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France v New Zealand - 16/11/2024 (20.10)

Not in a million years was that a neck roll, but NZ made two decisive mistakes, first by subbing Roigard and then by not going for 7 points with 6 min to go.

All in all, the pieces of Razor's puzzle are starting to align, it's only a matter of time until the ABs clicks…and when they do…

P.S. What a difference to the earlier today"s game at Twickers, which was such a kick bombing borefest.
 
Not in a million years was that a neck roll, but NZ made two decisive mistakes, first by subbing Roigard and then by not going for 7 points with 6 min to go.

All in all, the pieces of Razor's puzzle are starting to align, it's only a matter of time until the ABs clicks.
France were probably missing 5 first choice starters and they still beat the All Blacks - I wouldn't be getting carried away. If France had their best 15 that game is not even close. ABs had a massive opportunity and they blew it.
 
Not in a million years was that a neck roll, but NZ made two decisive mistakes, first by subbing Roigard and then by not going for 7 points with 6 min to go.

All in all, the pieces of Razor's puzzle are starting to align, it's only a matter of time until the ABs clicks…and when they do…

P.S. What a difference to the earlier today"s game at Twickers, which was such a kick bombing borefest.

New Zealand are a top tier team. Are they dominant as they once were? No. But they still easily have one of the best teams and group of players in World rugby. Their downswing is pretty much every other teams high point.
 
France were probably missing 5 first choice starters and they still beat the All Blacks - I wouldn't be getting carried away. If France had their best 15 that game is not even close. ABs had a massive opportunity and they blew it.
NZ also missed Cane, Tele'a and De Groot, with Finau injured after 5 min and Jordie by half time.

You are praising the French too much, but other than that, yeah, NZ had a chance to make a statement, but didn't, which in the end I guess it will work for the better for them, because the team is far from being a finished product and at least 5 positions in the first XV are under scrutiny.
 
Great game, a single point winning margin feels about right. This is the quarter final performance France wish they had last year. They were just a little bit cooler under pressure and executed better when it mattered.

Except for a few moments and of course the result, it's hard to be displeased with that from an AB perspective. They were absolutely spent by the end, gave it everything and more. So many positives: dominated the scrum and lineout, got parity at the breakdown, great individual performances especially Roigard and Lakai, what a debut.

Some will keep judging this team by 2015 standards but that would be a dumb trap to fall into. It's a four year cycle and they'll end the first year in overall great shape after a rough few months. Ka mate, ka ora. In death is life.
 
Great game, a single point winning margin feels about right. This is the quarter final performance France wish they had last year. They were just a little bit cooler under pressure and executed better when it mattered.

Except for a few moments and of course the result, it's hard to be displeased with that from an AB perspective. They were absolutely spent by the end, gave it everything and more. So many positives: dominated the scrum and lineout, got parity at the breakdown, great individual performances especially Roigard and Lakai, what a debut.

Some will keep judging this team by 2015 standards but that would be a dumb trap to fall into. It's a four year cycle and they'll end the first year in overall great shape after a rough few months. Ka mate, ka ora. In death is life.
ABs are improving game by game. That was their best performance of the year in my opinion. I think my earlier criticism of NZ was harsh. France are a great side who are never out of it regardless of the run of play. SA are the best team in the World but if the ABs or France played them next week I actually think they would beat the Springboks. SA against better teams would have lost in the last two games.
 
Loved that game last night, don't know how France got the win while being dominated at the breakdown.

I think NZ proved more in that game than last week despite the loss and I'll admit I was wrong in thinking Razor wouldn't adapt to the international game. It's weird to see them not beijg able to break down defences with great back play, it's generally individual brilliance, but they're probably a proper 10 and a good 13 away from fighting SA (and I suspect soon France) for the world number one spot and the 10 they need will be back from Japan before long.

France are just class, they looked absolutely hopeless for the first 30mins and totally gassed for the last 15 but were unplayable inbetween. I reckon they run up a bit of a score v Argentina next week and it's hard to see beyond a grand slam. It felt like they beat a 9/10 NZ performance with a 7/10 performance themselves yesterday. Dupont feels like the sort of player who can just make what he wants happen for him and his team, they're my early pick for 2027.
 
France are just class, they looked absolutely hopeless for the first 30mins and totally gassed for the last 15 but were unplayable inbetween
Agree with the second half of it. At the beginning I was 100% sure NZ would win it, and in the 2nd half I changed my opinion..BUT I wouldn't call France "class", still don't understand how France managed to win it tbh, for me it looked like NZ dominated 70% of time
 
Agree with the second half of it. At the beginning I was 100% sure NZ would win it, and in the 2nd half I changed my opinion..BUT I wouldn't call France "class", still don't understand how France managed to win it tbh, for me it looked like NZ dominated 70% of time
That's why France are a great team - they won against a very good NZ side when they weren't at their best and when facets of their game were going wrong. @Leonormous Boozer i agree with you about 2027 and next year's 6N but I don't see France beating Argentina easily next week - The Pumas are a very good side. I'll admit it, i really want France to win the next RWC. They would have won it last year with Ntamack at 10. I just can't see Dupont not winning a World Cup with the team around him.
 
That's why France are a great team - they won against a very good NZ side when they weren't at their best and when facets of their game were going wrong. @Leonormous Boozer i agree with you about 2027 and next year's 6N but I don't see France beating Argentina easily next week - The Pumas are a very good side. I'll admit it, i really want France to win the next RWC. They would have won it last year with Ntamack at 10. I just can't see Dupont not winning a World Cup with the team around him.
That's fair, I'm not underestimating the pumas at all. France just look primed to click and it's a long tour for for Argentina.
 
The anti-ABs brigade never ceases to amaze me…prior to the Northern tour, NZ were labeled as mediocre/average/nothing special/etc…after the Ireland game, it was said that the Irish had an off night, thus taking away any merit NZ would have had in that result…after yesterday game, we learn that a depleted France beat a "very good NZ side" 😃

P.S. There were far better all around players than Dupont who did not win the RWC…Rob Andrew, Jonah Lomu, Andrew Mehrtens, Carlos Spencer, Serge Blanco, Johnny Sexton, to name a few…so why would Dupont be entitled to win a RWC? 😃
 

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