Well, it’s finally here. I’ll be trying to update this post every few minutes to keep those of you without a stream of Fox Soccer Plus in on the action. Not much else to say, so let’s just get into it.
Venue: Soldier Field, Chicago USA
Weather: 6.1ºC – wind is blowing North at around 17km/h
Match Officials: Craig Joubert, Chris Assmus (Asst 1), Asst 2 TBA, TMO TBA (IRB has them both listed as ‘Rugby Canada Appointment’ on their match officials log, sorry everyone)
Pre-Match Coverage
While the turf at Soldier Field is notoriously unstable (just ask any Chicago Bears fan), the size of the pitch doesn’t look like it will be much of an issue. My snouts have indicated that it’s about 1.5m short on each side but as you can see below there is almost no chance we’ll be seeing more than a handful of quick throw-ins, if any.
The in-goal area is also very shallow but it’s great to see Soldier Field lined for a game of rugby.
I’m watching rugby on the big screen, in HD..live, this is a all a little weird.
Apparently the USA Eagles have never scored a try against the All Blacks – yikes!
Sunny skies and based on Todd Clever’s flowing locks, the wind isn’t having much impact inside of the stadium. Good news for the fans.
The Danny Barret v. Kieran Read matchup being played up by the announcers, as it should be. Two phenomenal athletes.
Sonny Bill looks fit as a fiddle, maybe a little lighter than the last time he played for the Darkness.
So far there’s been more coverage of the Haka than the actual rugby about to be played, but I don’t think that’s going to be a surprise to anyone reading this.
About to go to commercial and then it’s time for the Haka, anthems and kickoff!
According to my Twitter this is not a good rendition of the New Zealand anthem. I’m not sure what a good one is supposed to sound like, so I will have to defer to that collective opinion.
One half of the USA line is screaming the anthem – not sure if the other half knows the words. Enough anthems. It’s rugby time.
The Match
Kickoff: All Blacks kick off to the Eagles, short and low. Petri immediately returns the ball with a box kick – ut oh.
2 min: Eagles forwards coming up hard on defense but midfield already exposed by SBW. Eagles having the same issues with communication and tracking the ball as they have for a while. All Blacks take first line out of the game and take it into a maul which the USA stopped. Knock on by Cory Jane takes pressure off the Eagles.
3 min: Eagles penalty leads to an All Blacks quick tap, bull spun out to the left wing to Nathan Harris and Eagles defense caught with their pants down – not working hard enough to get into position on either side of the whistle. Joubert going upstairs.
TRY NEW ZEALAND 5-0
Sideline conversion is no good. Joubert unhappy with Todd Clever attempting to charge down the kick, gives Cruden another go but he misses again.
4 min: Eagles kick off long to the All Blacks. New Zealand returns with a kick of their own. USA strings together strong forward carries before an absolutely horrible kick from the Eagles goes straight to Israel Dagg and nearly leads to another break from the All Blacks. First attacking opportunity thrown away by Eagles.
Nathan Harris has gone down with what looks like some kind of ankle injury.
7 min: Eagles take their first lineout to the front pod and go through the hands to Manoa in the midfield but timing is slightly off and he has to stutter his run. Seamus Kelly and Eric Fry making big gains on the right sight of the pitch. If USA can keep pace up and ball in hand they are clearly capable of breaking this All Black line.
9 min: Messy rucking slows down the ball for USA and forces them to attack against All Blacks line with more numbers. USA attacking almost exclusively on the right side of the field in the backs. USA earns a penalty after some more strong carries by the forwards in the midfield from the fringe of the ruck. Kick to come from Siddall.
KICK IS GOOD 5-3 New Zealand
12 min: Another short kickoff from NZ nearly fumbled by USA but recovered. Eagles doing a good job of hitting players in motion when Petri isn’t sucked into the ruck – strong offloading keeping them moving forward. Holding on call against USA (Brett Thompson) turns the ball back over to NZ, big kick to touch and line out to come.
15min: All Blacks break down the right touch line but a chip kick is recovered by Siddall and cleared to touch by Petri a phase later. NZ swing ball to the left wing and Dagg draws two before flicking pass out to Jane in space – Scully falls for a dummy pass to nobody and Jane touches down in the corner.
TRY, CONVERSION GOOD NEW ZEALAND 12-3
Eagles are attacking well but defensive issues outlined in the match preview are still prominent.
18 min: Eagles finally kick short and Scully takes the ball out of the air, earns USA a penalty for NZ tackler not releasing about 10m in from the right touch line. USA opts to take the kick through Siddall.
CONVERSION GOOD 12-6 New Zealand
20 min: All Blacks kick short again but LaValla rises to take it out of the air. Eagles attack breaking down so they clear from behind their 22 directly to Israel Dagg. All Blacks put the ball through the hands, make a break and a series of deft offloads later Tuipolotu goes in under the sticks. USA defensive structure is not good enough to feed ball to the All Blacks. Adjustments must be made.
