Bledisloe One: Wellington, October 11
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There was so much wrong with this team, and when it came down to it we displayed the same weaknesses that England ruthlessly exposed at the RWC. Without Cane smacking Wallabies all night to try and slow some of their ball it could have gotten really ugly. We got dominated and the stats reflect that. It's really disappointing that it appears we learnt nothing from that.
The obvious selection mistakes:
- Jordie on the wing instead of fullback, especially after Beauden was ruled out.
- Bridge starting ahead of Clarke
- Savea at 8 instead of an actual 8. Savea is best used off the bench at test level, that is obvious to nearly everyone but the AB coaches
IMO next weeks backline, injury permitting, should read: Smith, Beauden, Clarke, ALB, Goodhue, Jordan, Jordie
The obvious game plan mistakes:
- we didn't have one
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@Stargazer said in Bledisloe One: Wellington, October 11:
@akan004 Aaron Smith said in the post-match interview that the ABs didn't get to the ruck fast enough; the Aussies were way faster. That caused some of the problems for him and Mo'unga, denying them enough time. He said that he and RM should have used their kicking game more ...
Not sure that would have worked with this weather, but I also thought the ABs looked at bit slow at times (compared to the Aussies).
Aussies have some good young forwards that aren’t carrying much baggage of past AB dominance. They were eager as and we needed to step up and match it. Our tackling overall was good but it was the ruck work that was way to hit and miss.
Aaron is an excellent box kicker, tough conditions, but he didn’t use it as much today.
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@Stargazer Yeah, noticed that at times. But our tackling was poor apart from Cane which allowed the Aussie forwards to make easy metres. Hardly any dominant tackles. Line speed was poor too, but under McCleod I didn't expect anything different tbh.
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@ACT-Crusader we already only had 40 percent possession. Kicking it away? We have to engage our forwards like the Aussies to set up the backs.
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@broughie said in Bledisloe One: Wellington, October 11:
@ACT-Crusader we already only had 40 percent possession. Kicking it away? We have to engage our forwards like the Aussies to set up the backs.
It’s more about where that possession is though rather than the quantum.
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@ACT-Crusader said in Bledisloe One: Wellington, October 11:
Congratulations Fozzie. You did something Henry or Hansen didn’t achieve and that is lose the first Bledisloe match against a new Wallabies coach.
Henry got one over Connolly and Hansen got one over McKenzie in their first outings though. If Fozzie has the chance to match up against another Aussie coach I'll be stunned.
The leader in the clubhouse for worst first year is Laurie Mains' and Fozzie ain't off to a good start.
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Also funny how journalists are asking questions (to Foster and Pat T) about what they said to Rieko after that disallowed try when he looked really down. Both Foster and Pat T responded with something like "he'll be fine" and "it's a game". The way the journos were talking was like Rieko urgently needed a consult with a psychologist.
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I think Australia won the exits and gains from kicks a lot better than us. Many times we struggled to get out of our half. The very first exit we only made it to our 22, clearly the wind played its part but many times we made very little ground whereas Oz seems to get a lot of value from their exits. We also misjudged our receiving turning over the ball several times.
I think Bridge, Barret were selected for their high ball kick chase when clearly the two Aussie wingers won out with their pace and strength. I think it is an error to select players who are 'safe', AB Rugby has always been an attacking one and strong wingers are our specialty. Clarke has to feature, his form is undeniable. Clarke, JB and Jordan makes the most sense going forward. They are clearly the future, Bridge is never going to be the long-term option surely.
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@Stargazer said in Bledisloe One: Wellington, October 11:
Also funny how journalists are asking questions (to Foster and Pat T) about what they said to Rieko after that disallowed try when he looked really down. Both Foster and Pat T responded with something like "he'll be fine" and "it's a game". The way the journos were talking was like Rieko urgently needed a consult with a psychologist.
Turn that rubbish off bro. Not good for your health...
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@ACT-Crusader It has finished.
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Haven't bothered to read back through the post-game posts.
My thoughts:
Jordie to 15, Clarke to start next week please.
I like Roane at 13, his pace in that channel is awesome, constant danger. He needs to sort the defensive stuff though.
Dmac can go the bench and stay there, or Beaudy - if he's recovered.Where was the drop-goal?
Mo'unga looks less than ordinary when he doesn't have a dominant pack, be it Canterbury, Crusaders or the AB's. I think Beaudy would've managed us around the park a little better today, and while I am the biggest BB fan, I would still have Richie start for at least the next week.
Forwards need to lift collectively, except Cane. Cane proved he's our starting 7. I would like still like to see Cane at 6, Savea at 7,and Sotutu at 8. I'd give Akira a shot over Frizzell after today, not that he was overly terrible, but we'll still looking for that dominant 6 ain't we.
Glad it wasn't a loss, draw fair enough result, again though where was the drop-goal - I think BB was slammed for not sorting that out, so thats a big X against TJP & RM for their management in the 87th and 88th minute.
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@rotated said in Bledisloe One: Wellington, October 11:
@ACT-Crusader said in Bledisloe One: Wellington, October 11:
Congratulations Fozzie. You did something Henry or Hansen didn’t achieve and that is lose the first Bledisloe match against a new Wallabies coach.
Henry got one over Connolly and Hansen got one over McKenzie in their first outings though. If Fozzie has the chance to match up against another Aussie coach I'll be stunned.
The leader in the clubhouse for worst first year is Laurie Mains' and Fozzie ain't off to a good start
He doesn’t have a losing %
#silverlinings
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Changes I'd like to see:
BB at 10
JB at 12
Goodhew at 13
Ioane and Clarke on the wings
Jordan at fullback
Robertson as coach. -
Best part for the Wallabies from that press conference was they have a coach that doesn’t blame the refs. When asked about the try where Reiko was out, he basically shrugged and said it was part of the game.
I’m concerned they got the better coach listening to them both.
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@ACT-Crusader said in Bledisloe One: Wellington, October 11:
@NTA said in Bledisloe One: Wellington, October 11:
If Williams is your best ref, NZR is in bigger trouble than their poor administrative negotiation style shows
The best reffing display in NZ for 2020 happened yesterday in an NPC game and it was Angus Gardner with the whistle
And yet...
