All Blacks 2021
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@kiwibloke Yes, I don't get why the All Blacks are playing a game plan years old. Every man and his dog can see the game is played in the opposition's half so kicking should be long and to space, not "contestable" box kicks in your own half.
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@antipodean said in All Blacks 2021:
@kiwibloke Yes, I don't get why the All Blacks are playing a game plan years old. Every man and his dog can see the game is played in the opposition's half so kicking should be long and to space, not "contestable" box kicks in your own half.
Yeah, if you're not doing the basics in any sport you're asking for big trouble... Robertson was the obvious bloke for head coach, instead we have a moron doing the job.
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@antipodean Steyn gave us the ultimate lesson in this in the last Championship game by pinning the ABs in their own territory and yet.......
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@old-samurai-jack said in All Blacks 2021:
@antipodean Steyn gave us the ultimate lesson in this in the last Championship game by pinning the ABs in their own territory and yet.......
Exactly mate, he constantly pinned us in our own corner with just good common sense thinking, but we continue to kick aimlessly in general play, it's up to our playmakers to read play properly, applying pressure by at least kicking into space so we can put the squeeze on them.
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@antipodean said in All Blacks 2021:
@kiwibloke Yes, I don't get why the All Blacks are playing a game plan years old. Every man and his dog can see the game is played in the opposition's half so kicking should be long and to space, not "contestable" box kicks in your own half.
As Squidge pointed out the only less invative attack he's seen is Canada, that's pretty fucking damning.
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@kiwibloke said in All Blacks 2021:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2021:
@kiwi_expat said in All Blacks 2021:
@voodoo said in All Blacks 2021:
@kiwi_expat said in All Blacks 2021:
Also, I remember a video segment from RNZ where he mentions his desire to quote 'show that he is 'innovative'..
And to be fair to him... being the first AB coach to lose to Argentina, was a ground-breaking achievement for Foz.
I think the worst thing he claimed, and didn't deliver on, was the commitment to physicality in the forwards.
He correctly identified the issue, then failed completely to bring along/select the right players to address the problem
We have played powder puff (copyright Walrus) rugby all year.
Go to 55 seconds, he pretty much addresses this, and even gets pressed further by Campbell about it.
Mortifying to watch now after what's since transpired under Fozzie, he hasn't fulfilled these points to any degree.
Watching this right now it's apparent he's completely & utterly out of his depth as an international coach & is simply clueless with regards to the best course of action that should be required for this team going forward.
Just words alone cannot describe the inadequacy on display here.
How is this level of incompetence acceptable for the NZR?
States the obvious; "we got smacked against England, what have we learnt from that?" and then proceeds to vomit HR twaddle about "freshening an organisation, how we deliver messages, the people that we use to deliver messages, grow our leaders, grow our mental skills, culture, younger group of players coming through from different backgrounds that we need to take into account and figure out how we link and communicate with them."
And some people still wonder why we've seen no development in how we play in over two years? He's not helped by the snivelling shit of an interviewer, but if that was the brief to the NZR selection committee, small wonder the game is in the parlous state it is. From the top down the organisation is being replaced with mediocrity and as they permeate through it becomes harder to identify them.
It all starts at the top, because we have idiots on the NZRU Board we end up with an incompetent coach - even though we won The Rugby Championship you could see the cracks appearing... on the UK tour we lost really badly against Ireland, didn't learn from those obvious mistakes, so lost the same pathetic way against France too.
We are not even doing the basics in the forwards when we have possession, there's a real lack of mongrel/urgency taking the ball up, also we're not getting enough numbers to clean, blowing their players out the way so we can get quicker ball to our backs.
Foster's tactic to use box kicks to counter the rushing defence is pathetic... when the opposition are really slowing your ball down you need to kick, but is has to be smart kicking, like wipers kicks deep towards the sideline or corners, get them scrambling back, because the opposition are standing up so flat with this rugby league type defence there's going to be acres of space behind them.
Yep agree with your post nothing is going to change with the wee Fat man in charge.Evreryone can see we are tactically inept but him.
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@kiwibloke said in All Blacks 2021:
it's up to our playmakers to read play properly, applying pressure by at least kicking into space so we can put the squeeze on them.
although, what if how/where they are kicking is following the game plan?
These players didnt suddenly lose thier talent and skills, they may be low on confidence though...
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@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2021:
although, what if how/where they are kicking is following the game plan?
These players didnt suddenly lose thier talent and skills, they may be low on confidence though...
