Samoa V New Zealand July 8th 2015

[Kiwi_]

Have you ever thought of being the Auckland coach? Kiwi, your nous is impeccable. Hats off to you mate, you know your stuff.

Just a tad arrogant bro.....calm down mate.

Oh hey bro, kia ora mate, let's have some blokey Kiwi yarns about rugby and being hard and putting in a good nudge and having a few cans ay mate?

Samoa are a good team, we have to watch it, it will be close.

I'm not sure it will be that close, to be honest. I'm expecting a good 20-30 point win, at least.

Comments/attitudes like these are arrogant and the reason we have lost early in RWC's.

 

[Sonic Kiwi]

Oh hey bro, kia ora mate, let's have some blokey Kiwi yarns about rugby and being hard and putting in a good nudge and having a few cans ay mate?








Comments/attitudes like these are arrogant and the reason we have lost early in RWC's.

Tone it down mate

 

[Blackdevil]

Comments/attitudes like these are arrogant and the reason we have lost early in RWC's.

the closest defeat for samoa against ABs? i'm sure they can come closer, i hope they play like in the RWC with the comeback of injuried players + Sinoti sinoti and census johnston

 

[Kiwi_]

the closest defeat for samoa against ABs? i'm sure they can come closer, i hope they play like in the RWC with the comeback of injuried players + Sinoti sinoti and census johnston

It's the closest they've ever come, lowest amount of points we've ever put on them is 35, which was back in the 80's or something.

 

[Regan]

Oh hey bro, kia ora mate, let's have some blokey Kiwi yarns about rugby and being hard and putting in a good nudge and having a few cans ay mate?








Comments/attitudes like these are arrogant and the reason we have lost early in RWC's.

Not really. It was a very rusty performance and I reckon it should have been a 20ish point win too (before hand) but it was a pretty poor display. Had some of those passes stuck it could have been a lot higher scoring.

 

[smartcooky]

Lets put this in a little perspective guys.

That was an All Blacks team selected from the bottom three NZ Super rugby teams, most of whom haven't played any rugby for over three weeks (or two weeks in the case of Chiefs players), playing in Samoa, in the heat, and they still won!!!


I for one, am happy they have managed to win and shake out the rustiness in this match, rather than having to do that against Argentina in 9 days time.

Samoa really showed up and took it to them, but they will be disappointed not to have won; this was the weakest All Black team to take the field in an international in the last decade, and they were ripe for the plucking!!!

 

[Kiwi_]

Not really. It was a very rusty performance and I reckon it should have been a 20ish point win too (before hand) but it was a pretty poor display. Had some of those passes stuck it could have been a lot higher scoring.

Why do people think it was going to be that margin?

They have a physical decent team, they've beaten sides like Wales and Australia recently. They're playing at home in front of their home crowd, it's a massive occasion for them. We have a lot of guys out of touch, returning from injury, a 5th string half back, first game up, the majority of our best players resting, it was always going to be close.

 

[Sonic Kiwi]

Oh hey bro, kia ora mate, let's have some blokey Kiwi yarns about rugby and being hard and putting in a good nudge and having a few cans ay mate?








Comments/attitudes like these are arrogant and the reason we have lost early in RWC's.

Seriously.......how old are you?

Samoa played well.

Have you ever played rugby Kiwi?

 

[Blackdevil]

samoa have some injuried players too, don't forget

 

[Regan]

Why do people think it was going to be that margin?

They have a physical decent team, they've beaten sides like Wales and Australia recently. They're playing at home in front of their home crowd, it's a massive occasion for them. We have a lot of guys out of touch, returning from injury, a 5th string half back, first game up, the majority of our best players resting, it was always going to be close.

The Samoan team wasn't exactly the strongest either with some key players absent but we still had a reasonable side given 17 players were out from the SR final. First game of the season was always going to be rusty especially with the side we fielded but you'd expect things to stick a lil better. I dunno what the bookies were predicting but I reckon they were expecting a try fest and it would have been if things gelled a lil better. I know Samoa is a physical side but they've never been the smartest which was illustrated by today.

