All Blacks V Wallabies, Hong Kong, October 30th

[smartcooky]

Disagree to be honest with the three stage process.

Slowing it down is in the best interest of the game, for safety fears, however slowing it down to much causes problems.

Maybe at grass-roots and lower levels of the game, but these are test level props who pack many hundreds of scrums in a season.

If safety is the big issue, just get rid of the "hit" altogether. The contest doesn't begin until the ball is in anyway, yet the "hit" has become a contest in itself

I can remember when there was no such thing as an engage sequence. The front rows just "folded in" and everyone got on with it.

 

[TRF_Cymro]

Maybe at grass-roots and lower levels of the game, but these are test level props who pack many hundreds of scrums in a season.

If safety is the big issue, just get rid of the "hit" altogether. The contest doesn't begin until the ball is in anyway, yet the "hit" has become a contest in itself

I can remember when there was no such thing as an engage sequence. The front rows just "folded in" and everyone got on with it.

Thats where most people cab get injured (from what I read) in the first hit. Personally I dislike it when the gap is so big that allows for the big hits.

 

[Shaggy]

Disagree to be honest with the three stage process.

Slowing it down is in the best interest of the game, for safety fears, however slowing it down to much causes problems.

Rolland got it wrong yesterday, it was to slow and lead to too many penalties / free kicks. The pack was ready, he could see that and slowed it down to much. Dave Pearson in the Ospreys game last night got the pace right and so did Wayne Barnes in the game on SKY. Again its something the IRB needs to look at, to slow causes infringements and to fast causes injury.

Wayne Barnes ... Wayne Barnes ... Wayne Barnes ... don't make me angry ... you wouldn't like me when i'm angry

Nah, just kidding ... he's not bad ... he's no Steve Walsh though

 

[gingergenius]

maggie gyllenhaal isn't fit. Not saying I'd say no if she wanted a shag, but there's plenty more pinups out there. can i just ruin the topic by showing a slice of the competition?

i love you olivia wilde

 

[Dizzy]

It was excitement right up until the final minute... Stephen Donald clearly deserves the comments that are being made about him however, he isn't the sole reason why we lost... Mils failed to stop O'Connor from falling over the line, he over ran him in the final moment of the game... Nonu, McCaw and Jane failed to stop AAC.. Nonu was caught on the wrong foot and didn't have Cooper covered, nor did Mils tackle attempt have any intention of stopping the try from being scored I think he just wanted to make the tackle[he could've held Cooper up] Toeava was as bad as Donald and the overall defense of the All Blacks was far from great...

I'm not downing the Australians attack, they were brilliant and posed a true threat to the All Blacks. But our defense should have been alot better.. However, big ups to Justin Bieber, I've always thought he was a dangerous player and since he has always been a form of underdog it was only a matter of time before he showed everyone up.
Kurtley Beale I rate very highly ever since he started in the Tri-Nations, I was afraid to call him the worlds best fullback back then but this game just lifted my opinion a bit higher..
He always poses as a threat with ball in hand is very rarely tackled on first attempt.
So overall I think the Aussies deserved the win...

Now back to who lost it for us and quite frankly, it was the coaching staff...

They put too much faith in these guys, Donald, Toeava and thank god Hore or Sivivatu weren't fit enough to join otherwise they would have made the game a damn blooper... They are taking these guys back, straight off the injured list without a satisfying amount of game time under their belts.. Guys like Ranger, Fruean, Slade and Cruden, I say they deserved their All Black call ups. But these guys get the free pass in because of who they are basicly.. Go back to the days when you had to deserve your All Blacks jersey instead of being handed it. The way I look at it, the final 20 mins of a game are the most crucial moments, especially when the scores are so close... And I have always felt that we shouldn't sub players on in the late moments of the game. You need time to adjust to the game and 20 mins just isn't enough especially when it's that intense. If they wanted to rest Carter, the better thing to do would have been to play Donald the first 20 and Carter the final 60..

