All Blacks vs Pumas I
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@kirwan Are you taking the piss? Bridge has a far better nose for the scoreline than Clarke.
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@old-samurai-jack said in All Blacks vs Pumas I (yay we’re not playing the Aussies again):
@kirwan Are you taking the piss? Bridge has a far better nose for the scoreline than Clarke.
Must have had a blocked nose tonight. 😉
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@old-samurai-jack said in All Blacks vs Pumas I (yay we’re not playing the Aussies again):
Bridge played OK. He bumped off a couple of players, was fairly physical....if his last name was Clarke the Fern would be ecstatic about his performance.
I don’t mind Bridge’s game normally but he looks low on confidence to me. Needs to find some of that 2019 mojo back.
On the other hand Reece is playing with a huge amount of it. Has a huge work rate on both sides of the ball and has become a very reliable player.
It will be interesting to see whether he or Jordan gets the start vs the Boks. I’d go with Reece.
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@old-samurai-jack said in All Blacks vs Pumas I (yay we’re not playing the Aussies again):
@kirwan Are you taking the piss? Bridge has a far better nose for the scoreline than Clarke.
If there are no defenders anywhere near him, he’s put in the gap, and his team mates point at the try line.
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@old-samurai-jack said in All Blacks vs Pumas I (yay we’re not playing the Aussies again):
Bridge played OK. He bumped off a couple of players, was fairly physical....if his last name was Clarke the Fern would be ecstatic about his performance.
And if his last name was Masaga, @Nepia would be losing his shit over how hungus he was.
He played a great game for a centre on debut.
I'm going to be very interested if he starts adding a distribution game to his improving carry ability.
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@bones said in All Blacks vs Pumas I (yay we’re not playing the Aussies again):
@old-samurai-jack said in All Blacks vs Pumas I (yay we’re not playing the Aussies again):
Bridge played OK. He bumped off a couple of players, was fairly physical....if his last name was Clarke the Fern would be ecstatic about his performance.
And if his last name was Masaga, @Nepia would be losing his shit over how hungus he was.
He played a great game for a centre on debut.
I'm going to be very interested if he starts adding a distribution game to his improving carry ability.
Hungus Bridge, although I was actually a fairly big fan of Hungus Masaga.
No one begrudged Bridge's initial selection as the new Ben Smith, but he didn't turn out to be the new Ben Smith sadly.
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@antipodean said in All Blacks vs Pumas I (yay we’re not playing the Aussies again):
This has been a towelling much worse than the scoreboard suggests.
As predicted
Argentina are Italy standard at best at the moment
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@daffy-jaffy some good comments in there from Fozzie about the Argies and how they play and the defensive focus. Puts some of our attack into perspective somewhat.
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@mikethesnow said in All Blacks vs Pumas I (yay we’re not playing the Aussies again):
@antipodean said in All Blacks vs Pumas I (yay we’re not playing the Aussies again):
This has been a towelling much worse than the scoreboard suggests.
As predicted
Argentina are Italy standard at best at the moment
Their attack is tier 2 standard but defensively they do some things at a very high level. They fan pretty well and are hard at the ball. For a team that not long ago were final 4 RWC quality, their sense of attack and the old flair they had seems a distant memory.
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Posting this here, but it could be a new thread...
We still have to play the Saffas but I've been pretty happy with the performance in the last 2-3 games. There's been a real step change in the AB performances and play - they have started to look and play like a settled team.
Play has become much more precise with far fewer mistakes overall - plenty of evidence of cool heads under pressure, though there's too many penalties. I've noticed the senior player stepping up, talking to each other and the team tweaking tactics when things aren't going well. The team looks way more confident when things aren't working out and that's with a different captain each week. I don't know how much of this is down to Foster or the senior players, but it's good to see. Perhaps Sam Cane is having a big influence in the background?
Foster clearly has his A team and is building experience with the second-stringers who are stepping up to the mark. That said, I just don't get George Bridge's selection or how he's playing and the goal-kicking is a worry.
After what seems to have been years of buggering around, we have some solidity in midfield with ALB providing the stability and organisation and Havilli growing into his role. Starting to look like a long-term partnership. Reiko is a winger that can cover at centre and really seems to have got his mojo back - his play at 13 today was the best I've seen from him in that position. Jordie is playing in his right position (though I'm happy with either JB or DMac). With Nugget unavailable, TJP & Webber have done pretty well and 10 looks good with either BB or Ritchie. Thought TJP had one of his best games in Black today.
