All Blacks vs Wales Test #2

dingo

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Hooroo" data-cid="589474" data-time="1466248524">
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My favourite part of the game was when Ex-hot head Coles got shoved and went to retaliate but had a clear moment and just hit the ball out of the Welshmans hands. 
Years gone by he would have shoved or hit back. Great maturity. 
I think he's my current favourite AB
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I think the good Whitelock is mine. Will soon be the most capped AB lock ever but unlike Jones his form hasn't (yet) fallen off a cliff. He just keeps catching (and stealing) lineout balls, pushing in scrums, hitting rucks, tackling like a maniac and playing 80 minutes....and like today on a breakout gets himself upfeild after 70 minutes to be one of the guys holding a guy up for a "turnover from maul". What an engine.

Baron Silas Greenback

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="pukunui" data-cid="589452" data-time="1466246425">
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Another good game by Ardie off the bench, great step and pace for his try. You don't have to rate him over Cane or want him starting for the ABs but if you can't see that he is a special player you are an idiot.
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Well I dont think he is a special 7, he just seems to lack the strength at the break down and seems to hang off alot. Looks like a back playing as loose forward at test level so far. I want him to get some more mongrel and help his tight forwards a bit more.

pukunui

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Baron Silas Greenback" data-cid="589491" data-time="1466249403">
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Well I dont think he is a special 7, he just seems to lack the strength at the break down and seems to hang off alot. Looks like a back playing as loose forward at test level so far. I want him to get some more mongrel and help his tight forwards a bit more.
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Well we've been watching different players. The test match sample size is too small but at other levels he shows as much strength at the breakdown as any other loose forwards in NZ and more strength with ball in hand than any.

dingo

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Baron Silas Greenback" data-cid="589491" data-time="1466249403">
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Well I dont think he is a special 7, he just seems to lack the strength at the break down and seems to hang off alot. Looks like a back playing as loose forward at test level so far. I want him to get some more mongrel and help his tight forwards a bit more.
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Yeah, nah.
 
Yeah, if he was a starter then yes, helping his tight forwards out more like Sam Cane can/does is important. As a specialist bench sitter, then nah, simply being the athlete he is naturally is perhaps is more important - having the pace to support the ball carrier and score that try.
 
Todays match demonstrated why he isn't a starter though.

nostrildamus

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="nzzp" data-cid="589096" data-time="1466206662">
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I grew up in Wellington y'all.
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Now I know you are lying. Nobody grows up in Wellington, they only grow sideways.
That is why all the Hurricane locks have to be imported from Auckland Christchurch and Taranaki..

pooler fan

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="taniwharugby" data-cid="589399" data-time="1466242923">so the Welshman was lucky to stay on later on when he did the exact same thing with not even a penalty? 
Those mid-air collisions are such a lottery these days!</blockquote>
Possibly yes, anything in the air is a big no no these days. 
The Naholo one was worse as he ran into and tackled someone in mid air while Patchell was pretty stationary. 
Just think Naholo needs to be reigned in somewhat as I'm sure Hanson won't be too pleased if he does something similar in the rugby championship in a tight match and does end up taking 10minutes out. 
He also had the no arms shoulder on Liam Williams (who milked it), but again some refs will give yellow for that. It's unnecessary & will impact on the team at some point.

Frank

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Baron Silas Greenback" data-cid="589491" data-time="1466249403">
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Well I dont think he is a special 7, he just seems to lack the strength at the break down and seems to hang off alot. Looks like a back playing as loose forward at test level so far. I want him to get some more mongrel and help his tight forwards a bit more.
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ha ha - the BOP Cane boy.
At least try to be objective. Baron

Mick Gold Coast QLD

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Dice" data-cid="589408" data-time="1466243625">
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Kieran Read is looking like the best player in the world again.
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I do believe that would disturb the known fact that the Wallaby No 8 is the best ever in that position.

canefan

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Mick Gold Coast QLD" data-cid="589530" data-time="1466254266">
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I do believe that would disturb the known fact that the Wallaby No 8 is the best ever in that position.
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Who?

mariner4life

Good game. Welsh gave it a massive nudge, but we lifted when the opportunity arose. 
Missed the last 5 minutes as the recording cut out but assume we won easy. 
Huge games from Read and A Smith. Tamanivalu better than I thought he could be. Naholo much better. 
Far from perfect but a good win. 
One thing I noted: Owen Franks lives offside when defending in midfield

Nepia

After reading the comments on this thread I'm going to re-watch the match in the morning before posting any of mine because on first viewing I didn't rate the ABs (and certain players) as high as most posters seemed to have. As an example, I'm over Naholo as a player, I don't think his attack makes up for his shortcomings and feel he had a worse match this week than last (non of the awesome attack to balance out the dumb stuff) yet many posters seemed to think he went ok. So yep, definitely needs the re-watch.

Catogrande

I agree with you on Naholo Nepia. Didn't do much for me.

leytonandamanda

I thought all blacks were worse than last week! Defence is a problem especially out wide. Fekitoa was infield to much 
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pukunui

Don't think Naholo's low points were as bad in this game as the first ie. Two penalties for tackled in the air/late hit vs Two bombed tries from hungus and leaving his wing for their 1st try.
However he didn't seem to make the breaks this week either so maybe his overall average was down from lack of good play.
 
Is Ngatai any chance for game three or is he gone for the series?

