Bledisloe Cup: Match 2 - New Zealand vs. Australia (17/08/2019)

[The Seeker]

For all intents and purposes, this match was over at half time. I hope South Africa vs Argentina (later today) is closer.

 

[GoTheNaki]

I don't quite know what we do going forward....... Our centres are still undecided... Our Wings.. there's been a lot of unwarranted noise about Ioane being in poor form, which just isn't true, you have to have the ball to be poor. I really hope Mounga is not injured, I rate him as our 10, I've seen a lot of rugby the last few years between Barrett and Mounga, a lot of close games, finals games and I'd honestly rather have Mounga at 10 at the World Cup. There is not a lot of huge games that Barrett has played well in, in the last 4 years. It is very hard to accommodate players of such talent into 6 jerseys... I would say without knowing how Mounga is.. the only certainty for me is Ioane at 11.

 

[Kiwiwomble]

And that, ladies and gentlemen is a 57 point turnaround.

Its what happens when you have a competent referee in the middle who doesn't make bullshit decisions forcing teams to play a man short for an entire half!

(and for all those who are going to give me a dislike for this post, read my signature)

Come on man, you really are the one keeping the arrogant kiwi fan thing going...it was red, if it was the other way around you'd would be screaming for a life ban siting all the clauses in the rule book your now ignoring, it's getting cringeworthy

Even if you had a leg to stand on coming in with that **** after we won just looks...embarrassing

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

And that, ladies and gentlemen is a 57 point turnaround.

Its what happens when you have a competent referee in the middle who doesn't make bullshit decisions forcing teams to play a man short for an entire half!

(and for all those who are going to give me a dislike for this post, read my signature)

I think posts like this, where someone would happily ignore the laws and want to allow reckless tackles that are likely to cause concussions, is the epitome of the saying "if you're going to be dumb, you gotta be tough".

 

[bushytop]

Come on man, you really are the one keeping the arrogant kiwi fan thing going...it was red, if it was the other way around you'd would be screaming for a life ban siting all the clauses in the rule book your now ignoring, it's getting cringeworthy

Even if you had a leg to stand on coming in with that **** after we won just looks...embarrassing

I think posts like this, where someone would happily ignore the laws and want to allow reckless tackles that are likely to cause concussions, is the epitome of the saying "if you're going to be dumb, you gotta be tough".

Who the hell are you guys speaking to?...

jokes

 

[Derpus]

Genuinely, as a proper die hard rugby fan (one of the few left) i knew what was coming and i felt nothing when it happened. Just dont care anymore.

 

[Groundhog]

And that, ladies and gentlemen is a 57 point turnaround.

Its what happens when you have a competent referee in the middle who doesn't make bullshit decisions forcing teams to play a man short for an entire half!

(and for all those who are going to give me a dislike for this post, read my signature)

Right read your signature, you're still wrong.

 

[87Dreamer]

And that, ladies and gentlemen is a 57 point turnaround.

Its what happens when you have a competent referee in the middle who doesn't make bullshit decisions forcing teams to play a man short for an entire half!

(and for all those who are going to give me a dislike for this post, read my signature)

Pretty sure coles would have got a red if that was last week

 

[smartcooky]

Pretty sure coles would have got a red if that was last week

Here's the thing

Last week Scott Barrett made contact with his opponent's head with his shoulder, with force... and the result was a red card
Last week Kurtley Beale made contact with his opponent's head with his shoulder, with force... and the result was.... crickets!

That is the problem I have with Barrett's red card... its not that he didn't deserve it, he probably did. For mine, it was at least a yellow card. No, the problem I have is the application of this Law/protocol. Its random, its inconsistent, and its unpredictable. If we are going to red card contact with the head, then lets red card ALL contact with the head. If we aren't going to red card all head contact, then don't red card any of it.

 

[bushytop]

Here's the thing

Last week Scott Barrett made contact with his opponent's head with his shoulder, with force... and the result was a red card
Last week Kurtley Beale made contact with his opponent's head with his shoulder, with force... and the result was.... crickets!

