New Zealand vs Ireland

[Lindommer]

What bit of offside at the ruck does Owen Franks not understand? Standing 2m in front of the ABs hindmost foot and wrestling with an Irishman going for the ball is plain stupid. And he's a serial offender in this matter.

NZRU, get Franks a copy of the Laws, please.

 

[Paradox]

Never seen NZ so sloppy at the breakdown. Even when Ireland weren't pressuring them, they managed to be loose in that area and turn over the ball.

 

[maxdacat]

Not very good quality but someone has pointed out a few (alleged) NZ transgressions in the final minutes, inlcuding the scrum:

 

[Antony]

The King is dead. Long live the King.

Sir Richies performance last night under pressure and his on field reactions suggest that the Shark was jumped at RWC last year.

Having seen all the best 7's on this planet from NZRT, Eng, Ire, Wal, Saffer, Aus, Arg and FRA in recent weeks, I think it is time to corronate Sir Bam of Bam as the King of the Dark Arts of the 7th Chapter.

When you turn to some of the unnecessary off the ball sh*t like holding back, and kneeing opponents in the back to compensate for your relative lack of pace, and declining skills, (in addition to that noted above) such as we saw from Sir Richie last night then it is time to start planning your round of farewell and benefit appearances.

Like all cycles in nature, the leading young Prince at the time of the demise of the old king will be anointed the new king.

Arise King David the 7th.

I'm really worried about this from an All Blacks perspective. Henry could have dropped a senior player if he'd needed to, but I don't Hansen has the authority yet - the team seems to be revolving around a core of senior players, mainly from Canterbury (+ Smith).

Basically, even if he is clearly not the best 7 in NZ (which isn't really the case yet) it is going to be near impossible to drop him - he has to leave with dignity, which he won't.

 

[qwerty51]

Why am I not surprised to see Cane not binding to the scrum? Who could forget the disgraceful try he was awarded against the Tahs this year

 

[Tordah]

Why am I not surprised to see Cane not binding to the scrum? Who could forget the disgraceful try he was awarded against the Tahs this year

Everyone but crazed Waratah's fans

eye gouging on McCaw from McLaughlin at 13:42 YT-time (06:53 onwards game time)?

 

[Bardon]

Jamie Heaslip and Gordon D'Arcy are out of the final test. Heaslip will be a big miss given our other back row injuries and the fact he's performed better on this tour in green that he had for over a year. D'Arcy being out I'm not so worried about, even though he's been in better form than for maybe 5 years.

Would expect McFadden to move into the centres and Zebo to the wing. What worries me is that Paddy Wallace was called up to the squad, would have preferred one of the many young centres left at home got a call up just to experience what being in a touring squad is like, even if they don't get near the 22 for the test.

 

[Kevin Tyrrell]

Jamie Heaslip and Gordon D'Arcy are out of the final test. Heaslip will be a big miss given our other back row injuries and the fact he's performed better on this tour in green that he had for over a year. D'Arcy being out I'm not so worried about, even though he's been in better form than for maybe 5 years.

Would expect McFadden to move into the centres and Zebo to the wing. What worries me is that Paddy Wallace was called up to the squad, would have preferred one of the many young centres left at home got a call up just to experience what being in a touring squad is like, even if they don't get near the 22 for the test.

It is going to really upset the balance of the back row with Heaslip gone next week...we actually had the better of the back row exchanges on Saturday especially after Keiran Reid left at halftime and McCaw has definitely waned since the world cup last year. Will the new All Blacks coach have the sack to ante up and replace him...dont know!!! How Ireland get around our own back row troubles is anybodies guess. Do we move O' Brien to no. 8 and let him become more involved in link play and making his barnstorming runs and play McLaughlin at openside?? Its what I'd like to see anyways.

As for centres...I would love to see McFadden play alongside BOD...or maybe continue the Sexton at 12 and ROG at 10 experiment. Good tactical kicking really put the All Blacks under pressure on Saturday and definitely proved to be a useful weapon, particularly against Savea who looks menacing with ball in hand but quite suspect when its coming down from the heavens with snow on it. Paddy Wallace though is as always...the safe bet...but you dont win in NZ playing safe. Zebo should definitely be given a run out too...I dont see the point in bringing players on a 3 match tour to sit and gather splinters on a bench!!!

