I have just watched the replay. I was a victim of the ignorance of RA not bowing to the demands of GPS schoolboy parents and instead opting to avoid a broadcast clash with that other insignificant global sporting event that was going on at the same time (for an example of the alternative check out the grandstands in Wellington).
Anyways, I did find some advantages of a delayed complete viewing. Instead of screaming at the screen whenever the saffers were standing in our backline I actually took notice of some other things. I don’t think it’s as disastrous as it seemed in real time. It probably depends how you looked at it - if you were in the camp looking at it as 1st on the planet v 9th it wasn’t too bad. If your expectations were that we were suddenly going to return to the 90s/00s then you would have been disappointed.
In summary, I reckon half of the 26 points difference came down to experience, the other half came down to the set piece, which largely revolved around missing all of Tupou, Bell, McReight, Wright, and not having a settled locking pair.
It will be a slow grind, but I just want to see improvement and some combinations evolve. I don’t see any unforced changes for next week, except for maybe at 10. In Daugunu’s place I’d start Pietsch and bring Koroibete off the bench, I thought Pietsch was pretty good except for the knock on. He wasn’t the only bloke to make a mistake. For the concussed locks, whatever the coaches see as the best solution, I have no idea.
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