That is the problem I have with Barrett's red card... its not that he didn't deserve it, he probably did. For mine, it was at least a yellow card. No, the problem I have is the application of this Law/protocol. Its random, its inconsistent, and its unpredictable. If we are going to red card contact with the head, then lets red card ALL contact with the head. If we aren't going to red card all head contact, then don't red card any of it.

Consistency is a consistent problem ironically.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

I don't know exactly what to think of this. Did the all blacks improve? Yes. But how much?the wallabies were not the same team. They couldn't handle the expectation, just not used to beating the all blacks.

But we have kept the cup.

Our loose forward trio did better, as expected. Its a shame for me that Ardie has been given the role he has in this team, I prefer when he's in more of the rucks, but at least his running game was better than anyone's out there tonight. All three of them played better than last week; while read played his best game in a while last week he still made mistakes, this week not as many. Cane too was nearly error free this week and was very good in the tackle and got a few turnovers.

Bridge was good, hopefully good enough to make the squad, to me he is better than Reece. Only one of them will make it.

.

NZ hooker is an absolute grub,
Just play the game, if you wanna act the hard man get in the boxing ring/octagon

Come on, you have to enjoy that throw on white who had done a massive Hollywood earlier in the game

New Zealander: "the All Blacks ain't dirty players"
All Blacks player: judo throws an opposition player off the ball by the neck

wasnt by neck, he gripped his shirt. He may have made first contact with neck but he didn't throw him by neck.

Also, if they do it in judo without being injured whats the big deal? You could hardly call it dirty. I have no problem with the card though, because at the end of the day he was an idiot to do it, it wasn't just reckless, it was intentional.

Aaron Smith gets tackled by the neck, "nah nah he ducked into it"
See i can play your dumb game too,
Ab goes foul you call for a card straight away

Yeah you could say hooper ducked into batters tackle too

When the All Blacks win their third world cup in a row, im switching to league.

At least in league the winner changes once in a while.

come on, you are their last standing fan, stick in there.

 

[profitius]

I don't think Aus were THAT bad, at least in the first half. They were the better team for 25 min but a few mistakes and the heads dropped after they conceded the first try. They're still very erratic.

 

[Larksea]

