Bledisloe One: Wellington, October 11
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Went in to the game and took my four year daughter. Was a great atmosphere and the extra minutes at the end just added to the experience. Will have to watch the game again this week as you miss so much at the game. Best part was some drunk lady distracted my daughter for most of the game so I actually got to watch most of it.
Couple of things on the game (though won't stand by them too closely until I've rewatched it).
Backs
DMac looked a lot better here than he did for the Chiefs. I'd still rather see one of the Barretts there but was good to see him get some form back.Jordie is way to pedestrian for wing. There was one point early in the first half where he appeared to be trying to run through quick sand.
Will be interesting to watch Reiko. He appeared to fuck up by not passing to Jordie at one stage and hogged the ball instead. And dropping the ball like he did is embarrassing and effectively lost us the game. I really wish that he'd go back to being the worlds best winger.
Bridge is so impotent. Really doesn't seem to offer much. Though that was a sweet pass that lead to Smith's try.
R'Mo looked below test level standard. Looked indecisive at times and seemed to have no confidence in the end to demand they set up for a droppie. Might be a while before he finds his feet at test level.
Ardie was no where near a test standard 8. I've got no idea why Foster (other than Foster is a fuckwit) picks two sevens in his starting trio and asks one of them to play like a big bopper 8. Sevens work best when they have constant interactions in the game.
Cane was awesome and hit attackers like a truck. Though his first game as captain had a real 2020 Chiefs feel to it.
I thought Frizell went OK. He tackled well and it's not his fault the loose forward mix is out.
Moody tackled well and Ofa hit hard but fell off a few tackles. Cody appeared to carry on his average 2019 form.
Rennie 'out coached' Foster. The OZ first half was excellent as they more often than not would have been playing into the swirling breeze. I think a stat popped up at halftime that OZ had 70% possession and territory which is clever rugby in those conditions.
Not much to say about the Wallabies other than well done and they probably deserved to win the game. I think an area they can make good improvement in is their accuracy at the breakdown. The amount of times the AB's managed to get a turnover or penalty after a Wallaby went flying/crashing over the ruck instead of actually clearing out was hilarious. Lucky for the AB's too as it meant the Wallabies couldn't build enough pressure.
Looking forward to catching this on TV and revising my opinions.
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@taniwharugby said in Bledisloe One: Wellington, October 11:
many years ago we did have 20+ test matches in a row when we didnt have the same pair start before Nonu-Conrad became a fixture...
Yeah and we ended up playing the best 15 in the world at 13. Went well.
Constant buggering around was a crap idea then, crap idea now.
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Sparky's blame game
1.NZR for choosing Ian Foster as Head Coach. There were other better options available: Razor, Jamie Joseph, Dave Rennie. They went with Foster as a "job for the boys" pick. Today our team was comprehensively outcoached.
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Ian Foster for creating a safety-first culture within the ABs. The All Blacks should be expected to win every match. Foster set up his team not to lose.
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Foster, Fox and Plumtree for selecting a number of players who were tried and found wanting in the last World Cup cycle. Young talent like Hoskins Sotutu, Caleb Clarke and Will Jordan should have started. No more selecting a team of your pals, select a team to win.
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Reiko Ioane. Know your history and learn from this. Showboating is not part of the All Blacks game. Could have been a great try. Go watch the tapes of Grant Batty, Bryan Williams, John Kirwan, Jonah Lomu and Doug Howlett scoring tries. Put the ball down with two hands carefully, then jog back to the middle.
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Richie Mo'unga. Know you history and learn from this. We lost in Cardiff in 07 and drew against the Lions in 2017 because the First Fives on the field (Luke McAlister and Aaron Cruden) were too shy to call thw drop call at the end. Spend a hour a week practising this call and its execution. We expect the ABs to win.
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now that I've read things...
I don't think we'll see mass changes for next week.
Goodhue mightn't be a 12, but he was massive on D. He gives RM someone to hit it up - if the opposition have to keep a couple of defenders in close to counter that, it could create space for RIoane.
I'd keep RIoane in for another week, he just looks lethal on attack, give him half a gap and hes gone and hard to put down. One bad read on D, and I've been waiting ages for him to fuck up a try in the manner he did (at least it wasn't a RWC final or something more significant than Game 1 of 4) ALB to stay on bench.Forwards all deserve another go, however if we're about building, I would swap in Akira for Frizzell, no real reason to, I think letting Sotutu build his way into being an AB is a better idea than just starting him for the sake of it. We still need some experience in our loosies so Savea stays.
Get Dmac the f**k outta here - poor in SRA, too small unfortunately, too many mistakes.
Bridge to 14, Clarke to 11. or the other way around who cares. Once upon a time our 14 was the big bopper and 11 was the skinny white guy.
Maybe Aumua in for Coles (he didn't bring much in the last 20)
Weber in for TJP, Beaudy on the bench (or Dmac if Achilles not 100%)Aussies looked better for not having some of the douchebags of recent years, Stephen Moore etc. Less stupid off the ball stuff, actually got on with playing properly. Nick White always seems to go great against us, so someone snot him early would ya?
Christ Foster has a job on his hands to keep his job if the AB's don't show some improvement in next 12mths. Its Game 1 of 20 that he needs to prove himself. The NZRU would also have in the back of their minds it only took the Boks 18months to right their ship, so if Razor was to take over in 2022 he'd be good to go.
Interesting times for NZ Rugby...
