Tri Nations: All Blacks - Wallabies @ Eden Park (06-08-2011, 08:35 GMT)

[racingmetrofan]

Conrad Smith and Carter are in a class of their own. Interesting game, Aus probably need a bit more experience/clout in midfield. They also seemed pretty inadequete (for the players) at doing moves of set piece play).

 

[Sam Owen]

Those Aussies that had plenty to say about the ABs being over the hill and blah blah during the week, need to shut their mouths.

Losing to us (Manu Samoa) and then beating a B side Springbok team does not warrant talk of beating the All Blacks in Eden Park.

The All Blacks are a very good side, you dont need to hype them up with talk, it just makes it harder to beat them. The current Wallabies are good as quiet underestimated underdogs.

All Blacks played great (suprise, suprise). Nonu, Smith, Franks, Weepu, McCaw, Carter, Mealamu and some others I thought played really well. You gotta love the All Blacks variation in attack, DC is just an unpredictable dictator of Rugby attack at times. From the last weeks chip over the top in their own 22 to this weeks drop goal, just very good attacking variation with the element of suprise in it or just well timed I dont know but its good stuff.

Good game but the Wallies let me down.

 

[Siva Tau]

Higginbottom again was prominent when he came on. Elsom was much better albeit when the game was gone. Could be McCalman to go.
Barnes should come back into Wallaby squad. Polotu-Nau would be a big asset although his lineout throws could be costly.

 

[Sneaki]

I think it'll be really tough for Dagg to make the squad now. Toeava has always been a favourite of the coaches so he's probably more likely, but on current form there's no way you can leave out Jane, Guildford or Sivivatu, Gear needs another crack next week I reckon, perhaps alongside Jane or Dagg/Toeava if they join the squad. Sivivatu does have a fractured eye socket apparently so he may miss the SA trip, but I get the feeling he's probably done enough to work his way back in already. He definitely still has that 'spark' that Rokocoko lost a couple of years ago.

Auckland v North Harbour will certainly be an interesting watch just to see how Woodcock and Toeava play, neither seemed that impressive last week. The props in the AB's at the moment are all performing reasonably well while Woodcock's out, though Crockett gave away a couple of penalties last night O Franks was near his best and B Franks looked good when he came on too.

 

[wizzdom]

my bad cooky i thought Guilford was in that Hong Kong team? either way look at all 4 stats and tell me who deserves starting wing status?

 

[donmcdazzle]

I really don't see the praise for Sivi. I reckon he would be the slowest of all our wingers, and the most frail on defense. And he can't kick either. I'd much prefer to have both Dagg and Toeava in there.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

I'm a huge fan of Sivivatu, but I didn't think he had a fantastic game of anything last night.

He was adequate, made all the tackles he needed to, I think his game may have suffered a bit from that eye injury. On attack he looked creative - which is his biggest strength.

I agree, Dom, he is definitely our slowest winger, but that isn't his strength - he is the most elusive runner we have, and has an incredible knack for slipping through the first tackle.

 

[Rhyer]

What you have to remember as well is that there has to be a back up fullback spot so Dagg or Toeava is a given. Both are proven at test level against Tri-Nations teams while Gear has only really performed on the tour last year. As a French supporter I would feel much safer if Gear, Sivivatu and Guildford were the wings to be honest. Dagg, Toeava, Mils and Jane are just unbelievable. Toeava was the life behind the Blues and same with Dagg with the Crusaders. Dagg has scored two fantastic tries against South Africa and Jane can pretty much make anything look easy like Dan Carter.

 

[DJRonStar]

What you have to remember as well is that there has to be a back up fullback spot so Dagg or Toeava is a given. Both are proven at test level against Tri-Nations teams while Gear has only really performed on the tour last year. As a French supporter I would feel much safer if Gear, Sivivatu and Guildford were the wings to be honest. Dagg, Toeava, Mils and Jane are just unbelievable. Toeava was the life behind the Blues and same with Dagg with the Crusaders. Dagg has scored two fantastic tries against South Africa and Jane can pretty much make anything look easy like Dan Carter.

Don't think Dagg is proven at test level yet. He had one brilliant moment against the Boks. Dagg the life behind the Crusaders backline really? Ellis / Fotuali'i, Carter, SBW, Fruean, Guildford, Maitland...

