Bledisloe 2
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@chimoaus said in Bledisloe 2:
Haven't read any comments re Whitelocks captaincy? No noise must mean he went alright. I see he got overruled at one point wanting a lineout but Smith or someone else said scrum. I like him as a player and leader.
the only reason he wasn't in the discussion the firs ttime is he went off for a sabbatical.
Hoping Brodie really keeps his trajectory back too. He hasn't been the same since 2019 when the dirty Saffer cleaned him out on the angle in the ruck. Starting to see glimpses of what made him the cult hero
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@nzzp said in Bledisloe 2:
Quick comment after a great night at teh Garden of Eden and a fun day in Auckland today.
Read the media today about 'emphatic performances' and 'defining effort' and wondered if they were at the same game I was. Scoreboard flattered us, no doubt. Our scrum dominance really papered over a bunch of cracks - if we play that game last night against Ireland, we lose. For Ireland, substitute England (probably) and France.
Very sloppy play in the first 20-30. RM and WJ guilty of throwing poor passes/offloads, no respect for the ball. JB was outstanding at 12, but the rest of the backline was a mix of superb and frustrating. CC had acres of space and players,a nd chose to power into the single defender. RI's pass or non-pass to WJ was discussed above, but it looked a classic case of drawing a defender and throwing the ball - upside is you score, downside is you may lose it or get intercepted. Still a good option.
RM seemed gun shy with his willingness to go into contact. Not because he's frightened, but I infer because he loses the ball so often. Was frustrating to watch.
Forwards were generally solid. Some great things, some very average things. Codie Taylor's lineout throwing was poor - despite actually doing soemthing around the field this time. Australia targetted the props in the defensive line. EDG may have shot up to make some tackles, but he got run over at least once and looked slow and unwieldy out there. Fair play, on the night we thought he was Fletcher Newell - hard to tell sometimes eh
Lomax was solid, but visibly missed some tackles.Scrum was superb. Fed us so much possession and territory it was fantastic ... but honestly, without that we would have looked average. So much lost possession. Scrums at the end of the first YC were an example - multiple scrums, followed by a kick to the corner. Like, why waste the time? Just keep scrumming if that's what you think is right.
Loosies seemed to spend a lot fo the game in the tight. Not much visibility for any of them to be fair, so will watch the replay to see who really had an effect. The New Fern is so provincial Cantabs reckon Akira and Dalts were shit, and others think the sun rises from their arse.
Australia brought the physicality. They were running backline plays with curving runners picking when to straighten - good to watch, and really asked questions of the defence. Reads were good, tackles were strong. And they dropped so much ball it wasn't funny.
Ref was all over the place. ignored some weird things at the rucks, dished a yellow for what looked like a red for turning DP upside down, but ignored Sevu Reece having a head hit. So in three games, similar offences get Red Cards (Angus), Yellow (Porter) and play on (Sevu). And you wonder why players keep rolling the dice?
As a game, it didn't reach great heights. TMO was overpowering, so much time spent wondering WTAF is going on. SOmething has to change there, it's not sustainable. New fans will be wondering what the hell they signed up for.
OVerall, pleased with teh scorebaord, but not so impressed with the quality out there. We're kidding ourselves if we think that will deal with better sides than Aus (who really weren't accurate).
Thanks, you put pretty much exactly what I saw/thought.
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@Kirwan said in Bledisloe 2:
@chimoaus said in Bledisloe 2:
Haven't read any comments re Whitelocks captaincy? No noise must mean he went alright. I see he got overruled at one point wanting a lineout but Smith or someone else said scrum. I like him as a player and leader.
He was excellent, seems more assertive than Cane too from a distance.
This was not a good match from Canes perspective. The two guys doing his job ( Whitelock and Papalii ) went just fine.
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@nzzp said in Bledisloe 2:
Quick comment after a great night at teh Garden of Eden and a fun day in Auckland today.
Read the media today about 'emphatic performances' and 'defining effort' and wondered if they were at the same game I was. Scoreboard flattered us, no doubt. Our scrum dominance really papered over a bunch of cracks - if we play that game last night against Ireland, we lose. For Ireland, substitute England (probably) and France.
Very sloppy play in the first 20-30. RM and WJ guilty of throwing poor passes/offloads, no respect for the ball. JB was outstanding at 12, but the rest of the backline was a mix of superb and frustrating. CC had acres of space and players,a nd chose to power into the single defender. RI's pass or non-pass to WJ was discussed above, but it looked a classic case of drawing a defender and throwing the ball - upside is you score, downside is you may lose it or get intercepted. Still a good option.