As for the king is dead...I can definitely see Mr. Pocock licking his lips at how disjointed the All Blacks looked at ruck time and how laboured McCaw looked at times. Also the picking a driving game worked very well as it kept ball in Irish hands and we seemed to have the ball for sustained periods of time by just keeping it close. A lot of the All Blacks seemed to get very tetchy when they didnt get their hands on the ball for a long time, and Ireland consistantly made inroads into their territory. We are afterall just the plucky guys in green jerseys from the NH. But the sheen of invincibility definitely lost its lustre...and I think sometimes they fear to be seen as an ordinary side, so much so that the All Black image and brand gets on their minds. It can be very hard to live up to an ideal. We see it constantly here in the NH with how the Ebglish media constantly hype up their national teams in rugby and football and then lambaste them when and if they dont live up to the hype of being world beaters. I can only guess at how the NZ media hypes the All Blacks and paints their opponents as inferior (especially after reading the disparaging comments of the Irish team after the first test). Will the NZ media allow Mr. McCaw a sweet swansong...or will we see him deteriorate into a hasbeen who lives off the hype of former glories??? In a big way that is down to how much of the hype of his legend he actually believes himself.

 

[Bardon]

On McCaw I definitely think he's been noticeably less effective this year than last. How much of that is down to him getting close to the end of his test career and how much to the injury and lack of game time with the Crusaders this year only time will tell.

If it is the beginning of his decline I don't expect him to go quietly. Players of his ilk are like candles close to the end of their life, sometimes they splutter and dim but there's almost always the odd flare or two when they burn as brightly as they ever have. I still expect there to be at least a couple of top drawer performances from Richie before he retires. Like most of the greats he probably will play on well after his best as like that candle we tend to let it burn itself out and still crave just a little more light as it dims and finally goes out.

NZ are far more ruthless than most nations when it comes to jettisoning their great when their services are no longer required. But at the moment there isn't a ready made replacement able to step straight in so Richie's services will be required for the foreseeable future. I would expect at sometime next year there will be a period of transition to life without Richie, at least in the starting team.

 

[SaderCheif]

Ali Williams out for at least 8 weeks for Knee surgery. Could this spell the end for his Ab career? I for one hope so. He's been past his used by date for years.

 

[FrankLind]

The cheating bastard probably deserved it.

 

[Bon]

That is a the sort of dumb comment FrankLind that shouldn't be seen on a public forum. That Irish player should be cited for eyegouging. Hopefully he will be.

 

[FrankLind]

That is a the sort of dumb comment FrankLind that shouldn't be seen on a public forum. That Irish player should be cited for eyegouging. Hopefully he will be.

It was sarcastic. Hence the wink. Try to keep up.

 

[Dan54]

I would expect Bon in this forum you would be one of the few who think he should be cited, I do and not because it done to AB , but it shows why I take most things said about Richie, or most of ABs with a huge grain of salt, I know if that was Richie doing that the outrage in here would be incredible.

 

[Bullrush]

I would expect Bon in this forum you would be one of the few who think he should be cited, I do and not because it done to AB , but it shows why I take most things said about Richie, or most of ABs with a huge grain of salt, I know if that was Richie doing that the outrage in here would be incredible.

I agree but a still shot is hardly a lot of evidence. I don't know that there was an eye-gouge as opposed to just some accidental contact in trying to go for the ball. McCaw is obviously no Tom Carter although he also had some pretty good physical 'evidence' around that eye shortly afterwards.

 

[Dam0]

I agree but a still shot is hardly a lot of evidence. I don't know that there was an eye-gouge as opposed to just some accidental contact in trying to go for the ball. McCaw is obviously no Tom Carter although he also had some pretty good physical 'evidence' around that eye shortly afterwards.

Have you seen the footage of the incident? It is about 3 posts above you at the time specified in the post. Looks pretty damning to me as the player has 3 goes at it.

McCaw has done very well to come through the middle of that maul by the way.

 

[Bullrush]

Have you seen the footage of the incident? It is about 3 posts above you at the time specified in the post. Looks pretty damning to me as the player has 3 goes at it.

McCaw has done very well to come through the middle of that maul by the way.

Sorry mate - the computer system at work is pretty slow and crappy and I didn't even relise there was a video attached. All I can see is the one pic

 

[Athilnaur]

I wasn't sold on it as a gouge myself, more a need to hold onto his head it's all I can reach kinda thing.

And yes Richie did well in that maul. Poor game for him overall, but the discussions in various places about him losing his edge seem very early to me. Great way to stir kiwi friends tho

As for the game, I'd say there is blood in the water.

Ath.

 

[FrankLind]

I think Richie is on a downward trajectory now, but there will still be games where is up for it.I'd like to know his aerobic and speed stats now, as opposed to few years back.

I'd love him to prove me wrong, but now he looks like a wounded soldier b4 he even starts a game rather than just at the end.

 

[ACR]

I think Richie is on a downward trajectory now, but there will still be games where is up for it.I'd like to know his aerobic and speed stats now, as opposed to few years back.

I'd love him to prove me wrong, but now he looks like a wounded soldier b4 he even starts a game rather than just at the end.

He's always been a hard trainer, he'll surely have to wind his training back and manage himself from now on.

Check out this vid from 2009, not surprising to see all the old guys dominating, or who's left last.