great game, much better attitude. IMO the game was won before kick off, you could just see the AB's were finally clicked into gear mentally.
Can hardly fault any AB's they were collectively great. Great to finally see a result that justifies why I haven't been panicking despite recent results. IMO ignoring the scorelines and taking a measured look at the play I've seen a lot of positive things and a lot of things that can be easily fixed in time for the World Cup. The Defense has been amazing, the attack has been constantly threatening. They just needed to add ball retention, patients, continuity and discipline. Plus a bit of time for the new combinations to settle. Key players like Barrett, Cane and Read have been playing well. Bender and Ioane have struggled but we have time to fix that or options to take up the slack.
Cane, Read and Savea are buzzing. Who was it that said Read was playing crap? the only issue is that with Savea at 6 are missing a genuine lineout option and the lineout IS definately suffering a bit for it. But the other aspects of the combo are clicking into gear.
I've always liked Tuipulotu I think hes got massive potential but just doesn't get much of a look in. But he took this chance with both hands.
People giving Sam whitelock some flack dont really see what he does. Unlucky to concede a few penalties but made a game high 17 tackles, some important ones as well.
Richie was very good hope that injury is not serious.
SBW was solid, mostly his defense but his touches were smart and error free. Great try. He stops gamebreakers with his defense and he draws a lot of defenders when hes involved in play. And the offload is a constant threat.
ALB was awesome again. You name it he did it. Talk about the Wolf from pulp fiction. When ever there was trouble brewing ALB was there to fix it. Really showcased all aspects of his game.
We still dont know our #1 midfield combination, but so far you have to say ALB would be unlucky not to have his name down first.
Bridge and Sevu was an inspired selection. Bridge has always looked to me like a guy who is going to kick on and play a lot of test footy. I think having a guy like him there with his skillset takes pressure off Barrett a bit. I've always thought Bridge would be the guy to step into Ben Smiths Boots after this WC. I still don't think Bender is done, we are still like 5 weeks away from the WC I bet he will get himself back into the slot. That is enough time to build his fitness and confidence. But at the very least you would have to say without a doubt Bridge and Sevu have booked their ticket to the WC. I like that with Sevu hes not just an attacking weapon he actually does smart things on defense as well. Ioane has been off step, it has to be a goal of the coaches to get Akira humming again for the world cup. But Ive been saying for a while now I dont think the AB's will just go and win the WC with the same players and formula they have used for the last 3 years. We know a new game plan is coming and we needs some fresh in form players in the mix as well.
The Richie Barrett combo has been brewing I think we got closer tonight, I think Barrett has been struggling to balance the role of fullback with what he and the team want him to do up in the front line but it seemed tonight he focused more on just being a fullback things just worked a bit better. Of course when things are going well up front it makes the job out back easier.
Aaron smith, he needed to be influential and he was. I still think his delivery on phase ball was too slow but the conditions were such it had less of an impact than it did last week on a faster ground. All but a few of his kicks were good and he scored a great halfback try.
Save the front row for last, coles is playing well the soft yellow was a bit nuts. I'm pretty sure it was his job to look after white and he took it one step too far. It was pretty soft though a penalty would have been enough.
Front row was good, I think we have seen for a while now that when Laulala is good he is easily the measure of franks and even maybe adds a bit more around the park. Moody was good too but that first penalty he gave away was stupid he needs much better discipline than that, any good ref is going to blow that up instantly.
In the end its another year we tease the Aussies with that big silver bear bucket. Give them a sniff and then snatch it away emphatically

There are Still things to work on, the game plan overall is still conservative. It cant be easy to go out and win test matches against good sides using methods and patterns that they have used for a season or two already. no fancy set plays and no real hint on what the gameplan will be going into the business end of the WC. In particular on attack, it was mostly just through the hands, running at gaps with some offloads and the odd switch. You can bet they are working on their plan for the WC behind closed doors we wont see the true attacking potential till towards the end of the pool states, I think that's why most of the AB's tries are coming off turnovers and punishing mistakes. In contrast there were a few times the Aussies broke out some genuinely interesting attacking moves.

 

[Kiwiwomble]

