2012 Rugby Championship Round 5 Game 2 Argentina vs New Zealand - 29 September

[aeneas]

Rule 1 of attending a Bledisloe at Homebush: If you lose, make sure you beat the winning team's supporters to the train station. I've been in a few carriages packed with gold after a wallabies win, and it is brutal. All good natured enough, but definitely worth skipping an ovation to avoid. And I imagine the travelling kiwi fans can be just as cheeky.

One of my fondest rugby memories was being the only All Blacks supporter on a train carriage after the 2nd Lions test in 05. Dan Carter has just announced his arrival onto the world stage with that staggering performance at 10, Umaga had scored in front of his home crowd to put the FU up the British press. Dead silence on the train for an hour from the Lions supporters. It was like being at a funeral. I just sat their smiling away to myself till I got off. A cheery 'that was a good game wasn't it' as I departed was the icing on the cake.

 

[Jay]

One of my fondest rugby memories was being the only All Blacks supporter on a train carriage after the 2nd Lions test in 05. Dan Carter has just announced his arrival onto the world stage with that staggering performance at 10, Umaga had scored in front of his home crowd to put the FU up the British press. Dead silence on the train for an hour from the Lions supporters. It was like being at a funeral. I just sat their smiling away to myself till I got off. A cheery 'that was a good game wasn't it' as I departed was the icing on the cake.

I watched that match in a pub where there were a load of traveling Lions fans. This one bloke claimed to have almost played for Wales in the early 80's and was telling all and sundry that this was one of the worst AB sides in history and he didn't rate them at all. We gave him a fair few hearty pats on the back that night.

 

[Antony]

I watched that match in a pub where there were a load of traveling Lions fans. This one bloke claimed to have almost played for Wales in the early 80's and was telling all and sundry that this was one of the worst AB sides in history and he didn't rate them at all. We gave him a fair few hearty pats on the back that night.

He was almost right though. That 2004 tri-nations side was awful. Scrum was shit, Spencer couldn't deal with a flat line - I remember wulf and tuituvake on the wings at one point. Dire.

Thank the rugby gods that lions series fall two years after world cups, instead of one. Aussies may be saying the same thing next year too,

 

[Kangaroo Sausage]

He was almost right though. That 2004 tri-nations side was awful. Scrum was shit, Spencer couldn't deal with a flat line - I remember wulf and tuituvake on the wings at one point. Dire.

Thank the rugby gods that lions series fall two years after world cups, instead of one. Aussies may be saying the same thing next year too,

Really? Thats an interesting memory since Howlett and Rokocoko played every minute of every tri nations test that year and neither Tuitavake nor Wulf were All Blacks until 2008.

 

[Ruggo]

One idiot out of that crowd is not bad QS, as Ruggo said (although he didn't say it only one) there some idiot at Eden Park to, I stand by comments that crowd could teach most of us about passion and watching sport, I not talking about booing kickers etc(which is up to individual), just I thought the support they gave their team was brilliant, and standing ovation at end was very sporting, and I thought knowledgeable.

Sorry Dan, you are right. I didn't mean to stereotype a whole crowd on the actions of a few. I think it is important I clarify this.

 

[Dam0]

He was almost right though. That 2004 tri-nations side was awful. Scrum was shit, Spencer couldn't deal with a flat line - I remember wulf and tuituvake on the wings at one point. Dire.

Thank the rugby gods that lions series fall two years after world cups, instead of one. Aussies may be saying the same thing next year too,

It's funny that a lot of people seem to consider the 2004 Tri-Nations as one of the worst ever for the All Blacks. In reality each team won its home games and the thing was decided by bonus points. I'm not saying that SA weren't worthy winners, but it was hardly the disaster for us that is sometimes thought.

 

[Antony]

Really? Thats an interesting memory since Howlett and Rokocoko played every minute of every tri nations test that year and neither Tuitavake nor Wulf were All Blacks until 2008.

... Yep. Fair. It was a bad enough memory that my brain has clearly fried and cloned it. Stephen Donald has also lost us the game with a grubber in his 22 on forty-three separate occasions.

In reality each team won its home games and the thing was decided by bonus points. I'm not saying that SA weren't worthy winners, but it was hardly the disaster for us that is sometimes thought.

Agreed, but by the standards we had been setting the previous year (bar that semi), it was pretty disappointing. I think the thing that stood out was how toothless the backline was - such a stark contrast to the dazzle of 2003.