All Blacks XV vs Ireland A

nostrildamus

I'm way behind you all (thanks for link) near end of first half only but what a great game!
-Ireland A look nowhere near defensive quality of Ireland (but interestingly a lot of this team played against the Māori All Blacks https://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/ireland-a-braced-for-unofficial-series-decider-against-the-all-black-xv-42117829.html)
-DMac looks better than RM and BB so far (I surprise myself)
-Patrick having a v. good game but I haven't seen much of Dickson?
-MMT looks a good 6/8
-Jacobson doesn't look AB level (too many stupid decisions)
-also Ennor: still has a concentration problem and still stinks up the midfield (from what I could see RTS was good so far in first half?)
-Love looked too small to me at FB, looks more like a 10, but I read here he really comes into the game
-the wingers esp Stevenson are awesome

But DMac really impresses me, he turned TJP's sloppy passes into magic (TJP's passes do have a plus side: gives me time to put the kettle on) and yeah if TJP can move like a bullet early out of the line in the Irish why can't his passes?

cgrant

Shaun Stephenson and Ruben Love showed their class tonight. AJ Lam was very good too but had less opportunities. This back three is really impressive. Stephenson + Lam is superior to Reece + Clarke IMO : better in defense, better under the high ball, great work-rate, deadly finishers.
The loose forwards were outstanding. Jacobson was not brillant but his tackles were aggressive. Gardiner is my man of the match. He was into everything. Reminds me of A. Whetton with his lanky frame. McAllister very good too : pin point LO throws (Codie, take a look !), consistently making the hard yards. Tuipolutu was physical. The Oirish could not compete. TJ was a fourth loose forward and his rush defense fooled the green attack. DMac blew hot and cold with a few odd kicks in play. But his distribution was first class and he kept his head cool even under pressure. Is he better than RM ?
Coaching : superb job done by McDonald and McMillan. With just one week behind them, they made this bunch of players look like a seasoned team.

Stargazer

@cgrant said in All Blacks XV vs Ireland A:

Shaun Stephenson and Ruben Love showed their class tonight. AJ Lam was very good too but had less opportunities. This back three is really impressive. Stephenson + Lam is superior to Reece + Clarke IMO : better in defense, better under the high ball, great work-rate, deadly finishers.
The loose forwards were outstanding. Jacobson was not brillant but his tackles were aggressive. Gardiner is my man of the match. He was into everything. Reminds me of A. Whetton with his lanky frame. McAllister very good too : pin point LO throws (Codie, take a look !), consistently making the hard yards. Tuipolutu was physical. The Oirish could not compete. TJ was a fourth loose forward and his rush defense fooled the green attack. DMac blew hot and cold with a few odd kicks in play. But his distribution was first class and he kept his head cool even under pressure. Is he better than RM ?
Coaching : superb job done by McDonald and McMillan. With just one week behind them, they made this bunch of players look like a seasoned team.

Dmac played behind a good functioning pack that protected him. Despite TJP's slow passing, he had way more time than he'd have in an All Blacks match. RM, BB and Perofeta would all have done great against this pretty weak Irish team.
Dmac definitely had a good game, but the comparison is off.

Stargazer

nostrildamus

@Stargazer TJP's passes weren't just slow, they were terribly inaccurate!
I thought DMac did very very well to keep them in play.

On another note could Gardiner be a future 8? He has a nice turn of speed.

Stargazer

@nostrildamus I don't quite understand why you'd want to move a player who plays well at 6 to no. 8? Just keep him where he's playing well.

nostrildamus

@Stargazer said in All Blacks XV vs Ireland A:

@nostrildamus I don't quite understand why you'd want to move a player who plays well at 6 to no. 8? Just keep him where he's playing well.

I'm always on the lookout for future 8 AB stars. It is a bad habit I have. I blame Zinzan.