It is interesting. Although no DC, Ritchie guides the Crusaders around the park well and we all know BB can do the same. One of JB's strengths is the long raking punt which can make some serious metres. So why the headless chook stupidity at AB level?
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@kiwibloke said in All Blacks 2021:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2021:
@kiwi_expat said in All Blacks 2021:
@voodoo said in All Blacks 2021:
@kiwi_expat said in All Blacks 2021:
Also, I remember a video segment from RNZ where he mentions his desire to quote 'show that he is 'innovative'..
And to be fair to him... being the first AB coach to lose to Argentina, was a ground-breaking achievement for Foz.
I think the worst thing he claimed, and didn't deliver on, was the commitment to physicality in the forwards.
He correctly identified the issue, then failed completely to bring along/select the right players to address the problem
We have played powder puff (copyright Walrus) rugby all year.
Go to 55 seconds, he pretty much addresses this, and even gets pressed further by Campbell about it.
Mortifying to watch now after what's since transpired under Fozzie, he hasn't fulfilled these points to any degree.
Watching this right now it's apparent he's completely & utterly out of his depth as an international coach & is simply clueless with regards to the best course of action that should be required for this team going forward.
Just words alone cannot describe the inadequacy on display here.
How is this level of incompetence acceptable for the NZR?
States the obvious; "we got smacked against England, what have we learnt from that?" and then proceeds to vomit HR twaddle about "freshening an organisation, how we deliver messages, the people that we use to deliver messages, grow our leaders, grow our mental skills, culture, younger group of players coming through from different backgrounds that we need to take into account and figure out how we link and communicate with them."
And some people still wonder why we've seen no development in how we play in over two years? He's not helped by the snivelling shit of an interviewer, but if that was the brief to the NZR selection committee, small wonder the game is in the parlous state it is. From the top down the organisation is being replaced with mediocrity and as they permeate through it becomes harder to identify them.
It all starts at the top, because we have idiots on the NZRU Board we end up with an incompetent coach - even though we won The Rugby Championship you could see the cracks appearing... on the UK tour we lost really badly against Ireland, didn't learn from those obvious mistakes, so lost the same pathetic way against France too.
We are not even doing the basics in the forwards when we have possession, there's a real lack of mongrel/urgency taking the ball up, also we're not getting enough numbers to clean, blowing their players out the way so we can get quicker ball to our backs.
Foster's tactic to use box kicks to counter the rushing defence is pathetic... when the opposition are really slowing your ball down you need to kick, but is has to be smart kicking, like wipers kicks deep towards the sideline or corners, get them scrambling back, because the opposition are standing up so flat with this rugby league type defence there's going to be acres of space behind them.
"It all starts at the top". Is it just me who feels that SuperRugby for all it's intensity in the NZ derbies, no longer prepares teams for an elite international defensive structure?
(There's a great 1014 interview on Youtube with Scott Robertson and Ronan O'Gara where Scott admits that ROG really challenged his own ideas on defense ... just a good example)
Regaining a coaching innovation edge is only part of the problem, I suspect some some structural issues and complacency are underpinning this too
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@l_n_p said in All Blacks 2021:
(There's a great 1014 interview on Youtube with Scott Robertson and Ronan O'Gara where Scott admits that ROG really challenged his own ideas on defense ... just a good example)
IIRC ROG is a proponent of the NH style of defense where they watch the ball rather than players. Perfect for combating the All Blacks. Quite a different kettle of fish when you have players in motion.
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@antipodean Yeah, I watched that - not proposing it, just an example of Scott Robertson setting a healthy example of being prepared be challenged on his thinking ... and to import coaching IP/insight where useful
People may disagree but I don't think the step up from "NZ-derby-level" Super Rugby to elite international is just about physicality, NZ derbies are often brutal. It's structural i.e. given how the game has developed, has NZR (really) adapted top-down given that AB brand/success is the golden-goose? Evidence suggests it just hasn't ... recently
Maybe NZR need a more self-critical look at local SR coaching structure and talent given that they control/run/fund SR "top down" to feed AB success ... focus on coaching (innovation/depth/pay(!)/retention/acquisition/international vs local pay differentials).
Set a coaching benchmark to have ABs and fringe-ABs playing against better defensive structures as the "new norm" etc
(1) Far easier said than done and (2) Needs NZR investment - long-term strategy is like that though - this kind of thinking is part of what they are paid for, not just cutting commercial deals and rehiring a continuity coach?