great game, much better attitude. IMO the game was won before kick off, you could just see the AB's were finally clicked into gear mentally.
Can hardly fault any AB's they were collectively great. Great to finally see a result that justifies why I haven't been panicking despite recent results. IMO ignoring the scorelines and taking a measured look at the play I've seen a lot of positive things and a lot of things that can be easily fixed in time for the World Cup. The Defense has been amazing, the attack has been constantly threatening. They just needed to add ball retention, patients, continuity and discipline. Plus a bit of time for the new combinations to settle. Key players like Barrett, Cane and Read have been playing well. Bender and Ioane have struggled but we have time to fix that or options to take up the slack.
Cane, Read and Savea are buzzing. Who was it that said Read was playing crap? the only issue is that with Savea at 6 are missing a genuine lineout option and the lineout IS definately suffering a bit for it. But the other aspects of the combo are clicking into gear.
I've always liked Tuipulotu I think hes got massive potential but just doesn't get much of a look in. But he took this chance with both hands.
People giving Sam whitelock some flack dont really see what he does. Unlucky to concede a few penalties but made a game high 17 tackles, some important ones as well.
Richie was very good hope that injury is not serious.
SBW was solid, mostly his defense but his touches were smart and error free. Great try. He stops gamebreakers with his defense and he draws a lot of defenders when hes involved in play. And the offload is a constant threat.
ALB was awesome again. You name it he did it. Talk about the Wolf from pulp fiction. When ever there was trouble brewing ALB was there to fix it. Really showcased all aspects of his game.
We still dont know our #1 midfield combination, but so far you have to say ALB would be unlucky not to have his name down first.
Bridge and Sevu was an inspired selection. Bridge has always looked to me like a guy who is going to kick on and play a lot of test footy. I think having a guy like him there with his skillset takes pressure off Barrett a bit. I've always thought Bridge would be the guy to step into Ben Smiths Boots after this WC. I still don't think Bender is done, we are still like 5 weeks away from the WC I bet he will get himself back into the slot. That is enough time to build his fitness and confidence. But at the very least you would have to say without a doubt Bridge and Sevu have booked their ticket to the WC. I like that with Sevu hes not just an attacking weapon he actually does smart things on defense as well. Ioane has been off step, it has to be a goal of the coaches to get Akira humming again for the world cup. But Ive been saying for a while now I dont think the AB's will just go and win the WC with the same players and formula they have used for the last 3 years. We know a new game plan is coming and we needs some fresh in form players in the mix as well.
The Richie Barrett combo has been brewing I think we got closer tonight, I think Barrett has been struggling to balance the role of fullback with what he and the team want him to do up in the front line but it seemed tonight he focused more on just being a fullback things just worked a bit better. Of course when things are going well up front it makes the job out back easier.
Aaron smith, he needed to be influential and he was. I still think his delivery on phase ball was too slow but the conditions were such it had less of an impact than it did last week on a faster ground. All but a few of his kicks were good and he scored a great halfback try.
Save the front row for last, coles is playing well the soft yellow was a bit nuts. I'm pretty sure it was his job to look after white and he took it one step too far. It was pretty soft though a penalty would have been enough.
Front row was good, I think we have seen for a while now that when Laulala is good he is easily the measure of franks and even maybe adds a bit more around the park. Moody was good too but that first penalty he gave away was stupid he needs much better discipline than that, any good ref is going to blow that up instantly.
In the end its another year we tease the Aussies with that big silver bear bucket. Give them a sniff and then snatch it away emphatically

There are Still things to work on, the game plan overall is still conservative. It cant be easy to go out and win test matches against good sides using methods and patterns that they have used for a season or two already. no fancy set plays and no real hint on what the gameplan will be going into the business end of the WC. In particular on attack, it was mostly just through the hands, running at gaps with some offloads and the odd switch. You can bet they are working on their plan for the WC behind closed doors we wont see the true attacking potential till towards the end of the pool states, I think that's why most of the AB's tries are coming off turnovers and punishing mistakes. In contrast there were a few times the Aussies broke out some genuinely interesting attacking moves.

I'm sorry...I can't read that

I think we deserved all our points but Aussie deserved some, it was 3-0 at 30 mins, Aussie we're in this, over the two games it's only 62-47...

 

[Rinkadink]

What a Haka, set the mood perfectly and was only going to end one way. SBW is nailed on starter for me, difference in midfield was very apparent today.

On to Aus as not many talking about them; back 5 forwards were anonymous by comparison and probably where the game was lost. Patchy performance from Aus wing as well, running away from support on multiple occasions and wonky handling at times. Lealiifano not at the races either didn't help.

Not sure Australia were deserving of being nilled and had some unsympathetic calls from officials but well done NZ for a fully deserved, thumping win. Dont reckon Wallabies will be too worried, glimpse of their set piece looking lethal too.

Was quite entertaining to watch in spite of the lopsided score.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Here's the thing

Last week Scott Barrett made contact with his opponent's head with his shoulder, with force... and the result was a red card
Last week Kurtley Beale made contact with his opponent's head with his shoulder, with force... and the result was.... crickets!

That is the problem I have with Barrett's red card... its not that he didn't deserve it, he probably did. For mine, it was at least a yellow card. No, the problem I have is the application of this Law/protocol. Its random, its inconsistent, and its unpredictable. If we are going to red card contact with the head, then lets red card ALL contact with the head. If we aren't going to red card all head contact, then don't red card any of it.

