2022 Bledisloe Cup. Wallabies vs All Blacks

[Members Section]

So your talking draw card games, England and Ireland both sold out AAMI park.

I did skip the last France game, previous one was so horrible I couldn't bare the thought of it possibly happening again. France, Wales and Fiji all got average crowds.

Lions sold out both test and tour game. Been a long time since SA played in Melbourne. 1998 I think it was, was the first test match my dad ever took me to, World champs v future world champs.

I remember a conversion being charged down, only time I have ever seen it happen live.

France game last year was a great game they won it after the final whistle & it was at sell out with 70% crowd cap

 

[Tex]

But not the top two teams in the world?

OK...

It's a simple concept: some teams have a higher intrinsic value than others.

France and Ireland carry little to no long-term relevance to Australia in terms of tradition or rivalry. Their transient ranking in some Dublin-based points system is laughably irrelevant when compared to the history of NZ-Australia and England-Australia matches, both of which are clearly bigger drawcards in an Australian and in particular, Melbourne context.

 

[Tex]

Anyway - nitpicking on adjacent points aside, it's great that Melbourne has a sell-out test at Marvel Stadium.

It's been 9 years since we last sold it out for the Lions, and 19 years since we sold it out for England.

Interestingly the last test I attended there was against the French in 2014, where we won 6-0 in front of a crowd of 13,000 or something dismal.

 

[Ignoto]

Curious Tex, why should Melbourne get the big games when you traditionally host them at the MCG, which would be up there with one of the worst spots to watch a game of Rugby.

 

[Tex]

How long's a piece of string (Vic Government cheque book)?

Agree on MCG as a venue for rectangular sports, unless of course it's a full house. Marvel allows the wing stands to be moved closer to the sidelines but it's still not ideal.

But I think the rational answer is that TV viewers > attendees.

 

[Members Section]

Anyway - nitpicking on adjacent points aside, it's great that Melbourne has a sell-out test at Marvel Stadium.

It's been 9 years since we last sold it out for the Lions, and 19 years since we sold it out for England.

Interestingly the last test I attended there was against the French in 2014, where we won 6-0 in front of a crowd of 13,000 or something dismal.

French game was sold out last year

 

[Tex]

French game was sold out last year

Anyway - nitpicking on adjacent points aside, it's great that Melbourne has a sell-out test at Marvel Stadium.

It's been 9 years since we last sold it out for the Lions, and 19 years since we sold it out for England.

Interestingly the last test I attended there was against the French in 2014, where we won 6-0 in front of a crowd of 13,000 or something dismal.

 

[Tex]

Apologies for turning this into my Thursday procrastination thread. Knock off can't come soon enough!

 

[Joe Blow]

They really don't, at least not in my books. It's Bledisloe, Saffers and Lions as tier one tests, probably England in there too.

Times have changed Tex

 

[Braveheart81]

Times have changed Tex

I think the excitement for future series against Ireland and France will be substantially higher than they have been in the past.

Those teams have all improved (obviously) plus they are sending out quality squads compared to what we have seen in the past.

I.e. France in 2014 were pretty terrible. France in 2021 were much stronger even with a bunch of players missing and if France toured now with a full strength squad they'd probably mop the floor with us.

 

[Equalizer]

20 long years in Bledisloe Cup limbo. The All Blacks are wounded but are these Wallabies good enough to exploit the opportunity and get the job done? First hurdle tonight. So many changes to the team. It will either go pear shaped in one direction or the other.for the Wallabies. Eden Park then looms on the horizon like Mount Doom to finish the journey. Is Frodo scared....???

 

[Joe Blow]

20 long years in Bledisloe Cup limbo. The All Blacks are wounded but are these Wallabies good enough to exploit the opportunity and get the job done? First hurdle tonight. So many changes to the team. It will either go pear shaped in one direction or the other.for the Wallabies. Eden Park then looms on the horizon like Mount Doom to finish the journey. Is Frodo scared....???

No he is not…….and that may be a big problem

 

[qwerty51]

The number two ranked test team doesn't count?

Tbf, I think most people (including Irish) will agree France is the current best team in the world.

But they sent their B side down for that series (not C, it ended up having a lot more starters than people thought but still missing top players).

 

[dru]

mmm ...... I am more concerned about the pigs successfully competing as a unit for 80 minutes - we have history of picking "mobile" pigs, being competitive for a while before the ABs flick the switch and go straight up us; and whole team cohesion in defence, so many changes

This bit seems clear. If we don't muscle up it is very much an uphill battle. A decent kicking game might ease that pressure a touch and a line out that works would ensure unexpected dis-possession is reduced, but certainly it starts at the ruck.

 

[dru]

Surely Valetini is a option in the line-out by now. If not, why not? He is clearly a long-term option in the back-row and should be up-skilling in this area.

Sure Valetine is a jumping option, not your first choice but an option. Which he also would be with two recognised jumpers in the locks and McReight as another back up jumping option.

 

[Dctarget]

Confirmed Petaia to Rebels

 

[Dctarget]

Seeing all the injured wallabies in the stands is a great reminder to temper expectations. Bell, Lolesio, Kerevi, Cooper, Paisami, Banks etc. Im back to being an intense pessimist.

 

[dru]

Crowd looks like a home ground for the All Blacks.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

Hearing Slipper say “gotta be brutal” got me in the feels.

 

[Ignoto]

Crowd looks like a home ground for the All Blacks.

Victorians aren't known for wearing anything but black in cold months