I'm upset and pissed off that we lost, but nothing like 95 99 03 07. I think this feels different because

• Back to back means we sleep well, no matter what, the monkey is well and truly off our back

• that was a hell of an English performance. We could have got up, but would have been something special. In the past, we've bene beaten by teams that are really not on the same level, dodgy reffing, food poisoning, or choking.

• We knew this wasn't a vintage side. Losing 6 all time greats after 2015, a lot of people thought we'd be lucky to be a 50/50 chance going into the tourney. A year ago we got showed where we were - last week aside, that's pretty much where we were This wasn't a great side, it was a decent outfit with some very good players in it. Perth, Chicago, Dublin, Lions 2+3 --> we're ahead, but only just

• England really put out something special. They arced up, and we just couldn't lift to match them. Getting owned all over the park does happen sometimes, and if it does you have to cop it.

Still frustrated, but not as angry or upset as I have been. Here's to the future, thanks to Shag for the good times, and roll on the rest of the knockouts

Edit: this is also the cycle where we have seen how badly the player drain has hurt us. Piutau, Luatua, Faumauina, Vito - just a few who would have made a difference

OK, next day match report from the stadium.

HTown was great fun. What an awesome day out - in the sun, charcoal lamb rotisserie at a mates, helped smash a keg of beer, and then down to the ground. FMG is one of the good rugby watching grounds in the country (proper rectangle; NH and Dunedin are in the mix), but fark me the crowd was all over the place. Peopel are just up and down all the time, don't care what's happening on the field, and hte low angles mean it's really easy to have the view blocked. On the other hand, vocal, and 7 pitch invaders (!) so ya get that. @NTA no issues yelling at the kicker, Ireland can do the quiet, people can do whatever they hell they want at the ground... it's more our mindset than rule following.

That said, we were about 2 rows away from being in teh rain, so happy times First time in teh stand, normally we like to stand in the green zone, but got lucky getting seats with the weather.

So, ABs were very clinical, very accurate, and low error rate. The chip is a legit tactic to find space against the rush; you could see why it was being done. Sometimes worked, sometimes didn't - but the threat of the little dink puts people in two minds, and that slows down a defensive line.

Forward pack were sensational. Really committed and dominant. ST a monster, rest of the tigh went well. Set piece was strong. Loosies good, and particularly Sam Cane who monstered people all night, and actually linked and got aroudn the paddock well. Good work. Ardie played the Savea position again, and Fritzel got into plenty of work in the dark spaces. Cane was amazing I thought, particularly with the weight he has carried

Aaron was good, but got run over 2-3 times in defence. Noticeable that his box kick was going for length from the 22 - and it generally worked to exit us to about the 40. His pass was sweet. RM was a mix ... some really good stuff, but also some brave Test match decisions. Still small... which goes to the downside of Havili - his size. He's not a bail out option, and with Smith and Mounga that's quite undersized inside backs. Played well, some smart decisions, but at risk of getting ragdolled on both sides of the ball. That said, (like at 6), picking someone and sticking with them is better than chopping and changing ... that led to 2019 and no idea about our midfield or 6.

Rieko was sensational. Pace, skill and positioning. His defensive work is very strong and folk often don't see it. His pace is sublime, and turning that argie inside out for his try was magnficent.

Will Jordan seems very off, and has a hgih error rate. Would see Reece there instead. Clarke was solid on kickoffs (most went to him), did his best to hurt people when running, but otherwise didnt' see a lot of ball. Jordie isn't what he was, but seems more likely to bring his A game. We were talking about it - I'd take Jordie over Jordan because of teh defence, the punt and the aerial skills. Jordan with ball in hand at lower levels is sensational ... but struggles to put that out there in tests against good opposition, particularly this year.

Ref was fine.

Honestly, the abiding memory was the backs actually doing something - and the accuracy rate through the roof. The last try was sweet; we'd run the Jordie play onto the ball earlier, so ran the same play with a different option. Was bloody good to watch. So fair play Foster, I thought you should have gone a long time ago, but string some of these performances together and I'll have to eat humble pie.

Good fun, lovely day out, the newish expressway makes getting to HTown so smooth.