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I am going to defend RM a little here. It wasn't him who couldn't take the high ball in the swirling wind, it wasn't him who couldn't place the ball properly at try time and it wasn't him that conceded a try through a bad read on defence. That penalty where he failed to find touch was poor, but RM is prone to that. He is not alone there, even Carter managed to do that on a regular basis.
Those that say he can't operate behind anything other than a dominant pack are living in the past. The Crusader pack has not been dominant recently and he has still managed to win games for them. I am hoping it's a matter of time until things click for him at test level.
AB woes go deeper than RM. They stem from the inability to master the rush defence. It's been years since the BIL showed how to beat the ABs and we have yet to find a way to consistently counter it.
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@westcoastie And it only took Rennie 1 game to fix the Wallabies
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@Donsteppa said in Bledisloe One: Wellington, October 11:
ALB can start in the midfield next week while Reiko goes back to “two hands for beginners” school.
Stunning ineptitude, reckless, thoughtless and they pay him four or five hundred thousand a year! I'm surprised he didn't have a giggle and wave to mum.
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@Crazy-Horse but we have shown out to counter it, witness Game one of the BIL series. Why the fuck we can't play like that again no-one knows.
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@sparky said in Bledisloe One: Wellington, October 11:
- Richie Mo'unga. Know you history and learn from this. We lost in Cardiff in 07 and drew against the Lions in 2017 because the First Fives on the field (Luke McAlister and Aaron Cruden) were too shy to call thw drop call at the end. Spend a hour a week practising this call and its execution. We expect the ABs to win.
Also add vs Springboks in Welly 2018 to that list.
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@Crazy-Horse I did find it odd seeing RM standing at the base of the ruck right in front of the uprights, maybe he was going to throw it over?
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@rotated said in Bledisloe One: Wellington, October 11:
The leader in the clubhouse for worst first year is Laurie Mains' and Fozzie ain't off to a good start.
Bit hard on Laurie, he had to mould together a new team against the current RWC holders after a disastrous ABs RWC campaign rife with division - and he lost 2-1 in one of the greatest and closest Bledisloe Cup series ever (I think the exact same number of points were scored by both teams and the biggest margin was 3 or 4).
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@Mick-Gold-Coast-QLD said in Bledisloe One: Wellington, October 11:
... they pay him four or five hundred thousand a year
He's not a Wallaby.
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A drop goal is a really low percentage option - that is the problem. If you kick a drop goal and miss, it is game over. If you kick a drop goal and it gets charged, the opposition could be down the other end. To kick a drop goal you need to get the field position, a good pass and then a good strike. There are lots of things which have a 15% chance of something going wrong and they compound. I think keeping the ball in hand and playing for a penalty is a high percentage option. I'm less disappointed in the decision not to take up a drop goal as I am that we couldn't score a try after being given about 3 opportunities.
I only got to see the game from the 66th minute onwards. We were dire in that period. Jordie missing the penalty, the 22 going over his head, stupid penalties, Clarke not securing the ball off the upright, a team mate not securing the ball. Normally, we would pull away in a game like this despite not having the ball much in the first half.
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@Crazy-Horse said in Bledisloe One: Wellington, October 11:
I am going to defend RM a little here. It wasn't him who couldn't take the high ball in the swirling wind, it wasn't him who couldn't place the ball properly at try time and it wasn't him that conceded a try through a bad read on defence. That penalty where he failed to find touch was poor, but RM is prone to that. He is not alone there, even Carter managed to do that on a regular basis.
Those that say he can't operate behind anything other than a dominant pack are living in the past. The Crusader pack has not been dominant recently and he has still managed to win games for them. I am hoping it's a matter of time until things click for him at test level.
AB woes go deeper than RM. They stem from the inability to master the rush defence. It's been years since the BIL showed how to beat the ABs and we have yet to find a way to consistently counter it.
Plenty of players were off their game, but RM was one of them. Smith said after the game that they were guilty of not kicking for position enough.
Ten needs to assess the game, conditions, etc and move the field around the park. He came up tactically short, was throwing away possession with miracle balls, and his basic passing was poor (behind close running forwards).
Someone was celebrating his tackle on the winger, and was good. But he was being hidden on the wing again.
When we needed him to dictate the game he disappeared. That’s what people mean about needing front foot ball. On attack he’s very good, it’s just everything else!
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@chimoaus said in Bledisloe One: Wellington, October 11:
@Crazy-Horse I did find it odd seeing RM standing at the base of the ruck right in front of the uprights, maybe he was going to throw it over?
It's a strange one. Crusader level he would have demanded the ball, but at AB level he seems to be relegated to a role player. I was hoping with BB sitting this one out he would have stepped up. Maybe there is something about the culture or hierarchy in the ABs that is holding him back?
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Only watched the last 30 minutes & the highlights, but my take on the game...
Thought Nic White And Aaron Smith both outstanding.
Ardie is a better 7 than an 8. Like Kirwan said, I'd like to see Sam Cane at 6 at some stage. Didn't see enough to rate Frizzell
Caleb Clarke should start. He really gave the ABs momentum down the touchline.
RM was awful from what I saw. He looked like a rabbit it the headlights at times. If BB isn't back, DMac at 10 and RM on the bench. Gotta be an improvement from what I saw.
Hope Reiko's missed try doesn't screw his confidence - he's too good a player. Needs another shot at 13, but from the bench.
Goodhue was busy on defence. Needs to start with ALB next week.
Thought Cane did OK as captain. Kept the team focussed and we almost nicked a win at the end. Play was outstanding.
All in all, typical rusty first run out by the AB's. Just want to see some sensible selections and,you know, players in their best positions.
