Bledisloe II

@Crucial said in Bledisloe 2:

@Machpants said in Bledisloe 2:

@Crucial said in Bledisloe 2:

@Canes4life said in Bledisloe 2:

The fact Foster bluntly said about three weeks ago that he saw Barrett as a fullback when questioned on Jordie moving into 12 suggests that he’s never really seen him as a midfielder. I call bullshit on the fact he’s had any sort of plan moving Jordie to 12, it’s more sheer luck for us fans that the two players he preferred in that position got injured and it forced his hand.

Who has claimed a plan?
Like some other players that have taken chances, that chance only came by luck.
I never saw JB play like that at 12 until tonight and I am glad he did so.
Just because some have been wanting him to get that chance doesn’t mean that they are smarter than the selectors.
Don’t forget that last week there was no hesitation putting him in there after the injuries when they could just as easily gone for a RM/BB combo and that they backed him based on that performance even though it didn’t set the world on fire.

You've obviously not watched the canes this year, in a dysfunctional team, jordie was great at 12

Not correct. I actually went to games he played at 12 to watch for myself. Watched both end on and side on.
Great is not how I would describe it. If I could be bothered finding the thread I think it was more like unsure and indecisive at times and that he looked like a fullback slotted in at 12.
That was all understandable given his lack of play in the position. Yes, he got better but his play still didn’t scream “pick me” so I can understand how he wasn’t a first option there for the ABs when he was our best back last year while playing 15.
If you can show me a game at a decent level where he played 12 as well as he did last night then I am happy to concede the point.
Last night was very good but I also want to see if a backline of 5 outside backs works against better sides as well.
Does it look like our best option for the RWC? Yep. Much better than anything else we have.

Agree. I was happy to see him move back to FB. But overall this year he wasn't as good this year either at FB or 2nd 5. He was great during super rugby at FB last year but slipped a bit this year. Still quality though

I hope he sticks with the Canes though. We need to keep our only AB back. Let him focus on 2nd 5 outside (maybe) Morgan. Hes developing into a quality 1st 5

That tip on Dalton, very much like 2005. Two guys lift, one lets go, it turns to custard.

https://www.reddit.com/r/rugbyunion/comments/xn2mby/i_hope_this_gets_upgraded_to_a_red/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=sha

I wonder what he did to deserve this pre-planned coordinated, off the ball assault? Musta picked some grass or something?

@No-Quarter said in Bledisloe 2:

To hell with the doom and gloomers, I fucking love that backline, have wanted to see it for ages. Smith's lightning pass to set them away, Mo'unga's vision on attack who is finding his feet at this level, Jordie a big bopper at 12 who will hit hard on defense, bend the line and has the bonus of a massive boot, Rieko the most lethal player on the planet right now, the closest thing we've had to Cullen on the right wing, world POTY at the back with a license to roam and inject himself in his usual opportunistic way, and an absolute powerhouse on the left wing that is making a habit of knocking those who try to tackle him the fuck out.

If they click they will be fucking unstoppable.

This backline went OK eh? Imagine how they'd go with more gametime together...

@No-Quarter said in Bledisloe 2:

@No-Quarter said in Bledisloe 2:

To hell with the doom and gloomers, I fucking love that backline, have wanted to see it for ages. Smith's lightning pass to set them away, Mo'unga's vision on attack who is finding his feet at this level, Jordie a big bopper at 12 who will hit hard on defense, bend the line and has the bonus of a massive boot, Rieko the most lethal player on the planet right now, the closest thing we've had to Cullen on the right wing, world POTY at the back with a license to roam and inject himself in his usual opportunistic way, and an absolute powerhouse on the left wing that is making a habit of knocking those who try to tackle him the fuck out.

If they click they will be fucking unstoppable.

This backline went OK eh? Imagine how they'd go with more gametime together...