 

[WhoDaresWin]

I had hope McCaw would have gone and shove Coopers head after the game, but he's too classy for that stuff.

Cooper just got served a reality check...........thieving coont.

 

[InsaneAsylum]

dissapointing to say the least. i think the difference was the first half, wallabies fell asleep and couldn't kick straight. 2 key rules especially against the all blacks, you can never let them score easy points and never miss the opportunity to score against them, they will make you pay. on the positive side, my wife told me to back nonu for the first try and he came good so i can't complain.

as someone said though, mccabe went missing for the whole match and mccalman too. mccalman looked great last year, but i believe if we are going to win the world cup, we need higginbotham in the starting XV. cooper needed to man up last night and he didn't, he just kept ducking back into the pocket.

Sam Owen I just wanted to ask who was saying stuff about the all blacks being too old? i didn't hear anything over here, we only heard how steve hansen reckons we don't respect the all blacks... these are not the view of all Australians.

 

[InsaneAsylum]

I had hope McCaw would have gone and shove Coopers head after the game, but he's too classy for that stuff.

Cooper just got served a reality check...........thieving coont.

there has to be more to that incident than we know about. players just don't do stuff like that to players without some form of prevocation. true cooper played **** last night, he needs to play with little more "coont" as you say.

 

[beerholder]

I had hope McCaw would have gone and shove Coopers head after the game, but he's too classy for that stuff.

Cooper just got served a reality check...........thieving coont.

Agreed. That first half punch/slap on McCaw was so cheap and unnecessary. He gives me the impression of a frustrated bloke who stops playing if things don't work his way. If he stops his childish instincts and man up he'll be a great player.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

My brief summary of the match:
- All Blacks were the better team
- The referee was crap

Interestingly, the Wallabies actually won the second half, which is a bit worrying from a NZ perspective.

Oz really need someone like Giteau or Mortlock in the centres - someone who can get the team going when they're on the back foot. The Australian backline is amazing when their confidence is up and they're enjoying their rugby, this comes with the fact that they're all young players. Unfortunately they don't have someone to give them all a good talking to, and remind them all that it's more than just back yard footy. I think they're really missing an old experienced player - Mortlock, Gerard, Giteau even.

Back when Oz had their last generation backline (Gregan, Larkham, Giteau, Mortlock, Tuquiri, Gerard) they had the X factor, but they also had the wizened heads to come up with some tactics. Now they've got the X factor in spades, but they're lacking some of the tactical stuff - their play seems very much off the cusp.

 

[UilamOsa]

I'm a AB's & Manu fan so believe me when I say - I would've have been more worried if Giteau was on the bench.

There's no-one in the current Australian squad that has greater experience in dealing with backpedaling forward pack.

With McCabe disappearing and Cooper failing them completely, the backline needed some semblance of stability.

eg: 10. Carlos Spencer 12. Aaron Mauger 13. Tana Umaga

I honestly think Dingo thought that his Wallababies would unleash, coz it didn't appear he had a Plan B.

Also, SBW is a complete waste of time on the Bench. Hope he signs for the crusaders or chiefs.

 

[Larksea]

I've given up on trying to figure out Deans logic, he seems to have tossed out a whole bunch of big game hardened aussies who know what it takes upstairs to win tough games at the top level. Leaving Git's & Sharpe at home is just another example.

wasn't a perfect game for the AB's but the important factor for me was that when they had the ball things happened, Aussie had the ball for long periods... seemed to have much more posession than the AB's but nothing really happened then with 30min or so to go and aussie pretty much out of the game the AB's kinda dropped off.

Carter for the most part was epic, though some of his kicking around the field was pretty average but it was made up for by the fact the chase/line came up so well and pretty much cut the head off the Aussie counterattack. Shame we didn't have a line like that in hong kong last year.

For the Other AB's good to see read back, looked good though will get better with more gametime. I thought Thorn was ok though I'm not convinced he's one of NZ's best two locks. mealamu was ok but I have a feeling Hore may be out best hooker again, he looked pretty sharp again when he came on, kinda proved last week wasn't a fluke.

Weepu did a great job of playing to the gaps in the aussie defence. Elis ****** me off when he came on, as always he stands and pauses with the ball before passing it and uses up a lot of time the players outside him would be greatful for, AB's will be stronger with the Cowan/weepu combo in action again.

