gpsoldboy
Chris McKivat (8)
Personally I didn't think it was as bad as everyone is saying. Both teams were off and the ref was a bit pedantic (but even handed) which resulted in a less than enjoyable game to watch. But that being said, I feel we had the cattle and the game to win that one - we simply made to many errors. Genia, Sharpe and Ioane all played well but added to that I thought our centres went well also. Up front, I thought Dennis and Timani went well also.
It was interesting to note that the AB's tighthead came from the one scrum that Timani was absent for.
Both teams squandered good ball at times, but we got beaten at the breakdown too often.
Beale had a shocker, and that is a concern. I'd nearly start Drew at 14, AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) at 15 and Beale to the bench next week.
The use of the bench could've been better. For the whole second half we were in the game. What we needed was an injection. Instead of dribbling a couple of reserves on 5-10 mins apart I would've liked to have seen 3 sets of fresh legs come on together to try and spark something. Energy breeds energy and we needed something out there.
It's wierd. But it's almost as if they needed a reason to fire up. Emotionally or mentally exhausted before the game maybe?
Bring on game 2! Hope we can break the drought at Eden Park!
Have a look at these stats: http://livescores.smh.com.au/matches/rugby/match17233.html?page=scorecard&refresh=1345355793059
I am very surprised at the rucks and malls figures and the tackle counts as well.
We made 30 more runs but made 4 less line breaks!!