EOYT: Italy v New Zealand, 17/11/2012

[Amobokoboko]

Great game. Italy scored a try ( hats off for that) and did pretty well the first half.
After the break the ab's came and did their job. I do think that after the subs came on, the level of defense of Italy dropped.
I think if they would have kept with their starting team they wouldn't have had big point difference.

 

[Larksea]

Yeah Aaron Struggled, so did Cruden, couple of handy runs to the line accurate goal kicking but not much else.

Well I thought Ali Williams was actually pretty good, good work around the field. Couple of big tackles, stole a lineout throw and not much of the sea gulling out of the wing with a hand in the ear he gets a lot of flack for, stole a lineout throw as well.

not sure I trust those scrum.com stats, says Messam only ran the ball 28m total but he looked like he did that if not more in one single run after a linebreak he made, either way Cane's tackle count is impressive but it's pretty expected from him. Basically every time he gets a full 80min he clocks up 15+ tackles and often hits 19-20.

Savea has been pretty awesome, strange because I look at him and still think he has a lot of room to improve, fitness and experience. But compared to a year ago his improvement has been mind blowing. There must have surely been doubt over him playing super rugby this year after his poor 2011 season, he was lucky to be kept on but the Savea that turned up for the canes this year looked every bit an All Black, a mountian compared to the shadow he was in 2011. I think I picked before half way in super rugby that he should be selected for the All Blacks ahead of Gear. We wont know if that would have happened because of Kahui's injury opening up another spot for him but he still pushed Guildford out at least. He seems fairly well earthed as well.

Nice Cameo from Jane, I had a feeling he could come on and provide some spark against the tiring Italians. Carter too but they were spared his wrath, though I thought at least carter would have got to put his foot on the field to grab the test cap with him being so close to 100.

Better game from Charlie, great stuff in the scrum from woody I think helped by having two big locks. But I think Ben Franks stock is taking a dive. He's not looked good recently.

 

[Bryan Selwood]

I've always wanted Jane to get same game time at fullback for the All Blacks and he didn't disappoint

 

[danit]

Time-wasting All Blacks tests: What's the point?


dunno if such tests really are a waste for NZ, but certainly they're of great use to Italy

 

[SpanishBob]

Time-wasting All Blacks tests: What's the point?


dunno if such tests really are a waste for NZ, but certainly they're of great use to Italy

Agree. That article is just rubbish. Even more considering the score board at half time, and even more important the impresion that Italy was dominant for 50 minutes.
Reducing the international rugby to 8 teams every year is not what this sport needs to grow. Passion for rugby in Italy grows every year, and that's thanks to these sort of games. If is about money opening new markets abroad is crucial, if is about rugby All Blacks have also a duty helping other countries to develop their game. Even more if these countries are as competitive as Italy was on saturday.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

My thoughts:

- On Cruden, I don't think he had a poor game at all. He made one dodgy pass, one dodgy kick (though it wasn't helped by Smith's dodgy pass), and then after making a few breaks he had no support and chose not to die with the ball so offloaded where other players should be. He was actually close to my man of the match. How many times did he break the first tackle?
- Jane was great when he came on, as mentioned, but he will still remain only a backup fullback, with Dagg and Smith long term options in the squad. Remember that Jane isn't exactly young, he will remain the first choice 14 and can cover 15 if there is an injury.
- Barrett was solid at the back, didn't really make any errors. I'm sure he would've have a better game if the tactic hadn't been to simply kick the ball to the Italians when within 40 metres of our goal line.
- Smith was a bit dodgy at halfback, but this was also partially due to the forward not protecting the breakdown ball. I think Smith is a bit one dimensional, he can pass well, but beyond that he hasn't got a hugely varied skill set - which is why the selectors love Piri Weepu so much. Smith is great when we have dominant forwards, but when we're not doing so well in that area I'd prefer to have Weepu (or possibly Kerr-Barlow) at halfback. I think Perenara is quite similar to Smith in this instance.
- The loose forward trio operate well, and will probably be the first choice trio for the early tests next year. It was good to see Cane get another run - he didn't have a huge impact on attack, as he can, but he was busy on defence. Scrum.com has amended their stats since yesterday, but Cane was still top of the tackle charts with 13, followed by Read (10) and Messam (9). As noted by someone on a news website, Cane wasn't as visible in the open as McCaw, but he was busy in the the tight stuff.
- Retalick wasn't as busy as he usually is, Williams did nothing wrong, so he can't quite be written off just yet. Would be nice to see him get a start against Wales or England, purely to see whether he's up to it. Otherwise, expect to see Romano at 4, and Retalick warming the bench.
- Faumuina had a decent game, scrums were pretty even I thought.
- From the bench, Coles was pretty good, and Kerr-Barlow was much better than last week, providing a bit of spark on attack.