Had passes stuck this could have easily been a 20 point win. I'm glad it wasn't though (for Samoa's sake) and I'm glad they held their own (the 1st half was meh but a better 2nd). Samoa scoring a try too was nice.

 

[Kiwi_]

We lost so much ball at the breakdown.. We need Ardie. He really should be picked IMO. No protection of the pill, or decent go forward ball from the forwards. Ardie offers so much, he's a great cleaner as well, we have to take him.

 

[nickdnz]

Okay, well other than the mindless dross about who was more right - here are my thoughts on the match.

The front row: Nepo Laulala really impressed me. I thought he has been consistently performing well for Crusaders when he got the chance, but his scrummaging was a huge step up. I'd like to see him get another shot in the Rugby Championship over Faumuina, although it won't happen. Guess he'll just be good for next year. Hika Elliot also looked to perform better than Mealamu while he was on, seemed to just perform at a higher intensity.

Second row: Whitelock looked like a tall tree that Samoa were very keen to chop in half, but he was accurate in everything he did. Retallick looked good when he came on. Romano did pretty well with on eye...

Loose-forwards: Kaino I thought was a bit quiet. McCaw seemed to miss a few tackles. Read was good as usual, especially on defense. Didn't notice much of Todd when he was on - but he wasn't on for long.

Halfbacks: I wrote several novels in-between the time Andy Ellis cleared the ball from the break down. Brad Webber looked a lot more energetic and wasn't afraid to try some things, even if he didn't quite execute (like his kick and chase).

Fly Half: I thought it was a good return from Daniel Carter. Seemed a little hesitant to take on the line, and he overshot two cross-field kicks, but otherwise was solid on defense and distributed well. Great to have a world class goal kicker back.

Centres: Sonny Bill Williams I thought was very average. Lost the ball a number of times in contact, and continually went for the same cut on the inside that got the inside runner hit. Wasn't particularly strong in contact. Slowed down a number of times, when he could have back himself and the outside runner on the outside. Crotty I thought was pretty good, got hit a few times hard in contact but was pretty accurate. Probably didn't challenge defenses enough.

Outside backs: Moala scored a nice try and was pretty good on defense. Think he had some serious nerves going into the game as he dropped a lot of ball (which with Tuilagi marking you - it can happen). Piatau looked like the most dangerous runner on the park. Dagg really didn't offer anything, wasn't even particularly reliable under the high ball. Ngatai looked very good from the bench, showed a lot of that all-round game he has in the 10 minutes he was on.

 

[Regan]

We lost so much ball at the breakdown.. We need Ardie. He really should be picked IMO. No protection of the pill, or decent go forward ball from the forwards. Ardie offers so much, he's a great cleaner as well, we have to take him.

I agree. I'm an advocate for Ardie to be in the ABs. Just look at the Canes, we missed him so much in that final but obviously Hansen is going for more the Richie-esque in Todd but he won't make the RWC side anyway (most likely) and Ardie is the same. Todd has more experience and I guess that's why he was picked. I feel for Ardie because he deserves to be there. Regardless he was never going to play in this game anyway.

 

[Kiwi_]

Okay, well other than the mindless dross about who was more right - here are my thoughts on the match.

The front row: Nepo Laulala really impressed me. I thought he has been consistently performing well for Crusaders when he got the chance, but his scrummaging was a huge step up. I'd like to see him get another shot in the Rugby Championship over Faumuina, although it won't happen. Guess he'll just be good for next year. Hika Elliot also looked to perform better than Mealamu while he was on, seemed to just perform at a higher intensity.

Second row: Whitelock looked like a tall tree that Samoa were very keen to chop in half, but he was accurate in everything he did. Retallick looked good when he came on. Romano did pretty well with on eye...

Loose-forwards: Kaino I thought was a bit quiet. McCaw seemed to miss a few tackles. Read was good as usual, especially on defense. Didn't notice much of Todd when he was on - but he wasn't on for long.

