Bledisloe # 3 - Saturday 31st October, ANZ Stadium

[Bullrush]

Not entirely. They agree to beat us four times a year.

It would be great if the Wallabies were more competitive but it's not the responsibility of the NZRU to get them better.

In my mind, the Wallabies took a dive after letting McKenzie go

 

[Up the Guts]

Fair call.
He’s not up to it yet though. If he learns to tackle and improves a bit then maybe.
But I wouldn’t give him another run next week.
And I think there’s others who’ll overtake him in the pecking order before he gets there.

Agree, he didn’t look quite ready. I’m happy for him to get some time against Argentina but it’ll be hard to start him next week.

I don’t remember him being a terrible tackler for the Brumbies but he certainly missed one close to the line on Mo’unga he should have made. Kafe mentioned a few times we were trying to hide him in defence but I’m not sure we did anything different than normal—JOC (James O'Connor) usually defends back while Daugunu or Koroibete are in the line. We really mentioned O’Connor in that role tonight, he’s excellent for a ten under the high ball as a former winger.

 

[ACR]

Yes apparently that is NZRU attitude as well and doing there best to make this the only option

Hmm, unfortunately Australian rugby has to compete with league and AFL and there's just no getting around that handicap. That's 30+ professional sides to pay a kids salary instead of whatever rugby has now, they had 4 at best? Is there a way you can get schoolboy rugby outside the small private school system? That's the only solution I can see. Not a kiwi head coach.

 

[Up the Guts]

I hope Petaia is ok after that knock, the run to setup the try was outstanding. Mo’unga must shit himself every time he runs toward him.

 

[Dismal Pillock]

zer0 is one of the good guys

 

[Gnostic]

Funny all the people saying the ABs beating the Wallabies regularly is the problem.

It is not. Don't forget, regardless of the coach the Wallabies discounting the dead cat bounce of the 2015 RWC have been breaking records for poor performances since the retirement of the last amateurs. Our players, selected from schools for "special treatment" before they have proved a thing in the daily grind at adult rugby, do not learn to skills in depth. We have extremely gifted players running around with the same skill levels they had as school boys. When those amateur players retired, they were the last who were actually skilled beyond school boy level. NONE of the players in the wallabies outside George Smith in the professional era is even close to the skill of their amateur contemporaries.

Just remember the Wallabies in recent times have given up record scores to England, Samoa & Ireland. They lost a home series to England and Ireland, indeed 3-0 to England.

Basically the players are gifted, and paid to be fit. They are not truly professional because they have not improved over two generations in skills in any way. The usual excuses from ex-players (commentators) who themselves extracted plenty of cash from the game and Clarke who has only the barest grasp of the laws and a whole bunch of cliches, to obscure the facts.

I agree the Wallabies shouldn't be playing the ABs as much as they do, because they do not deserve to. They are tier 2 at best and should not be getting paid full time wages to play the game.

 

[Up the Guts]

bit harsh. 2nd half we looked competitive. whatever tactics rennie had in the 1st, and particualy hiding noah backfired badly. id rather we just stuck with the basics and bring the newblood through and build on that.

Yeah, it’s harsh but I wouldn’t mind running out some Kangaroos like Josh Papaili.

 

[ACT Crusader]

I hope Petaia is ok after that knock, the run to setup the try was outstanding. Mo’unga must shit himself every time he runs toward him.

Petaia did a sweet fend on Hodgman as well. He’s class and for the benefit of the Wallabies I hope they settle on a 12 that can build a combination for years to come.

 

[Rugbynutter39]

Hmm, unfortunately Australian rugby has to compete with league and AFL and there's just no getting around that handicap. That's 30+ professional sides to pay a kids salary instead of whatever rugby has now, they had 4 at best? Is there a way you can get schoolboy rugby outside the small private school system? That's the only solution I can see. Not a kiwi head coach.

Another thread - league a threat to nz rugby n the region - sadly my view is nzru can’t see this as to me as lead rugby nation in region could provide better leadership to strengthen game across the region to thwart threat of league and expansion. I don’t think nzru can play this role - hence hope for private equity investment in pro comp in the region. Like I said this is for another thread. But this won’t end well unless latter happens imo as nzru shown no ability to look bigger picture to grow the game in the region which could only benefit nz rugby as well as others.

