All Blacks v Wallabies, Dunedin, 19th October 2013

[Muttonbird]

Australians might find Hansen's quip funny because he talks a lot about "Injections" and "Confidence coming out of the mouth". Very Freudian. Clearly there is something deep and unresolved going on there.

Haha.

 

[Scrubber2050]

Hansen is just a standard little britjher , Kiwi taking his opportunity to rub it in. A lot, well some, kiwis are well balanced and we all welcome those ones into OUR society. Within a generation or 2 those little kiwis become Aussies and will wnd up supporting the Wallabies.

Gotta love that.

 

[Joe King]

A bigot? Piss off, not even close to factual.

Id rather he didn't say shit like this, but it's his choice. And for what it's worth, I agree with him.

Although I would say that it equates to more than just the mouth. All your sports teams are better with confidence, swagger and arrogance. The whole Aussie battler thing is bullshit.

Aussie battlers are crap. Arrogant Aussie sportsmen, are world beaters.

I disagree. I think Australian's play their worst when they're overconfident/arrogant, and play their best when they feel like the underdogs.

I'm speaking generally of course. But I always feel most nervous when the Wallabies go into a game expecting to win, or hear the players talking themselves up leading up to the game.

Self-belief is good, but it always needs to be measured and internal I reckon.

 

[Joe King]

Hansen said:

"You don't have to give an Aussie too much injection for his confidence to start coming out of his mouth"

As an Aussie I find that offensive. It doesn't matter how much we may be easy target for some (thankfully a small minority of) Kiwis, it's still bigotry. Substitute black for it and see how it sounds.

If you agree with him (like you say) then you're a bigot too. Nationalistic stereotyping isn't restricted to minorities.

Australians have a right to be offended by that kind of nonsense from a national sports coach.

I think it's OK for the Kiwi's to have a bit of a stir. I think they've earned that. The right response is probably to just laugh it off.

 

[Joe King]

The main thing for me is winning. I'd take that over playing closer to our potential.

I think most Aussie rugby fans would agree with you.

Don't get me wrong, I want to win as well. But I just want to see us play consistently good rather than rise for some and not others. I think if we always aim to play better than we did the last test, the results will take care of themselves. Sometimes it feels like we slacken off depending on the opposition.

It's a subtle thing, and I'm no expert so I could be wrong.

 

[Merrow]

Hanson sounds like a bigot. Most coaches respect opposition teams, and more importantly opposition nations. Imagine if Link started airing national stereotypes about opposing teams for comedy value. Leave the easy slander to Internet forums.

I don't think he's a bigot, just a bit of a dickhead. He can say whatever he wants, it'll make it that much sweeter when we finally beat them

 

[nugget]

wise words from the goat:
RD: Did trust in your team help you get through that final?
RM: Absolutely. Trust is the biggest thing in rugby. I believe there’s very little difference in talent between teams at this level; it comes down to the mental side of things. We spent a lot of time building relationships in the team, so when the pressure came on, we trusted each other to do exactly what was needed. We know each other’s vulnerabilities, strengths and weaknesses and, if someone doesn’t get it right, we help each other out. Those bonds build trust.
- See more at: http://www.readersdigest.co.nz/new-...person-2012-richie-mccaw#sthash.845kowtr.dpuf

 

[gel]

I don't think he's a bigot, just a bit of a dickhead. He can say whatever he wants, it'll make it that much sweeter when we finally beat them

Has anyone actually ever beaten the all blacks? If I recall correctly, it has ALWAYS been the all blacks that lost.

at least that's always the message after the game

 

[Muttonbird]

Hansen said:

"You don't have to give an Aussie too much injection for his confidence to start coming out of his mouth"

As an Aussie I find that offensive. It doesn't matter how much we may be easy target for some (thankfully a small minority of) Kiwis, it's still bigotry. Substitute black for it and see how it sounds.

If you agree with him (like you say) then you're a bigot too. Nationalistic stereotyping isn't restricted to minorities.

Australians have a right to be offended by that kind of nonsense from a national sports coach.

Most Australians would brush Hansen's comment off or even nod in proud agreement. Self-confidence is a virtue and a badge of courage over there, I thought. No need to feel offended, mate.

 

[Bon]

Has anyone actually ever beaten the all blacks? If I recall correctly, it has ALWAYS been the all blacks that lost.

at least that's always the message after the game

You have been fed a line there. We have been beaten,and will lose again in the future. While it's always nice to back a winner,the game is the thing.

