Bledisloe #2 - AUS v NZL, Eden Park, Auckland, August 15th

[daz]

How do you pick your best team when you don't know it?

Maybe stick with the team that won last week and go from there?




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[tragic]

Once a year the Wallabies have an absolute shocker and capitulate.
Cant remember the last year where we didn't get one drubbing.
But this year we won the rugby championship, moved up to third in the world, and announced our scrum is no longer an Achilles heel!
FFS we're still on an upward trajectory and in with a shot for the biggest trophy in world rugby.
A bit less bloody hysteria please!!

 

[Ruggo]

That sucked.

Chieka took the good from last week and changed it when he just had to fix what didn't. It was crazy on his part. Blaming one or two players is ignorant. It was a shit team performance period.

anyways enough of that.

Congratulations to those AB's who played their last test on home soil tonight. Each of them outstanding players. All respect to them.

Ritchie McCaw. Just outstanding for such a long time. Rugby is a game of respect and he has mine that's for sure. The bloke has done everything yet remains as modest as ever. The bloke is a testament to staying humble and putting all your being into everything you do. A true role model.

 

[TahDan]

Once a year the Wallabies have an absolute shocker and capitulate.
Cant remember the last year where we didn't get one drubbing.
But this year we won the rugby championship, moved up to third in the world, and announced our scrum is no longer an Achilles heel!
FFS we're still on an upward trajectory and in with a shot for the biggest trophy in world rugby.
A bit less bloody hysteria please!!

This. It was a disappointing performance, but let's not forget who we were playing and where.

 

[scott]

And then, when one of those XV goes down in a crucial match, and your reserve player has had a total of 30 minutes against a second-tier team, what then?

Genius.

Your reserve players have been playing rugby all their lives, you would expect them to take any opportunity and step up, whats one game going to suddenly teach them? Do you think Nonu had a shit game because he didn't play last week?

 

[cyclopath]

But a far cry on what Phipps served up last week....

It really wasn't. Phipps threw some shockers, and made some bad mistakes, but most of his passes were on the money. I watched the game stop / go with pausing the next day (and with a clear mind) to look at this. Undoubtedly a poor game. White was slow, the reasons for which I am not sure (yet), but the end result for the team was no better. We were hamstrung. If White had last week's forward effort, and he got it away fast, I agree he would have been better (for the team). But the old adage about backs struggling behind a pack getting pummelled held true.
This is the problem - none of our 9s and 10s are shining consistently.
I honestly don't know the answer.

 

[Teh Other Dave]

Cheika definitely tinkered, but were we really thinking that tonight's starting line up would be the line up for Wales, England, and (hopefully) beyond? We knew that a lot of these players were in the 'possibles' section, and some 'probables' were on the pine or wearing blazers tonight. It's disappointing to see a team capitulate like that, especially after our start was solid, but it's not all gloom and doom. If we get past England, I think we're a great chance to go deep beyond the quarters.

 

[Dan54]

OK, last week I said the All Blacks were not flash, because the Wallabies made them play under pressure. This week I believe it was the opposite in spades, although a lot of you are trying to pick who was worst, I think perhaps the ABs should get a little credit, even allowing for the fact they played all those old past it players I have been reading about in here all week. The biggest difference this week was AB forwards got their roles sorted out (bugger all cluttering up midfield), and so Nonu etc were able to get over the gain line and allow the loosies and rest of pack to come FORWARD onto the ball, I believe that was reason hooper didn't look as effective or Pocock when he came off the bench!! Anyway I can go to bed happy tonight!

 

[teach]

Beale was actually bloody good wasn't he? Made some great defensive reads and was pretty solid in the few chances he had with the ball


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I had always put him in the flakey basket with Cooper but I was reasonably impressed with him tonight.
Cooper is not up to Internationals and rarely has been. For the life of I don't know why he didn't hit Smith low and risk him sliding over the line. He was coming from side on so would have made it easier to smash him.
Palu and Skelton looked rooted after 25 minutes. Not sure both of them should have been on at the same time. But I guess that is why kiwis have been asking for Skelton to have more game time since Super rugby.

 

[scott]

How do you pick your best team when you don't know it?

Any team that beats the All Blacks should be a clue?

 

[Chunderstruck]

Did the aging ABs really answer their critics? Biggest difference was Nonu. Wasn't that impressed by Carter aside from goal kicking, particularly given the forward dominance in front of him (apparently Quade would have scored 1000 tries behind that pack). The only times I noticed McCaw was next to Nic White

 

[Pfitzy]

Your reserve players have been playing rugby all their lives, you would expect them to take any opportunity and step up, whats one game going to suddenly teach them? Do you think Nonu had a shit game because he didn't play last week?

How many times has Nonu played 12 with Carter and Smith as his 10 and 13? Just guess, come up with any number (over 30 is my advice).

So him coming back in, combined with a forward pack that also had its combinations back (Whitelock + Retallick, McCaw + Read + any other) is a known quantity.

Cheika has had less than a year - and only about 9 Tests - with these guys to evaluate them. So just playing the same XV every game isn't going to do it, because you get injuries, you get form changes, you get other variables that you need to quantify before you go ahead.

Its called "coaching" and it happens at all levels. Nothing is set in concrete.

 

[drewprint]

Dane Coles spent more time on the wing than Higginbotham ever did.

 

[Pfitzy]

Any team that beats the All Blacks should be a clue?

You fail to appreciate just how far off their game the ABs were last week. Tonight we got evidence of it, and we couldn't match it.

You're working in absolutes. You can't see the bigger picture, in that while rugby is a simple game, the mechanics of it at the higher levels are not.

 

[MrTabua]

Did the aging ABs really answer their critics? Biggest difference was Nonu. Wasn't that impressed by Carter aside from goal kicking, particularly given the forward dominance in front of him (apparently Quade would have scored 1000 tries behind that pack). The only times I noticed McCaw was next to Nic White

The greatest trick Cheika ever pulled was convincing the All Blacks Sydney never existed.



Apologies to Mr K. Soze.

 

[sidelinesid]

I have had a shit of a day
Wicks lost by a point
Marlins lost by 3
wallabies lost by ( i am not going to say)
but we are on to win the world cup;

 

[Teh Other Dave]

Dan54, there's a simple explanation for this - most of us expected NZ to bring a much better game than last week. The disappointment comes from having no answer or ability to adapt to it. Make no mistake, that match was won as well as it was lost.

 

[Pfitzy]

Dane Coles spent more time on the wing than Higginbotham ever did.

Coles has more tries now.

 

[ChargerWA]

Speaking of Timani. It'd be great to have Sitaleki Timani back.

Said no one.

 

[drewprint]

Coles has more tries now.

True. But in a class NZ performance his lack of grunt work really stood out for me.