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@l_n_p said in All Blacks 2021:
@kiwibloke said in All Blacks 2021:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2021:
@kiwi_expat said in All Blacks 2021:
@voodoo said in All Blacks 2021:
@kiwi_expat said in All Blacks 2021:
Also, I remember a video segment from RNZ where he mentions his desire to quote 'show that he is 'innovative'..
And to be fair to him... being the first AB coach to lose to Argentina, was a ground-breaking achievement for Foz.
I think the worst thing he claimed, and didn't deliver on, was the commitment to physicality in the forwards.
He correctly identified the issue, then failed completely to bring along/select the right players to address the problem
We have played powder puff (copyright Walrus) rugby all year.
Go to 55 seconds, he pretty much addresses this, and even gets pressed further by Campbell about it.
Mortifying to watch now after what's since transpired under Fozzie, he hasn't fulfilled these points to any degree.
Watching this right now it's apparent he's completely & utterly out of his depth as an international coach & is simply clueless with regards to the best course of action that should be required for this team going forward.
Just words alone cannot describe the inadequacy on display here.
How is this level of incompetence acceptable for the NZR?
States the obvious; "we got smacked against England, what have we learnt from that?" and then proceeds to vomit HR twaddle about "freshening an organisation, how we deliver messages, the people that we use to deliver messages, grow our leaders, grow our mental skills, culture, younger group of players coming through from different backgrounds that we need to take into account and figure out how we link and communicate with them."
And some people still wonder why we've seen no development in how we play in over two years? He's not helped by the snivelling shit of an interviewer, but if that was the brief to the NZR selection committee, small wonder the game is in the parlous state it is. From the top down the organisation is being replaced with mediocrity and as they permeate through it becomes harder to identify them.
It all starts at the top, because we have idiots on the NZRU Board we end up with an incompetent coach - even though we won The Rugby Championship you could see the cracks appearing... on the UK tour we lost really badly against Ireland, didn't learn from those obvious mistakes, so lost the same pathetic way against France too.
We are not even doing the basics in the forwards when we have possession, there's a real lack of mongrel/urgency taking the ball up, also we're not getting enough numbers to clean, blowing their players out the way so we can get quicker ball to our backs.
Foster's tactic to use box kicks to counter the rushing defence is pathetic... when the opposition are really slowing your ball down you need to kick, but is has to be smart kicking, like wipers kicks deep towards the sideline or corners, get them scrambling back, because the opposition are standing up so flat with this rugby league type defence there's going to be acres of space behind them.
"It all starts at the top". Is it just me who feels that SuperRugby for all it's intensity in the NZ derbies, no longer prepares teams for an elite international defensive structure?
(There's a great 1014 interview on Youtube with Scott Robertson and Ronan O'Gara where Scott admits that ROG really challenged his own ideas on defense ... just a good example)
Regaining a coaching innovation edge is only part of the problem, I suspect some some structural issues and complacency are underpinning this too
Spot on mate - it's not just a problem with Super Rugby, but in world rugby too.
Heaps of times in games we see a ton of aimless kicking, deep down the middle of the field directly to a player, that's just giving good possession away, also those bloody box kicks are way overdone, need to vary your tactics accurately.
Players tend to grubber kick directly into the legs of an opposition player & don't get the weight on the ball right either, if they had any sense they'd look to guide the ball along the deck between the other sides players.
Really annoys me when dumb intercept tries are given away & silly passes in general are thrown to gift the opposition the ball, also charge downs from kicks - christ, these blokes are meant to be professionals ? ...these things would hardly ever happen if each player bothered to read the game properly & have a quick look for a split second to see if a kick or pass was on or not, clearly if it isn't go to ground & set the ball up. -
While I don't expect Schmidt to be the magic elixir, I expect he will challenge Fozzie enough that we will see a difference
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@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2021:
While I don't expect Schmidt to be the magic elixir, I expect he will challenge Fozzie enough that we will see a difference
I really wonder what difference Schmidt will make, his record is probably not as good as Fosters even! I think we all admit that unlike from 2008-9 until 2015-6 we don't now have many players that would make a world XV, The old reckoning was you needed 4-5 to have a top class team.
