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England v New Zealand
- Thread starter Teh Mite
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mohamed_ali12
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as **** as they must have been to draw a series with England, that was their warm ups and they've gotten a whole lot better over the season. Their backline is dangerous and they have very good loosies rightfully 2nd ranked team in the world
Ugh, is there a reason why we had to let the standards drop, with petty things like this?
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So what exactly is that dangerous backline going to do without the ball? Without a scrum or lineout, they're attacking from deep at best al autums on greasy winer surfaces with a wet ball - As per usual, their Forwards aren't going to win very much.
Unless of course Sheridan is shoehorned in to Balls up the scrum again.
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To be fair, though Sheridan is poo against 99.9% of other scrummaging opponents, he's kryptonite to the Aussies.
Got his opposite man binned in his first start, then the replacement got injured in a scrum against him later on
Got his opposite man binned in his first start, then the replacement got injured in a scrum against him later on
From what I hear the NH hasn't yet figured out how to compete at the breakdown under the new rules, so we'll see what a certain David Pocock has no say about this "no ball" situation.
That's where the "Aus are ****" must have come from, apart from losing to England they've done pretty well this year.
ranger
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If it were the same Australian side England played earlier in the year you would be bang on. But that frontrow England came up against was, and i say this without hyperbole, the most inexperienced front row in Australian test history. The Ma'afu-Faingaa-Daley combination had about 5 caps between them. They wont be feilding those 3 again this time around. Expect to see Robinson-Moore-Alexander, the same guys that had the edge over the English this time last year.
This new England front row is undoubtedly better than last years vintage, so i can't see the Australians getting the same dominance, but i would be surprised if England had a noticeable advantage either.
I expect an English advantage at lineout time, but not to the extent that you appear to think. The Wallabies have two lineout aces in Sharpe and Elsom, with Mumm or Chisholm as a reliable 3rd choice and Ben McCalman can take 1 or 2 a game aswell. It isn't enough to outdo England (Unless they bring back Borthwick) but it it isn't bad enough to lose them the game either.
Where i see Australia winning (yes i think Australia will win this one) is at the breakdown. Rocky Elsom should be well known to NH audiences for his exploits with Leinster so that goes without saying. Ben McCalman has been Australia's find of the season, hes infinitely better than Richard Brown and his raw abrasive game should keep England busy, and David Pocock is just insane. England doesn't have anyone who can think about competing with him at the breakdown. Moody's awesome and hes the best fetcher England have, but hes really just a 6 that has a good fetching game. He can't hold a candle to Pocock at 7.
Then in the backs the Genia-Cooper combination is dynamite. They will really miss Digby Ioane's linebreaking but in saying that, Kurtley Beale has been a revelation at fullback which offsets that loss. Foden and Ashton could kick up a real fuss if they get the ball, but i can't see Martin Johnson/their inside backs getting them involved enough.
In the end, i see a narrow victory to Australia. But i would be suprised if England go tryless again. Overall conclusion = Australia aren't "****"
What has that got to do with Australias record this year?
Should also be noted that the wins only came against Fiji, Ireland, England and South Africa. 1 Minnow nation and 3 with well documented problems.
Did you read Ranger's post? It has to do with Australia because your using it as evidence that they are ****. I'm saying England's strike rate would be much worse if they were in a competition against South Africa and New Zealand. So if Australia are ****, what are England?
I suppose what your saying is that the only country capable of playing decent rugby is New Zealand, I disagree, that would be Australia and New Zealand. In reverse order of course.
I suppose what your saying is that the only country capable of playing decent rugby is New Zealand, I disagree, that would be Australia and New Zealand. In reverse order of course.
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In the Australian back row i'm not worried at all about Elsom.
His form has gone to absolute s**t since going back to Australia, Croft'll better him, i've no doubt about it
Pocock, on the other hand, i rate higher than McCaw, him against Moody is no contest at all
His form has gone to absolute s**t since going back to Australia, Croft'll better him, i've no doubt about it
Pocock, on the other hand, i rate higher than McCaw, him against Moody is no contest at all
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It could be argued Pocock is a better fetcher, could be. However as an all round player Pocock doesn't really stack up to McCaw, in terms of leadership, ball carrying, and McCaw's knack for popping up at crucial times.
ranger
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I dont know about that.. Elsom hasn't been as explosive as he was in the Northern Hemisphere, but he was playing in the Magners league, the defense there isn't up to the standard of test level. The stats show that Elsom has actually been great for Australia.
Check this breakdown of one of his games, and it was far from his best game of the Trinations: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPQ53aJOv00
Elsom is worth his weight in gold for Australia, he is tall and skillful enough to be their primary lineout target (Taller than Croft, about the same height as Brad Thorn and Borthwick). He is a scrappy runner that is equally adept running in the tight fighting for garbage metres or out in the backs linking and offloading; He is a real pest at the breakdown and has great body position and balance for someone his height, his clean out and counterrucking is the best in the australian team, he always racks up a massive tackle count and can put in a huge hit or two a game to get his team fired up. His overall workrate is insane, i would be interested to see how he would go on a beep test because hes constant motion.
Croft is a top drawer athlete, but i haven't seen him giving the same hardnosed input to the English team. He seems like more of a Messam than a Kaino to me, but i could be proven wrong.
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Compared to the 16st5 of Richie McCaw it is!....oh wait 
He has got a few inches on McCaw though, and other players of similar size are a tad heavier, but I wouldn't say he's lightweight, really. He's fast and can hit very hard if the mood takes him. Also makes lifting him in the lineout easier (would you rather lift just over a stone extra of rocky elsom?)
He has got a few inches on McCaw though, and other players of similar size are a tad heavier, but I wouldn't say he's lightweight, really. He's fast and can hit very hard if the mood takes him. Also makes lifting him in the lineout easier (would you rather lift just over a stone extra of rocky elsom?)
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