 

[nickdnz]

It was excitement right up until the final minute... Stephen Donald clearly deserves the comments that are being made about him however, he isn't the sole reason why we lost... Mils failed to stop O'Connor from falling over the line, he over ran him in the final moment of the game... Nonu, McCaw and Jane failed to stop AAC.. Nonu was caught on the wrong foot and didn't have Cooper covered, nor did Mils tackle attempt have any intention of stopping the try from being scored I think he just wanted to make the tackle[he could've held Cooper up] Toeava was as bad as Donald and the overall defense of the All Blacks was far from great...

I'm not downing the Australians attack, they were brilliant and posed a true threat to the All Blacks. But our defense should have been alot better.. However, big ups to Justin Bieber, I've always thought he was a dangerous player and since he has always been a form of underdog it was only a matter of time before he showed everyone up.
Kurtley Beale I rate very highly ever since he started in the Tri-Nations, I was afraid to call him the worlds best fullback back then but this game just lifted my opinion a bit higher..
He always poses as a threat with ball in hand is very rarely tackled on first attempt.
So overall I think the Aussies deserved the win...

Now back to who lost it for us and quite frankly, it was the coaching staff...

They put too much faith in these guys, Donald, Toeava and thank god Hore or Sivivatu weren't fit enough to join otherwise they would have made the game a damn blooper... They are taking these guys back, straight off the injured list without a satisfying amount of game time under their belts.. Guys like Ranger, Fruean, Slade and Cruden, I say they deserved their All Black call ups. But these guys get the free pass in because of who they are basicly.. Go back to the days when you had to deserve your All Blacks jersey instead of being handed it. The way I look at it, the final 20 mins of a game are the most crucial moments, especially when the scores are so close... And I have always felt that we shouldn't sub players on in the late moments of the game. You need time to adjust to the game and 20 mins just isn't enough especially when it's that intense. If they wanted to rest Carter, the better thing to do would have been to play Donald the first 20 and Carter the final 60..

I thought you liked Sonny Bill Williams?

 

[-D-S-B-]

I reckon NZ have peaked too soon once again and Oz, Eng or SA to win Rugby World Cup in NZ next year!

So you'd rather them be playing really bad now ? And say "Ah, AB's still have to peak, man it's great that they're playing bad, I can't wait for this peak"

I hate it when people say AB's "Peaked too early". I for one want us playing as good as we possibly can from now to the world cup.

 

[-D-S-B-]

lol all blacks lose one game and now there over there peak haha

and quade coopers a clown for slapping mccaw when they got the try... he ruined what was a great win for aus.

Yeap, McCaw was minding his own business and Cooper just came in like the tosser he is and shoved his head into someones knee.

Cooper's a right ******.

Great effort by the Aussies the other night, although they didn't beat us in the Tri-Nations it was obvious they were improving and becoming threatening.

 

[Shaggy]

Yep, he's God - probably better than Carter at the moment, to be honest. I'd imagine that come the World Cup he'll probably be the starting first five, after he gets a few games in a row.

HAHAHAHAHA ... what colour is the sky in your world :lol:

 

[nickdnz]

3:26, is what people are talking about with Cooper. What a bad winner.

 

[smartcooky]

3:26, is what people are talking about with Cooper. What a bad winner.

Cooper's an arsehole. He wants to play league.. so good on him. He can go join his mate Lote Tuquiri, another dumb-fvck with a single figure IQ.

HAHAHAHAHA ... what colour is the sky in your world :lol:

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

HAHAHAHAHA ... what colour is the sky in your world :lol:

Wow... Just... Wow.

 

[RoosTah]

Cooper's an arsehole. He wants to play league.. so good on him. He can go join his mate Lote Tuquiri, another dumb-fvck with a single figure IQ.

Lote wasn't the cleverest man in the game, but he was a handy player for quite a while. Very competitive and aggressive, his only problem was he just became a little too one-dimensional.

But yeah, Cooper, while being a very handy player in attack, is a bit of a douche and his defensive weaknesses make me thing of Spencer... which is bad, because guys like that tend to lose you as many games as they win for you.

 

[Shaggy]

Yep, he's God - probably better than Carter at the moment, to be honest. I'd imagine that come the World Cup he'll probably be the starting first five, after he gets a few games in a row.

HAHAHAHAHA ... what colour is the sky in your world :lol:

Wow... Just... Wow.

