[November Tests 2016 EOYT] France vs. New Zealand (26/11/2016)

[Nubiwan]

Bit odd listening to Kiwis rambling on about how tired their sides have been, all the same. Don't worry lads, the ABS are still **** hot!

 

[Five Meters Out]

France brought all the desire, punch and entertainment, .

First two I'll give you, but "entertainment"?? The most entertaining thing in rugby is a try and France didn't manage to score any.

 

[Makos]

First two I'll give you, but "entertainment"?? The most entertaining thing in rugby is a try and France didn't manage to score any.

France actually scored a nice try of a penalty, a really nice no look pass. It was going to take something special like that to breach the AB defense.

Teams need to be more creative vs the AB's on offense, otherwise we'll tackle you all day.

 

[Larksea]

There was a lot of talk about Sonny Bill being finished when he was injured and that we don't need him anymore etc.
The truth is, he will walk straight back into that back line when he is fit at either 12 or 13. He is huge, he is hugely experienced, he is quick for a big fella, he is a line breaker and he is the best in the world at a hand off in the tackle and he is no slouch on the tackling front.
We missed him badly on the EoyT

I haven't mentioned it either mostly out of respect for Crotty who did a very good job before he was injured. And because ALB was a revelation, IMO Fekitoa got a pass mark in the end but still has question marks.

The reality is that SBW will walk straight back into the AB's. Crotty has been smart and handy on the field but he's not SBW, size, power, offload he will add another dimension to the attack. Plus SBW is a brilliant defender as well.
SBW clocks up 100m+ multiple offload games week in week out its silly to suggest that he will struggle to make the AB's when hes back.

Also worth noting that Charlie Ngatai will be back next year. I believe that he has been over his head knock issues for some time now and they/he made the smart decision to give him and extended period off. Ngatai was in mind blowing form this year, easily the form midfielder in super rugby and arguably the form back full stop. Put the head knock issues aside he is the guy to build a midfield around, a very rare and gifted player.

The extended time off for both these players should hopefully be a blessing going forward. SBW hasn't stopped in years. Imagine how good he is going to be with a proper rest from playing, and proper conditioning and preseason. Its quite common for players to come back from long term injuries in really good shape because its often the only chance they have to get proper rest and conditioning.

 

[Makos]

I haven't mentioned it either mostly out of respect for Crotty who did a very good job before he was injured. And because ALB was a revelation, IMO Fekitoa got a pass mark in the end but still has question marks.

Gee, a pass mark? I think he was better than that, he ran some great lines and made some big tackles, if he didn't make that stupid tackle in Dublin he was probably MotM.

 

[Shaggy]

Add Jordie Barrett to the midfield equation too ... Too early for the lions tour, but definitely a prospect for the future

 

[The Jones Boy]

Gee, a pass mark? I think he was better than that, he ran some great lines and made some big tackles, if he didn't make that stupid tackle in Dublin he was probably MotM.

It was like he was trying a bit too hard and got silly with it but his heart was in the right place.
He's a solid defender, I just wonder about his attacking options however he has plenty of time to develop and next season we will have Crotty/ALB with SBW who will walk back into the midfield.

 

[Larksea]

Gee, a pass mark? I think he was better than that, he ran some great lines and made some big tackles, if he didn't make that stupid tackle in Dublin he was probably MotM.

During the june Series and Rugby Champinship the all blacks attack broke down almost every time Fekitoa was involved. He defends well and works hard but he has absolutely atrocious option taking. He offloads when its not on, he holds the ball when the pass is on and hes only kicked a few times but each time its not only been the wrong option but its been a terrible kick. When Fekitoa gets the ball he simply does not consider whats in front of him when he makes a decision on what to do.

The massive difference ALB has made to the backline is almost all about option taking. The difference between having a guy (Fekitoa) who almost always makes the wrong decision to a player who almost always takes a good option and actually reads the game (ALB) was HUGE! and noticeably improved All Blacks attack.

Fekitoa has been an all black regular for 3 seasons now, in that time I honestly think he has gone back many ways. His defense has been more reliable but less dominant. and his attack has gotten noticeably worse as he always makes bad choices and he doesn't dominate physically like he did in his first year.

I will give him credit for doing an ok Job when both Moala and Crotty were injured towards the end of the season. But overall I rate him near the bottom of a serious logjam of midfield tallent we are going to have when a bunch of these guys get over their injury issues.