 

[smartcooky]

Time-wasting article written by some nobody self-appointed sports jock who only knows how to interview his own laptop.

Glenn who?

 

[nickdnz]

- Smith was a bit dodgy at halfback, but this was also partially due to the forward not protecting the breakdown ball. I think Smith is a bit one dimensional, he can pass well, but beyond that he hasn't got a hugely varied skill set - which is why the selectors love Piri Weepu so much. Smith is great when we have dominant forwards, but when we're not doing so well in that area I'd prefer to have Weepu (or possibly Kerr-Barlow) at halfback. I think Perenara is quite similar to Smith in this instance.

Have to disagree immensely with this point. Even the most supportive Hurricanes fan would struggle to claim we have 'dominant forwards'. Peranara I think has probably the best rounded skill set of any halfback in the country, and I have thought he's actually looked at his best against the run of play, where he creates something out of nothing.

Also disagree regarding Weepu. Smith may have had a bad game (probably a bad couple to be fair), but Weepu has had a bad year. His ball is far too slow and laboured and even in the game where he did 'really well' against Scotland, it's interesting to see how many time he was grabbed and struggled to clear the ball.

 

[Helmy]

What a rubbish article. No one is able to improve in any aspect of life if they aren't pushed, the same applies to sport. At the same time, fans of the sport deserve the chance to see teams like the All Blacks in the flesh. It's called sport for a reason, upsets can happen, and to say that neither Italy or Scotland will ever beat us is ridiculous. Then again, I can't think of many New Zealand journalists I'd give the light of day. Simply looking for a reaction with opinion pieces isn't an opinion, it's a blatant attempt to sell papers. It's even more pathetic than the 'sporting cliches' written about in the lead.

 

[nickdnz]

What a rubbish article. No one is able to improve in any aspect of life if they aren't pushed, the same applies to sport. At the same time, fans of the sport deserve the chance to see teams like the All Blacks in the flesh. It's called sport for a reason, upsets can happen, and to say that neither Italy or Scotland will ever beat us is ridiculous. Then again, I can't think of many New Zealand journalists I'd give the light of day. Simply looking for a reaction with opinion pieces isn't an opinion, it's a blatant attempt to sell papers. It's even more pathetic than the 'sporting cliches' written about in the lead.

Yep. It's a dumb article which proves sensationalism sells.

Pretty sure everyone is sick of seeing NZ v Aus four times a year. I'd much rather we play more 2nd tier teams and the lower first tier than playing the same 8 countries over and over and over again.

 

[Helmy]

I was just saying yesterday how little value a test between the ABs and the Wallabies has these days. Heck, I'd love to see us doing a tour to North America every odd year rather than playing teams like England and Wales etc. Even if the NZRU found a way to slip a mid game week against Canada or the States after a trip to Argentina, or something similar. Rugby needs to get more expansive, not fall in on itself.

I mean, that article did suggest going on more tours, which I agree with, but the problem isn't that we're playing 'inferior' opposition too much, it's that we're not playing them enough. Why not a three test series against Italy? Then they can improve, the same for Scotland.