@Duluth here ya go

Blues 2022 season in review

So, that’s that. Second, behind a team that got up and played their best rugby in the final. After working through the usual cycle of Denial, Anger, Bargaining and then Depression, it’s time for Acceptance.

Overall, this was a big season for the Blues, a big step forward. No question, about it, we’re credible, and for all bar the end of the season, the best side in the competition. We broke some key mental barriers, won away in Christchurch against a Crusaders side that were up for it, and dominated large parts of the season. In fact, barring ten minutes of fitness induced madness in Game 1, it would have been a perfect season heading into the Final. By any measure except winning the final, that’s a damn good season.

Part 1 - the buildup.

The Blues had the most disrupted preseason of any franchise. Lockdowns last year meant no NPC for Auckland sides, so the flash import (RTS) hadn’t even played a game of rugby. Early lockdowns stopped the team from getting together. The season started in Queenstown (remember that???) with a preseason game against the Canes on the way South.

Early season - the first 6 games
Canes, Chiefs, Highlanders, Highlanders, MP, MP

A first up loss to the Canes, but playing some sensational rugby. Then 10 minutes of madness, where the lack of preseason conditioning kicked in, and the Canes finished over the top. I said at the time I wasn’t worried, but a number of people wrote them off nonetheless (old mental fragility, etc). No one would have picked that was the last loss for 112 days.

Against the Chiefs we did everything but win the game. Two stupid penalties in the last few minutes, but Bryn Gatland couldn’t knock over the penalty and the win streak started.

Honestly, this part of the season isn’t memorable in hindsight, I’m struggling to remember much about the games. The Highlanders were dealt with, and then Moana Pacifica in Storm Week with the B side getting a run. The first game at Mt Smart was memorable for the controlled surge up the field to score the winning points while a man down - a harbinger for what was to come. The return match at EP was a lot more one sided, and a comfortable win.

Mid season - setting up a dominant position
Chiefs, Crusaders (away)

For me, these were two back to back games where we played good football. 25-0 against the Chiefs showed the defensive effort, followed by a win over the Crusaders in Chc. This stretch really set us up to go into the back end of the season at the top of the table, and the run home.

Late season
Drua, Force, Reds, Rebels, Brumbies, Tahs
Some great rugby cutting capers against the Reds, some clutch plays with DG to win games (Brumbies, Tahs), some incredible refereeing (a team YC in 4 minutes against the Force), a B side squeaking out a win in Sydney, but overall a sequence of wins to cement top spot for the playoffs.

Playoffs
Highlanders, Brumbies, Crusaders
I won’t write too much about the playoffs as they’re nice and recent, but had some unfortunate injuries to Papali’i and Clarke. Dalton has been massive for us this season, keeping people focussed and staying in the refs ear. We really missed him. He's been huge, both playing and leading. Next AB Captain?

Positives
Massive depth built in the squad.
Best team in the comp (pre final)
Consistently good crowds, building to a sellout final
We’re now a credible destination for players to to come to
12 All Blacks - from hardly getting any a few years ago
Team culture looks great - a bunch of people enjoying their company
Our defence is absolutely top tier. We are very hard to break down.

Our spine has come on massively, with Eklund/Sotutu/Christie/Barrett/Perofeta. That said, let’s get my opinion on position groups

Outside backs:
Perofeta has been sensational, and well rewarded for the AB utility slot. Many (including me) had written him off. Lam and Telea are solid understudies to Clarke, who was a beast before getting a hamstring injury. Hopefully he’ll be good as gold for the test programme - still the most dynamic left winger. Zarn Sullivan hasn’t had a lot of game time, but looks silk every time he touches the ball. His 40m droppie under pressure agains the Tahs was clutch, a thing of absolute beauty. Looking forward to seeing him get more minutes next year.

Midfield
RTS has grown through the season. Hasn’t shown the hot stepping feet yet, but has been reliable defensively. Rieko has gone from strength to strength, distribution still very good. His pace is electric, he’s torn apart some good midfields this year. Still building, but has come a very long way in the last few years. Corey Evans looks a real prospect, can’t wait to see more of him.

A special shout out to Heem, he’s been solid, Mr Fixit and played all over the backline. Experience is gold, particularly with a new, young group like this one.

