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The Rugby Championship 2023
Bledisloe Cup: Match 2 - New Zealand vs. Australia (17/08/2019)
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<blockquote data-quote="Larksea" data-source="post: 953077" data-attributes="member: 43875"><p>great game, much better attitude. IMO the game was won before kick off, you could just see the AB's were finally clicked into gear mentally.</p><p>Can hardly fault any AB's they were collectively great. Great to finally see a result that justifies why I haven't been panicking despite recent results. IMO ignoring the scorelines and taking a measured look at the play I've seen a lot of positive things and a lot of things that can be easily fixed in time for the World Cup. The Defense has been amazing, the attack has been constantly threatening. They just needed to add ball retention, patients, continuity and discipline. Plus a bit of time for the new combinations to settle. Key players like Barrett, Cane and Read have been playing well. Bender and Ioane have struggled but we have time to fix that or options to take up the slack.</p><p>Cane, Read and Savea are buzzing. Who was it that said Read was playing crap? the only issue is that with Savea at 6 are missing a genuine lineout option and the lineout IS definately suffering a bit for it. But the other aspects of the combo are clicking into gear.</p><p>I've always liked Tuipulotu I think hes got massive potential but just doesn't get much of a look in. But he took this chance with both hands.</p><p>People giving Sam whitelock some flack dont really see what he does. Unlucky to concede a few penalties but made a game high 17 tackles, some important ones as well.</p><p>Richie was very good hope that injury is not serious.</p><p>SBW was solid, mostly his defense but his touches were smart and error free. Great try. He stops gamebreakers with his defense and he draws a lot of defenders when hes involved in play. And the offload is a constant threat.</p><p>ALB was awesome again. You name it he did it. Talk about the Wolf from pulp fiction. When ever there was trouble brewing ALB was there to fix it. Really showcased all aspects of his game.</p><p>We still dont know our #1 midfield combination, but so far you have to say ALB would be unlucky not to have his name down first.</p><p>Bridge and Sevu was an inspired selection. Bridge has always looked to me like a guy who is going to kick on and play a lot of test footy. I think having a guy like him there with his skillset takes pressure off Barrett a bit. I've always thought Bridge would be the guy to step into Ben Smiths Boots after this WC. I still don't think Bender is done, we are still like 5 weeks away from the WC I bet he will get himself back into the slot. That is enough time to build his fitness and confidence. But at the very least you would have to say without a doubt Bridge and Sevu have booked their ticket to the WC. I like that with Sevu hes not just an attacking weapon he actually does smart things on defense as well. Ioane has been off step, it has to be a goal of the coaches to get Akira humming again for the world cup. But Ive been saying for a while now I dont think the AB's will just go and win the WC with the same players and formula they have used for the last 3 years. We know a new game plan is coming and we needs some fresh in form players in the mix as well.</p><p>The Richie Barrett combo has been brewing I think we got closer tonight, I think Barrett has been struggling to balance the role of fullback with what he and the team want him to do up in the front line but it seemed tonight he focused more on just being a fullback things just worked a bit better. Of course when things are going well up front it makes the job out back easier. </p><p>Aaron smith, he needed to be influential and he was. I still think his delivery on phase ball was too slow but the conditions were such it had less of an impact than it did last week on a faster ground. All but a few of his kicks were good and he scored a great halfback try.</p><p>Save the front row for last, coles is playing well the soft yellow was a bit nuts. I'm pretty sure it was his job to look after white and he took it one step too far. It was pretty soft though a penalty would have been enough. </p><p>Front row was good, I think we have seen for a while now that when Laulala is good he is easily the measure of franks and even maybe adds a bit more around the park. Moody was good too but that first penalty he gave away was stupid he needs much better discipline than that, any good ref is going to blow that up instantly.</p><p>In the end its another year we tease the Aussies with that big silver bear bucket. Give them a sniff and then snatch it away emphatically <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /></p><p></p><p>There are Still things to work on, the game plan overall is still conservative. It cant be easy to go out and win test matches against good sides using methods and patterns that they have used for a season or two already. no fancy set plays and no real hint on what the gameplan will be going into the business end of the WC. In particular on attack, it was mostly just through the hands, running at gaps with some offloads and the odd switch. You can bet they are working on their plan for the WC behind closed doors we wont see the true attacking potential till towards the end of the pool states, I think that's why most of the AB's tries are coming off turnovers and punishing mistakes. In contrast there were a few times the Aussies broke out some genuinely interesting attacking moves.