Halfbacks: I wrote several novels in-between the time Andy Ellis cleared the ball from the break down. Brad Webber looked a lot more energetic and wasn't afraid to try some things, even if he didn't quite execute (like his kick and chase).

Fly Half: I thought it was a good return from Daniel Carter. Seemed a little hesitant to take on the line, and he overshot two cross-field kicks, but otherwise was solid on defense and distributed well. Great to have a world class goal kicker back.

Centres: Sonny Bill Williams I thought was very average. Lost the ball a number of times in contact, and continually went for the same cut on the inside that got the inside runner hit. Wasn't particularly strong in contact. Slowed down a number of times, when he could have back himself and the outside runner on the outside. Crotty I thought was pretty good, got hit a few times hard in contact but was pretty accurate. Probably didn't challenge defenses enough.

Outside backs: Moala scored a nice try and was pretty good on defense. Think he had some serious nerves going into the game as he dropped a lot of ball (which with Tuilagi marking you - it can happen). Piatau looked like the most dangerous runner on the park. Dagg really didn't offer anything, wasn't even particularly reliable under the high ball. Ngatai looked very good from the bench, showed a lot of that all-round game he has in the 10 minutes he was on.

Laulala was good. He's a big talent. I feel Goodes is better than Tony and Charlie. But they are cemented, too close to RWC to even think of that.

I think we will miss Tuipulotu a lot. I wonder if Hansen favours Broadhurst over Romano.

Kaino was quiet and slow to the breakdown. I felt he didn't keep up physically like he normally does, but I think this was due to him not playing for a long time.

Weber should have started. We know what Ellis gives us and it's not much. We missed a good opportunity to see what Webers made of, now we don't get the chance with the return of Aaron and TJ.

Good solid return for Dan, I think him staying fit will be key for us.

SBW really does not deserve to be ahead of Fekitoa. He has no aggression, no passion. Fekitoa is miles ahead of him now. I feel Ngatai is better than Crotty, but it's a RWC year, so probably next season we will see the emergence of him and Moala (have to admit to @Larksea I was wrong, he looks great). Crotty is just bland.

Piutau had an excellent return and I think he's such a better option than Dagg as Piutau is excellent at FB and Wing. Ben and Piutau should and will be picked ahead of Dagg who offers very little.

 

[Sonic Kiwi]

Laulala was good. He's a big talent. I feel Goodes is better than Tony and Charlie. But they are cemented, too close to RWC to even think of that.

I think we will miss Tuipulotu a lot. I wonder if Hansen favours Broadhurst over Romano.

Kaino was quiet and slow to the breakdown. I felt he didn't keep up physically like he normally does, but I think this was due to him not playing for a long time.

Weber should have started. We know what Ellis gives us and it's not much. We missed a good opportunity to see what Webers made of, now we don't get the chance with the return of Aaron and TJ.

Good solid return for Dan, I think him staying fit will be key for us.

SBW really does not deserve to be ahead of Fekitoa. He has no aggression, no passion. Fekitoa is miles ahead of him now. I feel Ngatai is better than Crotty, but it's a RWC year, so probably next season we will see the emergence of him and Moala (have to admit to @Larksea I was wrong, he looks great). Crotty is just bland.

Piutau had an excellent return and I think he's such a better option than Dagg as Piutau is excellent at FB and Wing. Ben and Piutau should and will be picked ahead of Dagg who offers very little.

yep, fair enough.

 

[Sonic Kiwi]

Laulala was good. He's a big talent. I feel Goodes is better than Tony and Charlie. But they are cemented, too close to RWC to even think of that.

I think we will miss Tuipulotu a lot. I wonder if Hansen favours Broadhurst over Romano.

Kaino was quiet and slow to the breakdown. I felt he didn't keep up physically like he normally does, but I think this was due to him not playing for a long time.

Weber should have started. We know what Ellis gives us and it's not much. We missed a good opportunity to see what Webers made of, now we don't get the chance with the return of Aaron and TJ.

Good solid return for Dan, I think him staying fit will be key for us.