 

[Derpus]

Petaia did a sweet fend on Hodgman as well. He’s class and for the benefit of the Wallabies I hope they settle on a 12 that can build a combination for years to come.

Who though? ugh. That was very demotivating.

 

[Dismal Pillock]

Ouch

Even I felt sorry for Crossword Frizzle here, he knew bugger all about it. Petaia literally looked like he was trying to attack Frizzle's forearm with his nose.

 

[Bullrush]

Nah they could have been part of the solution and even more so for the future growth of the game in the region but they (nzru as well as others like RA) is why we need private equity investment and management- operational imposed control they inject into the game to replace national union control made up of appalling inexperienced exec and sports mgt.

We need a revolution of rugby in the region and ain’t going to get that from nzru or ra types

What do you want the NZRU to do to make Australia better?

 

[drewprint]

Can we please keep this kind of chat to the other thread. This one is for dissecting the corpse of that Wallabies game.

 

[Getwithme]

General observations:

• Mo'unga is a god.
• Lolesio isn't test ready and I think his best position is still 12. Is a great tackler, good runner of the ball and nice support runner. Kicking was a massive difference between the two sides.
• O'Keefe is awful. Doesn't understand that his job is to referee the game and not to have conversations with players. Also as the worst TMO have no clue why he doesn't want to use TMO. Didn't reward scrum dominance either.
• Lineout is still a massive issue for the Wallabies and allows for constant pressure on our defence.
• Not enough ball ended up in Petaia's hands. The more he touches the ball the better as he not only breaks the line but creates space for others.
• Was disappointed with DHP and maybe Maddocks deserves a run.
• A decent debut for Simone. Couple of sloppy touches but really has the all round game to develop more.

Sorry just one more regarding the refereeing. I'm starting to feel that due to the way the rules are written, World Rugby is placing a strong emphasis on refereeing consistency and by the book refereeing. I honestly believe that this does not need to be the case. We want our referee's to adjudicate the game so that it is fair but also free flowing; too often the sequence of events is scrum, penalty, lineout, scrum, penalty, lineout.... it's slow, takes too long and has no fatigue in the game.

Whether it is allowing our referee's to be more lenient by putting the whistle in the pocket (like they did in the last 8 minutes in Bledisloe 1), providing cleaners more time to get to the ruck or place a greater emphasis on actually stealing the ball not playing for a penalty, something needs to be done.

 

[Warpath]

That nose looks broken, he will be out next week ...

 

[Dismal Pillock]

Who is that vanity-plated lunatic trying to flee town before tonights flash flooding?

 

[ACR]

Even I felt sorry for Crossword Frizzle here, he knew bugger all about it. Petaia literally looked like he was trying to attack Frizzle's forearm with his nose.

Agreed, what is he supposed to chop his arm off? The one literally at his hip with bent legs...

 

[Drew]

Rome wasn’t built in a day. One disappointing result from a bunch of rookies isn’t the end of the world. I doubt Rennie would have chosen a rookie 10/12 combo if he had the chance. We beat the poms who were packed with promising rookies by heaps a few years before they won the World Cup. I personally think the rookie backline tried to do too much without earning it, they kept trying to manufacture points instantly instead of building pressure and capitalising on that pressure, lesson learnt. One thing that seemed to kill us was their mid field kicking. Our wingers are pretty one dimensional, probably need a winger who has a kicking game and a bit more ball play.

 

[Dismal Pillock]

Coles. Just beautiful. Codie Taylor a huge step down.
The Only Good Whitelock: MOTM
C.Clarke. was looked after well
Mounga: really had his feet under him
ALB/Goodhue: great glue guys with great instincts who just take the right option virtually every single time. Almost cruel of Aus to biff all those new inside backs in there against them.

 

[Blackadder]

What do you want the NZRU to do to make Australia better?

Make the All blacks change and wear the wallabies Jersey after half time