RM seemed gun shy with his willingness to go into contact. Not because he's frightened, but I infer because he loses the ball so often. Was frustrating to watch.
Forwards were generally solid. Some great things, some very average things. Codie Taylor's lineout throwing was poor - despite actually doing soemthing around the field this time. Australia targetted the props in the defensive line. EDG may have shot up to make some tackles, but he got run over at least once and looked slow and unwieldy out there. Fair play, on the night we thought he was Fletcher Newell - hard to tell sometimes eh
Lomax was solid, but visibly missed some tackles.Scrum was superb. Fed us so much possession and territory it was fantastic ... but honestly, without that we would have looked average. So much lost possession. Scrums at the end of the first YC were an example - multiple scrums, followed by a kick to the corner. Like, why waste the time? Just keep scrumming if that's what you think is right.
Loosies seemed to spend a lot fo the game in the tight. Not much visibility for any of them to be fair, so will watch the replay to see who really had an effect. The New Fern is so provincial Cantabs reckon Akira and Dalts were shit, and others think the sun rises from their arse.
Australia brought the physicality. They were running backline plays with curving runners picking when to straighten - good to watch, and really asked questions of the defence. Reads were good, tackles were strong. And they dropped so much ball it wasn't funny.
Ref was all over the place. ignored some weird things at the rucks, dished a yellow for what looked like a red for turning DP upside down, but ignored Sevu Reece having a head hit. So in three games, similar offences get Red Cards (Angus), Yellow (Porter) and play on (Sevu). And you wonder why players keep rolling the dice?
As a game, it didn't reach great heights. TMO was overpowering, so much time spent wondering WTAF is going on. SOmething has to change there, it's not sustainable. New fans will be wondering what the hell they signed up for.
OVerall, pleased with teh scorebaord, but not so impressed with the quality out there. We're kidding ourselves if we think that will deal with better sides than Aus (who really weren't accurate).
It’s annoying on TV, must be heaps worse at the ground. At least we get the benefit of expert comment man Marshall trying his best to decipher what the fuck is going on.
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@nzzp agree re: the TMO. There needs to be an announcement or something as to what they are looking at, as there were times we just didn't know what was happening.
Another thing that made the experience worse for us was a bunch of guys blazing up in front of us blowing smoke in everyone's face, and a couple of insanely drunk guys behind us screaming obscenities throughout the match. After many complaints the guys in front of us got walked out late in the 2nd half for a "talking to", before returning. The drunk guys never got evicted despite yelling at the officials themselves. I'd like to see them really crack down on that shit, absolutely zero tolerance just kick anyone that is being disorderly out immediately. Doesn't make it very family and kid friendly otherwise.
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@chimoaus said in Bledisloe 2:
Haven't read any comments re Whitelocks captaincy? No noise must mean he went alright. I see he got overruled at one point wanting a lineout but Smith or someone else said scrum. I like him as a player and leader.
The only thing that annoyed me was the terrible time management during the first YC.
No effort to speed up the set piece at all probably cost 5 minutes. Could have pushed the issue a few times
Also why give up on the scrum just because Ardie lost the control once and go for a lineout where the numbers advantage wasn’t as powerful?
Just all lacked urgency to make the most of being a player up IMO -
@nzzp said in Bledisloe 2:
Quick comment after a great night at teh Garden of Eden and a fun day in Auckland today.
Read the media today about 'emphatic performances' and 'defining effort' and wondered if they were at the same game I was. Scoreboard flattered us, no doubt. Our scrum dominance really papered over a bunch of cracks - if we play that game last night against Ireland, we lose. For Ireland, substitute England (probably) and France.
Very sloppy play in the first 20-30. RM and WJ guilty of throwing poor passes/offloads, no respect for the ball. JB was outstanding at 12, but the rest of the backline was a mix of superb and frustrating. CC had acres of space and players,a nd chose to power into the single defender. RI's pass or non-pass to WJ was discussed above, but it looked a classic case of drawing a defender and throwing the ball - upside is you score, downside is you may lose it or get intercepted. Still a good option.
RM seemed gun shy with his willingness to go into contact. Not because he's frightened, but I infer because he loses the ball so often. Was frustrating to watch.