Halves
Barrett has been solid, and (final aside) stepped up when needed. That said, all the classic BB weaknesses are still there - kicking from hand not excellent, pace down a touch. Still physical, knows what’s needed, and my pick for the ABs 10 jersey.
Perofeta has taken his NPC form to the next level, kicked really well, and taken over the goal kicking duties. Good to see him flourish.
Halfbacks were a mixed bag. Christie is very good at passing, and an absolute pest on defence - he’s so quick he covers everything. Should run more, a snipe or two a game would keep the defence from driftin early. Kicking is mixed, sometimes good, but often doesn’t get the distance needed at the top level.
I love Nock, but he has regressed massively this year. Strong in the ruck, but poor at core tasks. Pass has gone backwards, the kicking is sometimes excellent, sometimes poor. Defensively strong, but not as mobile as Christie. Funaki looks OK - haven’t watched him enough to remember anything sensible to write.

Loosies
Our strongest area. The trio of Dalton/Akira/HOskins could be a starting combo for any test side in the world. Plumtree just catches the eye, and along with Suafoa look physical specimens. Segner looks a reasonable prospect, hard working.

Locks
Weakest area and it cost us in the final. Robinson looks light to me (the stats never lie apparently, but the ‘eye’ test is tough on his size). Darry is growing, but a fair way off physical dominant. Tucker had a bloody good season, not sure why he wasn’t played in the finals. Romano had a resurgent season, but you wouldn’t call him a lineout lock, or a mobile athlete. Brought massive experience though ,and filled a role we needed.

Front row
Eklund had a season where he really stepped up (again, final aside). Solid around the park, reliable lineout throwing, and good over the ball. One of our defensive stars. Aumua was awful, the lineout throwing just didn’t work for him. Vikena stepped up though, and seemed to be coming on - cemented his spot as Number 2 hooker in the squad.

Props - all all blacks. Ofa’s scrummaging seems to have gone backwards - but that may be the weakness at lock. Hodgman has been mobile and solid. Laulala and KT good in the scrum, but not mobile or athletic. Nepo’s red agains MP was one of the stupidest things I’ve seen for a while (and I’ve watched the Blues for years eh).

General comment
So, that’s that. Lots of good points. I won’t touch on the final except to say our defence was sensational and championship winning level. If we don’t hand over so much possession and territory we only get a quarter of the rucks, we’d have provided a far more satisfying watch. Outstanding Crusaders effort, and well done to the, they saved their best game for the final. Most sides would have been ripped apart by the end of the first half.

Question for next year is to find a third hooker, decent locks, and get the set piece rolling again. Got to hope Coventry steps it up.

Finally, a shout out to Leon. Taking this franchise from the depths to the heights. It’s a fresh squad, they’re resetting and learning good habits, and it’s looking good. We;ve built a strong talent pipeline, have the best stadium in the country, finally got good administration and a competent board. We are maturing, and will take a huge amount from a very good year. It just still feels quite bitter at the moment.

finally, this whole success is built from the Board down. Massive shout out to Don Mackinnon to chair, and John Hart who is a long term winner. We're positioned to build nicely into next year.

Well, damn that is great. A reasonably full Eden Park, no rain, a victory, happy days. Relaxing quietly at home now after a big afternoon out. Really stoked for teh team, and particularly the coaches - turning around a dysfunctional organisation is a big deal.

Highlanders are exceptional at covering their weaknesses. Their scrum was getting pasted, but only conceded one scrum penalty -a nd managed to win one back. Blues couldn't ram that advantage home.

Blues ruck work was outstanding, protecting the ball except for a 20 minute period where we tried to give the game to the 'landers. Really, though, the Highlanders didnt' show much on attack except where they were winning back to back penalties from the ref.

I'm delighted for Plummer, who really stepped up and kicked the clutch kicks. The first (from near the sideline) was a terrible choice - we had the highlanders out on their feet, they were passive, just standing and watching the Blues run at them ... so naturally we kicked the penalty :| No words.

Blues should have won by a thowsand, but a win is a win. Monkey off back, can't wait for next year. Beaudy at 10 will make a difference, and an extended offseason for Leon to work on the 9s will be important.

