[2015 RWC] Semi Final 1: South Africa vs. New Zealand (24/10/2015)

[austingtir]

bizarre game, I don't think you will see many games like this where one team dominated throughout yet only won by 2 points. Considering the possession, territory, meters made and domination of the contact area & lineouts the AB's had it should have been a simple victory.

Early port of the game the Boks did pressure the rucks really well, but after a while the AB's responded and protected a bit better to the point where the AB's completely dominated the contact area around the rucks and 1 pass out. at one stage statistics for gain line flashed up and it was 14% for SA and 48% for NZ. we were completely dominating that area getting over the gain line almost at will and smashing the boks behind it yet went away from it just as the Boks started to really tire.

genuinely I think the ABs game management apart from the last few min was poor. The grubbers that constantly went out should have been fixed before half time and keeping the ball in the scrums while habanna was in the bin was simply stupid. WTF were read & McCaw thinking at that stage? attacked Habannas wing constantly then when he was in the bin we keep it in a scrum and eventually give them 3 points?

Some of the discipline was poor from the AB's it was nothing really serious, some tough calls but the AB's should have been smarter and not got themselves in that position. Kaino for his lazy kick and read for going in the side of a lineout which was a 50/50 call, on another day he may have got away with it but in this sort of game it was needless. The Boks never really threatened so their was absolutely no need to give penalties like that away.

The Kaino card probably did influence the game, he was our best on show at that stage. The 3 points they got and the 10min being a man up at that stage hampered NZ's traditional strength before and after half time.

but I guess I shouldn't complaint too much. To come from !5 points down with a man in the bin at half time to shut the springboks out in the 2nd half was a good effort. I do think the AB's played the scoreboard more than anything else in that 2nd half. They got the points they needed to get ahead then worked on protecting it by trying to pin the boks into their own territory. I do think if the AB's needed more points in that 2nd half they could have got them by just holding the ball like they did through the middle part of the game.

Ben Smith was an absolute standout, IMO he should get a 2nd nomination for player of the year.

Carters drop goal also proved important but I feel like if we had just held the ball we could have scored more tries.... how many did we kick away? 6-7 times in possession in Springbok territory? We didnt get enough reward for that posession given away.

Brutal battle though, alot of talk about how NZ has an advantage with an extra day rest before the final but we need it more. This game was far more brutal than the AU vs ARG game...

The Read moments are the ones that stick out for me the most in this game. It was just so dumb by a player with his experience it almost defied belief. They knew SA had a slight edge on us in the scrums and yet they were still mucking about with that ball like we had some sort of ascedency in the scrum. It was kinda bizarre to watch TBH and bloody hard to comprehend what they were trying to do.

 

[TheOvalBall]

I watched a program called Master Plan last night, where they discuss the weekend's matches. They pointed out the weak to non-existent backline of the Boks. Players standing everywhere behind the ruck, with no structure and ball carriers all on their own.

I cannot for the life of me think how you can win like that, and how matches and cup's were won like that, years back, especially with the Bulls.

It's ridiculous. Anyone who plays like that deserves to lose.

 

[Icemn]

bizarre game, I don't think you will see many games like this where one team dominated throughout yet only won by 2 points. Considering the possession, territory, meters made and domination of the contact area & lineouts the AB's had it should have been a simple victory.

Early port of the game the Boks did pressure the rucks really well, but after a while the AB's responded and protected a bit better to the point where the AB's completely dominated the contact area around the rucks and 1 pass out. at one stage statistics for gain line flashed up and it was 14% for SA and 48% for NZ. we were completely dominating that area getting over the gain line almost at will and smashing the boks behind it yet went away from it just as the Boks started to really tire.

genuinely I think the ABs game management apart from the last few min was poor. The grubbers that constantly went out should have been fixed before half time and keeping the ball in the scrums while habanna was in the bin was simply stupid. WTF were read & McCaw thinking at that stage? attacked Habannas wing constantly then when he was in the bin we keep it in a scrum and eventually give them 3 points?

Some of the discipline was poor from the AB's it was nothing really serious, some tough calls but the AB's should have been smarter and not got themselves in that position. Kaino for his lazy kick and read for going in the side of a lineout which was a 50/50 call, on another day he may have got away with it but in this sort of game it was needless. The Boks never really threatened so their was absolutely no need to give penalties like that away.

The Kaino card probably did influence the game, he was our best on show at that stage. The 3 points they got and the 10min being a man up at that stage hampered NZ's traditional strength before and after half time.

but I guess I shouldn't complaint too much. To come from !5 points down with a man in the bin at half time to shut the springboks out in the 2nd half was a good effort. I do think the AB's played the scoreboard more than anything else in that 2nd half. They got the points they needed to get ahead then worked on protecting it by trying to pin the boks into their own territory. I do think if the AB's needed more points in that 2nd half they could have got them by just holding the ball like they did through the middle part of the game.

