RWC Week 1: France v All Blacks
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@MN5 said in RWC: France v All Blacks:
Serious question.
At his absolute best what exactly does Tupou Vai’i bring to the team ?
Has won out through the halo effect, lack of other options, and his ability/other inability to stay fit.
I'm no great fan, but he isn't better than Patty Tuipulotu.
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@kev said in RWC: France v All Blacks:
@canefan said in RWC: France v All Blacks:
@Crazy-Horse said in RWC: France v All Blacks:
@kev said in RWC: France v All Blacks:
The result was shit but performance was ok - not a disaster. The disaster is the continued focus on the short kicking game as a default option. When we held the ball and moved the French around we looked great.
Thougth the forwards went ok apart from de Groot giving 2 penalties away and a loose carry in that first 20 minutes or so. Not sure that first French penalty was clear - looked like he was on the body. Scott Barrett player of the day again.
Tactics with short contestable kicks means we are playing in our territory way too much. They need to address the balance - not sure BB can do that, so would like to see Jordan go to full back. That said when they popped the ball over the top they really created chances.
Early in the 2nd half we had 3 chances to clear via RM, BB, AS and no one executed. That was the game. Jordan was pushing the line with contestable kicks, discipline is about getting that right.
In the 2nd half I thought Telea had some space but didn’t seem to have or back his pace to clear out so cut back inside. Trouble with that option is that all your support players overrun you. So for all his obvious strengths I would like to see him take the outside break more often.
Assuming we can win all our remaining pool games, this is not a disaster but will the Coaches amend short kicking tactics ( drop BB ) or double down and hope the execution is better? The strike rate seems too low at the moment.
I don't want to knock the guy because I thought he played well, but I noticed that too. I have been saying for a while that he appears to lack pace at test level. Those two examples you mentioned ended up putting us under pressure.
He was outnumbered in both cases. When in space Telea was great. Not express fast, but he has quick feet and a smart fend
I guess what I would like to see when it is more open as it was a couple of times, is that he stretches the cover defence which can open up running lines for his support players.
Yet no one read the play and working hard to get there and get over the ball.... its not rocket science
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I feel like NZ rugby thinks playing territory is a sin. Kick out and compete at lineout or kick long and defend in a line. My nightmare now is those midfield bombs, they are such a poor percentage play. We had the winning of this game at halftime but the 2nd half was a tactical disaster.
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@Billy-Tell yep, very odd, look at all the panelties we conceded in kicking distance, do these down field, less of an issue.
as anonymous as Vaii was, he should never be playing 6 anyway.
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@KiwiMurph said in RWC: France v All Blacks:
@Crazy-Horse said in RWC: France v All Blacks:
@kev said in RWC: France v All Blacks:
The result was shit but performance was ok - not a disaster. The disaster is the continued focus on the short kicking game as a default option. When we held the ball and moved the French around we looked great.
Thougth the forwards went ok apart from de Groot giving 2 penalties away and a loose carry in that first 20 minutes or so. Not sure that first French penalty was clear - looked like he was on the body. Scott Barrett player of the day again.
Tactics with short contestable kicks means we are playing in our territory way too much. They need to address the balance - not sure BB can do that, so would like to see Jordan go to full back. That said when they popped the ball over the top they really created chances.
Early in the 2nd half we had 3 chances to clear via RM, BB, AS and no one executed. That was the game. Jordan was pushing the line with contestable kicks, discipline is about getting that right.
In the 2nd half I thought Telea had some space but didn’t seem to have or back his pace to clear out so cut back inside. Trouble with that option is that all your support players overrun you. So for all his obvious strengths I would like to see him take the outside break more often.
Assuming we can win all our remaining pool games, this is not a disaster but will the Coaches amend short kicking tactics ( drop BB ) or double down and hope the execution is better? The strike rate seems too low at the moment.
I don't want to knock the guy because I thought he played well, but I noticed that too. I have been saying for a while that he appears to lack pace at test level. Those two examples you mentioned ended up putting us under pressure.
I think more than pace he needs to kick ahead in those situations - territory is king - kick ahead and pressure. He also got caught in the Bok game when he should have exited with a kick (that time he attempted the kick but was too slow).