I believe we would have maybe 2-3 at most players that would make a World XV, and we have seemingly an average coach, but still have best record of any tier 1 team in 2021, so how does this work? -
@dan54 said in All Blacks 2021:
is record is probably not as good as Fosters even
What? You have seen Ireland have their best period of rugby, ever, including first victories over ABs under his lead? His record is opposite ends of the spectrum to fossie - with his record 'highest ever losing score in SR final' 'highest ever losing score for ABs' 'Worst AB result vs Oz' 'first ever loss to Arg' (and he was part of the team that lost for the first time to Ireland), 'first loss to France in NH tour for 40 years+' etc etc
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@kiwibloke said in All Blacks 2021:
@l_n_p said in All Blacks 2021:
@kiwibloke said in All Blacks 2021:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2021:
@kiwi_expat said in All Blacks 2021:
@voodoo said in All Blacks 2021:
@kiwi_expat said in All Blacks 2021:
Also, I remember a video segment from RNZ where he mentions his desire to quote 'show that he is 'innovative'..
And to be fair to him... being the first AB coach to lose to Argentina, was a ground-breaking achievement for Foz.
I think the worst thing he claimed, and didn't deliver on, was the commitment to physicality in the forwards.
He correctly identified the issue, then failed completely to bring along/select the right players to address the problem
We have played powder puff (copyright Walrus) rugby all year.
Go to 55 seconds, he pretty much addresses this, and even gets pressed further by Campbell about it.
Mortifying to watch now after what's since transpired under Fozzie, he hasn't fulfilled these points to any degree.
Watching this right now it's apparent he's completely & utterly out of his depth as an international coach & is simply clueless with regards to the best course of action that should be required for this team going forward.
Just words alone cannot describe the inadequacy on display here.
How is this level of incompetence acceptable for the NZR?
States the obvious; "we got smacked against England, what have we learnt from that?" and then proceeds to vomit HR twaddle about "freshening an organisation, how we deliver messages, the people that we use to deliver messages, grow our leaders, grow our mental skills, culture, younger group of players coming through from different backgrounds that we need to take into account and figure out how we link and communicate with them."
And some people still wonder why we've seen no development in how we play in over two years? He's not helped by the snivelling shit of an interviewer, but if that was the brief to the NZR selection committee, small wonder the game is in the parlous state it is. From the top down the organisation is being replaced with mediocrity and as they permeate through it becomes harder to identify them.
It all starts at the top, because we have idiots on the NZRU Board we end up with an incompetent coach - even though we won The Rugby Championship you could see the cracks appearing... on the UK tour we lost really badly against Ireland, didn't learn from those obvious mistakes, so lost the same pathetic way against France too.
We are not even doing the basics in the forwards when we have possession, there's a real lack of mongrel/urgency taking the ball up, also we're not getting enough numbers to clean, blowing their players out the way so we can get quicker ball to our backs.
Foster's tactic to use box kicks to counter the rushing defence is pathetic... when the opposition are really slowing your ball down you need to kick, but is has to be smart kicking, like wipers kicks deep towards the sideline or corners, get them scrambling back, because the opposition are standing up so flat with this rugby league type defence there's going to be acres of space behind them.
"It all starts at the top". Is it just me who feels that SuperRugby for all it's intensity in the NZ derbies, no longer prepares teams for an elite international defensive structure?
(There's a great 1014 interview on Youtube with Scott Robertson and Ronan O'Gara where Scott admits that ROG really challenged his own ideas on defense ... just a good example)
Regaining a coaching innovation edge is only part of the problem, I suspect some some structural issues and complacency are underpinning this too
Spot on mate - it's not just a problem with Super Rugby, but in world rugby too.
Heaps of times in games we see a ton of aimless kicking, deep down the middle of the field directly to a player, that's just giving good possession away, also those bloody box kicks are way overdone, need to vary your tactics accurately.
Players tend to grubber kick directly into the legs of an opposition player & don't get the weight on the ball right either, if they had any sense they'd look to guide the ball along the deck between the other sides players.
