All Blacks XV v Barbarians
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@nostrildamus they seemed to be winning in the forwards and making gains up the middle and around the rucks. Maybe credit to Razor.
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Lack of physicality up front for the AB XV. Christie was everywhere but he is not strong enough to be effective. Jacobson was outmuscled by Mercer. Gardiner was good in open play but was nowhere to be seen in the tight exchanges. Tamaiti Williams is not a tight head prop. Even in the NPC, he was not at ease on this side of the scrum. He should concentrate on the loose head IMO but with Jager out, I fear the Crusaders will use him on the tight head as they have Moody (?), Bower and Brewis for the Nr.1 jersey. McAllister had a game to forget. Makalio did better when he came in. Dickson was very good during the first spell before fading during the second. I was expecting more from PT. A few strong carries though. Aidan Ross was solid but failed to show that he is AB material. Cortima brought his dynamism and strength when he came in. He was pretty good. DMac tried too much at times, but we are used to it. He showed a few moments of sheer brilliance, such as his pass for the first try and his kick for Stevenson. The latter again showed his class but seemed lost at times. His positioning was caught badly a few times. He is a better wing than fullback IMO. Nankivell was outstanding till his injury. Sullivan did well when he came in and showed his pace. Aumua and Heem were mostly anonymous. All in all, it seems that the team lineup against Ireland A was far better, particularly in the loose forwards.
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@cgrant said in All Blacks XV v Barbarians:
Lack of physicality up front for the AB XV. Christie was everywhere but he is not strong enough to be effective. Jacobson was outmuscled by Mercer. Gardiner was good in open play but was nowhere to be seen in the tight exchanges. Tamaiti Williams is not a tight head prop. Even in the NPC, he was not at ease on this side of the scrum. He should concentrate on the loose head IMO but with Jager out, I fear the Crusaders will use him on the tight head as they have Moody (?), Bower and Brewis for the Nr.1 jersey. McAllister had a game to forget. Makalio did better when he came in. Dickson was very good during the first spell before fading during the second. I was expecting more from PT. A few strong carries though. Aidan Ross was solid but failed to show that he is AB material. Cortima brought his dynamism and strength when he came in. He was pretty good. DMac tried too much at times, but we are used to it. He showed a few moments of sheer brilliance, such as his pass for the first try and his kick for Stevenson. The latter again showed his class but seemed lost at times. His positioning was caught badly a few times. He is a better wing than fullback IMO. Nankivell was outstanding till his injury. Sullivan did well when he came in and showed his pace. Aumua and Heem were mostly anonymous. All in all, it seems that the team lineup against Ireland A was far better, particularly in the loose forwards.
Good summary
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@cgrant said in All Blacks XV v Barbarians:
Lack of physicality up front for the AB XV. Christie was everywhere but he is not strong enough to be effective. Jacobson was outmuscled by Mercer. Gardiner was good in open play but was nowhere to be seen in the tight exchanges. Tamaiti Williams is not a tight head prop. Even in the NPC, he was not at ease on this side of the scrum. He should concentrate on the loose head IMO but with Jager out, I fear the Crusaders will use him on the tight head as they have Moody (?), Bower and Brewis for the Nr.1 jersey. McAllister had a game to forget. Makalio did better when he came in. Dickson was very good during the first spell before fading during the second. I was expecting more from PT. A few strong carries though. Aidan Ross was solid but failed to show that he is AB material. Cortima brought his dynamism and strength when he came in. He was pretty good. DMac tried too much at times, but we are used to it. He showed a few moments of sheer brilliance, such as his pass for the first try and his kick for Stevenson. The latter again showed his class but seemed lost at times. His positioning was caught badly a few times. He is a better wing than fullback IMO. Nankivell was outstanding till his injury. Sullivan did well when he came in and showed his pace. Aumua and Heem were mostly anonymous. All in all, it seems that the team lineup against Ireland A was far better, particularly in the loose forwards.
Someone must have done something right because the difference was two missed conversions - 5 tries each wasn't it? If I didn't know the score, after reading above I would have guessed NZ got pumped.
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@cgrant said in All Blacks XV v Barbarians:
Lack of physicality up front for the AB XV.
That was definitely the difference to the Ireland A game. Both halfbacks often got the ball under pressure because of the platform up front.
