Bledisloe #2
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@Yeetyaah said in Bledisloe #2:
Ah okay. I thought it'd be points difference or something. Cheers fellas.
I'm pretty sure the 2009 French series ended on points difference after finishing 1-1. It was the first time anyone new there was a trophy up for grabs and that points difference was how it was decided.
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@Billy-Tell said in Bledisloe #2:
2002 - last time Australia held the Bledisloe
1994 - last time the ABs lost at Eden Park
1986 - last time Australia defeated the ABs at Eden ParkI doubt Hansen wishes to embellish his "first coach to lose to Ireland" record.
Biggest test match since Lions 3 I would suggest.I'm slowly coming round to the reality that we are quite average at the moment. Other than playing players in the best positions (eg B. Smith at 15), maybe the odd selection change, there's not a lot of room to maneuver.
We've lost to Australia and still done fine in the RWC (2011, 2015). We've also thrashed Australia and got knocked out of the RWC (2003). I'm all for not showing a complete hand, but winning with a little bit of style would be reassuring, given our only other match before SA in Japan is Tonga.
Let the discussion commence.
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@rotated said in Bledisloe #2:
@Yeetyaah said in Bledisloe #2:
Ah okay. I thought it'd be points difference or something. Cheers fellas.
I'm pretty sure the 2009 French series ended on points difference after finishing 1-1. It was the first time anyone new there was a trophy up for grabs and that points difference was how it was decided.
Yup different then the bled, and Henry knew but didn't tell the troops. Weepu was not happy afterwards
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Owen Franks has to go.
George Bridge to 14 to replace Ben Smith or Ben Smith to 15 and Barrett to 10.Big problem is Hansen has stuck with certain players too long and their replacements are really inexperienced or not quite up to standard in some way.
Would be nice to have Akira Ioane as an option right now. (at least for a bit of go-forward)
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Didnt Chieka throw up the white flag in 2015 heading to EP after winning B1?
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@nzzp said in Bledisloe #2:
@NTA said in Bledisloe #2:
All Blacks by twinty
Surely we're the underdogs now?
Good fucking luck getting another red card. It's Jaco.
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I'd suggest they go with something like:
Moody
Taylor
Tu'ungafasi (we probably need more from the props)
Tuipolotou (assuming we don't have Barrett)
Whitelock
Fifita
Cane
Read
Smith
Barrett
Bridge
SBW
ALB (assuming we don't have Goodhue)
Ioane
SmithMoli
Coles
Ta'avao
Romano
Savea
TJP
Mo'unga
Laumape -
Now that I’ve had some time to reflect, I’m a little more positive about our chances, though I am far from convinced we should be favourites for the cup given our form leading into it.
SB’s red card cost us the chance of winning that test. Yes we got dominated in the first 40, more so than usual. But that wouldn’t be the first time we’ve weathered the storm, kept the scoreboard close and then finished stronger.
Credit to the Wallabies, they didn’t let up and they didn’t panic when Beauden dotted down after by far our best passage of play. They exploited the numerical advantage, particularly around the fringes and really made us pay for SB’s brain fart. But I would expect any of the top sides to do that; bottom line is we will get pumped if we lose a player early in the game as we’re back in the pack now. The same is true for the other top sides.
We do have the cattle to go all the way, and a win against SA in pool play will give us a pretty easy run to the semi, but we need to get our tactics right.
Given we will never blow teams away in the first 40 I’d like to see us be more conservative with both selections and gameplan.
That means keeping the ball in hand more and using our forwards to hit it up around the fringes in the early exchanges. Wear teams down even if we’re not scoring tries.
Selection wise we need to start Taylor and TJP, move Beauden back to 10 and put our most experienced back BFA at 15 where decision making and defence will be important. A rookie like Ennor at 14 is not a huge risk. Cane should start at 7 with Ardie on the bench, and a big bopper at 6 (Frizell, Jacobson or Squire, they just need to go hard for 50 odd minutes).
Then in the second 40 we can roll out Coles, A Smith, Aridie and Mo’unga to really up the tempo - those 4 blokes coming on at the 50-60 minute mark can provide us a massive point of difference. I don’t think any other team could boast that level of class and impact off the bench when defenses are tiring.
This 2nd Bledisloe is a great chance for us to adjust our game plan and play more to our strengths.
Thoughts?
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@No-Quarter a lot to like about that. If we adjust our tactics what do we do with the front row. Not mobile, poor hands, passive on ruck d (team issue) but good at scrum time? We have to hope that these guys will get better.
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@kev said in Bledisloe #2:
@No-Quarter a lot to like about that. If we adjust our tactics what do we do with the front row. Not mobile, poor hands, passive on ruck d (team issue) but good at scrum time? We have to hope that these guys will get better.
There’s no easy answer at prop. Moody has been disappointing as he has been good with ball in hand in the past but that part of his game has dropped away. Franks has never been a ball runner. I’m no expert in the dark arts but I’d lean towards someone that can offer more with ball in hand as we need to be making more inroads up the middle.