Really annoys me when dumb intercept tries are given away & silly passes in general are thrown to gift the opposition the ball, also charge downs from kicks - christ, these blokes are meant to be professionals ? ...these things would hardly ever happen if each player bothered to read the game properly & have a quick look for a split second to see if a kick or pass was on or not, clearly if it isn't go to ground & set the ball up.The joy of watching the ABs has always been that fantasic philosophy that a great attack can outwit a great defense "somehow" ... tactics and skills and speed (fitness can no longer be a point of difference)
Given this, what gets me is that NZ tactical innovation seems to have stalled vs modern defenses ... yet SR is the only experience route to prepare up-and-coming / fringe ABs, so I see it as a structural issue, not just a pure AB-level coaching issue ... how to best use SR teams/coaches to prepare the future ABs (who pay all the bills)
And assume that Sean Edwards-style defenses need to be a new defensive benchmark they'll face more and more, not the exception -
@machpants said in All Blacks 2021:
@dan54 said in All Blacks 2021:
is record is probably not as good as Fosters even
What? You have seen Ireland have their best period of rugby, ever, including first victories over ABs under his lead? His record is opposite ends of the spectrum to fossie - with his record 'highest ever losing score in SR final' 'highest ever losing score for ABs' 'Worst AB result vs Oz' 'first ever loss to Arg' (and he was part of the team that lost for the first time to Ireland), 'first loss to France in NH tour for 40 years+' etc etc
This 100%. Joe also nearly rolled the ABs back in 2013 in that amazing match, which was only his third match in charge after Samoa and Australia. He absolutely identified a set of tactics that got 105% out of Ireland - 6 Nations in 2014, 2015, 2018. Maybe he lost it a bit the last 18 months, maybe him announcing his departure didn't help the team by the 2019 WC ... but it's part of succession planning so he did the right (professional) thing to allow for that
I'm not sure what more can be asked/expected of a coach at that level ... it was his FIRST international coaching gig, has there even been a better first gig? He also strikes me as very thoughtful and - like Henry - someone who can/will recognise and learn where he can improve ongoing
The question mark for me would be whether after "failing" at the WC (failing is a relative term here ... but it's inevitable as an international head coach) he has that burning ambition to still want to get better as coach, and to keep shooting for the next level. The kind of relentless drive/ambition that say Graham Henry and Eddie Jones have shown in spades
He's not the messiah, but I'd have no problems assuming Joe really wants the AB role and has NZR inside running for the job, with Scott Robertson hopefully being lined up as one assistant (amazing loyalty, must have some kind of guarantee from NZR?)
Now NZR, just pay enough $$$ for say Shaun Edwards and Tony Brown too
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@l_n_p said in All Blacks 2021:
@kiwibloke said in All Blacks 2021:
@l_n_p said in All Blacks 2021:
@kiwibloke said in All Blacks 2021:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2021:
@kiwi_expat said in All Blacks 2021:
@voodoo said in All Blacks 2021:
@kiwi_expat said in All Blacks 2021:
Also, I remember a video segment from RNZ where he mentions his desire to quote 'show that he is 'innovative'..
And to be fair to him... being the first AB coach to lose to Argentina, was a ground-breaking achievement for Foz.
I think the worst thing he claimed, and didn't deliver on, was the commitment to physicality in the forwards.
He correctly identified the issue, then failed completely to bring along/select the right players to address the problem
We have played powder puff (copyright Walrus) rugby all year.
Go to 55 seconds, he pretty much addresses this, and even gets pressed further by Campbell about it.
Mortifying to watch now after what's since transpired under Fozzie, he hasn't fulfilled these points to any degree.
Watching this right now it's apparent he's completely & utterly out of his depth as an international coach & is simply clueless with regards to the best course of action that should be required for this team going forward.
Just words alone cannot describe the inadequacy on display here.
How is this level of incompetence acceptable for the NZR?
States the obvious; "we got smacked against England, what have we learnt from that?" and then proceeds to vomit HR twaddle about "freshening an organisation, how we deliver messages, the people that we use to deliver messages, grow our leaders, grow our mental skills, culture, younger group of players coming through from different backgrounds that we need to take into account and figure out how we link and communicate with them."
And some people still wonder why we've seen no development in how we play in over two years? He's not helped by the snivelling shit of an interviewer, but if that was the brief to the NZR selection committee, small wonder the game is in the parlous state it is. From the top down the organisation is being replaced with mediocrity and as they permeate through it becomes harder to identify them.
It all starts at the top, because we have idiots on the NZRU Board we end up with an incompetent coach - even though we won The Rugby Championship you could see the cracks appearing... on the UK tour we lost really badly against Ireland, didn't learn from those obvious mistakes, so lost the same pathetic way against France too.
We are not even doing the basics in the forwards when we have possession, there's a real lack of mongrel/urgency taking the ball up, also we're not getting enough numbers to clean, blowing their players out the way so we can get quicker ball to our backs.
Foster's tactic to use box kicks to counter the rushing defence is pathetic... when the opposition are really slowing your ball down you need to kick, but is has to be smart kicking, like wipers kicks deep towards the sideline or corners, get them scrambling back, because the opposition are standing up so flat with this rugby league type defence there's going to be acres of space behind them.