Old Samurai Jack

AB XV looked like a well-coached team, forwards playing as a unit, and the defense in-your-face was solid. Sorry, I had to start with that dig at the ABs.
That No. 6 was truely outstanding tonight. What a ticker!
This game highlights for me what teams are up against in the NH. Every tackle analyzed, the ref being swayed by the crowd (that TJP turnover he got pinged for was coaching-video picture perfect), the touch judges giving the home team meters and questionable decisions. I did like how TJP got clarity for players playing his arm then proceeded to do it to the Irish fella all match (the ref couldn't back down from his initial decision). Having said that NZ players do exhibit a stupidity that is beyond explainable at times.
Watch out ABs tonight because the whole environment will be against them. They are going to play very smart!

nostrildamus

@Old-Samurai-Jack sorry do you mean ABs or Wales will play smart? As I haven't noticed that (consistently) from the ABs this year..

Old Samurai Jack

@nostrildamus The ABs are going to have to play smart rugby. The TV coverage team and crowd are going to give Wales the advantage big time.
I thought TJP, DM, and Pat .T showed their experience and coped with the atmosphere well for the AB XV.

kev

Good to see a team coming out of NPC rugby playing so well. Can’t talk to quality of opposition.

Our NPC is still superb at developing players. No amount of school rugby and super academy squads make up for the broad rugby base it caters for, and the training ground it provides. Various commentators have had a crack at it but the NZRFU Board have kept it going - though I have to wonder if those that work for the Union care that much with the lack of marketing love it gets.

Dan54

Yep was real good game. I think it pays to remember seems the Irish have been together even less then ABs, and seemed strange Farrell was also their coach as he must be more concentrating on test team. Rgardless pleased with how the team went!

Machpants

Man the crowd were a bunch of whiners, I wish I was there. Good game, the XV look a better unit than ABs. No surprise

kiwi_expat

@nostrildamus said in All Blacks XV vs Ireland A:

I'm way behind you all (thanks for link) near end of first half only but what a great game!
-Ireland A look nowhere near defensive quality of Ireland (but interestingly a lot of this team played against the Māori All Blacks https://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/ireland-a-braced-for-unofficial-series-decider-against-the-all-black-xv-42117829.html)
-DMac looks better than RM and BB so far (I surprise myself)
-Patrick having a v. good game but I haven't seen much of Dickson?
-MMT looks a good 6/8
-Jacobson doesn't look AB level (too many stupid decisions)
-also Ennor: still has a concentration problem and still stinks up the midfield (from what I could see RTS was good so far in first half?)
-Love looked too small to me at FB, looks more like a 10, but I read here he really comes into the game
-the wingers esp Stevenson are awesome

But DMac really impresses me, he turned TJP's sloppy passes into magic (TJP's passes do have a plus side: gives me time to put the kettle on) and yeah if TJP can move like a bullet early out of the line in the Irish why can't his passes?

I've always maintained that McKenzie is not an international 15, but is just as good first-five as Mo'unga & Barrett when given the opportunity (which frustratingly hasn't been a lot under Foster).

McMillian always plays McKenzie at 10 in the last 30 minutes of Chiefs matches and McKenzie always makes a significant impact there which makes Gatland look terribly ineffective in comparison.

He's far more effective playing at 10 going forward. His size & physical attributes just aren't suitable for an international fullback in the modern-era.

If Mo'unga got injured, I'd happily start McKenzie ahead of Barrett, as McKenzie's proven to be a very intelligent game manager and distributor at first-five, and exhibits composure and game awareness skills potentially superior to that (of either Mo'unga & Barrett..) if enabled to continue developing those skills further at the top level... there is massive potential.

nostrildamus

@kiwi_expat said in All Blacks XV vs Ireland A:

@nostrildamus said in All Blacks XV vs Ireland A:

I'm way behind you all (thanks for link) near end of first half only but what a great game!
-Ireland A look nowhere near defensive quality of Ireland (but interestingly a lot of this team played against the Māori All Blacks https://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/ireland-a-braced-for-unofficial-series-decider-against-the-all-black-xv-42117829.html)
-DMac looks better than RM and BB so far (I surprise myself)
-Patrick having a v. good game but I haven't seen much of Dickson?
-MMT looks a good 6/8
-Jacobson doesn't look AB level (too many stupid decisions)
-also Ennor: still has a concentration problem and still stinks up the midfield (from what I could see RTS was good so far in first half?)
-Love looked too small to me at FB, looks more like a 10, but I read here he really comes into the game
-the wingers esp Stevenson are awesome

But DMac really impresses me, he turned TJP's sloppy passes into magic (TJP's passes do have a plus side: gives me time to put the kettle on) and yeah if TJP can move like a bullet early out of the line in the Irish why can't his passes?