Definitely deserve another game together

@Tim said in Bledisloe 2:

@Chris said in Bledisloe 2:

Akira Ioane: Didn’t do much to solve any No 6 questions. Aside from a ripped ball near his own line, nothing much to catch the eye apart from showing his skills with a deft left-foot kick and speedy chase. Replaced in the 70th minute. 5.5

If you're relying on Stuff then just give up. He was good in all aspects, but especially defence. His maul defence is excellent. ABs did not give away a single point while he was on the field.

I did not see it that way, and no not relying on stuff just pointing out other people and people on the fern as well didn't rate Akira's game,And I have been supportive of him before but he was not good IMO last night.

@No-Quarter said in Bledisloe 2:

@No-Quarter said in Bledisloe 2:

To hell with the doom and gloomers, I fucking love that backline, have wanted to see it for ages. Smith's lightning pass to set them away, Mo'unga's vision on attack who is finding his feet at this level, Jordie a big bopper at 12 who will hit hard on defense, bend the line and has the bonus of a massive boot, Rieko the most lethal player on the planet right now, the closest thing we've had to Cullen on the right wing, world POTY at the back with a license to roam and inject himself in his usual opportunistic way, and an absolute powerhouse on the left wing that is making a habit of knocking those who try to tackle him the fuck out.

If they click they will be fucking unstoppable.

This backline went OK eh? Imagine how they'd go with more gametime together...

I’m more intrigued on how they will go against better sides. That was effectively two inside backs and 5 outside ones last night and in a way was what Eddie Jones has been trying to create with England. A multi tasking backline without positions. “Midfielders” that can take on the outsides and outsides that can roam freely into the middle knowing they haven’t left a hole. Hence my mid game comments about whether Jordie really was playing 12 or playing mix and match.
Whether this has been stumbled on by luck is irrelevant. Whether it works well against teams ranked higher than 9 is the question.
I think it could. Unfortunately we may have stumbled on it a touch early and dampened the powder as other team analysts will collect plenty of data before the RWC.
I hope that SA are less of an issue now. I can’t see them adjusting much and France will still be a problem based on their own current game. The likes of Ireland and England may have savvy enough coaches to frustrate us and take away our opportunities to the extent that we revert to being headless chooks.

@Crucial said in Bledisloe 2:

@No-Quarter said in Bledisloe 2:

@No-Quarter said in Bledisloe 2:

To hell with the doom and gloomers, I fucking love that backline, have wanted to see it for ages. Smith's lightning pass to set them away, Mo'unga's vision on attack who is finding his feet at this level, Jordie a big bopper at 12 who will hit hard on defense, bend the line and has the bonus of a massive boot, Rieko the most lethal player on the planet right now, the closest thing we've had to Cullen on the right wing, world POTY at the back with a license to roam and inject himself in his usual opportunistic way, and an absolute powerhouse on the left wing that is making a habit of knocking those who try to tackle him the fuck out.

If they click they will be fucking unstoppable.

This backline went OK eh? Imagine how they'd go with more gametime together...

I’m more intrigued on how they will go against better sides. That was effectively two inside backs and 5 outside ones last night and in a way was what Eddie Jones has been trying to create with England. A multi tasking backline without positions. “Midfielders” that can take on the outsides and outsides that can roam freely into the middle knowing they haven’t left a hole.
Whether this has been stumbled on by luck is irrelevant. Whether it works well against teams ranked higher than 9 is the question.
I think it could. Unfortunately we may have stumbled on it a touch early and dampened the powder as other team analysts will collect plenty of data before the RWC.
I hope that SA are less of an issue now. I can’t see them adjusting much and France will still be a problem based on their own current game. The likes of Ireland and England may have savvy enough coaches to frustrate us and take away our opportunities to the extent that we revert to being headless chooks.

To put things in perspective last night,Aussie were fucking terrible we will not get that sort leeway against the better teams,Australia are ranked 9th in the World because they Suck.A wait and see for me before I claim the AB's as anything else bur error ridden and prone to go missing when heat is applied.