"It all starts at the top". Is it just me who feels that SuperRugby for all it's intensity in the NZ derbies, no longer prepares teams for an elite international defensive structure?
(There's a great 1014 interview on Youtube with Scott Robertson and Ronan O'Gara where Scott admits that ROG really challenged his own ideas on defense ... just a good example)
Regaining a coaching innovation edge is only part of the problem, I suspect some some structural issues and complacency are underpinning this too
Spot on mate - it's not just a problem with Super Rugby, but in world rugby too.
Heaps of times in games we see a ton of aimless kicking, deep down the middle of the field directly to a player, that's just giving good possession away, also those bloody box kicks are way overdone, need to vary your tactics accurately.
Players tend to grubber kick directly into the legs of an opposition player & don't get the weight on the ball right either, if they had any sense they'd look to guide the ball along the deck between the other sides players.
Really annoys me when dumb intercept tries are given away & silly passes in general are thrown to gift the opposition the ball, also charge downs from kicks - christ, these blokes are meant to be professionals ? ...these things would hardly ever happen if each player bothered to read the game properly & have a quick look for a split second to see if a kick or pass was on or not, clearly if it isn't go to ground & set the ball up.The joy of watching the ABs has always been that fantasic philosophy that a great attack can outwit a great defense "somehow" ... tactics and skills and speed (fitness can no longer be a point of difference)
Given this, what gets me is that NZ tactical innovation seems to have stalled vs modern defenses ... yet SR is the only experience route to prepare up-and-coming / fringe ABs, so I see it as a structural issue, not just a pure AB-level coaching issue ... how to best use SR teams/coaches to prepare the future ABs (who pay all the bills)
And assume that Sean Edwards-style defenses need to be a new defensive benchmark they'll face more and more, not the exceptionHansen was a good coach, but not a great one, he didn't have much insight how to counter a rushing defence either, that showed in the Lions series in NZ - Foster is a complete clown though, so all he's going do is continue to ruin the team, Schmidt has a good rugby brain, hope Foster takes a lot of advice from him, because he desperately needs it.
Against a rushing defence there's really only two options, taking the ball up in phases when you have some momentum going forward - when the opposition really slow your ball down it's pointless to continue to run into a brick wall... so adjust to execute a smart accurate kicking game, wiper kicks into space deep into the corners, grubbers weighted into space etc.
That's a really dumb tactic the AB coaching staff have against a rushing by executing a lot of box kicks/up & unders - with those type of kicks you have less than a 50/50 chance of getting the possession back, also the ball only travels about 30 metres up field.
The players have to take some blame as well, they're the ones playing on the field... our playmakers 9 & 10 should be reading play far better, by consistently taking good options & executing them accurately. -
@machpants said in All Blacks 2021:
@dan54 said in All Blacks 2021:
is record is probably not as good as Fosters even
What? You have seen Ireland have their best period of rugby, ever, including first victories over ABs under his lead? His record is opposite ends of the spectrum to fossie - with his record 'highest ever losing score in SR final' 'highest ever losing score for ABs' 'Worst AB result vs Oz' 'first ever loss to Arg' (and he was part of the team that lost for the first time to Ireland), 'first loss to France in NH tour for 40 years+' etc etc
Mate I not a great Foster fan, but what do you measure sucess of a head coach? How many tournaments did Schmidt coached teams win? As an international coach you mention he was the ABs under his watch had worst los to OZ, and seem to forget also had the highest points gainst Oz and biggest margin against them. As I said I not a Foster fan really, but stop cherry picking results. Since he been head coach of ABs they have won all 4 comps they have taken place in,2 x Bled and 2 RCs, including being the most successful tier 1 team in 2021!
Schmidt is good coach , at Tes level he has won a 3 x 6Ns, has coached teams that have been knocked out of WC by Argentina, and losing to japan in WC!
Don't forget he was also offered a job with ABs when Wayne Smith packed it in, and turned it down to stay with Ireland. he was also part of Blues worst performing years where they made one semi, but were pretty well easy beats. So NZR has offered him chance regardless of what some say, but he wasn't interested, he also declined the chance to apply for Head coach role when Foster was appointed! And you pointed out he was assistant coach when ABs lsot to Ireland for first time, yet you omit to remind us he was asst coach when we won WC in 2015 and from 2012 to 2015 probably the best AB team of modern era. I never gave Fozzie credit for that either and wouldn't as he only asst coach same as he was against Ireland!
Still doesn't answer my question, how were ABs most successful Tier 1 team with such an average team and coach?