Delighted to win, such a big releif. I've been a season ticket holder for 13 seasons ,and there's been a lot of shawshank before the redemption. So stoked right now.

@Machpants said in Foster:

But fair enough too, he is well in his rights to tell NZR to foxtrot oscar until after this year and/or RWC cycle

The optics of Robertson not getting involved when the ABs are suffering is horrific. If true, this will not play well with people, myself included. Opportunities come up when they come up, it's not always the right time.

Hell, it's a 12 month honeymoon I reckon, and a chance to start building for post-23

quick morning after match report.

Decent crowd. Was officially 20k, but those figures often feel a few thousand overstaed. Still solid though, and noisy.

Blues are consistently making good decisions in attack and defence. Not perfect by any means, but if you put 50 on one o fthe top Aussie sides and still have plenty to work on, that's a good result.

The Reds werne't bad at all. Strong set piece, tough, and asked some big questions on attack. Classic Brad Thorne - big hard runs, time after time. Tate is a bloody good 9 who knows how to play the ref. Aussies wlil be in the contest this year I feel.

Blues D was superb, and championship level. They keep stopping runners on the advantage line, good double tackles, and it takes something special to break them down. Team working hard for each other -- such a change from a few years ago. Plenty to work on, particularly with the lineout.

I won't say much about the ref, but by god it was a hard watch. Interpretation is one thing, but the most egregious moment was the Reds collapsing a maul that was a metre out from the tryline and going forward, and Fraser missed it. Honestly, had Penalty Try written all over it ... but to get whistled off the park and still put up the offense they did is impressive.

@Tim Robinson was noticeably light at lock. I don't think the scrum gets power with him there, was a really noticeable step up when Romano came on the field.

Clarke was mixed; equal parts sensational, breaking tackles at will, and then getting bumped off twice by Vunivalu. Still offers so much out there, but some work-ons.

RTS goes from strength to strength. Considering this is his first few rugby games, he's on a noticeable upward curve. Good defence, and you can see the quality of his stepping and attacking.

Telea is a bit like Clarke - some great things (ripping, getting over the ball in rucks), but also some rocks in your head moments.

Christie is an underrated component in this team. He took some poor options/executions at times, but his work on D is massive - flying around to shut down the opposition. It's a good feeling struggling to pick a MOTM from the team, but Heem takes the cake for me, coming off the bench to play centre, Christie for his D, and Akira for his work and physicality. Whole forward pack should get it thouhg their work is enabling the backs to look good out there.

So, 2 more comp points and we're minor champs. That's bloody impressive - particularly when you realise we had no preseason and most of the players had no NPC last year. Will we win it? Who knows - but we're certainly giving ourselves a damn good shot at it. It'll take something special to come to EP and beat us; can see Crusaders or a top performance from another Kiwi side doing it. But, frankly, we've won already. From where we were, to being a dominant force - winning the thing is important, but not as important as building the strucutre, talent pipeline and team culture that's being built. Papali'i needs to take some credit for that, stepping up and leading from the front.

Players I think they will pick in the AB squad
Hodgeman
Eklund
Ofa
Nepo

Dalton
Hoskins
Akira
maybe: Robinson for Lock/6 cover

Christie
Barrett
Perofeta

RTS
Rieko
Caleb

Huge game next week. Lock up the top spot, and get hte luxury of resting some players going into the finals.

Title.

Been saying it for a while. Showed clearly tonight once more

Well, so we coughed one up at home. I know there is a lot of wailing and gnashign of teeth - mainly to be fair in the media - but this wasn't anything to get too upset about I reckon.

The Bokke brought a good physical game, and were fully committed. That said, we ripped them apart, scored 6 tries, and made the game look easy at times. It was our farking defence and decision making that really cost us that win; goalkicking could have burgled it, but fark me, 6 tries and you lose?

BBBR is our critical player. What a sensation - you only really see quite how dominant he is in every part of the game when he's gone. Don't forget the much vaunted Canterbury talent identification system passed him over, so he wombled off to the North.

Anyhoo, I really enjoyed the test. A great contest, and nothing in it right to the end. And, as I said, you'd say the ABs played pretty poorly at times, well below their standards, and the Boks played pretty well as well as they can. Result: we lose.

