Wallabies v All Blacks Sydney

[Spewn]

In Christchurch Kaplan gave McCaw a pilfering penalty when he never let go of the player he was tackling (Genia I think). It ended up with a goal to the ABs and a change in momentum. What is wrong with these refs? Pocock gets pinger despite letting go and yet Richie gets away with it. As Deans said, they are very good at getting away with these things. It is like diving in soccer. Some are better at it than others.

And why wasn't Conrad Smith binned for not rolling away twice when they were under the pump.

 

[Scotty]

The ABs deserved a card late in the first half. They were playing very poorly, and hanging on due to infringing in their own half, some of which was very cynical. It is very difficult to beat any team that gets away with consistent infringing when under pressure. I think the ABs are currently gettting away with it due to two reasons:

1. McCaw is an expert in reading what the ref is doing or going to do. He might push the boundaries early, then get his team to hold off later, or let the first 15 minutes go then start pushing the boundaries.

2. They tend to infringe not just when the opposition is in their 22, but further out. It is almost like they treat the 22 as the tryline, and their red zone is from halfway to the 22. It is smart play, as refs will be less likely to bin players if they infringe this far out. Of course they infringe in the 22 as well, but probably less so that between the 22 and 50 (of course I have no stats to prove this).

 

[Sandpit Fan]

I'm 90% sure it was given for a forward pass.

True, although I remember saying at the time to the guys I was watching with it seemed a pretty harsh call on the pass. Still, Lawrence was right there.

 

[chief]

Now that I've calmed down, I take some pretty good things from this game. The Wallabies are a half away from being the best team in the world, DC or no Dan Carter, Wallabies have had injuries as well. This is looking pretty fantastic for the Wallabies, ranked 2nd in the world, threatening the AB's line constantly and managing some pretty solid defense. I know I've explicitly talked about the negatives but there are some good positives, which have lead me to the following assumptions;

- Wallabies are the best 40 minute team in the world (sorry AB's!)
- Wallabies have the best flanker in the world (sorry Richie)
- Wallabies are the 2nd most dangerous team the world
- Wallabies have shown the ability to be the best in the world
- Wallabies will win the 2011 RWC

You all know me, I don't come up with these things before going through all the negatives numerous times. For me, this up and coming Spring Tour, if they can knock all these teams over, and AB's lose the one game. Things for the Wallabies will be looking very, very good.

 

[DPK]

True, although I remember saying at the time to the guys I was watching with it seemed a pretty harsh call on the pass. Still, Lawrence was right there.

It was marginal, but forward out of the hands IMO.

 

[Nusadan]

Stupid commentators on fox didn't pick it up.

Are you calling others like me stupid as we didn't pick it up either...

 

[Groucho]

Changing the subject, I haven't seen the author of this thread, Muttonbird, since he complained on PR that he was told by the mods here that he was not allowed to 'disagree'. What was that about? Very poor form if true.

 

[Muttonbird]

I'm around, just not posting. Learning off y'all how to be a good forumite.

 

[MajorlyRagerly]

It was marginal, but forward out of the hands IMO.

Not even close. And you guys scored directly from the resulting scrum. When the Fox comm's are saying the AB's got screwed, you know they must have got screwed badly.

McCaw was off early too, no doubt. Could have been penalised, but wasn't.

As happens it most matches, it all evens out. Although, that can harder to stomach/believe just after you have lost as opposed to won.

 

[Mojoman]

The breakdowns were a mess lastnight. Lawrence didn't officiate them very well. When Refs aren't clear and concise with their rulings @ the breakdowns, players tend to treat it as a free for all. The AB's were going straight down onto the tackled player when they had the ball all night. Probably because of the threat of Pocock, they got pinged a few times but I cringed everytime they had a ruck, expecting Lawrence to blow it up. Wallabies on the other hand kept getting their hands in the ruck after it had formed, continiously. Pocock was blatant, ruck formed but he's still trying to pick it up or slow it down.

 

[DPK]

Not even close. And you guys scored directly from the resulting scrum. When the Fox comm's are saying the AB's got screwed, you know they must have got screwed badly.

McCaw was off early too, no doubt. Could have been penalised, but wasn't.

As happens it most matches, it all evens out. Although, that can harder to stomach/believe just after you have lost as opposed to won.

Well I only saw it from 25 metres away, and I haven't seen a replay of the incident. Who cares, as you've pointed out it got evened out later on.

 

[Scotty]

Are you calling others like me stupid as we didn't pick it up either...

No, because you aren't paid to be an expert commentator. The 'stupid' call is just used as a relative term (relative to what I expect from them).

