All Blacks vs Springboks - Twickenham
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@Rancid-Schnitzel said in All Blacks vs Springboks - Twickenham:
It’s pretty damn horrible that we've gotten to this point. I've always felt the book Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby brilliantly captures the mindset and agony of a hardcore fan. That book is about Arsenal from the 70s and their less than stellar run up until 1990 but I strongly identified with it. I'm sure I probably speak for most of us when I say I was absolutely captivated the first time I saw the ABs play (in my case 1985). I bawled my eyes out when they lost to Aus in 86. I'd hitched my wagon and there was no getting off it. Every loss was absolutely gutwrenching. So obviously there were the periods of agony (world cup drought) and ecstacy, but I don't think I could complain as much as Nick Hornby could about Arsenal in Fever Pitch. They had some absolutely dire times. One part in particular I found impossible to contemplate at the time. There was a stage when Arsenal were so shit and the whole set-up so pathetic, that the fans started cheering for the opposite team en mass. They'd had a gut full of shit results and could no longer give a fůck. I would never believe it but I'm feeling that I'm approaching that stage. I've gone from suffering depression from any loss in any situation to finding a potential loss to Italy amusing. Obviously I'll never cheer on the opposition or want us to lose, but it's amazing how much you lose that passion when excellence turns to mediocrity. When hope and optimism morph into dejection and a type of fatalism. Maybe it had to happen one day and maybe there are more glory days ahead. Maybe I'm just getting older. But I've never given less of a fůck about an AB team that during these past years.
Yeah I think back to the John Hart ‘guilty’ shit all over the Rugby magazines but he never came close to half of Fosters litany of coaching howlers.
…..and Foster is in serious danger of more unwanted AB records. A loss in a pool game is a huge possibility…..and Italy aren’t THAT shit that they couldn’t pull off a miracle ( ok this one is impossible but still )
Quarter final loss to Scotland maybe ?
I do wonder why people are just more indifferent and realistic now. Maybe two WC wins in a row was a factor and with that monkey of the backs the care factor went too ?
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@Chester-Draws said in All Blacks vs Springboks - Twickenham:
Still "clever" selections like making sure our best hooker gets almost no game time, loses his mojo, and is then terrible when you finally let him get onto the field.
Can't emphasize this enough: they've managed to coach the form out of our best tight forward.
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The latest edition of The Breakdown was one of the weakest I’ve seen and frankly it’s embarrassing that it gets put out on the All Blacks’ YouTube Channel.
South Africa beat the ABs 35-7, no analysis of what the Springboks did well, just constant deluded whining about the referee. Lots of moaning about the pace of the game as if no one involved has watched the Six Nations in recent years. Why should the game be played at tempo the All Blacks want to play at? What God-given right do they think they have to make diktats to World Rugby and every other Rugby nation?
Jeff Wilson’s assertions about the second Scott Barrett card were slapped down by the video footage in front of him which showed what has been judged as a Yellow Card in Rugby around the world for some time now.
Then at the end lots of half-witted crowing at the England national team’s current misfortunes. Jeff Wilson and the journalist they had on looked really smug about it all.
At least Kirsty and Mils appeared a bit sheepish about what they had been asked to do.
It will be watched around the Rugby world. No wonder Rugby fans outside NZ think we’re an arrogant bunch of fluffybunnies seeing that.
If any of the producers of The Breakdown are reading this, give yourself an upper cut please.
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@sparky Just watching it myself...
not sure its all whining - I think its a fair conversation topic considering how long the game took and also I don't think they are incorrect about the comments around "appealing for decisions" EG Marx literally appealed for that decision to be revisited.... I really hope our game isn't reduced to this.. but unfortunately it looks like it may go this way for a while.Thought that Aussie guy Steve Hansen spoke well...
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@sparky said in All Blacks vs Springboks - Twickenham:
and the journalist they had on looked really smug about it all.
The show reached a new low by having Paddy Gower on
As far as Sky shows go 'Aotearoa rugby pod' is far far better than the Breakdown. Parsons drops his Chris Handy act and does some decent analysis. Hall is ok too, but doesn't criticise players enough (too many are recent teammates)
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@Mattasaurus It’s been common to see players appeal for decisions in European Rugby for some time now. I don’t like it but it has become normalised. A bit like them handing out a fairly meaningless trophy at the end to please the sponsors.
I don’t think the length of Friday’s game was that different from the other internationals this weekend or the 6 Nations games earlier this year.
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@Billy-Webb said in All Blacks vs Springboks - Twickenham:
A good day out for the Boks, and a nice way to end the warm-ups before the big show starts.
I thought the pluses for the Boks were increased accuracy, and Canaan Moodie not looking too shabby at 13.Beyond that, I'm not getting overexcited by the result. Yes, a win against the ABs is always good. But to read too much into the result for either team would be a mistake. It doesn't matter who you are, if you play the game with at least one man down for the majority of the match, you're always going to struggle. Well done to the Bokke for clinically capitalizing, but I wouldn't be all doom-and-gloom if I were an AB fan. It was simply a bad day at the office, compounded by cards. And every team has an off day somewhere along the lines. Maybe the ABs have gotten theirs out the way early? Better now than in the knock-out stages of the RWC.
Always liked you Billy
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@Mattasaurus said in All Blacks vs Springboks - Twickenham:
@sparky Just watching it myself...
not sure its all whining - I think its a fair conversation topic considering how long the game took and also I don't think they are incorrect about the comments around "appealing for decisions" EG Marx literally appealed for that decision to be revisited.... I really hope our game isn't reduced to this.. but unfortunately it looks like it may go this way for a while.Thought that Aussie guy Steve Hansen spoke well...