 

[Groucho]

Seriously? Are you really offended or just first world internet offended?

Nah, just fishing really.

 

[wamberal]

Given the depth in New Zealand rugby (attested to by a casual look at the ITM Cup), I honestly wonder whether we will ever beat the buggers again, let alone ever get the Bled Back.

 

[RoffsChoice]

On the day it's 23 on each side. Chances are we can beat them 2 out of 3 times in a year if we each have our best 23 out there. That injury free year will come some time.

 

[Zander]

How can you say that? You were in a winnable position last year in Brisbane, you beat them in 2011 and 2010. It's not as dire as you think.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Given the depth in New Zealand rugby (attested to by a casual look at the ITM Cup), I honestly wonder whether we will ever beat the buggers again, let alone ever get the Bled Back.

Of course we bloody will, to think otherwise is needlessly defeatist. If we honestly think that won't happen that then we'd better stop playing them.

I'm sure plenty of people in the 70's thought we'd never beat them again, such was the dire state of Australian rugby, and blow me down we did. Hell in 1996 when we got absolutely mullered in the wet at Wellington I thought Aussie rugby was toast, but we rose again.

 

[Groucho]

The dire state of Australian rugby is greatly exaggerated. We've had a bad year for several reasons, but that doesn't make us a bad team or suddenly a poor rugby nation.

Depth is clearly our main problem, since while our best team can beat anyone, including the ABs, if you take out half a dozen top players then we suddenly start losing to more teams. The fact that this year all our games have been against the Lions and 4N competition has exaggerated that effect.

But when has it ever been any different? When was this idyllic past when we were always number one?

One of our flaws as a supporter group has been to to fixate on one thing as the 'cause' of our perennial number two-or-three status (since of course we're naturally number one, and something must be to blame).

The reality is that we're usually competitive in the top tier and sometimes the best. There's no reason that won't happen again, and hopefully soon.

We'll never compete with New Zealand for perennial dominance until rugby becomes a far more important sport in our culture, or a far less important one in theirs.

 

[RoffsChoice]

I always thought the old adage was that Australians would claim to be the best and occasionally prove it.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

<snip>

Depth is clearly our main problem, since while our best team can beat anyone, including the ABs, if you take out half a dozen top players then we suddenly start losing to more teams. The fact that this year all our games have been against the Lions and 4N competition has exaggerated that effect.

<snip>

Any team losing 6 of their best players would suddenly start losing to more teams, including the Darkness or Saffers.

Lose McCaw, Read, Carter, Dagg, Whitelock, B Smith and suddenly they are vulnerable.

 

[Bowside]

The dire state of Australian rugby is greatly exaggerated. We've had a bad year for several reasons, but that doesn't make us a bad team or suddenly a poor rugby nation.

Depth is clearly our main problem, since while our best team can beat anyone, including the ABs, if you take out half a dozen top players then we suddenly start losing to more teams. The fact that this year all our games have been against the Lions and 4N competition has exaggerated that effect.

But when has it ever been any different? When was this idyllic past when we were always number one?

One of our flaws as a supporter group has been to to fixate on one thing as the 'cause' of our perennial number two-or-three status (since of course we're naturally number one, and something must be to blame).

The reality is that we're usually competitive in the top tier and sometimes the best. There's no reason that won't happen again, and hopefully soon.

We'll never compete with New Zealand for perennial dominance until rugby becomes a far more important sport in our culture, or a far less important one in theirs.

I think the dire state has as much to do with lack of grassroots foundations as it does the performance of the wallaby team. The wallabies will rise and fall with the relative strength of the team. They always have.

But people seek more consistency in the team they support. They see NZ and SA putting measures in place to ensure continued dominance, and what are we doing?

Still arguing about sydney uni offering scholarships and newington buying a premiership. Still wondering why our tight 5's are so shit yet neglecting the fact that we don't let kids scrum properly (crotch bind and push past 1m) until senior grade rugby.

Australian rugby has so much room for growth, and so little ability/will/motivation to capture it.

 

[Bowside]

Any team losing 6 of their best players would suddenly start losing to more teams, including the Darkness or Saffers.

Lose McCaw, Read, Carter, Dagg, Whitelock, B Smith and suddenly they are vulnerable.

This years all blacks team was missing Carter, SBW, Jane, Kaino and it didn't bother them one bit.