Yep. And Garces was the ref in both matches he gave the red card for contact to the head and gave the same reasoning in his application. He has been consistent. But today it was Peyper who applied his judgement that it wasn't red. Isn't it the nature of the beast of this game that two refs view and make a snap judgement differently?

 

[smartcooky]

What a Haka, set the mood perfectly and was only going to end one way. SBW is nailed on starter for me, difference in midfield was very apparent today.

On to Aus as not many talking about them; back 5 forwards were anonymous by comparison and probably where the game was lost. Patchy performance from Aus wing as well, running away from support on multiple occasions and wonky handling at times. Lealiifano not at the races either didn't help.

Not sure Australia were deserving of being nilled and had some unsympathetic calls from officials but well done NZ for a fully deserved, thumping win. Dont reckon Wallabies will be too worried, glimpse of their set piece looking lethal too.

Was quite entertaining to watch in spite of the lopsided score.

THIS, particularly that back 3

Many casual rugby fans just don't understand that half a second in the game of rugby makes a huge difference to the way a team can play. Last week, Nick White had time and space because the NZ loosies were not playing well together as a team, and the Wallaby loosies dominated at the breakdown. This week, the NZ loosies competed furiously at the the breakdown - they took away White's space and a half second of his time. This meant the Wallaby inside backs and pods of three forwards were always getting the ball late and on the back foot - the NZ tacklers frequently stopped them behind the advantage line.

Last week everyone was talking about Michael Hooper; he was dynamic, running hard, making metres. He made 8 tackles and ran 18 times for 41 metres. He made most of those tackles in the first half, and most of the metres in the second. This week Michael who? He was largely anonymous because NZ made him tackle and forced him to knuckle down in the breakdown - 12 tackles (1 missed) and 7 runs for 20 metres... and a turnover conceded.

Finally, Brad Hodge was cruelly exposed last night for what he is, a river barge playing against fizz boats. He might be big and he might run hard, but he is slow, and very slow to turn on defence, and he doesn't have the ball handling skill set to compensate for those deficiencies.

 

[Zapphod]

I'm sorry...I can't read that

I think we deserved all our points but Aussie deserved some, it was 3-0 at 30 mins, Aussie we're in this, over the two games it's only 62-47...

How do you draw the conclusion that Australia deserved points they didn't get?

Let me put your words in a different way the score over two games was 62-47 to the All Blacks with the All Blacks being a player down for almost one third of the game time.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

THIS, particularly that back 3

Many casual rugby fans just don't understand that half a second in the game of rugby makes a huge difference to the way a team can play. Last week, Nick White had time and space because the NZ loosies were not playing well together as a team, and the Wallaby loosies dominated at the breakdown. This week, the NZ loosies competed furiously at the the breakdown - they took away White's space and a half second of his time. This meant the Wallaby inside backs and pods of three forwards were always getting the ball late and on the back foot - the NZ tacklers frequently stopped them behind the advantage line.

Last week everyone was talking about Michael Hooper; he was dynamic, running hard, making metres. He made 8 tackles and ran 18 times for 41 metres. He made most of those tackles in the first half, and most of the metres in the second. This week Michael who? He was largely anonymous because NZ made him tackle and forced him to knuckle down in the breakdown - 12 tackles (1 missed) and 7 runs for 20 metres... and a turnover conceded.

Finally, Brad Hodge was cruelly exposed last night for what he is, a river barge playing against fizz boats. He might be big and he might run hard, but he is slow, and very slow to turn on defence, and he doesn't have the ball handling skill set to compensate for those deficiencies.

It was typical brad really.

 

[Kiwiwomble]

How do you draw the conclusion that Australia deserved points they didn't get?

Let me put your words in a different way the score over two games was 62-47 to the All Blacks with the All Blacks being a player down for almost one third of the game time.

It's a figure of speech, the way they were playing in that first 30 I'm surprised the didn't score, calm down

We won, why are some kiwis so precious about anything that doesn't reenforce nz is the best in the world, winning should be enough, conceding some small compliments is good sportsmanship