready made replacement.
This period has been particularly tough.
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@Machpants as dumb though?
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Well I’ve got my temper under control and, while I don’t think we’re over yet, there are some pretty hard questions that need to be answered.
Top of the list is what exactly does Ian Foster do?
Why do we persistently stand static in defence and let a team that’s on a roll carve off 10m at a time before we engage a ball carrier?
Why, apart from the great buildup to BB’s try, was our game based around passing the ball to players who were standing stock still?
What has happened to our tackling? We’re not dominating and missing way too many.
Why is ALB crabbing across the field now?
I thought Franks said during the week he was having to put some mobility and running into his game. When does he intend to start that?
Why isn’t KR in the ref’s ear? I only saw Aus get pinged once for offside but they were just as bad as us, why no mention to Garces? Why didn’t he challenge the touchie’s call for a lineout instead of a knock on in the lead up to try number 5 (may be wrong number, I can’t count well once I’ve lost the will to live).
Jeez someone call Wayne Smith and beg him to come down to a training session, because it has become pretty farking clear where the brains were in our heyday.
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@Machpants said in Bledisloe #1:
@kev said in Bledisloe #1:
@Yeetyaah players have become mentally lazy - the penalties conceded this year, the dropped passes, poor technique shown by SB. The Coaches keep telling us it’s the start of the test season. Well last night was the delivery night and a big fail, prior to the send off.
We've consistantly been the amongst the worst nations for penailties and cards for ages
If you don't have the ball, you will concede more penalties.
Our game plan should basically be:
First half: try to keep the ball, not much kicking, don't try to play at full tempo.
Second half: up the tempo.
Right now our first half strategy is simply to play at full tempo and kick lots. This just means we get no possession. Since we are defending, we concede penalties.
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@taniwharugby said in Bledisloe #1:
@Machpants as dumb though?
Hard to find stats on that, but I've been searing at ABs stupidity around dumb penalties and needless kciking for ages.
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@Machpants yea who knows...I feel our penalties have been dumber/sillier ones in the past year or so.
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@taniwharugby said in Bledisloe #1:
@Machpants yea who knows...I feel our penalties have been dumber/sillier ones in the past year or so.
SBW and Barrett red cards were so unnecessary and dumb. Shows to me there hasn’t been much learning from past mistakes.
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Problem 1: Lack of flexibility in games. We used to be street smart. We used to be masters at adapting our tactics during the game based on what our opponents were up to.
Then Richie McCaw retired, then Wayne Smith left and that massive strategic advantage disappeared. The team in the last 12 months look unable to react to the unexpected. Kieran Read leads by example wonderfully , but unlike Sean Fitzpatrick or the GOAT, he doesn't speak to the ref much or direct his troops during the later stages of games.
Problem 2: Lack of accuracy and lack of ability to keep the ball in the first half. Ten years ago, most teams would kick a lot in the first half. Lots of teams have reduced their dependency on long punts, we are kicking the ball more. Others sides are able to build an early platform of dominant possession. I can't remember the last time we did that.
Problem 3: Lack of cohesion and energy in the squad. Players used to enjoy playing for the All Blacks and being part of the environment. There was a zip to our play. It is noticeable now that guys like Moody and Franks, even Sam Whitelock seem a lot happier playing for the Crusaders than for the All Blacks. Young coaches like Razor and ROG seem much better at building a rapport with their players and motivating them to excellence than Hansen or Foster.
Problem 4 - Failure to learn from mistakes and react between tests. The stubborness of the coaches is a real weakness. We used to masters at adapting rapidly after setbacks. But we now lack the flexibility and intelligence of old. Scott Barrett's red card was so similar to SBW's one. Did they do any video analysis of Jerome Graces'? Why hasn't ALB been coached not to crab in midfield? Why is Ben Smith still picked at Right Wing when he obviously lacks sufficient gas now? Why wasn't the lack of ball-carriers or dominant tacklers in the forwards if Brodie Retallick is injured anticipated? Can't help thinking that Akira Ioane should have been given more of a chance.
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@ACT-Crusader that backline is full of aged players who haven’t played well for a while or have been injured:
Crotty is like crystal with injuries. Such a risk having a player subject to ongoing concussions,
Naholo is gone but right to ask the question about like for like replacement - size, speed, strength.
ALB - thought he was a bit directionless at centre last night, but with forwards losing contact that doesnt help. Goodhue has been form centre at this level and should be locked in but with ALB as his partner.
Ben Smith hasn’t been the same player this year but could still do Dan Carter.
But it comes back to some basics:
- forwards losing the collision, missed tackles and not generating go forward ball.
- giving the ball back to the opposition with kicks and penalties
If you get those things right last nights backline will work fine.
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They tackled better than OZ regarding missed tackles but it was still a bad night. Though a red card will do that. ABs made 160/198 and OZ 80/110.
Players that missed more than 3
Read - 22 tackles and 6 misses
BB - 2 tackles and 3 misses
Ioane - 4 tackles and 3 misses
A.Smith - 9 tackles and 3 misses
Whitelock - 17 tackles and 4 misses
Moli - 4 tackles and 3 missesBased on ESPN stats
https://www.espn.com/rugby/playerstats?gameId=294511&league=244293