Well you were trying to be comical right? ... a quick show of hands , who would you rather have in your test No. 10 Jersey Dan Carter or Stephen Donald ...Wow, really? ... good news Invictus, it seems that most people think that Dan Carter's the better player, so it seems that Stephen Donald is available for your test team.

Putting away any perceived prejudices against Donald for a moment, I can accept that you think Donald is getting a rough deal, and that you think he's better than the other backups available ... but to say he's better than Carter (even at the moment) is stretching it a bit.

For Donald to accomplish what you imagine (be the starting 1st five in the world Cup), he would have to have near flawless performances in the remaining tour matches (just to retain being the second choice), and then have Dan Carter get injured (as he's clearly the selectors first choice) so Donald could start.

 

[nickdnz]

Just wan't to point out, as some people have already said, well done to Australia. It's also nice to see a test match, which there are good winners as well as good losers. I think every kiwi is disapointed with how the All Blacks played, certainly some individuals, but most members will admit Australia was the better team on the day (with only one exception). Nice to see no gloating, or "cheat" accusations for a change.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

Well you were trying to be comical right? ... a quick show of hands , who would you rather have in your test No. 10 Jersey Dan Carter or Stephen Donald ...Wow, really? ... good news Invictus, it seems that most people think that Dan Carter's the better player, so it seems that Stephen Donald is available for your test team.

Putting away any perceived prejudices against Donald for a moment, I can accept that you think Donald is getting a rough deal, and that you think he's better than the other backups available ... but to say he's better than Carter (even at the moment) is stretching it a bit.

For Donald to accomplish what you imagine (be the starting 1st five in the world Cup), he would have to have near flawless performances in the remaining tour matches (just to retain being the second choice), and then have Dan Carter get injured (as he's clearly the selectors first choice) so Donald could start.

Yeah mate, I was just playing on SmartCookie's extreme hyperbole.

 

[Sam Owen]

Kurtley Beale I rate very highly ever since he started in the Tri-Nations, I was afraid to call him the worlds best fullback back then but this game just lifted my opinion a bit higher..
He always poses as a threat with ball in hand is very rarely tackled on first attempt.

Yeah man I think Beale is coming to his own now and like Drew, Adam and Jamie they're beginning to deliver on their promise that they would become very good players. Still in the progress though, I dont think we've seen the best of these youngsters just yet. I always thought of the Wallabies backline as exciting and was let down when they didnt deliver in this years first tri-nations game but now...oh boy.

Kurtley Beale also made a try-saver on Kevin Mealamu in the first quarter of the game. Kevin would normally score from that, although he had to come back into the traffic to meet the ball, you'd back Kevin to score from there as he has done many times before but no, Beale steps and says 'what are you up to Kevin?'. Great D.

Cooper's a right ******.

Cooper's an arsehole. He wants to play league.. so good on him. He can go join his mate Lote Tuquiri, another dumb-fvck with a single figure IQ.

Cmon guys we dont want Quade going to League and Lote is the man. If the game involves a Rugby ball, Lote is good at it.

We dont know what happened, Im sure Quade wouldnt have done that for no reason Im sure Ritchie did or said something.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Didn't see coopers little push in the game - what a dick

However, i think it was because of his slightly late tackle on Justin Bieber (hit him after he'd already scored the try) - not justifying it, but it's a possible reason. Also, Cooper looks ****** off when he does it, not gloating

 

[Wally]

It's a bit rich all you Kiwis getting your noses out of joint about Cooper. Anybody recall the Commonwealth Games 7s final? And let's face it, Richie is a pretty dirty player on the field, he probably deserved it. Kicking Pocock earlier in the match is a testament to that.

 

[nickdnz]

It's a bit rich all you Kiwis getting your noses out of joint about Cooper. Anybody recall the Commonwealth Games 7s final? And let's face it, Richie is a pretty dirty player on the field, he probably deserved it. Kicking Pocock earlier in the match is a testament to that.

Don't remember Kurt Baker hitting a player on the ground during the 7's final, after the try was scored. For all the talk of McCaw being a dirty player, I have never seen him throw a punch, or even reteliate to getting shoved just then. It comes down to the four more years arrogance, that is probably not needed.