Bones

Naholo got a steal or two this week though and was more of a nuisance at the breakdown. 
Tamanivalu went very well I thought and looked very settled....until he brain spasmed and tried a shit chip then got sat on his arse. 
Can't help but watch Savea closely after all the hype. Doesn't seem to do much at/around the breakdown eh, apart from making the odd dig for the ball which he didn't seem too successful at. Great try, fuck he's got a difficult running style though eh, it looks like a real struggle for him! 
Great attacking from Barrett in the 2nd half, crazy how he just bustles through a gap. Really shit defence from him at the end of the first half though.

pakman

No one seems to have commented on ABs post Cruden alignment.
 
In lead up to Jones try Crotty at 10, ST 12 and BB 13. Jonathan Davies runs through BB and makes deep yardage.
Then in H2 Crotty at 10 throws big pass, cutting out ST at 12, but hitting BB at 13, and he ghosts between Roberts and Davies and sends Benda in. 
Later Crotty at 10 does world's ugliest kick pass to Naholo, but ends in a try.
 
Fekitoa doesn't seem to gel outside Crotty. ST seemed to provide better balance. In a perfect world would like to see Ngatai/Fekitoa combo get a run. 
 
Next week expect Lima to start. Might make sense to try Fekitoa at 12 a la Clan and Crotty at 13. ST on bench unless Ngatai better. Hard to see back three changed.
No real reason to change starting eight. Case for Dixon/Squire on bench.

kiwiinmelb

Yeah mixed bag , some good , some ordinary , 
 
I think this backline is going to take some time to sort out ,
 
While I agree this centre combination seemed the logical one to select before the series started , im not convinced now its the one to take us forward after watching it for two tests

booboo

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="No Quarter" data-cid="589297" data-time="1466240287">
Barrett is making Roberts his bitch.</blockquote>
 <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Rancid Schnitzel" data-cid="589298" data-time="1466240292">
Fark me. Beauden making Roberts his bitch!</blockquote>
 
Amusing back to back posts... apparently Barrett making Roberts his bitch ...

nzzp

Righto, a belated match report from my couch. 
 
We won. I think we defended better than last week, except for the back end where the game was won and we went to sleep. Test level shows just how fine margins are - Kaino stays in and we concede a try ... that's tough.
 
Someone talked about wanting to commit more players to rucks. Defensively, the ABs have been running this philosophy for a while - they commit as few as possible to the breakdown. Sometimes the tackler rolls, gets up and there is a complete defensive line before the ball gets cleared. However, with this comes aggressive defence - pushing up hard and often winning metres. It was noticeable that the Welsh would sometimes run three or four phases, lose 10-20 m and then clear with a kick. If your backs stand deep, you're usually going to lose a lot of ground.
 
HOWEVER, our wide defence has been shocking the last two weeks. Every time the ball got air, we seemed to get outflanked and concede dozens of metres. It is massively frustrating, and not obvious to me why that keeps happening. Definitely something to think about and work on going forward. I'd still like to see better ball security and another player in our rucks though.
 
General thoughts
 
Beauden
BB is a fantastic rugby player and I rate him massively. That said, I'd start Cruden or Sopoaa over him I am yet to be convinced that BB can drive a side around the field when it needs to be done. His kicking length was average, which leads nicely to 
 
Dagg
OMFG. What a weapon his punt is from the back -- highlights how Ben Smith, despite being incredible, doesn't have the length on his kicks that Dagg has. Generally played well, his pass to set Naholo away in the first half was sensational and just what we need. I thought our back three went better as a unit, and two fullbacks suits our game.
 
Players colliding in the air.
Genuinely dont' know what the rules are any more Fair contests are meant to be OK, but Naholo almost gets YC and then Welsh wing (can't remember who sorry - Williams?) gets away with no sanction. Just weird. Hope this gets sorted soon, or we'll see more Stander-like Reds dished out. PLayers need to know what they can and can't do, and it has to be clear enough to implement at pace during a game situation.
 
Naholo
Mixed bag. Plenty of gas, chased everything, ran well almost copped a yellow for contesting, cynically took out a welsh wing with a shoulder (YC anyone?) but overall went OK. Suspect he will sit for Savea next week, but I'm not Steve Hansen.
 
Midfield
Kind of weird. My opinion of Crotty is dropping game by game. Not sure he's offering much there at the moment. ST took his chances, despite getting ragdolled in that fend by someone. Tough as after Nonu and Smith, Gandhi paired with Jesus would look bad. Hopefully Ngatai comes back. On the plus side, we didn't get torn apart here defensively. For a patched up combination, they went well. The Fekitoa Roberts head clash was fearsome and I'm amazed there were no concussion checks needed.
 
Fatties
Great work. Keep it up. Franks made some big hits, scrum went well, lineout went well, Brodie kept on Brodieing. 
 
Loosies
Read is back to 2013 Read. Unfortunately, Kaino is back to 2016 Blues Kaino. Cane was fine, Ardie OK and generally not much to report. No argument they've got the right guys in the squad, it's just using them right.
 
Cruden
Contact didn't seem unusual, but dodgy neck. Hopefully safety first precaution and we see him back, never good to see that on a rugby field.
 
Ref
Nothing to say. Didn't dish yellows (thankfully for us). I think we've got a Garces next week. Not sure what my response is, but we usually play better unde rhim that WFB.
 
 
So all in all, we won. Not sure we'll see a lot of changes to this side - they are still building combinations. Went to sleep when ahead by 30. Not the end fo the world - a great problem to have at test level. Wales have been great - brought a lot and competed all over the place.

Bones

Agree on Crotty there nzzp. He's trundling along and not doing much if anything wrong, but just seems a bit lacklustre.

The Silver Fern

All Blacks vs Wales Test #2