@Crucial definitely agree. It was an encouraging performance against abject opposition. The EOYT will be a great measuring stick for the team

@scribe said in Bledisloe 2:

I thought the Irish ref managed the game well and had a bit of presence about him. Reasonably clear instructions and explanations and handled the yappy scrum halves effectively.

Don't look at Ausie rugby sites then.

@No-Quarter said in Bledisloe 2:

Right, so after match report. Awesome night out with the family.

We rocked up about 4pm so we could park closish to the ground. Let the boys (9, 4 & 1) play at a playground for a while and then headed into Kingsland to get some dinner.

My wife stood out in a sea of black again. The 1 and 4 years olds were decked in black, and the 9 year old half black half gold in a show of solidarity for her. Got plenty of attention from passerbys on the way to the ground.

When we arrived the Black Ferns had about 30mins left, and the main excitement there was whether they'd crack 100. Was cool seeing them live, they have some fantastic skills and we'll look to get along to a few RWC games. I think Woodman scored like 7 tries lol.

Then the game, freaking awesome. We started slow, and failed to capitalise on a 1 man advantage early on. Wallabies were extremely lucky not to see red there, I'd say if Dalton got injured they would have.

Then after a slightly disjointed start which is probably to be expected with so many changes, the ABs really started getting into their work. We really just ground them down, leading to a lot of penalties our way through pressure and our backline started to show what they can do on the back of that.

I haven't watched the game on TV, and I did have a 1 year old distracting me a bit, but players that stood out live were:

Jordie - just a dominant presence out there in everything he did. Defense, ball in hand, kicking, passing, he was just phenomenal. I remember getting on @Rancid-Schnitzel's bandwagon a few years ago, and thought a midfield combo of Jordie & Rieko is the future. Well the future came to pass, and it was a thing of beauty. Give those guys every game together now until the RWC please.

BBBR - he was back to his best IMO, a number of strong carries, big hits on defense and doing all the dirty work he is known for. Just threw himself around like a fucking maniac and had the Wallabies back peddling for most of the game. Hugely impressive performance from the big man.

Lomax - as with BBBR he was a dominant force out there. After some real concerns with the depth of our front rowers recently we have unearthed some serious talent there now. Great to see.

Rieko - he is so fucking fast, he's an absolute weapon at 13. Don't agree with the calls to put him back on the wing, 13 is perfect for him, gets his hands on the ball plenty and still has space to use his pace on the outside. For one incredible break he made down the touchline where he cut back in instead of finding Jordan outside him, I knew his haters would lose their shit over that, but it was pretty clear Koroibeti had Jordan covered. I thought that showed Rieko's maturity as a player - too often we try to push miracle balls after a break and turn possesion over. I believe we ended up scoring on the back of the territory we made from his break there.

The rest of the forwards - all excellent, nobody had a poor game really. The loosies went well, Dalton and Akira in particular were very strong in the tight, and Ardie always a threat with ball in hand. Sam led the team superbly, Newel was good though I think he was gassed at times so fitness still an issue. Taylor was good around the park but the lineouts are still a problem.

The rest of the backs - as above, all excellent. Mo'unga is still a bit rocks and diamonds, but I think the more starts he gets the more he'll iron that out. Beauden was superb from the back, injecting himself at the right time. Clarke was near faultless, nullifying lots of high balls (he got applause for a number of his takes under pressure, they weren't easy), defended well and strong with ball in hand. One of the biggest cheers of the night was when he bowled over that Aussie on our own 22. Will "Christian Cullen" Jordan scored a try Cully would have been proud of, and Smith was very solid though I agree he needs to run more

Now I'll rewatch the game and change my mind on 90% of what I said above.

But all in all a great night out and another fantastic performance from the ABs at Fortress Eden. We really missed a trick not playing the decider against Ireland there, we would have won the series 2-1 if we did.

Awesome to have the Bledisloe and RC wrapped up, and really looking forward to the EOYT with our new and improved backline.

Newell didn’t play. Presume you mean DeGroot.