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Larksea, post: 953077, member: 43875"] great game, much better attitude. IMO the game was won before kick off, you could just see the AB's were finally clicked into gear mentally. Can hardly fault any AB's they were collectively great. Great to finally see a result that justifies why I haven't been panicking despite recent results. IMO ignoring the scorelines and taking a measured look at the play I've seen a lot of positive things and a lot of things that can be easily fixed in time for the World Cup. The Defense has been amazing, the attack has been constantly threatening. They just needed to add ball retention, patients, continuity and discipline. Plus a bit of time for the new combinations to settle. Key players like Barrett, Cane and Read have been playing well. Bender and Ioane have struggled but we have time to fix that or options to take up the slack. Cane, Read and Savea are buzzing. Who was it that said Read was playing crap? the only issue is that with Savea at 6 are missing a genuine lineout option and the lineout IS definately suffering a bit for it. But the other aspects of the combo are clicking into gear. I've always liked Tuipulotu I think hes got massive potential but just doesn't get much of a look in. But he took this chance with both hands. People giving Sam whitelock some flack dont really see what he does. Unlucky to concede a few penalties but made a game high 17 tackles, some important ones as well. Richie was very good hope that injury is not serious. SBW was solid, mostly his defense but his touches were smart and error free. Great try. He stops gamebreakers with his defense and he draws a lot of defenders when hes involved in play. And the offload is a constant threat. ALB was awesome again. You name it he did it. Talk about the Wolf from pulp fiction. When ever there was trouble brewing ALB was there to fix it. Really showcased all aspects of his game. We still dont know our #1 midfield combination, but so far you have to say ALB would be unlucky not to have his name down first. Bridge and Sevu was an inspired selection. Bridge has always looked to me like a guy who is going to kick on and play a lot of test footy. I think having a guy like him there with his skillset takes pressure off Barrett a bit. I've always thought Bridge would be the guy to step into Ben Smiths Boots after this WC. I still don't think Bender is done, we are still like 5 weeks away from the WC I bet he will get himself back into the slot. That is enough time to build his fitness and confidence. But at the very least you would have to say without a doubt Bridge and Sevu have booked their ticket to the WC. I like that with Sevu hes not just an attacking weapon he actually does smart things on defense as well. Ioane has been off step, it has to be a goal of the coaches to get Akira humming again for the world cup. But Ive been saying for a while now I dont think the AB's will just go and win the WC with the same players and formula they have used for the last 3 years. We know a new game plan is coming and we needs some fresh in form players in the mix as well. The Richie Barrett combo has been brewing I think we got closer tonight, I think Barrett has been struggling to balance the role of fullback with what he and the team want him to do up in the front line but it seemed tonight he focused more on just being a fullback things just worked a bit better. Of course when things are going well up front it makes the job out back easier. Aaron smith, he needed to be influential and he was. I still think his delivery on phase ball was too slow but the conditions were such it had less of an impact than it did last week on a faster ground. All but a few of his kicks were good and he scored a great halfback try. Save the front row for last, coles is playing well the soft yellow was a bit nuts. I'm pretty sure it was his job to look after white and he took it one step too far. It was pretty soft though a penalty would have been enough. Front row was good, I think we have seen for a while now that when Laulala is good he is easily the measure of franks and even maybe adds a bit more around the park. Moody was good too but that first penalty he gave away was stupid he needs much better discipline than that, any good ref is going to blow that up instantly. In the end its another year we tease the Aussies with that big silver bear bucket. Give them a sniff and then snatch it away emphatically ;) There are Still things to work on, the game plan overall is still conservative. It cant be easy to go out and win test matches against good sides using methods and patterns that they have used for a season or two already. no fancy set plays and no real hint on what the gameplan will be going into the business end of the WC. In particular on attack, it was mostly just through the hands, running at gaps with some offloads and the odd switch. You can bet they are working on their plan for the WC behind closed doors we wont see the true attacking potential till towards the end of the pool states, I think that's why most of the AB's tries are coming off turnovers and punishing mistakes. In contrast there were a few times the Aussies broke out some genuinely interesting attacking moves. [/QUOTE]
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Bledisloe Cup: Match 2 - New Zealand vs. Australia (17/08/2019)
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