All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test
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Hope they stick with same midfield. Someone has to make way for Jordan if he’s available. Fakatava onto the bench. Would be interesting to know who woujd have been selected if Havili and Goodhue were fit. As much as Havili finished the super season well, he was poor in autumn in the NH. Goodhue is a good player but a better 13 than 12 and too slow for 13.
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@Billy-Tell I'd give Will Jordan another week off, to make sure he's fighting fit when he comes back - and I think Leicester will benefit more from going again.
All going well, I'd now be planning for LF to play all three tests vs Ireland, with Will replacing Sevu for test 3. If all the wings stay fit, LF might not get that much game time later in the season, so use him now while there's good reason to rest the others.
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@Billy-Tell said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
Hope they stick with same midfield. Someone has to make way for Jordan if he’s available. Fakatava onto the bench. Would be interesting to know who woujd have been selected if Havili and Goodhue were fit. As much as Havili finished the super season well, he was poor in autumn in the NH. Goodhue is a good player but a better 13 than 12 and too slow for 13.
I suspect the only change they will make is Jordan for LF and hopefully LF takes Ennors bench spot.
The 23 I would like
Bower
ST
Ofa
BBBBR
Whitelock
Akira
Cane
Savea
Smith
Jordan
BB
QT
RI
Reece
JBAT
Coles
Harris
SB
Paps
Faka
LF
Mounga -
@Chris-B said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
Good!
That was quite authoritative after the first 20 minutes.
The Irish calibrated and I'd say right now they're good enough to beat us given the chance, but they're not better than us.
A few suggested changes for test 2 - Aidan Ross to the bench for Big Karl; Sami T. to start; Akira to 6 if his foot is fixed and the locks shuffled accordingly - PGS slides out of the 23; Ennor does likewise and replaced by a midfield back.
According to me, this makes us better. Everyone else can go again.
What if our plague ridden contingent is available. At least one first choice pick in that lot.
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@broughie said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@booboo you right. The glass is half full, perhaps 3/4 er's based on that result. Could actually be full if SB played lock for BBBR, they were not forced to play Cane because he is the captain but not the best 7, Paps took his place, and if BB could learn how to kick.
Perhaps a little harsh but how did the Aussies look?. Should give us a sterner test.
I share some reservations about Fozzie.
This is a good result.
But we've seen good results and upward trends reverse in both the last two seasons.
May happen again.
Hopefully not. I'm just happy we produced a good performance.
As people have pointed out: team wins, it's the players, team loses, it's Foster.
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Quick day after match report.
The sun's shining again, but really we haven't learned a lot. I'm keen to watch the replay, as the game felt a bit low key for a 20+ point victory.
We won, and won well, but I don't think we've learned a massive amount about either side we didn't know.
Modern rugby has a huge issue with complaints to the ref. Need to just leave them to do their job and get on with playing. The captain talking to the ref has got out of hand (not just Ireland here), and the appealing of players gets very old. It's smart rugby if you can get away with it, but i don't think it's good for the sport.
Ref was good - no major howlers that were visible to any of us in the crowd, Irish or Kiwi alike.
Irish struggled if they weren't winning breakdown penalties. AB defence was equal parts excellent and average - conceding three (and could be 4-5) tries wasn't flash.
Aaron's pass is the best in teh business. Was just nonchalantly firing it our 3-4 channels, right on the chest. Superb. Rieko had one of his best games organising the defence - he's clearly our locked on centre. Our kicking wasn't fantastic; others have done BB to death for it, but we need to get better in this area.
Mo'unga showed when he came on that the time and space at Test level is significantly down. Ennor was a donkey. PGS scored a good try, but no idea what the Irish defenders were doing.
Locks went OK - did their core role. We're praying we get one more year out of Sam, and that BBBR comes back strongly from his injury and sabbatical.
ScoBa needs some serious update to his cleanout technique. He's running some massive risks getting in shoulder first, and it'll catch him again soon - for what, the 3rd Red in the last couple of years? Good cynical munter though (like all forwards)
Christie looked sharp when he came on, but his pass is a big step backwards.
JGP took some poor options; hasn't improved massively since his Blues days.