@Steve said in Bledisloe 2:

@No-Quarter said in Bledisloe 2:

Right, so after match report. Awesome night out with the family.

We rocked up about 4pm so we could park closish to the ground. Let the boys (9, 4 & 1) play at a playground for a while and then headed into Kingsland to get some dinner.

My wife stood out in a sea of black again. The 1 and 4 years olds were decked in black, and the 9 year old half black half gold in a show of solidarity for her. Got plenty of attention from passerbys on the way to the ground.

When we arrived the Black Ferns had about 30mins left, and the main excitement there was whether they'd crack 100. Was cool seeing them live, they have some fantastic skills and we'll look to get along to a few RWC games. I think Woodman scored like 7 tries lol.

Then the game, freaking awesome. We started slow, and failed to capitalise on a 1 man advantage early on. Wallabies were extremely lucky not to see red there, I'd say if Dalton got injured they would have.

Then after a slightly disjointed start which is probably to be expected with so many changes, the ABs really started getting into their work. We really just ground them down, leading to a lot of penalties our way through pressure and our backline started to show what they can do on the back of that.

I haven't watched the game on TV, and I did have a 1 year old distracting me a bit, but players that stood out live were:

Jordie - just a dominant presence out there in everything he did. Defense, ball in hand, kicking, passing, he was just phenomenal. I remember getting on @Rancid-Schnitzel's bandwagon a few years ago, and thought a midfield combo of Jordie & Rieko is the future. Well the future came to pass, and it was a thing of beauty. Give those guys every game together now until the RWC please.

BBBR - he was back to his best IMO, a number of strong carries, big hits on defense and doing all the dirty work he is known for. Just threw himself around like a fucking maniac and had the Wallabies back peddling for most of the game. Hugely impressive performance from the big man.

Lomax - as with BBBR he was a dominant force out there. After some real concerns with the depth of our front rowers recently we have unearthed some serious talent there now. Great to see.

Rieko - he is so fucking fast, he's an absolute weapon at 13. Don't agree with the calls to put him back on the wing, 13 is perfect for him, gets his hands on the ball plenty and still has space to use his pace on the outside. For one incredible break he made down the touchline where he cut back in instead of finding Jordan outside him, I knew his haters would lose their shit over that, but it was pretty clear Koroibeti had Jordan covered. I thought that showed Rieko's maturity as a player - too often we try to push miracle balls after a break and turn possesion over. I believe we ended up scoring on the back of the territory we made from his break there.

The rest of the forwards - all excellent, nobody had a poor game really. The loosies went well, Dalton and Akira in particular were very strong in the tight, and Ardie always a threat with ball in hand. Sam led the team superbly, Newel was good though I think he was gassed at times so fitness still an issue. Taylor was good around the park but the lineouts are still a problem.

The rest of the backs - as above, all excellent. Mo'unga is still a bit rocks and diamonds, but I think the more starts he gets the more he'll iron that out. Beauden was superb from the back, injecting himself at the right time. Clarke was near faultless, nullifying lots of high balls (he got applause for a number of his takes under pressure, they weren't easy), defended well and strong with ball in hand. One of the biggest cheers of the night was when he bowled over that Aussie on our own 22. Will "Christian Cullen" Jordan scored a try Cully would have been proud of, and Smith was very solid though I agree he needs to run more

Now I'll rewatch the game and change my mind on 90% of what I said above.

But all in all a great night out and another fantastic performance from the ABs at Fortress Eden. We really missed a trick not playing the decider against Ireland there, we would have won the series 2-1 if we did.

Awesome to have the Bledisloe and RC wrapped up, and really looking forward to the EOYT with our new and improved backline.

Newell didn’t play. Presume you mean DeGroot.

LOL yes I do, thanks, will edit

The idea that JB was in the pipeline at 12 and would have been given a crack there is laughable. This was a Bradbury selection by Foster.

Anyway it was great to finally see him there and I hope those who were so derisive about it have consumed a nice big shįt burger.

