Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18
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@No-Quarter DC is the best 10 I’ve seen play because of the combination of things he brought - kicks off both feet, textbook tackling, pass both ways, and despite his lack of size was excellent in taking on the line.
I remember when he was in a bit of a form funk in the lead up to the 07 RWC and Nick Evans was having an excellent year particularly in attack. Some calling for Nick to start etc. But the thing that wasn’t in doubt with DC was his defence and that sweeping left boot that would get us out of trouble time and again.
The ABs have had challenges defensively at 1st 5 since I can remember watching as a kid and whilst we’ve tried different things to mitigate it and rotated players, it’s not a unique challenge we find ourselves.
I thought Richie was pretty good defensively off set piece defending in that traditional channel. It’s more when he is out wide he’s under more pressure. Man I held my breath when he was the last line of defence in that OZ build up!
I have to say I thought Beaudie was a very good front on tackler in that 10/12 channel. He was vulnerable when defending at fullback as we saw with the Blues earlier this year. But he was excellent tonight and provided a bit of steel in those tackles.
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@NTA said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
@pakman said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
If I were Rennie, I'd tinker, but tell the boys to use defeat as a lesson and just to be better next time. Young men.
Obviously Toomua needs looking at with the injury. Koroibete extremely unlikely to play that badly again.
Totally agree.
I'm not yet convinced Tupou is more than a flat track bully with ball in hand although his threat value isn't used enough to decoy IMHO.
Defense moved up early on him this week. Like both Wallaby LHs but not sure on TH. Is there a young Ewen McKenzie coming through?
The skill level is higher than previous squads and that's what we need to start building on. Do that, but like you say don't change too much - just identify that there is less time and space and maybe put away the flick passes.
Hanigan's ball to Hooper after his break was an example- ball in two hands, end over end like a league pass instead of bullet spiral at the chest, waiting until he'd fixed the defender. Quicker and easier, keeps the opposition guessing, commits a number. The younger guys (Wright, Wilson, Uelese) all tried to go out the back of the hand too close to contact and fucked it.
Sometimes knowing when not to pass is more important than passing. Seem to recall something about someone in a better position than passer?!
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@No-Quarter Agree with pretty much all of this, but TBF if RM hadn't made game's pivotal tackle things could have been quite different.
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@pakman said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
@No-Quarter Agree with pretty much all of this, but TBF if RM hadn't made game's pivotal tackle things could have been quite different.
Was it ALB that dived in to stop Koribete grounding the ball after he landed on RM? Fair play though RM tried to put the required hit in and it did enough to stop the try. I don't think his defensive issues are through lack of trying, it's something that I'm sure will improve with time as it did for BB who struggled there early on as well
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@No-Quarter said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
Was it ALB that dived in to stop Koribete grounding the ball after he landed on RM?
Yep. Vital move
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ALB has made a big difference in the midfield.
Hodgman was excellent and has surely cemented his place in the 23.
Vai'i was much better than I expected.
Coles is still the best hooker as Taylor's form has been poor this year. But the guy is talented and he should be better in the RC.
Laulala was very disappointing IMO. Two penalties against him in the set scrums cannot be allowed at this level. Thankfully, the game has already been won but what would have happened in a tight one ? I understand that the coaches had a moral obligation to him, but it's time to try Lomax, who had been good when he came in last week. -
Well, that was a fair bit more pleasant. Think it was Cane that made the comment that they got caught up too much in the technical aspect of things last week, as opposed to the occasion, which makes a lot of sense comparing the performances (in particular the passion and aggression).
Couple of things from reading through the thread.
Firstly, pretty funny seeing people lauding Mounga for getting absolutely steamrolled by Koroibete - that's a try every day of the week except for Sunday when ALB makes a dream defensive effort to stop it.
Secondly - lots also with praise for Perenara. My main takeaway from his time on the field was that we didn't score any points. I wish someone knew the switch to get him to just play rugby instead of trying to be Itoje, he's so much better when he shelves that shit. Watching him mouth of at White and scream and holler at Koroibete for making a mistake is pretty distasteful.
Onto the rest...
Muuuuch better from most of the forwards. Like others, I thought Frizzel was hot and cold, but he did again appear at the centre of a couple of crucial plays for the ABs and I'd like to see the trio given more time to develop rather than continue through the revolving door so many seem keen on.
Hodgman, take a bow fella, certainly stepped up when needed. You can see he was often playing catch up around the field but I'm not surprised in only his second test and it'll come. Scrumtime he knocked it out of the park. As opposed to Laulala, who surely can't hold out Lomax any longer.
Solid games from the locks and much more like it from Tuipulotu.
Good to see Savea back and Cane continuing being Cane.
Much better from Mounga, as expected when going forward.
That ALB Goodhue midfield works eh! Who would've guessed?
Beauden, sorry for speaking out of turn bro. Here was I thinking your best might be in the past. So happy to be so wrong. The accuracy, vision and pace was a pleasure to watch - as were those couple of top notch tackles to shut down dangerous Aussie breaks. On that note, welcome back Dane too!