Nankivell and Stevenson were the only players to enhance their reputation. Makalio looked unfit in the time he was on the field. Both hookers missed some crucial lineout throws, none more so than on FT.
Aumua was very ordinary I thought. Slow and got shown up on defence a number of times. If he is in the mix for the ABs we've got problems.
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@broughie said in All Blacks XV v Barbarians:
@nostrildamus they seemed to be winning in the forwards and making gains up the middle and around the rucks. Maybe credit to Razor.
I think that was my point!
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@cgrant said in All Blacks XV v Barbarians:
Lack of physicality up front for the AB XV. Christie was everywhere but he is not strong enough to be effective. Jacobson was outmuscled by Mercer. Gardiner was good in open play but was nowhere to be seen in the tight exchanges. Tamaiti Williams is not a tight head prop. Even in the NPC, he was not at ease on this side of the scrum. He should concentrate on the loose head IMO but with Jager out, I fear the Crusaders will use him on the tight head as they have Moody (?), Bower and Brewis for the Nr.1 jersey. McAllister had a game to forget. Makalio did better when he came in. Dickson was very good during the first spell before fading during the second. I was expecting more from PT. A few strong carries though. Aidan Ross was solid but failed to show that he is AB material. Cortima brought his dynamism and strength when he came in. He was pretty good. DMac tried too much at times, but we are used to it. He showed a few moments of sheer brilliance, such as his pass for the first try and his kick for Stevenson. The latter again showed his class but seemed lost at times. His positioning was caught badly a few times. He is a better wing than fullback IMO. Nankivell was outstanding till his injury. Sullivan did well when he came in and showed his pace. Aumua and Heem were mostly anonymous. All in all, it seems that the team lineup against Ireland A was far better, particularly in the loose forwards.
Well summarised. MMT more impactful than Jacobson at 8 IMO.
NZ XV did well considering they were so behind with 2 yellow cards.
Ngatai waddles like a burst duck but still made incisive 'runs' - weird to watch.
Also weird-Christie looked like a boy AND an old man!
Yes Razors team looked better coached - did he really only have 2 weeks? -
I've only seen bits and pieces of this game (will watch the full replay tonight), but I think they got the selection of the AB XV wrong. In multiple positions, but I'd like to stress that Mikeale-Tu'u is the best non-All Black no. 8 we have at the moment. Better than Jacobson.
After last week's game, I expected more from Dmac and Stevenson. This was not their game.
Oh, and all those people who suggested that the Baabaas would be easy beats: go eat humble pie! They played well!
Finally, RAZOR WON!!!
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@Stargazer said in All Blacks XV v Barbarians:
Mikeale-Tu'u is the best non-All Black no. 8
Peter Lakai says hi.
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@Canes4life A young promising puppy, but not quite there yet. Has never played at a level above NPC. Will get there, hopefully. Someone to watch for after the 2023RWC.
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@nostrildamus Yep.
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@Stargazer said in All Blacks XV v Barbarians:
@Canes4life A young promising puppy, but not quite there yet. Has never played at a level above NPC. Will get there, hopefully. Someone to watch for after the 2023RWC.
100%, I was only being cheeky. No point rushing someone that young. I wouldn't mind if MMT got a run in the ABs, would prefer him to some other loose forwards in there personally.
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@Stargazer said in All Blacks XV v Barbarians:
Did anyone else hear the commentator say that (Levi) Aumua will join the Barbarians after this match? Or was it my imagination?
Mckenzie is also playing a few games for them also by the looks.
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@Bovidae said in All Blacks XV v Barbarians:
I tried to tune the commentator out due to his mispronunciation of so many of the AB XV player names. The first time I can remember where the commentator says the hooker throws to a player and neither were currently on the field.
I'm unsure why it would bother you after listening to Nisbett all these years?
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@Nepia said in All Blacks XV v Barbarians:
@Bovidae said in All Blacks XV v Barbarians:
I tried to tune the commentator out due to his mispronunciation of so many of the AB XV player names. The first time I can remember where the commentator says the hooker throws to a player and neither were currently on the field.
I'm unsure why it would bother you after listening to Nisbett all these years?
Nisbett even gets his own name wrong now, even when he is looking in the mirror.
