[EOYT] Japan vs. New Zealand. 02/11/13

[donmcdazzle]

I was really annoyed with Wyatt Crocket too. How many times did he needlessly get himself offside around rucks. He gives away so many penalties. If it isn't at scrum time against the good sides it's around the park against the minnows. Really don't like him.

Piutau was awesome, him and Savea would be a powerhouse combo on the wings.

 

[Big Ewis]

so uhh....what does sigesige think of this game ?....

 

[nickdnz]

My biggest annoyance is Kerr-Barlow once again being sh*t - even against Japan. So many pointless kicks which weren't long or high - but instead just went comfortably back to Japan. Everyone in the team didn't seem to know about it either as there never seemed to be chasers. His delivery was fairly slow and his decision making was dire.

 

[Sam Owen]

Japan has improved from there RWC performance (83-7) today (54-6)

:lol: you're a sad guy with your sour analysis.

 

[Darwin]

A couple more random thought now the dust has settled:

- It was good to see Coles running with ball in hand. His acceleration and ball handling skills are pretty unique for a hooker, and he really needs to transfer these onto the international stage, as they are his biggest strength.
- Ben Franks got through a lot of good work, and it was great to see him not do anything silly for a change. However this match proved again he is not a TH prop - I can't understand why the AB's selectors seem to think he is.
- Thrush had a pretty good game overall, but I was a bit disappointed in Bird. Bird has played very little rugby since returning from injury though, so it may take some time before he gets back to his best.
- Luatua was a bit quieter than usual, but did show his value at lineout time. Watching the replay I was really impressed with the amount of work Sam Cane got through, both at the breakdown and on defense. Scrum.com have credited him with 26 tackles!
- Carter was pretty good on his return from injury. Japan did make some easy yards through his channel though, which was strange to see.
- Saili needs a lot more work before he is ready for test level. He made far too many errors, and he needs to make better decisions on when to kick. His defense was pretty good though. Ben Smith was pretty solid at centre - he made a couple of half-breaks, but wasn't able to quite deliver the final pass.
- As mentioned before Piutau was phenomenal. Halai will be pretty happy with his debut (despite a few errors) but does need to up his work-rate a bit. Barrett was strangely quiet at fullback.

 

[steblin]

I think everyones summed it up pretty well, bit of a 'meh' game. Definatley think the winner in terms of the AB's was Piutau, he was just hungry for it and made the most of his opportunity. He also has the advantage over others like Halai in that he can play fullback as well.

I know it was a lot of changes, and I know it wasn't the best weather for it ... but I was hoping for a much more cohesive performance from the AB's, I mean these are all squad players, its not like they've not played together before.

Thought Halai did ok, didn't see too much of the ball, and when he tried its like sometimes he was forcing the issue, trying to outpace defenders and throwing skeptical passes back inside, but the boy is obviously a talent.

I like Saili, but I thought he was pretty anonymous, just don't think hes ready for this stage yet. Hopefully the next two years working with Nonu will help bring him on.

Was hoping for a 'look at me' game from Luatua, but went under the radar, couple of nice steals at the rucks, just got through the dirty work, which probably will stand him in good stead with the coaches.

The AB's scrum was poor as well, why wasn't Coles striking the ball? That happened a few times, the pack got no push and it just led to a mess.

Nice to see Carter and Richie get through some good graft.

 

[osmond]

Didn't really notice too much of Luke Whitelock. I am keen to see more of him on tour, he will definitely get a lot better with more time in the All Blacks environment. A bit unlucky for older brother George not being selected on this tour, based on current form he deserves the opportunity to add to his 1 cap for the All Blacks. How long will he have to wait?

 

[rugby_mad]

Didn't really notice too much of Luke Whitelock. I am keen to see more of him on tour, he will definitely get a lot better with more time in the All Blacks environment. A bit unlucky for older brother George not being selected on this tour, based on current form he deserves the opportunity to add to his 1 cap for the All Blacks. How long will he have to wait?

Agree.. George form in ITM deserves another cap, would have been fabulous for the Whitelock family..

 

[Darwin]

Didn't really notice too much of Luke Whitelock. I am keen to see more of him on tour, he will definitely get a lot better with more time in the All Blacks environment. A bit unlucky for older brother George not being selected on this tour, based on current form he deserves the opportunity to add to his 1 cap for the All Blacks. How long will he have to wait?

Forever.