Jordie, great game but fuck stop biting in on defence just because your preference is to put a big shoulder on, it is creating headaches watching the defence have to scramble when the opposition make massive yards down your wing.
Lastly...Caleb Clarke, fucken eh!
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@Bones said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
@cgrant think Laulala was 2 pens and a FK?
The ref was guessing, and pretty sure there was blame on both sides. BUT, when ref thinks he’s seeing something, better to adjust than hope he’ll see the light.
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@Bones Jordie reminded me a bit of Lucky Luke when Luke would noticeably lead in with the big shoulder and be exposed. Great when you can pull it off but very risky nonetheless.
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@ACT-Crusader said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
@Bones Jordie reminded me a bit of Lucky Luke when Luke would noticeably lead in with the big shoulder and be exposed. Great when you can pull it off but very risky nonetheless.
You reminded me, Red was pretty damn lucky to get away with one shortly after he came on. Didn't quite stick it, so it wasn't hugely noticeable and I haven't seen a replay. Could be in trouble still if he happened to glance a head...watch this space...
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@NTA said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
@pakman said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
If I were Rennie, I'd tinker, but tell the boys to use defeat as a lesson and just to be better next time. Young men.
Obviously Toomua needs looking at with the injury. Koroibete extremely unlikely to play that badly again.
I'm not yet convinced Tupou is more than a flat track bully with ball in hand although his threat value isn't used enough to decoy IMHO.
The skill level is higher than previous squads and that's what we need to start building on. Do that, but like you say don't change too much - just identify that there is less time and space and maybe put away the flick passes.
Hanigan's ball to Hooper after his break was an example- ball in two hands, end over end like a league pass instead of bullet spiral at the chest, waiting until he'd fixed the defender. Quicker and easier, keeps the opposition guessing, commits a number. The younger guys (Wright, Wilson, Uelese) all tried to go out the back of the hand too close to contact and fucked it.
Spoken like a true forward... that was actually a terribly timed pass by Hannigan. Instead of drawing in the defender, he threw it far too early and Hooper got two defenders instead of one (or more likely none).
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B. Barrett :7.5. Great first half, both in attack and defense. Rather quiet second spell.
J. Barrett : 5. Nothing really bad, nothing really good. Stayed on his wing and did not look for work.
Lienert-Brown : 7. Nothing flashy but was a welcome regulator in the backline. Very strong in defense.
Goodhue : 5.5. Had his moments, both good and bad.
Clarke : 9. A man of the match performance. I have to feel sorry for his nuts, though.
Mo'unga : 7. His early touches were bad but he went better and better, and showed a few glimpses of brillance.
Smith : 7.5. He was his usual self. Well taken try.
Savea : 7.5. A big step up from last week. Showed much more dynamism.
Cane : 8.5. I had never seen him make so many effective carries. Led from the front. Another great performance from the captain.
Frizzell : 6. Was more constant in his effort than last week. But I would like to see Akira Ioane or Tom Robinson with the 6 jersey as they would bring more physicality, though both are very different players.
Vaai'i : 6.5. Good first half when he made the hard yards. Quieter second half.
Tuipolutu : 6.5. Was anonymous in the first half and then stepped up nicely in the second. Carried a lot and effectively.
Tu'ungafasi : 5. Solid in the scrums but did not reproduce his fine form of the SRA.
Coles : 7.5. Brought the necessary mongrel that the pack lacked last week. Showed he has not lost his incredible pace for a hooker.
Moody : 5. Tackled more aggressively than last week but missed an important one. Not his best year under the black jersey.MacKenzie : Not enough time on the field to be rated.
Umaga-Jensen : 6.5. Was not out of his breath when he came in. Was good in everything he did.
Perenara : 7. Showed aggression in defense and one nice sniping run behind a maul. A good step up from last week too.
Sotutu : 5.5. Buried in the tight this time.
S. Barrett : 4. Very anonymous. To his credit, he hadn't played for a while.
Laulala : 2. A bad day at the office. Scrummed solidly on NZ feeds but was penalized at least two times on Australian feeds and was nowhere to be seen in the loose.
Taylor : 5. One good carry but two knock ons. He can do better.
Hodgman : 7.5. Made a mess of the Aussie scrum and was everywhere in the loose. A very encouraging performance, probably the best from a LHP in a black jersey for two years. -
Great response, not much to complain about, selections all played out really well, Fozzie haters will be disappointed. Midfield defense was great, and looses also seemed to gel really well this game. Set piece was good but don’t know what happened with Laulala. Loved TJ and Hodgeman of the bench and what a game from Caleb Clarke. I do have to wonder what Jordie is adding on the wing, didn’t see much chasing and a couple of times we seemed to be craving pace on his wing. Don’t think he can be in that position long term but perhaps it’s a way of building his confidence for the future. Let’s face it despite last week this AB team is just better than the Wallabies and I honestly think Rennie is squeezing every last drop out of them.
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