Ben Smith was an absolute standout, IMO he should get a 2nd nomination for player of the year.

Carters drop goal also proved important but I feel like if we had just held the ball we could have scored more tries.... how many did we kick away? 6-7 times in possession in Springbok territory? We didnt get enough reward for that posession given away.

Brutal battle though, alot of talk about how NZ has an advantage with an extra day rest before the final but we need it more. This game was far more brutal than the AU vs ARG game...

its simple actually and I touched on this before...

1. the boks came out to park the bus on defence then
2. catch the AB on the counter (because of pressure in point1)
3. intercepts (because of pressure in point1)
4. maul and stampkar
4. Kick for penalties (collapsing mauls)

in saying that, you don't beat Chelsea football club by 5 goals... you beat them 1-0...maybe 2-1.. its close cuz they kill the game with their defence, they sit back adsorb the pressure and hit you with the quick counter when you make a mistake
that is the same gameplan the Boks had, so im not surprised that the score was so close

the constant grubbers behind was because of point no3 - Hanson knew banana/Jp was going to try intercepts so that was a given to try and catch them unawares as they will have to turn around. I agree some of those kicks should have stayed in field BUT Hansen knew that SA do not play in their half... from a line out they will 99% of the time kick - this meant 1. its AB lineout (if it goes out - and the AB where better in the lines outs) and 2. counter attack (if the doesn't go out)

you cant park the bus vs the AB - you cannot sit back and wait for them! Esp if they are aware of your tactics! Hanson read them like a book! fok I read them like a book and im an idiot!

 

[Larksea]

its simple actually and I touched on this before...

1. the boks came out to park the bus on defence then
2. catch the AB on the counter (because of pressure in point1)
3. intercepts (because of pressure in point1)
4. maul and stampkar
4. Kick for penalties (collapsing mauls)

in saying that, you don't beat Chelsea football club by 5 goals... you beat them 1-0...maybe 2-1.. its close cuz they kill the game with their defence, they sit back adsorb the pressure and hit you with the quick counter when you make a mistake
that is the same gameplan the Boks had, so im not surprised that the score was so close

the constant grubbers behind was because of point no3 - Hanson knew banana/Jp was going to try intercepts so that was a given to try and catch them unawares as they will have to turn around. I agree some of those kicks should have stayed in field BUT Hansen knew that SA do not play in their half... from a line out they will 99% of the time kick - this meant 1. its AB lineout (if it goes out - and the AB where better in the lines outs) and 2. counter attack (if the doesn't go out)

you cant park the bus vs the AB - you cannot sit back and wait for them! Esp if they are aware of your tactics! Hanson read them like a book! fok I read them like a book and im an idiot!

yeah I guess I should just be happy to be in the final but as kiwis we like to analyze everything to another level and never be satisfied when it comes to the All Blacks

I feel like with the advantages we clearly enjoyed around the park the scoreboard should have been more like 24 - 9 but it was our poor decision making that basically gifted the springboks points and prevented us from scoring points. We didn't use the dominance we had. we got good field position with it and then kicked the ball away. Some of those grubbers that went into touch I feel like we were 3-4 phases away from getting a kickable penalty or even a try.

I'm pretty sure that will be a big talking point for the AB's this week. they are not usually that bad and I believe they will be back on point for the final.

 

[ABs2011]

The Read moments are the ones that stick out for me the most in this game. It was just so dumb by a player with his experience it almost defied belief. They knew SA had a slight edge on us in the scrums and yet they were still mucking about with that ball like we had some sort of ascedency in the scrum. It was kinda bizarre to watch TBH and bloody hard to comprehend what they were trying to do.

Yup I agree, that moment was incredibly dissapointing and IF we had lost I think would have been probably the single biggest errors of the game. Like you say, I could not fathom what they were thinking either. An incredibly poor read As was the drop goal attempt at the end of the game (or the desire to set to go for it). I hope the ABs really analyse those two moments and get them right for Sunday.

I really think Read is lacking in confidence now. The more I think about it the more I worry about him. He is far from himself (of 2013-14).

Anyway a win is a win I guess!!

 

[WaterboySA]

fok I read them like a book and im an idiot!

You said it. Everyone agrees.

 

[The Jones Boy]

Read is a great player and form can come and go in a single game, but class remains forever, he needs to put in a seriously big shift and he'll be right.