What we are seeing now is the introduction of the bunker and the bunker stopping the game. Rugby has issues with cards destroying the competition (I support them for player safety but should be managed post game) and slow play. What 106 mins. With 33 mins in play. That’s crap. I think it is a huge issue both for fans and the way the game is played e.g. heading towards American Football where it is all about collisions in between long breaks.
Not a big fan of the Breakdown because I don’t think the analysis is insightful and because NPC doesn’t get a look in. But I thought this show was on the mark.
The management of the game is key. The NRL just kicks NZRFU’s arse. Weekly promotions are great. Their commentary teams are insightful. Their refs are constantly under scrutiny being dropped for non performance just like players. The rules are changed straight away when they don’t work. They build their players up but maintain access at the same time. Time in play is good. They have salary caps and they are constantly working on their competition.
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@sparky Absolutely. Wilson embarrassed himself. Then showing those 2 clips of SA that looked perfectly normal. He just carries NZRU water. Mils never really says anything does he? JK would have had an opinion, but lucky or unlucky he was in Europe. Hansen interview was a little interesting though, and honest about Oz.
The journo did make some good points, but not a TV guy.
Cannot wait til there is a coach with some personality. Tick tock.
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Christ, the doom and gloom on here is actually beyond comprehension.
It’s pretty clear that we weren’t prepared for a fired up bok team and we essentially played most of the match with 14 players.
Nothing has changed for the ABs apart from them getting a huge wake up call and that they need to be at their best to win the World Cup or even have a decent showing.
We have 7 weeks to get ourselves in the best shape we possibly can for the 1/4 final.
That was true before the saffa match and it is still true today.
The France game doesn’t really have any bearing on the 1/4 final as there is no real reward for winning that game as we are going to face either SA or Ireland.
7 weeks to get Into the best shape possible and then go into that game with full noise.
Win that one and then you’ve got 6 days etc….
It’s pretty simple really - that’s why the saffa’s are so good at RWC’s - it’s a simple formula and one they can understand.
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@DaGrubster said in All Blacks vs Springboks - Twickenham:
Christ, the doom and gloom on here is actually beyond comprehension.
It’s pretty clear that we weren’t prepared for a fired up bok team and we essentially played most of the match with 14 players.
Nothing has changed for the ABs apart from them getting a huge wake up call and that they need to be at their best to win the World Cup or even have a decent showing.
We have 7 weeks to get ourselves in the best shape we possibly can for the 1/4 final.
That was true before the saffa match and it is still true today.
The France game doesn’t really have any bearing on the 1/4 final as there is no real reward for winning that game as we are going to face either SA or Ireland.
7 weeks to get Into the best shape possible and then go into that game with full noise.
Win that one and then you’ve got 6 days etc….
It’s pretty simple really - that’s why the saffa’s are so good at RWC’s - it’s a simple formula and one they can understand.
Scotland say hi
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@sparky said in All Blacks vs Springboks - Twickenham:
Jeff Wilson’s assertions about the second Scott Barrett card were slapped down by the video footage in front of him which showed what has been judged as a Yellow Card in Rugby around the world for some time now.
Then at the end lots of half-witted crowing at the England national team’s current misfortunes. Jeff Wilson and the journalist they had on looked really smug about it all.
Jeff Wilson seems to believe that if he doesn't promote "the brand", he's toast. I hate the cliched way in which he talks, as if he is making original points. He's really just an overachieving careerist.
One of the best commentators in terms of analysis that I have seen (in his brief time he did it) was Ma'a Nonu. No cliches, original points and fair.
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@Frank I thought Grant Fox was an outstanding pundit who was always thoughtful and insightful, using expertise to say exactly what he thought. It didn’t stop him becoming an All Black selector later on for more than a decade.
Similar in the UK at the moment are Martin Johnson and Sam Warburton, but the RWC won’t be on the channel they work for.
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@NTA said in All Blacks vs Springboks - Twickenham:
@pakman said in All Blacks vs Springboks - Twickenham:
@NTA About nine minutes of official time.
The scrum a minute later looked to me to be textbook.
Let's watch a few eh?
06:25 - solid from both sides. Malherbe has superb control and balance, with his knee nearly on the deck but driving EdG's mass up a tick, while bending his neck down.
09:20 - post-hit:
EdG isn't in great position, arched in the upper back a little.
Lomax's side of the scrum is very low - by the time the camera zooms in, you can already see his knee on the deck through the tunnel.
The call was black THP going to knee. There's no replay angle from that side but you can see it from the open side, and by Coles and EdG having to reset their feet as the motion goes sideways.10:38 - Boks take scrum from that penalty. Whatever Lomax did wrong in the previous scrum, he corrected it. Good scrum. Good contest. Boks called to use it.
12:00 - Boks win the hit. Fucking quick heel from Coles and Ardie is away i.e.
12:02 set called
12:05 ball fed
12:06
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@booboo said in All Blacks vs Springboks - Twickenham:
@MN5 rankings 1, 3 & 5 in the same pool just fucking ridiculous.
But the point is still relevant.
There's no easy QF opponent in Pool B.
Exactly. Scotland in all probability won’t make it which is fucken ridiculous given some of the chumps on the other side of the draw who will.
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@Billy-Webb I don't think the boks' performance can be called clinical - by my count they left four clear scoring opportunities on the field* as well as a couple more half chances.
I'd rather say the boks hit all their KPIs but didn't really exceed them.
*that is not to say the boks should have had an extra twenty points - some like the two held up, Mapimpi getting pushed into touch or where Moodie was slow to fold round Mapimpi; were either under advantage or led to points soon after.
I don't want to say it on this forum, but the ABs were very poor in this game. The number of errors they made meant they were invited pressure onto themselves and allowed SA to be a bit careless with opportunities they manufactured.
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