Totally, Weepu deserves his spot, was just arguing against the foolish ramblings this week that Cowan was sooooooooooooo bad that he doesn't deserve a Highlanders jersey let alone an All Blacks one.
Haha i think i know what youre talking about..
What i gathered from todays game:
-Rugbywriter was made to look very foolish. Cowan bagged two tries and had a cracking game, his mix of solid defence, quick decision making, raw mongrel and a hint of creativity is proving very handy for the ABs.
Smith had another blinder (as always) 2 trys, i felt that he was almost faultless in general play. His ability to sum up a situation and make the right decision with very little time to work with is amazing. Tackles seemed to melt off him as usual but it was pleasing to see him bunt a guy clean over aswell.
-Carter is getting back to his best, it still looks as if he is just getting warmed up too, he isn't playing with the passion he showed against the lions in 05 and i think hes just easing into things.
-DeMalmance showed why he is in the team; to be the reserve hooker. He is a ball of muscle and it looks like he is going to be used as a battering ram off the bench. A white Lauaki.
-Dagg is a future great. I have been saying this for ages but he is a very special talent, with the way he played tonight i am still convinced he could be used anywhere in the backs. Mills should be warming the bench come WC time
-Corey Jane has to be among the best outsides in the world. His handoff is phenomenal for a little guy
-The Franks brothers are a pair of tanks. The power of their hits on defense was scary and the scrummaging top notch. Woodcock and Tialata are on the back foot imo
-Benson Stanley showed that he could be a handy squad member come WC time. His game is suited to making everyone else look good and i think its great.
-Joe Roks had an alright game in my opinion, he looks like he is physically back to his best in that he has lost some muscle and gained a bit of acceleration. Hes still a powerhouse though as his bunts showed. Hes rusty but i think he could be very handy by the trinations
-Guildford was very average. He overran Conrad Smith at one stage which is absolutely criminal for a winger, especially a 1 dimensional one like Guildford. I would much rather Gear or Maitland.
On the Irish side of things;
-Heaslip confirmed all my prior thoughts of him. Big, powerfull, good at running the ball, but absolutely brainless. I don't want to hear anymore of this best in the world talk about him, hes just another Sione Lauaki and we arent fussed on that type of player.
-BOD was solid, but if you didn't know he was supposed to be the best in the world you wouldn't have figured it out by watching him. His running didnt look threatening at all, his jinking stutter thing he does normally creates doubt in the defender but today it just made him look like he had no idea of what to do.
-ROG did as well as he could. it was actually one of the better games i have seen him play to be honest.
-Kearney had a bonefide shocker. I know that ordinarily the guy can catch anything you throw within 20 metres of him but today his hands were terrible. not a good day for Rob.
-Bowe; see BOD. For someone that is supposed to be the best in the world he didnt threaten at all. Was outshone by Trimble.
-Cronin played a good hard game.
-The Irish number 1 played very well, but he was getting a bit cheeky with his rucking at times. If he trys that against the likes of Clint Newland next week he very well may be heading back to Ireland with a broken jaw. He was having a superb outing besides the ****ly stuff.
-The Irish scrum looked pretty good tbf
-I really rate O'Callahan
On the whole, the All Blacks shone out as individuals but looked very rusty at times. Individually their tackling was top notch but communication breakdowns lead to 4 soft tries, it really looked as if they were 15 great players who had never met each other at times.
The Irish were pretty average individually, but as a team they really barred up. They showed alot of guts and spirit and should give the Maori quite a few problems
I haven't actually seen it, so cant say how bad it was - but I said it was a stupid red card because it was incredably stupid of Heaslip to knee McCaw, because he let his whole team down (and the fans) and made their already very very hard job into a impossible one...
