2021 Rugby Championship Round 1 (Bledisloe 2) - New Zealand v Australia (14/8/2021)

[Oliver Madden]

Venue: Eden Park
KO: 7.05pm (NZ)
Referee: Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)​

 

[Oliver Madden]

What's everyone thinking this week then?. Common sense should tell you that the ABs will massively improve from last week and will win more comfortably yet I'm not convinced. There is an inconsistency about them at the moment. They seem to be getting by on individual bits of magic rather than on a good team performance. If you keep conceding nearly 20 penalties every game and make silly handling errors, you'll eventually get punished. If the ABs play like they did last week I could see the Wallabies nicking this and ending the hoodoo. Oz will certainly have more threat in the backs this week with Koroibete back in. I think Rennie should get his biggest, most aggressive pack on the field and take it to the ABs up the guts, that's where the Wallabies got some gains last week.

 

[mania]

i get sick of these articles stating ABs have lost their Aura. happens a couple times a season. the ABs dont train their aura. they practice catching passing and running. Aura is everyone elses perception. it doesnt feature in ABs training

Stuff

www.stuff.co.nz

 

[Kiwiwomble]

this all feels very familiar

 

[Kiwiwomble]

 

[Umaga's Witness]

Alb out due to injury, jordan coming back in, tj back in the reserves. Minimal changes, as expected.

 

[Larksea]

ABs have a lot of room to improve in terms of catching passing and keeping the penalty count in check. I watched McKenzie last game and he received a string of shocking passes really stopped the attack gaining momentum but the way the forwards made ground should worry the wallabies.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

Wallabies team

(1-15) James Slipper, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Allan Alaalatoa, Darcy Swain, Matt Philip, Lachlan Swinton, Michael Hooper, Rob Valetini, Tate McDermott, Noah Lolesio, Marika Koroibete, Matt To'omua, Hunter Paisami, Andrew Kellaway, Tom Banks.
Bench: Jordan Uelese, Scott Sio, Taniela Tupou, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Harry Wilson, Nic White, Len Ikitau, Reece Hodge.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Also don't read too much into talk of AB "aura". I would say NZ were a cut above 2010 - 2020 but we always fancied ourselves even if the win-lose ratio went NZs way in that period in a big way. And on the back of last week the Aussies were dead and buried at 70 minutes. If that weren't the case I doubt NZ would've conceded 3 tries in quick succession. Ifs and buts though. I'm actually quite looking forward to the RC again. Absence and fondness an all.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

Defence was a bit of a worry last week so will be interested to see how that pans out.

I wonder if the wallabies will protect the fringes better this week, leaving opportunity for us to attack the 10-12 channel which has gotten weaker with toomua instead of paisami partnering lolesio.

interested to see whether the loosies get a bit wider this week.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

Also don't read too much into talk of AB "aura". I would say NZ were a cut above 2010 - 2020 but we always fancied ourselves even if the win-lose ratio went NZs way in that period in a big way. And on the back of last week the Aussies were dead and buried at 70 minutes. If that weren't the case I doubt NZ would've conceded 3 tries in quick succession. Ifs and buts though. I'm actually quite looking forward to the RC again. Absence and fondness an all.

I think we absolutely had an aura against many if not most teams for a long while, but definitely never against the boks. Before ireland beat us, they would consistently choke due to the aura, for example. It goes the other way too, the aura we felt lifted our game. How often did we come from behind to win between 2005 and 2017? A lot.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

I think we absolutely had an aura against many if not most teams for a long while, but definitely never against the boks. Before ireland beat us, they would consistently choke due to the aura, for example. It goes the other way too, the aura we felt lifted our game. How often did we come from behind to win between 2005 and 2017? A lot.

That's all fair enough,

 

[Oliver Madden]

i get sick of these articles stating ABs have lost their Aura. happens a couple times a season. the ABs dont train their aura. they practice catching passing and running. Aura is everyone elses perception. it doesnt feature in ABs training

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby...bies-rookie-heaps-pressure-on-all-blacks[/URL

Oh sh*t, when the Wallabies talk about the ABs "losing their Aura" it never ends well for them!. I've seen this cycle before. Average ABs performance in Bled 1 + Talk about them being in decline = Eden Park hammering. Reference points = 2008, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2020!. Let's not forget that, unlike the other years on the list, the All Blacks did actually win last week!.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

i get sick of these articles stating ABs have lost their Aura. happens a couple times a season. the ABs dont train their aura. they practice catching passing and running. Aura is everyone elses perception. it doesnt feature in ABs training

Stuff

www.stuff.co.nz

I think the way the coaches talk about respect for the Jersey, about honoring who came before, about their expectation to win every game, the way they talk about honoring the history. Having a culture of winning. These things create an aura. And it grows every time we win, and especially every time we come from behind to win. And then when we remember those things. So we do train The things that create the aura. But we don't talk about it as an aura. As soon as we do, as soon as we think 35 years unbeaten against the wallabies is due to some aura, that's when we get complacent. That's why the wallabies are trying to use reverse psychology to say the aura is gone, hoping we respond with 'no, there is still an aura' (like I did, but hopefully not like the all blacks did haha), instead of just training our roles, catching and passing etc.

 

[Al Bangor]

I've only been to one of the four countries involved in this championship and that's Australia. I know they're the underdog and I wish them well.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

I've only been to one of the four countries involved in this championship and that's Australia. I know they're the underdog and I wish them well.

You went there and you still wish them well? Did you meet an Australian?
See below for what @Woldog and @Derpus are like in person

 

[Al Bangor]

You went there and you still wish them well? Did you meet an Australian?
See below for what @Woldog and @Derpus are like in person

I talked with many Aussies and none of them were like those in the video. They were friendly and helpful when I had questions. I went to Sydney, the Blue Mountains and Canberra. It's a big country and I only had 5 days for my visit. Damo and Darren remind me of Beavis and Butthead.

 

[Kiwiwomble]

You went there and you still wish them well? Did you meet an Australian?
See below for what @Woldog and @Derpus are like in person

thats not very accurate......in the real world they use the C word a lot more.....

 

[Gavin]

Now is this the advertisement we want for rugby, compared to the Lions Series?

Quality match so far, so surprised no Yellow Cards issued yet

 

[Hydraulxx]

great 1st half but that 2nd half was a mess with patches of brilliance