Forwards were generally solid. Some great things, some very average things. Codie Taylor's lineout throwing was poor - despite actually doing soemthing around the field this time. Australia targetted the props in the defensive line. EDG may have shot up to make some tackles, but he got run over at least once and looked slow and unwieldy out there. Fair play, on the night we thought he was Fletcher Newell - hard to tell sometimes eh
Lomax was solid, but visibly missed some tackles.Scrum was superb. Fed us so much possession and territory it was fantastic ... but honestly, without that we would have looked average. So much lost possession. Scrums at the end of the first YC were an example - multiple scrums, followed by a kick to the corner. Like, why waste the time? Just keep scrumming if that's what you think is right.
Loosies seemed to spend a lot fo the game in the tight. Not much visibility for any of them to be fair, so will watch the replay to see who really had an effect. The New Fern is so provincial Cantabs reckon Akira and Dalts were shit, and others think the sun rises from their arse.
Australia brought the physicality. They were running backline plays with curving runners picking when to straighten - good to watch, and really asked questions of the defence. Reads were good, tackles were strong. And they dropped so much ball it wasn't funny.
Ref was all over the place. ignored some weird things at the rucks, dished a yellow for what looked like a red for turning DP upside down, but ignored Sevu Reece having a head hit. So in three games, similar offences get Red Cards (Angus), Yellow (Porter) and play on (Sevu). And you wonder why players keep rolling the dice?
As a game, it didn't reach great heights. TMO was overpowering, so much time spent wondering WTAF is going on. SOmething has to change there, it's not sustainable. New fans will be wondering what the hell they signed up for.
OVerall, pleased with teh scorebaord, but not so impressed with the quality out there. We're kidding ourselves if we think that will deal with better sides than Aus (who really weren't accurate).
I was pleased backline defence was much tighter, but Wobblies had at best one of their best 10/12/13, and maybe two of their best tight five.
You can only play what’s in front of you, but France and Ireland would not be quaking in their boots watching that.
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@No-Quarter said in Bledisloe 2:
@nzzp agree re: the TMO. There needs to be an announcement or something as to what they are looking at, as there were times we just didn't know what was happening.
Another thing that made the experience worse for us was a bunch of guys blazing up in front of us blowing smoke in everyone's face, and a couple of insanely drunk guys behind us screaming obscenities throughout the match. After many complaints the guys in front of us got walked out late in the 2nd half for a "talking to", before returning. The drunk guys never got evicted despite yelling at the officials themselves. I'd like to see them really crack down on that shit, absolutely zero tolerance just kick anyone that is being disorderly out immediately. Doesn't make it very family and kid friendly otherwise.
You should have told @tim and his mates to shut TFU!
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I went for a 17km walk to start breaking in my new hiking shoes.
The wife and daughter unit are at a dance event the next 2 nights, so I cooked BBQ snags for the boy and I.
I had a premix Bundy & coke.The mixture of exhaustion, a full stomach, and alcohol, produced a state wherein I could finally sit down and watch the game.
First half thoughts in no particular order:
Stupid yellow card Holloway after splitting them open and leaving Retallick in the dust
Stupid yellow card Porecki but what the fuck is wrong with our maul defence? We stopped the Boks after all.
Why no warning to Whitelock or YC for Taylor when Samu got within a few metres of the line? We were hot on attack.
Fucking hell Marika. Left foot in please.
Fire Wright into the sun. Fucking useless. More like Wrong.
Defensive line suffered with Foketi going off injured.
Akira Ioane is a passenger on defence.Other than that, we're not actually that far away. We went a couple too many pick n gos when the backline should be given a shot.
I am going to assume the second half is shit before I go ahead and watch.
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Second half thoughts:
No real issue with the "own try". Can't really see what the fuss is about. If Bell was a bit quicker he could have just knocked the ball out instead of trying to grab it.
Physicality in this game is pretty good from both sides.
Brace is right on the money with no straight throws but doesn't carry that through to scrums.
EdG maybe a touch lucky with the shot in Ikitau - he was eyes down from about 5 metres away. Different ref or TMO might see that differently.
The crying action was fucking funny tho. I assume it was directed at White.
Who needs to shut the fuck up, really.
Wallaby lineout is functioning reasonably well. ABs don't appear to be marking up on Holloway much, so easy ball.
Wallaby scrum was pretty solid - Lomax might have been smashing it in the first half with Valetini at lock when Holloway had his YC, but it wasn't as clear-cut with our full complement.
Bell's height was all wrong for his first few scrums. Once he sorted himself out it stabilised.
Foley having a few shockers on the decision-making front.