SBW really does not deserve to be ahead of Fekitoa. He has no aggression, no passion. Fekitoa is miles ahead of him now. I feel Ngatai is better than Crotty, but it's a RWC year, so probably next season we will see the emergence of him and Moala (have to admit to @Larksea I was wrong, he looks great). Crotty is just bland.

Piutau had an excellent return and I think he's such a better option than Dagg as Piutau is excellent at FB and Wing. Ben and Piutau should and will be picked ahead of Dagg who offers very little.

"Smith and Nonu will start, 100% barring injuries. I think Fekitoa is a better option than Money Boy. Better defense, more heart. Easy pick after his performances this season, he improved on a great season last year and has gone the extra step, he has x factor."

Yep

 

[bazwaz]

Only one home based player in that Samoan team we just played so the days of thrashing Samoa are over...especially given the experience the Samoans have gained playing in the NH , Japan and Super Rugby championships.. was only their B team as well...missing Leiua and Lee lo in the centres just to name a couple...but I'd say this Samoan team has every chance of winning their pool at the RWC...$12 not bad odds either

Good work from the ABs new caps I thought. Especially Moala. We need finishers at the RWC .Pity there won't be room for him given Crotty is more the established player at centre is from Hansen's hometown etc...already have our winger quotient full as well but if it was me choosing the team Moala over Crotty all day.

Going by today's game what we will miss even more at the RWC is the best attacking standoff in world rugby who is currently injured..no use crying about that though cos you gots to work with what you gots to work with...Cruden's record of never losing a test match he's started at standoff speaks for itself though..

Too predictable the AB s attack though , need a league coach for our backline to mix up some of the lines with angled running , dummy runners..this is where Cruden's deft passing game came to the fore putting players into gaps, cut out passes..kept them all guessing what was gunna happen next...mesmerising stuff but enough about Cruden already lol

Have to agree with the comments about Ardie Savea. I'd tag Akira Iaone's name to that...Has to be the Junior Player of the Year hands down. Elliot Dixon wouldn't look out of place either...

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Only one home based player in that Samoan team we just played so the days of thrashing Samoa are over...especially given the experience the Samoans have gained playing in the NH , Japan and Super Rugby championships.. was only their B team as well...missing Leiua and Lee lo in the centres just to name a couple...but I'd say this Samoan team has every chance of winning their pool at the RWC...$12 not bad odds either

Good work from the ABs new caps I thought. Especially Moala. We need finishers at the RWC .Pity there won't be room for him given Crotty is more the established player at centre is from Hansen's hometown etc...already have our winger quotient full as well but if it was me choosing the team Moala over Crotty all day.

Going by today's game what we will miss even more at the RWC is the best attacking standoff in world rugby who is currently injured..no use crying about that though cos you gots to work with what you gots to work with...Cruden's record of never losing a test match he's started at standoff speaks for itself though..

Too predictable the AB s attack though , need a league coach for our backline to mix up some of the lines with angled running , dummy runners..this is where Cruden's deft passing game came to the fore putting players into gaps, cut out passes..kept them all guessing what was gunna happen next...mesmerising stuff but enough about Cruden already lol

Have to agree with the comments about Ardie Savea. I'd tag Akira Iaone's name to that...Has to be the Junior Player of the Year hands down. Elliot Dixon wouldn't look out of place either...

Don't waste your money they are in SA's group and the Springboks will win pool B. Period. It's whether they will beat Scotland to 2nd in the group. And last time I checked it will not be 30 degrees C, humid as hell in late September/October in England. Right now it's in the 20s.

Also do Somoa even have a decent enough Scrum and line out? When they played England last year I remember their line out was very poor.

 

[bazwaz]

You obviously haven't been following SA rugby....and using England's unconvincing win (at home) over Samoa last year doesn't really add any strength to your argument..

 

[Raggs]

Does anyone know when Mulipola is expected back? Should he be healthy for the RWC? If so, that's a huge boost to their scrum and their carrying. Leiua is sitting out the RWC due to injury, shame for him and Samoa.

Rustiness isn't an excuse though guys, not when it applies to both sides equally. Looking forward to seeing this, any notable injuries on either side?