Pretty much the same for 6/7/8 which seems to be playing as a unit - regardless who plays. Akira has really come of age and got his head together - Fozzie deserves credit for that. And Sam Cane? I think he'll be an automatic choice at 7 for a few tests and having two seriously hard players at the breakdown could be something really good to look forward to.
BBBR looks back to his best and Scott Barrett is playing better than ever. He was immense today and has a huge motor. Know bugger-all about the front row so won't comment. (yeah, i know, it's not the Fern style..)
All in all, way more comfortable with the way things are heading. The team looks to be playing as a unit and with way more intelligence and control than last year. If we carry on like this and beat the Boks, I think we can give Fozzie some credit for where the team has ended up.
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Quoting Planetrugby here:
"One small statistic from the match is quite remarkable – in 80 minutes New Zealand made more passes in centres (63) than either the Lions or South Africa managed in three Tests earlier this year."
That Lions series was serious shithouse watching
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Try highlights with the Oz commentary -
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I just rewatched the game ... brief thoughts ... not commenting on everyone! But -
The AB backrow were again very very good as a unit - they play very zonal on attack, were tighter on defense. Analysing them as traditional 6/7/8 roles is to miss why it's starting to click imo.
Papilli is being asked to play VERY centrally both on attack and defense. Think 6/7 and he's strong on defense ... not quite as strong as Kaino as a traditional 6 or quite as strong as Cane on "cut-you-in-half" tackles. Less tackling in this game as the AB's were dominant but very all rounded.
Jacobson and Akira obviously wider in attack. Tonnes to like but for me Akira plus Jacobson means four genuine lineout options. Jacobson was excellent and grew into the game, tries aside I think he can add more than Ardie but needs a run of games.
Akira was strong on the carry but (very!) well marked by Argentina as a threat.
I want to see the backrow tested defensively (workrate + accuracy) in a serious dog-fight though especially Akira, they are relative novices internationally.
BBBR is ridiculous, period. Like a combo world-level lock, plus the athleticsm and engine of a loosie plus the hands of a back, goes 80 minutes. You stop watching him because you take it for granted but he's crazy good.
Havillii adds so much at 12. He has that knack of breaking the first tackle like Ben Smith plus a kicking game that means when the 10 is pressured, he seems to consistently makes a good playmaking call as second five-eighth i.e. not "simply" an inside centre.
McKenzie isn't close to RM or BB at 10 but was paired with an inexperienced 12 in QT ... needs to be more direct. Apart from BB's brilliant moments he was VERY direct to take the line on today. More of that from all the AB's 10s please.
Jordie Barrett looked a really good traditional full-back on both attack (hits the line hard, runs straight, threat on the cross-kick) and can hit hard on defense. I wonder if his boot can be used more tactically aka I miss Israel Dagg's ability to kick anything back with +10 metres which was under appreciated at the time.
To the AB coaches: persist with this structure and core roles and f*ck off with too clever second-playmaker options from 15. With Aaron Smith back you have playmakers from 9, 10 and 12 ... how many do you need??
Lots to like today, almost everyone was "industrious" as a minimum.
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@broughie said in All Blacks vs Pumas I (yay we’re not playing the Aussies again):
@bones In all fairness he has played pretty well in past games so I’d give him a pass. Who would you want instead? He’s still young and I don’t think he is a liability and I would not say he is anymore inconsistent that PT.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think he's out of his league by any stretch and is of course still only young. He's just a bit "meh" at the moment. Seriously, what are his strengths? Anyone?
Parkinson has huge potential, but concrete feet. Dickson more dynamic, but smallish. Scranton? He's just Barrett lite. Selby-Rickett has baggage and had dropped in form over the season.
Tuipulotu is pretty disappointing - but I'd prefer him off the bench than Va'ai. He's always good for a lineout steal or two, as well as a few bruises for the opposition. Not great when he starts though.
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@bones I think because the game was so defensive it was more of an exercise in tackling for the forwards and we didn’t see Akira with any space like the week before with the Ozzie‘s. So I don’t think he stood out just as Dalton P and others didn’t stand out either. Not that they were not playing well but they were just stuck in the mud so to speak. PT has the potential to offer more off the bench but gosh I wish he took his angry pills more often. Someone needs to fire him up. Maybe threaten his wife and children. Agree about the rest. I’ll have to rewatch is lineout contributions but our hookers couldn’t throw past 2 with success yesterday. They ran well though.