Petaia is not the hype that QLDers built him up to be.
Tom Wright is still shit.
OK so we're living in a universe where the TMO can pick up a neck roll by Porecki in the first couple of minutes but a very definite head clash for Reece on Hodge isn't even worth a mention. Cool, cool... Must have been taking a piss.
Some flaky decision making on the bouncing ball by the Wobs.
AB maul most of the difference in the game IMHO - and if your discipline gives a dominant opposing maul field position, it is going to be a long night.
I am shocked that last try to Petaia wasn't called for a forward pass.Other than that I don't know what the doomsayers are on about. The score flatters the ABs to a degree and there was nothing wrong with our physicality. Scrum wasn't great at points but the YC didn't help in the first instance, and Bell fixed his shit in the second.
If Holloway doesn't lift Papali'i...
If Marika's foot is not in touch...
If Foketi doesn't get injured...Yeah that's grasping a bit, but I'm not prepared to quit just yet.
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@Kirwan said in Bledisloe 2:
@Nepia said in Bledisloe 2:
@canefan said in Bledisloe 2:
@Chris-B said in Bledisloe 2:
@Tim said in Bledisloe 2:
Caleb Clarke under the high ball and on kick offs was absolutely faultless. Shame on anyone who tried to bag him.
Caleb's good under the high ball.
His work ons are pretty evident though.
He makes some great breaks but then fails to link up.
According to ESPN's stats he made 9 runs and no passes last night.
The week before 11 runs and 2 passes.
I watched him from time to time. Always tries to beat or overpower his man as opposed to wondering where his support is. So when he's taken down we have to recycle to restart momentum.
Yeah, I think he's conditioned to being the power wing in the team so always tries the Maori sidestep instead of sizing it up and maybe stepping, going round, or looking for support. If he tidies that up it should be all good.
He has good “problems”, has the pace to go around and the power to go through.
Is so good under the high ball too he’s covering the two fullback approach we seem to like in the back three. Opens up the other wing for a finisher.
It’s a luxury we’re fortunate have ie, power winger and finisher, both world class. Not a lot of tests teams have that.
Clarke under the high ball was fantastic, all 3 of our back 3 can safely diffuse the high ball now.
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So I only got to half watch the game cos dinner party thing. I did read through this thread yesterday, and now I'm 25mins into watching the replay.
Forgive me if someone already me mentioned it, but I don't remember much discussion about A Smith? I've been a really big critic of him lately, but he has been unbelievable in the first 20mins - catching balls at his feet, clearing at amazing pace, so quick to each breakdown, and even a well-timed snipe!
So good to see again
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In another thread where I was praising Tom Wright you said he was prone to brain explosions. Man you’re not wrong, WTF was he thinking with the quick tap and kick? AB’s had 3 defenders back there? Wide to Rieko who ran away from Jordan but penalty, lineout, penalty try and yellow card. That was a costly brain explosion.
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@TheMojoman and then dropping the ball cold off that shit pass from White and THEN gifting the ABs a penalty for holding on in basically the same motion. ffs...
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@Tim said in Bledisloe 2:
Akira Ioane's try saving tackle on Wilson at 30:35 was brilliant. Wilson had great low body position and pace, and Ioane had to get super low and turn him back from the line in the tackle.
Mate, it was even better than you make out - he was defending the left side of the ruck until the phase prior, he sprints around the base, shoves through 2 of our guys to get into the line on the right, kind of overruns the spot he wants, and has to dive back to his left to effect the tackle
Amazing effort to get there and then to make that tackle showed immense strength
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@TheMojoman said in Bledisloe 2:
It’s a luxury we’re fortunate have ie, power winger and finisher, both world class. Not a lot of tests teams have that.
Not forgetting Sevu Reece
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@voodoo said in Bledisloe 2:
So I only got to half watch the game cos dinner party thing. I did read through this thread yesterday, and now I'm 25mins into watching the replay.
Forgive me if someone already me mentioned it, but I don't remember much discussion about A Smith? I've been a really big critic of him lately, but he has been unbelievable in the first 20mins - catching balls at his feet, clearing at amazing pace, so quick to each breakdown, and even a well-timed snipe!
So good to see again
He's turned into the Charlie Watts or Ringo of 9's. Nothing flash, but does everything perfectly time and time again.
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@voodoo said in Bledisloe 2:
Fuck SBW is bad. Why is he employed? Surely it's some sort of work experience, we're not actually paying him are we?
Makes Miles Harrison look professional.
