All Blacks v England
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@No-Quarter said in All Blacks v England:
Well, that was one of the greatest comebacks of all time from England. Three tries in the last 10 minutes against a Tier 1 team is an incredible effort, massive kudos to them. Kicking the ball out for the draw though is something I cannot wrap my head around, they were carving us to shreds and would have got the ball over halfway pretty quickly I reckon, then it's all on for a penalty. @Catogrande as our English representative on here, I'm interested to hear your take on that - are the fans up there fine with that? I would have torn my hair out at that after such an amazing comeback.
We came out of the blocks fast in the first half and really had them under the pump. That was the best start we've made in a long time against a top side, our forwards were smacking them around and our backs looked very dangerous. That was a joy to watch. Dalton was awesome and Clarke had his best game in a long time.
Then in the second half England got an early penalty and really dominated the rest of that half. We had moments where we could have arrested momentum but some costly errors like missing touch just handed it back to them. We just can't afford mistakes like that when we are under the pump. Even more so in the final game of long hard season where we were fading.
I can't really single any one player out though. The BB droppie got us a 19 point lead with 10 to go, that should be more than enough. The BB YC was harsh as well, he got back to his feet and was competing for the ball - yeah he didn't really give the English play time to release but at the same time the defending player gets awarded the penalty more often than not there. Once it was a penalty it had to be a card though.
Most players had good moments but also made errors. Mo'unga ran with the ball well but also made costly errors. Codie was good around the park but mucked up some crucial lineouts. Rieko was a threat all game but his hands let him down a few times, and the neck roll to rub out his try wasn't smart play.
Overall though I'm happy with how the EOYT has played out. We've always struggled to win big at the end of our season, and 25-6 at 70 minutes against England in the final game is friggen awesome. We'll win from that position in a WC basically every time. We've come a long way since the Irish series where we now know 90% of what our top side is, we have some genuinely world class players in our pack and in the backline, and plenty of experience to boot. I'm excited about next year and our chances at the RWC once our top side has had more time together.
Have to agree. Looked like for me he gave a clear release. He just beat the cleaners. Also, it looked like there was a second push attempt to place the ball to score. Looked shit alround.
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@Rancid-Schnitzel said in All Blacks v England:
@Mackerzzzz said in All Blacks v England:
@Rancid-Schnitzel said in All Blacks v England:
@Mackerzzzz said in All Blacks v England:
@Rancid-Schnitzel said in All Blacks v England:
Very disappointing (more on that later) but I'd just say that the performance last night shows that we most certainly do have the cattle. What is lacking is the leadership, structure and right selections (what was even the point of having Havili there). As frustrating as that is at least we can say that there have been some vast improvements.
Oh yeah, JB at 12 🖕
Are you saying jordie is shit or good at 12?
You're new here aren't you?
Well as far as I know 🖕 mean shit so?........ and jordie is our best 12?
Long story short: I've been vocally campaigning for him being at 12 for about 5 years. The 🖕 is me woefully failing to be humble about it towards the doubters, of which there were many.
I've been beating that drum for a while this year. Some on here, now they have acknowledge JB is the 12, want him rested for the next ten tests to develop a backup and avoid injury.
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@TheMojoman said in All Blacks v England:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks v England:
@TheMojoman Stevenson or Lam?
I'd love to see Stevenson in the mix but IMO he would be competing for the 14 spot with Jordan, Telea and Reece potentially as 15 cover. Lam is a maybe, not sure he has the same impact as Clarke though as a power winger.
Foster (rightly IMO) clearly wants to play a power winger/finesse winger combination with his 14 also an extra FB with kicking etc. Leads me to believe Jordan will be the first choice 14 when fit. Telea has been the find of the northern tour.
I'm on the Shaun Stevenson bandwagon. He needs to be and AB.
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@Jailbreak7 said in All Blacks v England:
Would love to see Stevenson and Zarn in the AB mix somewhere. Having watched Stevenson in the ABs Xv he needs to fix defensive issues and concentration lapses first. That said he is a weapon and adangerous with ball in hand. Have watched Zarn a handful of times and each time he has been impressive.
I posed this question a while ago. SS runs brilliant lines and for me wouldn't look out of place at 13. But I had never seen him operate defensively. Is his defence a liability? To me he just seems he has the speed and footwork to make a mess of the opposition in the midfield.
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@No-Quarter said in All Blacks v England:
@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks v England:
@mariner4life I think what that England match showed was that despite being very good players, the Jordie/Ioane midfield has a long way to go in knowing how to play together. As a combination it didn’t really work. I’m not a doubter in terms of it being able to work, but there were a few concerning moments.
The last match they played together they didn’t really play as a combo either. Jordie played well because he tucked the ball under the arm and had a really attacking mindset. And there was space for him to operate in (Richie was far more assertive in that match also as opposed to England).
I hope they persist with it but it was one of a number of problems in this match.
It's almost as though they should play them together more... and they should not shunt Jordie back to 15 every second game... and that playing Havili against Scotland was a complete and utter waste of fucking time... God that was a frustrating selection.
Pretty sure @Victor-Meldrew wants JB wrapped in cotton wool until the QF so we can develop a back up 12 and protect him from injury. Playing JB and RI in consecutive games is just madness.
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@pakman said in All Blacks v England:
@Crucial said in All Blacks v England:
@pakman said in All Blacks v England:
Chess puzzle for TWM:
Black 15 binned at 71. Subs left ALB, Sotutu, Havili.
Black to substitute whom and win?
TWM fluffed with ALB for CC, and HS for DP, and game finished a tame draw with white.
What was the winning move(s) to win?
Given that neither wing was a fullback maybe a better option was DH for CC
The winning move for Black was to put someone to full back and take off a forward.
Obvious choices Jordie to 15 and ALB to 12, or just DH to 15.
For me at that stage in order to keep backline defence functioning the less change the better, so I'd have brought on Havili. I don't see there as being much benefit by adding to the chaos by also swapping ALB for Clarke.
Backs sorted, but a forward has to be subbed or removed. So need to play last 9 with two loosies.
But which?
Well RD stays, that's a given.
So need to chose one out of Frizell, Paps and Hoskins.
Don't think the former touched the ball in last 9 minutes. So he's off.
Then choice between Paps and Hos made on whether or not DP had any petrol left in tank.
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@Bones said in All Blacks v England:
@pakman said in All Blacks v England:
Chess solution: Black substitutes Havili for Frizell and wins by 14.
3D chess
Only if you’re the real McCoy!
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@Joans-Town-Jones said in All Blacks v England:
@TheMojoman said in All Blacks v England:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks v England:
@TheMojoman Stevenson or Lam?
I'd love to see Stevenson in the mix but IMO he would be competing for the 14 spot with Jordan, Telea and Reece potentially as 15 cover. Lam is a maybe, not sure he has the same impact as Clarke though as a power winger.
Foster (rightly IMO) clearly wants to play a power winger/finesse winger combination with his 14 also an extra FB with kicking etc. Leads me to believe Jordan will be the first choice 14 when fit. Telea has been the find of the northern tour.
I'm on the Shaun Stevenson bandwagon. He needs to be and AB.
an