TRY, CONVERSION GOOD NEW ZEALAND 19-6
23 min: USA kicks short but does not recover. New Zealand goes coast to coast in two phases and a potential forward pass from Read to Crotty leads to an offload from Crotty to Sonny Bill and another try. USA defense an absolute shambles across the entire team once ball is more than two men off of the ruck.
TRY, CONVERSION GOOD NEW ZEALAND 24-6
25 min: USA kicks long to NZ who clear to touch after a phase. Thiel makes a throw to the back pod on a movement that sends Suniula crashing in agains the grain of play. Siddall shows his class and ghosts through the All Blacks line but receives no support. Indecision from Petri blows a 2 man overlap for the Eagles. Manoa charges down clearance kick after Read turns the ball over.
27 min: NZ clear through Cruden after a phase from their own lineout. USA opts for the quick throw and the bomb goes up, Brett Thompson smashes into Cruden but NZ manages to retain possession. Dagg, SBW and Crotty combine to send Piutau down the right touch line and into the corner. USA still not learning from their mistakes.
TRY, CONVERSION MISSED NEW ZEALAND 31-6
29 min: USA kicks short to All Blacks but sloppy handling by NZ allows USA to pounce on the ball within the NZ 22, players no longer being hit while in motion and USA going backwards on attack. Sloppy handling from USA gives Jane a chance but he is bundled into touch by Hayden Smith. Scott LaValla takes a quick throw in..not sure why. Ball is kicked to Dagg again and a few passes later Sonny Bill smokes Samu Manoa and Adam Siddall to score again.
TRY, CONVERSION GOOD NEW ZEALAND 38-6
33 min: Brett Thompson off possibly through injury – Folau Niua on for USA. Assuming Niua will play 13 with Kelly moving to the wing. New Zealand making easy meters again through a sloppy defensive line. More coast-to-coast play by the All Blacks and USA are fortunate that Piutau’s offload is knocked on. First scrum of the match to come. Manoa has also moved to No. 8 with Danny Barrett going off with a possible broken hand.
USA scrum is completely destroyed and a huge offload from Read puts Savea into the corner – padding that tries scored:matches played ratio.
TRY, CONVERSION MISSED NEW ZEALAND 43-6
37 min: USA gives NZ another easy kickoff before committing a penalty, NZ Clears to the touch line but whiffs the line out and USA begins attacking down the left touch line. Samu Manoa runs hard onto a pass before more passing to static forwards. USA attack turning into a Jeckyl and Hyde performance.
39 min: Siddall makes a half break and offloads to Clever in a lot of traffic but ball is knocked on. NZ immediately kicks and USA is fortunate to recover through Scully as Piutau looked to be steaming onto the kick. Scully with a gash on his face and possible broken nose. All Blacks begin attacking immediately off of the line out and once again go coast to coast in 2 phases, USA defense gets caught and a last ditch tackle by Scully a few meters out stops the try from Savea.
And that’s half-time, folks. The United States defensive structure, poor tackling, and poor kicking from the halves has all but scuttled any chance they had of keeping this match close. When the forwards are in motion as they hit the ball the USA looks very dangerous and more than capable of breaking the AB line, as they did several times. When they begin hitting static players with the ball and then kicking directly to Dagg they look like a 5th-tier nation. Not sure why they are not contesting more on their own kickoffs when one of the few times they did, Scully pulled it right out of the air and set the Eagles up 10m out from the NZ try line. Structure a glaring issue on both sides of the ball.
42 min: USA kicks off without a real contest, again. New Zealand kicks back and Siddall slips on the returns (thanks, Bears organization – replace your fucking field already. Take it out of Cutler’s contract). Hayden smith knocks on in the ruck and New Zealand earns a scrum. USA scrum holds much better than before – USA backs absolutely slaughtered by a simple chip kick to the wing but get out of jail thanks to a forward pass from Savea to SBW.
44 min: Another scrum and this time the USE are shoved backwards but manage to retain the ball. Siddall clears into the wind by kicking high and the ball doesn’t go much of anywhere. Joubert unhappy with USA over some back chat but responds with a “Sweet, thanks bro” to Scott LaValla after a moment of talking to him – might have just made the match for me there.
46 min: NZ take their own line out and go to the maul but get nowhere with it. USA nearly caught by their own defensive disorganization again but manage to recover. Huge intercept off a TJ Perenara pass by Folau Niua called back for Olive Kilifi not rolling away at the ruck. Todd Clever possibly injured. NZ take the line out and Joe Moody powers over from in close. Same play they used against France in the 2011 RWC final.
TRY, CONVERSION MISSED NEW ZEALAND 48-6
48 min: USA kicks long with no contest. Cruden clears to touch after a single phase by Read to set the ruck and create space for the clearance. USA loses their line out and All Blacks backs make huge meters down the left touch line and into the Eagles 22. Ball is shifted to the opposite touchline and a short ball by Mealamu puts Cruden in.