As an aside Brodie was terrific. Best game in years.

@Toddy That kid looked stoked.

@Kirwan said in Bledisloe 2:

@Chris said in Bledisloe 2:

@Old-Samurai-Jack said in Bledisloe 2:

Did the Aussies make meters up fat man's ally? Did they destroy our maul? Did they gain the advantage on the blindside? All nopes? I think Akira had a great game.

Stuff has a different view

Akira Ioane: Didn’t do much to solve any No 6 questions. Aside from a ripped ball near his own line, nothing much to catch the eye apart from showing his skills with a deft left-foot kick and speedy chase. Replaced in the 70th minute. 5.5

Just a poor take.

He defended well, used his bulk to move bodies, this fabled thing about him not using his shoulder is simply untrue. Several examples in this game alone.

Played tight like many have been asked him to show he can and did it well. Was throwing players back in gang tackles like a beast. Was fun to watch.

He’s particularly strong in the maul too.

One opportunity out wide and showed good skill to earn the team a 5m scrum. Rest of the time he did what he said he’d do the press conference, the dirty work so Ardie could run out on the wing.

Yeah, since when has the Fern deferred to Stuff for player ratings? We usually just post them to take the piss, not use them seriously @Chris

What I found interesting was that there were a few rucks where Akira blew over the top and went to the ground and I was thinking he'd need to watch out or he'd get penalised. Frizell was doing the same in his 1 and half decent games this year and was lauded for it.

There was zero missed tackles by any of our locks or loosies including the subs

And the best forward performance of the year was this game, by quite a distance.

So a big plus for Akira, Taylor too despite his lineout throwing and the old locks showed that there is still life left in them.

New props also put down markers.

@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.

@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.

@Kirwan said in Bledisloe 2:

@Chris said in Bledisloe 2:

@Old-Samurai-Jack said in Bledisloe 2:

Did the Aussies make meters up fat man's ally? Did they destroy our maul? Did they gain the advantage on the blindside? All nopes? I think Akira had a great game.

Stuff has a different view

Akira Ioane: Didn’t do much to solve any No 6 questions. Aside from a ripped ball near his own line, nothing much to catch the eye apart from showing his skills with a deft left-foot kick and speedy chase. Replaced in the 70th minute. 5.5

Just a poor take.

He defended well, used his bulk to move bodies, this fabled thing about him not using his shoulder is simply untrue. Several examples in this game alone.

Played tight like many have been asked him to show he can and did it well. Was throwing players back in gang tackles like a beast. Was fun to watch.

He’s particularly strong in the maul too.

One opportunity out wide and showed good skill to earn the team a 5m scrum. Rest of the time he did what he said he’d do the press conference, the dirty work so Ardie could run out on the wing.

Try saver on Harry Wilson which would’ve really swung momentum.

@TheMojoman yeah that was a big moment in the context of the game. Esopecially with the 31-13 reversal the previous week.

@Rapido said in Bledisloe 2:

That tip on Dalton, very much like 2005. Two guys lift, one lets go, it turns to custard.

https://www.reddit.com/r/rugbyunion/comments/xn2mby/i_hope_this_gets_upgraded_to_a_red/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=sha

I wonder what he did to deserve this pre-planned coordinated, off the ball assault? Musta picked some grass or something?

At least he can tell his kids how he could have died for his country.

@Crucial said in Bledisloe 2:

@Rapido said in Bledisloe 2:

That tip on Dalton, very much like 2005. Two guys lift, one lets go, it turns to custard.

https://www.reddit.com/r/rugbyunion/comments/xn2mby/i_hope_this_gets_upgraded_to_a_red/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=sha

I wonder what he did to deserve this pre-planned coordinated, off the ball assault? Musta picked some grass or something?

At least he can tell his kids how he could have died for his country.

Almost doid for his country

@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.

@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.

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.

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).

@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.

@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

@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.

@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.

@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.

@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.

@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.

@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!

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.

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.