 

[Scotty]

Not even close. And you guys scored directly from the resulting scrum. When the Fox comm's are saying the AB's got screwed, you know they must have got screwed badly.

McCaw was off early too, no doubt. Could have been penalised, but wasn't.

As happens it most matches, it all evens out. Although, that can harder to stomach/believe just after you have lost as opposed to won.

It really is hard to compare a non forward pass on the 35m line to a disengaging from the ruck on the 5m line. They don't even out at all. But in general, calls do even out. It is just the big (and obvious) ones like the McCaw one that we expect the refs to get right.

 

[Mojoman]

- Wallabies have the best flanker in the world (sorry Richie)
- Wallabies have shown the ability to be the best in the world
- Wallabies will win the 2011 RWC
.

OK I'll bite.
On your first point. Pocock is good but he's one dimensional. Apart from being an expert pilferer @ ruck time (I'd rate him ahead of McCaw @ steals) what else does he do?
McCaw is an all round player, steals, ball in hand, defence, kick returns, leadership..there isn't much McCaw doesn't do. The only 7 I'd rate on par or even better than McCaw is George Smith. His ball in hand and ball playing really set him apart.
Second point. So do most other top 5 teams in the world when they're playing well.
Nup. Semis will be - AB's vs South Africa, Wallabies vs France, France to win. I'd love to bet the house on the AB's winning the final but we've farked up so many times in RWC's I'll say it'll be toss the coin.

 

[DPK]

It really is hard to compare a non forward pass on the 35m line to a disengaging from the ruck on the 5m line. They don't even out at all. But in general, calls do even out. It is just the big (and obvious) ones like the McCaw one that we expect the refs to get right.

You're right; the All Blacks got 7 points after McCaw/Read's cheatery, but the Wallabies got 5. Thank Shiteau for that though, not the AB's, not the ref.

Errors and cheating are part of Rugby, and sometimes they are a bigger part of some games than other. But that's Rugby! Seriously guys, if the Wallabies were truly better than the AB's or any other team in the world, errors and cheating wouldn't enter into it.

 

[Red Rooster]

Take another look. Reid has not yet reached for the ball and Ruchie is several yards away.
They got away with it but it was not legal.

JOC (James O'Connor) needs to be back 5m from the scrum before the scrum is over - this is behind the goal line on a 5m scrum feed - this is in fact the first offence Offside v Wallabies - If he has come forward then the ball must be "out" or he is offside

 

[Spewn]

Richie wasn't even holding on to his second row when he broke. Very bad refereeing. But wallabies should have been well clear if we had a kicker regardless of that try.

 

[Jnor]

OK I'll bite.
On your first point. Pocock is good but he's one dimensional. Apart from being an expert pilferer @ ruck time (I'd rate him ahead of McCaw @ steals) what else does he do?
McCaw is an all round player, steals, ball in hand, defence, kick returns, leadership..there isn't much McCaw doesn't do. The only 7 I'd rate on par or even better than McCaw is George Smith. His ball in hand and ball playing really set him apart.
Second point. So do most other top 5 teams in the world when they're playing well.
Nup. Semis will be - AB's vs South Africa, Wallabies vs France, France to win. I'd love to bet the house on the AB's winning the final but we've farked up so many times in RWC's I'll say it'll be toss the coin.

Ok I'll bite.
Calling Pocock one-dimensional is a bit rich. He might not be KB (Kurtley Beale) running the ball, but he always makes yards through determination if nothing else. Same in defence. Apart from the couple of times he's been caught over-reading the defence he never gives up on a tackle and brings the man down.
He's also 22 and has a long, long time to keep developing, he'll have McCheat's mantle soon enough and you boys will be calling him Pocheat or something (hopefully more witty).

So you're saying it'll be a South Africa v France final then?

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Calling Pocock one dimensional is just crazy. He's very solid in defence, has decent hands, always running in support and immense at the breakdown. What else do you want from an openside? I'll freely admit that McCaw is a level above anyone else on the planet, but he's a once in a generation player. Pocock could get pretty close by the same stage of his career, but they are different players.

 

[Slim 293]

To be fair, their tournament team says Jane as top winger and O'Conner 2nd. JOC (James O'Connor) not a stand out for me but no one else is either so that a freebie for them. If they've got there head up there arses its picking 11 ABs, 4 Wallabies and no Saffas. Surely SA werent that bad?

Apologies as I did read it at an ungodly hour this morning...

But O'Connor wasn't even the best Australian winger. Mitchell was consistently better and Turner was better in one match.

JOC (James O'Connor) has been fortunate to be on the receiving end of other players brilliance... and as an individual has shown to be too slow for a wing and woeful in defence...