TRY, CONVERSION MISSED NEW ZEALAND 53-6
52 min: Dan Carter is on. USA has a midfield scrum in the NZ half. Feed doesn’t make it to the hooker and Joubert penalizes USA for using a hand to feed the ball back. Carter clears to touch for the line out. Mealamu goes to the middle pod for Read but a poor pass through the backs leads to a knock on and ball back to the USA.
55 min: USA takes the scrum but collapses almost immediately. Joubert does not sound happy at all with Ben Franks, good work Kilifi. Not such good work the second time and the USA scrum folds in half for the second time today. Ball back to NZ as Joubert and Carter have a laugh before Carter kicks to touch again.
56 min: NZ takes it and sets another maul which goes nowhere. USA reacting and not acting on defense but realignment looked alright for consecutive phases for the first time since the 15th or so minute. Forward pass from SBW gifts the ball back to the USA players. Announcers saying so many stupid things I may turn the sound off soon – almost the entire starting side is fully professional now. Should’ve read my preview. Looks like SBW wants to come off but is denied by Shag.
58 min: USA manages to hold their scrum together this time but a short ball from Petri to Clever is knocked on, gifting the ABs more possession. All Blacks play some more park rugby (the less structure NZ play with, the harder it has been for USA to cope it seems) and Dan Carter shake and bakes Scott LaValla before dishing it out to Dagg who outpaces the USA cover defense to touch down in the corner.
TRY, CONVERSION GOOD NEW ZEALAND 60-6
62 min: USA takes their own line out through LaValla and are immediately turned over at the first ruck, not sure if it was legitimate though. Fatigue beginning to show for the USA and the difference in level of structure is becoming more and more apparent. NZ turns over and USA earns another scrum. Franks is just toying with the USA tighthead now but USA manages to hang onto possession before turning over at the first ruck, again.
65 min: NZ kick to touch and set another maul 10m out through Vito, with Thrush holding at the back. NZ rolls the maul around and desperate tackling by the USA keeps Vito out after an offload from Thrush. Poor passing out the back by NZ gets the USA out of jail, but Chris Wyles knocks on, giving NZ a scrum on the left side in the Eagles 22.
66 min: USA scrum falls apart again and before a simple 8-to-9 play puts NZ right up against the USA touchline with Cane crashing over on the next phase with little opposition.
TRY, CONVERSION GOOD NEW ZEALAND 67-6
69 min: Looks like the All Blacks are just playing around now – Peranara is playing on the wing. More interviews IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FUCKING GAME. USA manages to contain NZ for several phases before Dagg throws an offload to nobody and USA pounces on the ball. Big hesitation before a pointless cutout pass nearly loses possession for USA but NZ infringes at the ruck, letting them off the hook. USA takes the line out.
72 min: Coolican puts a solid throw in for the USA before a short cross kick from Siddal leads to TJ Peranara winning the ball amongst three chasing USA players who are all about a foot taller than him, not sure what to say – poor communication leaking into every aspect of the game as the USA chasers blocked each other from recovering the kick. Mealamu nearly makes one of the longest runs of his career before it is called back for an NZ infringement. USA kicks for touch. Coolican throws in again to the front pod and the Eagles set a maul AND THEY’RE INTERVIEWING PHIL THIEL DURING THE DAMN GAME.
74 min: After some creative play by S. Suniula, Coolican (a hooker) kicks the ball forward with no chase on the left touch only a few meters out from the AB try line and the ABs say thank you before making big meters down the left side of the field. An AB mistake gives USA a scrum ont he right side in their own 22, the scrum collapses again and NZ wins the ball back – they want a scrum of their own now.
76 min: Eagles replacement LHP has an elbow on the ground less than a second after the engagement and although NZ fumble the ball, they were already awarded advantage and take another scrum. The Eagles scrum holds steady this time and the All Blacks attack through the midfield before Samu Manoa says hello to a sniping Pulu. Blaine Scully strips the ball from Dagg and then Joubert blows the whistle for not rolling away at the ruck for a ruck that didn’t exist (or happened earlier and I missed and it was the most delayed call ever).
78 min: NZ take another scrum close in and smash the Eagles pack into the ground. Another big hit by Samu Manoa on Ryan Crotty halts the AB atack. Two phases later USA turns the ball over and Franks is pinged for offsides. Blaine Scully takes the quick tap and is nearly turned over running without support. USA knocks the ball on two phases later after a big run by Samu Manoa. Carter, Vito and Savea interplay beautifully with a series of switch passes for what is hopefully the final All Blacks try of the afternoon.
TRY, CONVERSION GOOD NEW ZEALAND 74-6
FULL TIME
NEW ZEALAND – 74
USA – 6
I’ll be pushing out a detailed review of the match once I am able to get my hands on some replay footage later this week. Unfortunately the Eagles capitulated in nearly all of the ways I thought they might and did very little to help themselves play to their strengths outside of a few moments during the match.