Sivi was Good, maybe not to the same level as Zac & Jane but still better than Gear, thoguh Gear made a couple of good runs. He didn't look good with the ball in behind him at times and kinda lacked urgency. And he didn't look good defending Digby after sivi went off.

Nonu's been good at 12 busy and intense as always. Conrad smith was handy and mistake free. No sonny bill isn't the best 22. He will get a chance to start before the WC. Toeava, Kahi and maybe even Dagg too. I dunno about Woodcock though he looked well off in itm cup the other day. But at the same time the sight of Crockett being the target of so many penalties wont be sitting well with the three wise men.

Over all good result for the ab's but they still have a lot of room to improve, which is good, wouldn't want them "peaking too early" fun punchline for people who want to play mind games with the AB's in the press.

 

[smartcooky]

Sam Owen I just wanted to ask who was saying stuff about the all blacks being too old? i didn't hear anything over here, we only heard how steve hansen reckons we don't respect the all blacks... these are not the view of all Australians.

Toutai Kefu in the SMH

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/all-black-stars-on-the-wane-says-kefu-20110803-1ibai.html

However, most of us in NZ understand why people like Kefu and other former Wallabies have to make these kinds of stupid and arrogant statements, e.g. Scott Johnson's "Poxy Island" comment. Its because in Australia, Rugby Union is a distant 4th in importance behind AFL, Soccer and RL, so your ex_Wallabies, and others, have to keep saying this kind of stuff so that they can make it into the papers.

You have to remember that Rugby Union is NZ's No. 1 sport. Anything anyone says about rugby, especially if it is about the All Blacks, is reported widely here. This may not always be the case in Australia, where Rugby Union is really the poor 2nd cousin.

I would've have been more worried if Giteau was on the bench. There's no-one in the current Australian squad that has greater experience in dealing with backpedaling forward pack.

This!!!

 

[Sam Owen]

Sam Owen I just wanted to ask who was saying stuff about the all blacks being too old? i didn't hear anything over here, we only heard how steve hansen reckons we don't respect the all blacks... these are not the view of all Australians.

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/all-black-stars-on-the-wane-says-kefu-20110803-1ibai.html

Yeah Im sure it aint the view of many Aussies. Its just guys like Toutai who go out and hype up the All Blacks, he just makes it harder for his fellow Wallabies. Toutai Kefu was a very good no.8 in a time where the Wallabies were very good and were very cocky with good reason as its what they thrived on back then but Kefu needs to zip it. He was a good player but definately dont go to him for knowledge on Rugby player performance. If you talk down about guys like McCaw they're gonna react and use your talk as added motivation.

If you go to slay a Dragon and its asleep, for goodness sake dont wake it up.

Also Conrad Smiths interview after the game seemed to suggest the ABs were getting back to those who talked down about them during the week.

 

[candybum]

Am I the only one who thinks the ABs game really dropped off when Ellis came on for Weepu?

 

[TRF C A Iversen]

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/all-black-stars-on-the-wane-says-kefu-20110803-1ibai.html

Yeah Im sure it aint the view of many Aussies. Its just guys like Toutai who go out and hype up the All Blacks, he just makes it harder for his fellow Wallabies. Toutai Kefu was a very good no.8 in a time where the Wallabies were very good and were very cocky with good reason as its what they thrived on back then but Kefu needs to zip it. He was a good player but definately dont go to him for knowledge on Rugby player performance. If you talk down about guys like McCaw they're gonna react and use your talk as added motivation.

If you go to slay a Dragon and its asleep, for goodness sake dont wake it up.

Also Conrad Smiths interview after the game seemed to suggest the ABs were getting back to those who talked down about them during the week.

I'm sure most sensible Australians don't feel that way either. Your exactly right about Kefu. I think a few current Aussie players would've liked him to zip it too. There was a chance of a slightly better performance or who knows they might've caught some players napping and bagged some more tries to steal it.

That was much less likely after that kind of "AB's are past it and a spent force" pep talk.

That was a pep talk for the All Blacks only.

Meanwhile I still think the Aussies can be very dangerous. They could still beat us if the right game comes their way and they're ready.