Bledisloe #2
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@Victor-Meldrew said in Bledisloe #2:
I'm actually finding it hard to pick the best AB.
All have been excellent and a few playing their best game in Black for quite some time while the new boys are playing like old hands.
This
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@Victor-Meldrew said in Bledisloe #2:
Can we have 14 votes on the "Bledisloe #2 MoM" thread please?
Who you NOT voting fir?
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@westcoastie said in Bledisloe #2:
@westcoastie said in Bledisloe #2:
@jegga said in Bledisloe #2:
This game vs athletic park 1996 , which one do you live more?
Athletic Park was just a pummelling. This is good, that was great.
Was this also the game Michael Brial punched Frank Bunce a million times, didn't get carded, but ol' Frank just laughed at him?
Same year different game.
Brial v Bunce was in Brissy. Last minute try to Bunce to win it.
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@Donsteppa said in Bledisloe #2:
@jegga said in Bledisloe #2:
This game vs athletic park 1996 , which one do you live more?
- Back in the days when 40+ points in a tier one test was unheard of. Let alone in the wet beneath the Mallard stand.
Twas lovely weather for ducks.
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Morning after thoughts from watching from the best seats in the house yesterday, albeit a little damp
SBW was outstanding. Ran really well, but contributed massively on defence. He is such a physical specimen, skillset good, you can see why the TWM want him in their squad. Played his way onto the plane - and convinced a heap of people who doubted the selectors ongoing faith in him.
Kicking game was simply magnificent. Only a couple of poorly executed kicks, but we generally found space and kicked really well. Kudos to the lads for that, turned round their big wingers and made them look ordinary.
Defence just went to antoher level. Noticeable aggression and was like running into walls a ttimes. Good to see, the physicality wasn' tthere last week. Nic White got covered well, once his running wasn't a surprise, it didn't work. Big shout outs to KR and SBW in this area.
Handling was exceptional. Focussed and intense; it was cold and wet out there - as wet as I've got at Eden Park in the last 10-15 years. Some downpours were that classic big auckland raindrops, that just saturate. Field held up well.
Scrum dominant from the seats we were in. Both Cheika and Hansen spoke about it in the pressers - looks like we figured out what they were doing to us last week, and came up with a fix (by the sound of it, setting close to the opposition to eliminate any semblence of a hit). Good, but needs to be dealt with on the field for the RWC.
Wings - both played well. I think Bridge was better than Reece with positioning and skills work. Some nervy moments when both he and Beaudy were going for the same high ball, but calls got sorted and they didn't stuff up. Attack went as well as you saw.
ALB continues to impress me. Needs a bigger bopper at 12 I reckon, but what a talent.
Crowd was in fine voice. Plenty of voice, plenty of vocal support. Our reputation as a library is probably not deserved any more... we're not shy of getting stuck in now. Would have felt pretty hostile. 3 minutes to go Aussies were leaving, and the whole north stand stood up and farewelled them. Quality.
Refereeing. Well, it's a tough game to referee, but there are real issues with consistency and quality of refs at the international level. Forget the YC, the offsides and side entries to the ruck just frustrate me week after week for both sides. It's a lottery, sometimes you get pinged, sometimes we don't. One time in the scond half with the ABs exiting inside their 22, the entire Wallaby defensive line was halfway up the ruck and no farks were given by the entire refereeing team. Ya just wonder... if it's a chargedown try, they'll review and disallow - otherwise it's just 'whatevs, play on'.
The other one that exploded my head was the blatant horror call on the restart not going 10. FFS Jaco, if they play at it then it doesn't matter how far it goes. There is no place on earth where that's a scrum restart, just a horror application of the laws. It's up there with 'we have a deal', without (thankfully) the impact.
Anyway, great night to be out, proud and delighted for teh ABs and supporters, roll on the RWC.
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@kiwiinmelb yea White was struggling to get into the game once the ABs got in their groove after about 25 mins...he was the key last week, and we harassed him this week and disrupted their flow.
Whether a YC or not, that was incredibly stupid by Coles, coulda just given a little push, a stand off and moved on, we were in prime position yet he took it too far, a penalty was always in the cards there (or, a YC depending on the ref) denying us our attacking position.
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@MrDenmore said in Bledisloe #2:
Awesome effort. The Wallabies looked spooked from the get-go. But it just shows what accuracy and commitment buys you. Read and Aaron Smith the men of the match. Led from the front. But everyone was superb. Ardie was the everready bunny, Whitelock was just so tight, Laulala stood up, ALB is the one centre (inside or outside) you can guarantee for the WC, Sam Cane’s best game in black and the Beau’unga experiment was hard to fault. One only happy that the Mo’unga part of the deal holds up.
Goodhue?
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@westcoastie said in Bledisloe #2:
@Siam said in Bledisloe #2:
Pat T changed my perception this week. A great game in black
Amazing how different the scrum was despite the past 3 years, you make one change, and well, I can't remember any tier 1 test scrum of 7 beasting an eight like tonight.
All very comforting for sure but, can I question where that intensity was versus Ireland on a couple of recent occasions?
But, yeah well done everyone, a fine tune against Tonga and then do as you see fit in Japan, shag.
yeh that England 6 that held our our AB's 8 in 2003. Good omen.
Fake news. Ref bottled it. Penalty try not awarded.
