All Blacks v Ireland - 2nd Test
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@Victor-Meldrew Yes but first the NZRFU for selecting him.
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I’m not really sure what LF can do there as an isolated defender tbh. Sometimes you just have to give credit to the opposition whose phase play and quick ball has completely fractured the defensive structure. The problem is that it’s happening in front of him at speed with multiple options available, one of which is a short ball to Beirne, Irelands most dangerous line breaker. Imo there’s no illegality there as Aki takes the pass wide of the decoy runners.
As an Ireland fan it’s been a bit frustrating watching Ireland fail to develop a proper attacking structure over the years, mainly because Joe was risk averse and didn’t seem to trust Irish players skill sets, but at our best now we appear to be creating situations like this regularly and players have the freedom to try things within that structure.
It’s all predicated, though, on control of the breakdown, and, as we saw in the first test, if we don’t get that then we start making mistakes and conceding penalties and scores. I’ll be shocked therefore if the ABs don’t come out of the blocks hard on Saturday looking to put numbers into the breakdown and kill Irelands attack at source. Wayne Barnes will have a big influence here, as he refs the breakdown much differently to Peyper, who generally allows a lot of freedom to the attacking team. Barnes has developed into an excellent ref, who show consistency in his application of the laws, so it could come down to who reads him best.
A bit more longwinded than I’d hoped as a first post, but I’ve been reading this forum for a few years, not always agreeing with some of the views, but I’ve enjoyed getting a different perspective from, for the most part, informed supporters.
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@Halfout said in All Blacks v Ireland - 2nd Test:
A bit more longwinded than I’d hoped as a first post, but I’ve been reading this forum for a few years, not always agreeing with some of the views, but I’ve enjoyed getting a different perspective from, for the most part, informed supporters.
Thanks for subscribing to my newsletter.
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Faced with three attackers, all of whom are moving at pace, he’s on a hiding to nothing, If he’d followed Aki I have no doubt Sexton would have hit Beirne, and he’d be crucified for ignoring Beirnes obvious threat. On the arc Aki ran I don’t think he was ever going to get near him anyway regardless of how early he went, and if he committed to tackling Beirne he’s facing the possibility of a penalty or even a yellow card for taking out a support runner. The least likely result in my opinion would have been a penalty to NZ as someone above had suggested.
I’ll be honest, if the ABs or anyone ran that play against us I would have stood and applauded it, not just by getting past the midfield defence but the way in which Ireland manipulated the AB defence to create the opportunity. The difference between Ireland and the ABs is that in all probability the ABs would have scored in that situation, and that’s a huge concern for Irish fans.
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@Halfout said in All Blacks v Ireland - 2nd Test:
Faced with three attackers, all of whom are moving at pace, he’s on a hiding to nothing, If he’d followed Aki I have no doubt Sexton would have hit Beirne, and he’d be crucified for ignoring Beirnes obvious threat. On the arc Aki ran I don’t think he was ever going to get near him anyway regardless of how early he went, and if he committed to tackling Beirne he’s facing the possibility of a penalty or even a yellow card for taking out a support runner. The least likely result in my opinion would have been a penalty to NZ as someone above had suggested.
I’ll be honest, if the ABs or anyone ran that play against us I would have stood and applauded it, not just by getting past the midfield defence but the way in which Ireland manipulated the AB defence to create the opportunity. The difference between Ireland and the ABs is that in all probability the ABs would have scored in that situation, and that’s a huge concern for Irish fans.
The real difference is that this All Blacks wouldn't have created such an opportunity deliberately.
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@antipodean said in All Blacks v Ireland - 2nd Test:
@Halfout said in All Blacks v Ireland - 2nd Test:
Faced with three attackers, all of whom are moving at pace, he’s on a hiding to nothing, If he’d followed Aki I have no doubt Sexton would have hit Beirne, and he’d be crucified for ignoring Beirnes obvious threat. On the arc Aki ran I don’t think he was ever going to get near him anyway regardless of how early he went, and if he committed to tackling Beirne he’s facing the possibility of a penalty or even a yellow card for taking out a support runner. The least likely result in my opinion would have been a penalty to NZ as someone above had suggested.
I’ll be honest, if the ABs or anyone ran that play against us I would have stood and applauded it, not just by getting past the midfield defence but the way in which Ireland manipulated the AB defence to create the opportunity. The difference between Ireland and the ABs is that in all probability the ABs would have scored in that situation, and that’s a huge concern for Irish fans.
The real difference is that this All Blacks wouldn't have created such an opportunity deliberately.
ABs would have put in the grubber or a chip kick
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@Halfout welcome to the Fern. We like the Irish, but watch out for that @Derm-McCrum character. He doesn’t play by the Fern rules…
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Seems like a very knowledgable and evenhanded poster to me. We’re almost like twins actually. 😎
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Bryn Hall with the analysis here, explaining in depth about how the Ireland blocking game is so good that our contestables are no longer working and we are giving them the ball in a good part of the field (essentially giving them every opportunity for territory):
Starts from about 9:50 on that point but the analysis here is already miles beyond 'The Breakdown'
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@Bones I agree, even a half hearted attempt at the outside man to highlight a possible obstruction, which willlikely slow him down, taking him out of the next phase, maybe even brush into Aki, which would then have to get a penalty, or he is pinged for taking a man without the ball, penalty that the ref likely blows right away, shot at posts, no try 😉
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When I watch that highlight reel, all I see is Ireland quick ball. Every single carry resulting in a solid clean and quick ball. Yeah they target props , yeah they have options both sides, yeah, maybe they put runners in front in borderline positions
But it's really fucking hard to do any of that if your ball is slow to come out. And theirs certainly is not. Their clean out and support play is fantastic, and our offensive tackling and counter ruck is, well, not.
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@Bones said in All Blacks v Ireland - 2nd Test:
it's smart play to have your cleaners already positioned where the tackle will be made.
easy when our play is so predictable on both sides.
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All Blacks prop Angus Ta’avao has copped a three-week suspension on the back of his red card last weekend.
Not that he would be playing anyway due to concussion.
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@taniwharugby said in All Blacks v Ireland - 2nd Test:
@Bones said in All Blacks v Ireland - 2nd Test:
it's smart play to have your cleaners already positioned where the tackle will be made.
easy when our play is so predictable on both sides.
We need to station our cleaners 10m behind the advantage line.
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@Bones said in All Blacks v Ireland - 2nd Test:
@taniwharugby said in All Blacks v Ireland - 2nd Test:
@Bones said in All Blacks v Ireland - 2nd Test:
it's smart play to have your cleaners already positioned where the tackle will be made.
easy when our play is so predictable on both sides.
We need to station our cleaners 10m
behindin front of the advantage line.fixed that for ya