On a different night, with a different ref, the Irish are right in there. They missed Sexton big time after he went off. If we're off our game slightly, the Irish don't drop quite so much ball and win some penalties - then it'd be hard to separate them. But today, it's a 20 point win, and looking for next week. Dunedin should be fun with the indoor stadium.
So a good night out again, looking forward to more good rugby to come this season.
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further to my Scott Barrett point, check this out - right at the end of the game
https://www.reddit.com/r/rugbyunion/comments/vpno6v/scott_owes_the_nz_tv_directors_a_beer_they_saw/
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@nzzp said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
PGS scored a good try, but no idea what the Irish defenders were doing.
TBH I think they were caught off guard by the speed from the base of the scrum, ref wasnt in a great spot for thier flanker to break, but he wouldnt have got him anyway, they were all slow in reacting.
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@taniwharugby said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@chimoaus I haven't seen the whole game only catching snippets at a function, but saw that scrum mentioned early in his peice...for me it was good from NZ but it looked more that Ireland overcomplicated and overcrowded that short side, which worked against whatever move they had, making it simple for us to defend.
On the pen on Ryan re Smith moving the ball, every single 9 does that, and is a bug bear of mine.
So often they will fuck around moving it into ideal passing or kicking position, have hands on it for seconds before passing it, often while organising a screen of blockers if they are kicking.
The binding of players in maul situations creates room for the holding of players in. Just up to every individual to keep themselves in the game. So good use of laws I would think?
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@Bones said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
Someone needs to sit him down with these clips and ask him why, tell him to pull his head in.
My mate said before the match that he heard he was seeing a psychologist to help him better control himself on the field. I still don't know if he was being serious or not - it was via text and we weren't joking about anything else.
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How come last year or two we have been underpowered in the forwards playing SA, France, Ireland with the bulk of the forwards the same as today. Taylor, Ofa, SW, BBBR, Sam C, Ardie, ScoBa.
This time they were great. Loved the error free play and ball retention.Sam Whitelock deserves a knighthood
Think we should bring in a next gen prop to give experience Newell, Norris
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@nzzp said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
further to my Scott Barrett point, check this out - right at the end of the game
https://www.reddit.com/r/rugbyunion/comments/vpno6v/scott_owes_the_nz_tv_directors_a_beer_they_saw/
Again Shoulder to Shoulder. SB is making his move as soon as the player picks up the ball - both in a crouched position. If you were to replay every contact close the the line you would so a lot of this. It’s rugby.
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@kev said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@nzzp said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
further to my Scott Barrett point, check this out - right at the end of the game
https://www.reddit.com/r/rugbyunion/comments/vpno6v/scott_owes_the_nz_tv_directors_a_beer_they_saw/
Again Shoulder to Shoulder. SB is making his move as soon as the player picks up the ball - both in a crouched position. If you were to replay every contact close the the line you would so a lot of this. It’s rugby.
I think Red Barrett was saved by the Irish dude ducking his head. Ducking his head to avoid the shoulder that is. He could've taken one for his team and had Red Barrett sent off and sitting on the sidelines for a few weeks.
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@kev I'd want to see other angles, but the first contact looks to me like Scott gets him in the back of the head?
Only a graze if that. Clearly contact is solidly shoulder to shoulder. You are not going to win contact on the line without hitting hard with the shoulder. No doubt it’s risky if the ball carrier is bent with head down. But in that situation getting shoulder to shoulder contact is the way to win the contact.
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@Nepia was it a red card? no
Was it a YC? I'd say pen only, but the way the game is now, then probably a YC
Was it necessary? No
Was it stupid? yes
Has he done it before? yesThe last 2 are key for me, stupid, and he has done it before, more than once.
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@Nepia said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
That is just dumb as fuck. For a start he was coming from the side, some refs might ping him for that, there was no chance of getting the ball so don't take the risk, and he led with his head and shoulder to a guy crouched down.
He is early and comes from side. So clear penalty - that’s a matter of timing.
The guy crouched down is like every other close to the line situation. If you want to get into a dominant position with tackle, when defending close to the line with players leaving maul in low positions or diving in, then it’s all about initiating and winning the contact. That’s just rugby.