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@Canerbry said in Bledisloe #2:
Yeeah obviously we had to wet a little bit of powder at some stage or whatever the analogy, which is a bit of a concern.
Players now "proven at this level":
Mo'unga
Reece
BridgeAnd fuckin' go Kieran Read, MOM surely, those eye sockets had a whole new crazy bloody hunger tonight, looked like a leader except for when he didn't do enough to calm down Dane Coles.
Nice to see Beauden getting at least one of the hard kicks
A Smith v TJP about equal still for me
ALB was everywhere but could get more direct
Thoughts and Prayers to Mo'ungaWallabies obviously shit the bed.
Careful. Who was it that missed the sitter?
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@nzzp said in Bledisloe #2:
Crowd was in fine voice. Plenty of voice, plenty of vocal support. Our reputation as a library is probably not deserved any more... we're not shy of getting stuck in now. Would have felt pretty hostile. 3 minutes to go Aussies were leaving, and the whole north stand stood up and farewelled them. Quality.
Showed that on tele. Looked like the Aussies were owning it so credit to them.
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@booboo said in Bledisloe #2:
@nzzp said in Bledisloe #2:
Crowd was in fine voice. Plenty of voice, plenty of vocal support. Our reputation as a library is probably not deserved any more... we're not shy of getting stuck in now. Would have felt pretty hostile. 3 minutes to go Aussies were leaving, and the whole north stand stood up and farewelled them. Quality.
Showed that on tele. Looked like the Aussies were owning it so credit to them.
Is it true that Jacko got booed when she got on stage for the Bled presentation?
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@BerniesCorner said in Bledisloe #2:
Steven Hansen smarter than Steven Jones
I have a chicken that is smarter than Stephen Jones (actually I have 6 chickens that are, and I only have 6 chickens).
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@Machpants said in Bledisloe #2:
@jegga nope, as was pointed out in the commentary blog, she's the only national leader around who doesn't get booed
Weird , I'm seeing reports she did when she went up for the Bledisloe presentation and the Guardian saying she didn't when she was introduced earlier.
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@mariner4life Yeah they seemed to drop their heads once Leali'ifano missed those penalties when they were in control. They also should have scored before he missed his 2nd kick.
Well done and great to see a lot of guys put their hands up and it's been long overdue (people will say keeping the powder dry etc.), but this is to be expected against an average Aussie outfit with all respect who got a touch up not long ago by a 2nd string Springbok side.
So, is that the end of Franks and Bender? I think yes for Franks who has had a great career but he's slowed down dramatically and doesn't look like he has another gear left in him. Bender I'd take as I feel that he still has something to offer and I'm still not fully convinced by Mo'unga and BB despite it going better this week. I still prefer it happening in the 2nd half of big tests against more tired opposition but if they go with it then so be it.
Tuipulotu or Scott Barrett? I think both will go and although I feel Tuipulotu offers more when in full flight and is more dominating in the contact as was shown last night, Barrett at this stage may get the gig on the bench (assuming Retallick is back) because he can cover 6 with Todd as the other loosie on the bench. We don't really need Todd and I'd rather we had someone who can cover everywhere (mainly 6 or no.8) in the back row like Papali'i/Jacobsen/Akira (I know his name is forbidden on here these days for obvious reasons) as we already have 2 great 7s in the squad but again, if he goes then so be it.
What do we do with the midfield? Plenty of decent options there. Goodhue would almost be a certainty at 13 if fit (or is he), but inside him will always be up for debate. I think they go with SBW but either way I'm not fussed. ALB was awesome last night and has the ability to play both 12 and 13 equally as well. I don't think even the coaches know who they're gonna go with there, it really is a tough one. I guess they'll take Crotty as back up as well with Laumape missing out.
What do we do with our back 3? Before the test last night I would have said Ben Smith, Ioane and JB and I would still stick to it in big tests as those NH sides are really gonna test us under the high ball but lets be honest here, the RM/BB combo is here to stay so the big debate remains as to who we're gonna pick on the wings. Reece and Bridge were both outstanding last night that can't be denied, but for defensive purposes, I'd still have Rieko and JB on the wings. Yes I know nothing got past Bridge and Reece last night, but we're gonna have much tougher tests to come and 1 test where the Aussies went back to their old ways doesn't change my opinion on that. Rieko will come right (he hasn't really been that bad tbh), and despite JB being hated by a lot of people rightly or wrongly, he still remains a very good player in my eyes and a very solid bet on the right wing and also made some big defensive plays out there yesterday when he came on.
Then there are other debates such as Moli or Tu'inukuafe. For me, it's a no brainer, Tu'inukuafe goes. He's performed there before and is currently playing very well in the Mitre 10 Cup after suffering with his health during the Super Rugby season. Moli is a project player who has barely done anything to be there in the first place and should be back learning his trade at the lower levels before coming back.
Who starts out of Coles and Taylor. I'm a huge fan of Codie Taylor and although he's probably behind a fully fit Coles, that may change if Coles continues to do dumb shit like he did last night. Throwing White around like he did was unneessary and will cost us in more important situations so again, Coles is probably slightly ahead at this stage, but that could easily change. Who gets the third spot? Probably Harris. Coltman is good over the ball but can't throw to save his life and Aumua is far too raw if an injury happens. I like the kid but he needs to learn his trade at the lower levels similar to Atu Moli, so Harris probably gets it by default.
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