I've always maintained that McKenzie is not an international 15, but is just as good first-five as Mo'unga & Barrett when given the opportunity (which frustratingly hasn't been a lot under Foster).

McMillian always plays McKenzie at 10 in the last 30 minutes of Chiefs matches and McKenzie always makes a significant impact there which makes Gatland look terribly ineffective in comparison.

He's far more effective playing at 10 going forward. His size & physical attributes just aren't suitable for an international fullback in the modern-era.

If Mo'unga got injured, I'd happily start McKenzie ahead of Barrett, as McKenzie's proven to be a very intelligent game manager and distributor at first-five, and potentially superior to that (of either Mo'unga & Barrett..) if enabled to continue developing his skills further at the top level... there is massive potential.

Yes at 10 against aggressive forwards DMac might still get manhandled, help up or otherwise isolated but I think that only happened once this match. He made good decisions, distributed well, kicked well, and didn't dither. I still wanted to smack the Irish commentator when he said DMac smirks on the conversions-that is a grin, you piston wristed gibbon!

Now I have finished the whole game:
whole team: good support, lines, and teamwork! Was that good coaching?!
Ennor is a winger (at most)
Still think Stevenson (and mostly Lam) played very well (reckon Stevenson is at least Lam's 1.92m height) and I like his industry, coming to help with attacking mauls etc
Ok Dominic Gardiner is a 6, great defensive work, Just liked his speed, lanky arms and thought that'd be wasted at 6.
Thought Nankivell played well when he came on.
Jacobson played better after the card, still looks like a 6/8 to me.
Seems to me this group of Irish forwards lacks a bit of the starch of the frontliners, took until the 50th min or so get some dominance.
What a good player TJP is for a halfback that doesn't pass very well.

Frank

DMac looked bloody good at 10.
He lacks size but would probably be similar to Mounga.
Slick passing game, excellent goal kicker.
He might be unlucky, because having three 1st five options would confuse Foster.

Dan54

I do think we need to rein it in a little, much as I liked DMac's game, was hardly under pressure from a quick defence.

ACT Crusader

Enjoyed the game. Thought our starting front row were pretty good. Lots of activity and involvement. Nice to see Patty T full of running. Gardiner and MMT were excellent. Quite like how our backline formation worked. Had our 2nd 5 slightly deeper. Nice to see Ennor use that size in defence! Back 3 were excellent.

There were some calls in this game that seemed very questionable. I’m not sure who the ref was or what they were for (I had the sound down because of the commentary), but was this a ‘development’ ref?

nostrildamus

@Dan54 said in All Blacks XV vs Ireland A:

I do think we need to rein it in a little, much as I liked DMac's game, was hardly under pressure from a quick defence.

true but it was mostly how he has cut down on his earlier headless chicken moments that impressed me. I agree the Irish A forwards didn't turn on much pressure until about 50 min in. Maybe this AB XV loose trio helped, they worked well.

nostrildamus

@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks XV vs Ireland A:

Enjoyed the game. Thought our starting front row were pretty good. Lots of activity and involvement. Nice to see Patty T full of running. Gardiner and MMT were excellent. Quite like how our backline formation worked. Had our 2nd 5 slightly deeper. Nice to see Ennor use that size in defence! Back 3 were excellent.

There were some calls in this game that seemed very questionable. I’m not sure who the ref was or what they were for (I had the sound down because of the commentary), but was this a ‘development’ ref?

Matthew Carley