[EOYT] Japan vs. New Zealand. 02/11/13

[nickdnz]

Would have liked to see Yoshikazu Fujita start - but it may be too big an ask when up against Halai/Piatau.

 

[Hinato]

Because Kenki Fukuoka is over. You'll find out, but this kid is a real bomb, a super world class player. It will surprise Saturday.

 

[Chikwa]

AB's to win convincingly.I wish Luke whitelock had started.He won't find an easier game anywhere to showcase his immense talents.Of which I have been advised are only noticeable to the expert eye .

 

[ABs2011]

AB's to win convincingly.I wish Luke whitelock had started.He won't find an easier game anywhere to showcase his immense talents.Of which I have been advised are only noticeable to the expert eye .

To me this just says L Whitelock is only really in the AB's periphery! 5th pick #8 (for RWC2015) behind Read, Messam, Kaino, and McCaw. Like A Savea I think he really only comes into play post RWC unless there are injuries. Maybe a bench spot against the Irish at best on this tour!

 

[donmcdazzle]

AB's to win convincingly.I wish Luke whitelock had started.He won't find an easier game anywhere to showcase his immense talents.Of which I have been advised are only noticeable to the expert eye .

I actually wish he was starting too, then everyone could see him not even stand out against Japan and realise he is no better than a dozen other number 8's in NZ rugby.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Didn't realise this was a 4.30am kickoff :huh:
Painful!
Hooowweevveerrr, I'll be up that early anyway getting ready for work :lol: Will be able to watch the first half - it's going to tough tearing myself away from the 2nd to leave!

 

[Darwin]

Not sure really what to expect from this match. The AB's should win pretty comfortably, but it will probably be hard to read much into the performance of individual players. I'm looking forward to watching Dominic Bird at lineout time. He will be officially the tallest All Black ever (2.06m), and the Japanese locks are very short by locking standards (listed at 1.91 & 1.92m....). Obviously lineouts aren't all about who is the tallest, but I imagine Bird will fancy his chances of stealing a few off the Japanese lineout (he may not even have to jump ).

Kerr-Barlow vs Tanaka will be a good match-up. I've got a lot of time for Tanaka, but I suspect the AB's will be targeting his channel with big ball runners all night. Tanaka is always committed on defense, but stopping someone who is 30kg's bigger than you (as even the smallest AB's forwards are) is not always that easy! Halai vs Hirose is another size miss-match on the wing, with Hirose giving away almost 30kg to Halai. I'm not sure how good Hirose is on defense, but I suspect he will have a hard time stopping Halai (we may also see a few balls going in the air in that direction...).

 

[LittleGuy]

Exciting match so far both teams willing to run with the ball 7-3 for the AB's about 16 minutes in.

 

[donmcdazzle]

We are playing poorly so far, and Japan are going ok. They'd be doing a lot better if they weren't making these silly errors. So far I'm pretty impressed by the blossoms.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Yeah, really enjoying this so far.
A few too many handling errors, but a good match.

Gutted I've got to leave in 10 mins

 

[LittleGuy]

7-6!!!! Looks like my pick of NZ by 55 on superbru is looking highly suspect at the moment.

 

[donmcdazzle]

Our guys had better start playing properly, the intensity level is nowhere near good enough. So many errors this is starting to wind me up.

 

[LittleGuy]

Piutau is almost single handedly leading the AB's to the lead in this one, he's prooving hard for the Japanese to stop.

 

[usausa]

Watching Sam Cane is like watching Josh Kronfeld almost 20 years ago. This man shows up right place right time to score tries seemingly every time he's on, it's almost magical how he's just there to finish off the move.

 

[usausa]

Now Ben Smith is like same story, just another try for him this year.

 

[Jaguares]

Richie McCaw!!!

 

[LittleGuy]

Japanese morale looks to be collapsing after a great first 25 they've really folded up their tent, simple mistakes being ruthlesly punished on the outside, Carter's brought the kicking boots as well.

 

[LittleGuy]

Great cover tackle!!! Probably heading to bed now myself, been an entertaining half for the most part though, hope the Blossoms can get a try in the 2nd half and keep this one within reasonable margins.

 

[Jaguares]

Hey anyone of you know where I can buy the Japan jersey? online store...

 

[Darwin]

Pretty poor first half by the AB's. Japan have been spirited, but they have made a lot of errors themselves. We are getting penalized off the park at the moment, and Japan have probably had the better of the set pieces. The forward pack as a whole is playing far too loose. If they start hitting the breakdown we might actually get some quick ball for our backs too use...

Probably the only standout for the AB's thus far has been Piutau - he is almost unstoppable 1-on-1.