Not sure he has that or it’s a natural instinct. Something Skudder was so adept at doing.
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Nice military analogy, buy I think Dad's Army would be more apt.
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@sparky said in RWC: France v All Blacks:
@Duluth said in RWC: France v All Blacks:
Carry metres by our forwards:
Ardie Savea 38
Dalton Papali'i 36
Scott Barrett 34daylight
Nepo 9
Can’t help wondering how Hoskins Sotutu, Akira Ioane or Samipeni Finau would have gone?
Akira and Sotutu ( have watched both live in NPC recently) are not lighting the NPC on fire.... really starting to view them both as flat track Auckland schoolboy players.... was hoping Akira would be stung by begin dropped and have a fire lit inside him.... but not from what I have seen in NPC so far ( as someone said earlier there is a bloody good player in him .... just not seeing it yet)--
and Sotutu miles off the pace for international rugby IMO on current form -
@Billy-Tell said in RWC: France v All Blacks:
I feel like NZ rugby thinks playing territory is a sin. Kick out and compete at lineout or kick long and defend in a line. My nightmare now is those midfield bombs, they are such a poor percentage play. We had the winning of this game at halftime but the 2nd half was a tactical disaster.
Scott McCleods halftime interview said they were going to let loose. They needed to steady the ship before trying to clear out. Sounds like the half time talk was wrong.
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@kev yep, they determined (correctly) the French were ripe for the taking, but we had to be much smarter about how we attacked that 2nd half...instead we made brainless keystone cop decision after decision, putting ourselves under more pressure at every turn.
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@Bovidae said in RWC: France v All Blacks:
The stat that should be most concerning is the penalty count. Much like the game vs SA, you give the opposition multiple scoring opportunities to apply even more pressure, especially with players in the sin bin.
Handling errors and breakdown turnovers killed us
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This is now just becoming embarrassing. I now live in Canada and I have neighbours who don't know shit about Rugby telling me that the All Blacks are not the same team anymore.
Foster may be a great bloke and all that but he should never have been given the job in the first place. We have just gone to shit under his tenure. We won't get out of the quarters if we are even lucky enough to get out of this pool.
Some of the players should have gone to Japan for good for the payday already. Where is the backup game plane if things are not working? This nonstop kicking the ball away is just a joke.
Richie and Dan must be in total disbelief in the stands. That is the second game in a row that was just sickening to watch. The French can play way better that that. Thank F### they didn't or we would have been in for another hiding.
I haven’t particularly been looking forward to this WC as I knew we weren’t going anywhere but the match at Twickenham and now this defeat has confirmed my worst fears.
All I can say is, I hope Razor can turn things around next year and make me want to watch this team play without a sense of how badly we could lose when I am watching. I am not a Crusaders fan but you have to give it to that man Scott Robinson. His record speaks for itself as does Fosters I am afraid to say.
I wish that I still drank as I could at least drown my sorrows. Yes this is negative but how else are you supposed to feel. My old man was Irish born so that’s who I now hope win if we can’t produce an absolute miracle. Enough said.
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I’ve seen this film before but the good guys were in red
And I felt, or I was told to feel, that the players in red were not smart enough or athletic enough to execute the coach’s vision
Turns out the players in red were smart enough and athletic enough but the coach was too pig headed and stubborn to admit that he was wrong
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@Mattasaurus said in RWC: France v All Blacks:
Akira and Sotutu ( have watched both live in NPC recently) are not lighting the NPC on fire.... really starting to view them both as flat track Auckland schoolboy players.... was hoping Akira would be stung by begin dropped and have a fire lit inside him.... but not from what I have seen in NPC so far ( as someone said earlier there is a bloody good player in him .... just not seeing it yet)--
and Sotutu miles off the pace for international rugby IMO on current formSotutu not in great from.
Akira has been great. In the Auckland player of the match polls he's had two firsts and a second.. and is clearly in the cumulative lead. Topping the stats in almost every game he plays.
Fuck even TJ was praising him for his enormous workrate in the tight and pointed out that not enough people are giving him credit
A bizarre post. I don't know how anyone watching the NPC doesn't recognise how good he is playing
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