Things I liked

• Dyanti running around people. What an offensive weapon
• Physical commitment around the paddock
• Beaudy's wee pass up to his brother for the early try. What hands - that's worth 5 of the points he left out there
• Refs who let the game go -- while there's an argument for pedantic whistling, it's a much better watch with open running rugby
• Josh Goodhue's impact coming on. That guy is doing all he can to push for a long career in black. Remember - he's the same age as ALB; shows the real youth kicking around the team
• Ben Smith. At 32. Fark me, just made so many metres, so many good decisions. Awesome.
• Teams that don't act like muppets to each other, and will have a beer afterwards. It's what Rugby's about - I'm biased, but you don't have to be a bunch of wazzers to win at the top level (looking at you, Australia)

Things I didn't like so much

• Goalkicking (obvs)
• JB's fast throw to bounce somewhere near some Bokke. Reminded me of Billy Slater's biff back into the field of play in the League RWC Final. You only do that if you don't respect your opponents deeply, and think you'll win no matter what. I don't think he'll do that again soon
• Some of the offside calls (from teh couch anyway) -- very relaxed
• Looooooong advantage. I'm old school for this, but with modern defences that just don't fall apart, I reckon it's 2-3 phases and then back for the penalty. Otherwise you just burn time and don't actually advance the game
• Losing
• Not having good 6 cover on the bench for when Liam gets injured.

Thoroughly good game, disappointing result, but I wasn't gutted - just a bit flat. Still slept like a baby, and I really think we're on the right track with this side.

@canefan said in All Blacks v Ireland, 2021 NH Tour:

@mofitzy_ said in All Blacks v Ireland, 2021 NH Tour:

Sickens me all the cowards who accept Foster as inevitable till after 2023. He can be gone by tomorrow if not for them.

Which cowards are these? I don't see anyone here happy with Foster. But our opinion doesn't matter anyway. The NZRFU don't care what we think, or they would have chosen Razor

Disagree with the Foster comment, that's a separate discussion. He's not flawless - a damn good coach, but not the messiah.

The bigger issue is that Foster got reappointed for 2 more years before this tour. We traversed it at the time in some detail; it was a weak decision. Bet NZR aren't so stoked now.

Deeper than Foster though is the insularity of NZ rugby. Feels very monocultural, innovation becoming frowned on, and we seem to want all the same style of players in all our professional teams. Big wins don't disguise the fact that good, physical sides (SA, Lions, Ireland, England and even Argentina) have had our number for some time, and we haven't stepped up.

Also, NH rugby has really lifted since 2015. They had to get better and they did. Players are now coming back from NH with enhanced skills, fitness and physicality. Super and RC are no longer the dominant premier competitions. IT's a real worry for me - that's the long term success right there; not just the current situation.

@Winger said in Auckland v Taranaki:

Perofeta is class so far. But missed penalty. Hickey on for ak

He looks bloody good Perofeta. A class above.

@Duluth said in Auckland v Taranaki:

If Heem goes he’ll be replaced by Hickey and it’ll be strange looking backline

3 knees in 32 min. Rotten luck this year. We just aren't playing that well.

Hopefully next year is better

very loose carry from Trainor. He hasn't kicked on like I hoped he would

nice kick by Funaki

@taniwharugby said in Auckland v Taranaki:

@nzzp he looks in alot of pain...been huge for Auckland this season

looks like it tried to bend the wrong way. He has been very good

man injuries have hammered us this year.

Now Choat not looking good - knee or calf

@Winger said in Auckland v Taranaki:

Rayasi? injured

looks like he's done. ouch.

@Winger said in Auckland v Taranaki:

where are all the Auckland supporters

under cover!

@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2022:

@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2022:

@Victor-Meldrew In terms of experience, Christie has only ever started one test vs USA.

Weber has only started in four, I think.

Christie has had a load of time off the bench against good opposition and has been really solid. Think he'll start in 2 games on the EOYT.

For a guy who got moved on from two Super franchises, he has vastly exceeded expectations. Watching him live for the Blues, his big work on for me is running occasionally - he is so focussed on where to throw the bal lhe can ignore gaps in front of him.

@Dan54 I'd still have Rennie or Joseph over Foster. Any time.