SBW
ALB
Crotty
Ngatai
Moala
Faddes
Buckman
Proctor

IMO the top 4 on this list is our top 4 and I would fit Fekitoa into the bottom 3. With Faddes & Buckman at the highlanders hes not their best midfielder anymore. I see him as a safe option who is now very experienced at test level. But he hasn't developed as well as hoped/expected.
I think Moala has shown when he is injury free he is a much better option than Fekitoa, the problem is that he has been constantly injured. Hopefully Moala has a good off season and clears up his injury issues.

 

[The Jones Boy]

Yeah Moala is like a car thats a great prototype but when you get it out on the road it keeps breaking down just when you are enjoying the ride. If he can stay healthy he looks a great prospect.
Not sure he is the perfect foil for a fit SBW but we will see, he is definitely a candidate for more test cap opportunities.

Charlie Ngatai is an unknown quantity to me. I'll be keen to see him in action AFTER the B+I Lions come to town. Lets put him in the fire and see if he heats up or burns.

Crotty; I didn't rate him as more than a journeyman last year but in 2016 he has jumped up a notch and looked a talented midfielder and someone to watch who can fill 2nd five and centre.

Anton Lienert-Brown has been a revelation. He's a kid and yet he came in and looked the most composed of the new midfielders and his skills are eye catching. He is a nailed on starter.

Sonny Bill Williams- well some people on here were writing him off before the AI's kicked in and they were trying to shout me down when i said that the big man would walk straight back in to the team but here we are with a cupboard that is bare of experience and a little lacking in size. SBW boasts a huge amount of experience. He tackles like a MOFO, he charges like a steam train and even if he is gang tackled he still gets the ball away. He's like a really talented and quicker version of Jamie Roberts ;-)

Fekitoa has experience now and he has the physicality, but where he falls down is in the worst area possible, the top two inches. On attack he seems to get blinders on and can't see the obvious pass outside him. He hasn't kicked on in terms of his attacking skills since last year and that is a real worry for a team that lives off scraps and turns them into points. When we eventually get the ball we need to use it as effectively as possible.

 

[Five Meters Out]

During the june Series and Rugby Champinship the all blacks attack broke down almost every time Fekitoa was involved. He defends well and works hard but he has absolutely atrocious option taking. He offloads when its not on, he holds the ball when the pass is on and hes only kicked a few times but each time its not only been the wrong option but its been a terrible kick. When Fekitoa gets the ball he simply does not consider whats in front of him when he makes a decision on what to do.

.

I agree entirely with this summation of Fekitoa. It's something I've thought for sometime watching him. He is no Conrad Smith.

 

[The Jones Boy]

I just watched the game again and on a second viewing, I have a feeling that we really did get away from a serious banana skin opportunity.
This Noves guy is taking France along the right path. The French look so much better when they run the ball and play to keep possession. They have the skill set and several times it was only a miracle tackle that saved the AB tryline from being breached.
There were some marvellous skilful tracts of play from the AB's to score their tries but the French seemed to be doing all the work and the AB's were falling off the tackles and allowing the French to surge ever further up the park.
The team definitely looked fatigued but they held up and weathered another storm.
If the French can continue this style of play and keep the intensity they will have a much better 6 Nations in Jan/Feb

 

[smartcooky]

During the june Series and Rugby Champinship the all blacks attack broke down almost every time Fekitoa was involved. He defends well and works hard but he has absolutely atrocious option taking. He offloads when its not on, he holds the ball when the pass is on and hes only kicked a few times but each time its not only been the wrong option but its been a terrible kick. When Fekitoa gets the ball he simply does not consider whats in front of him when he makes a decision on what to do.

Yep. In fact remarkably similar to what Tana Umaga was like at the same stage of his career, especially when he had just made the switch from Wing to 2nd 5/8; good defender, excellent finisher but poor option taker under pressure. However, he didn't turn out too badly in the end, as I recall!!

 

[The Jones Boy]

Nah, doesn't work Cooky.
Tana always had more steel in him because of his rugby league background. He was more... savage if you like.
Fekitoa is never going to work on the wing because he doesn't have the pace that a young Tana had.

However, I do see what you are saying. Players can take a long time to come right in a position and we only need to look at Nonu, who was a very frustrating player for a long time because of his attacking development. He spent seasons going on promising runs and then losing our possession by getting isolated. All of a sudden he came right and Bang we had a killer midfield combo at the Canes and in the AB's.

Maybe that will happen to Fekitoa if he gets to partner SBW next year. Feki is still learning his trade and centre is a tough position to learn.
His defence is good.
Defence wins trophies.
Trouble is ALB has so many strings to his bow Feki may not get much of a look in.
I can't see Hansen discarding him though as he now has a swag of caps under his belt.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

ABs midfield combination next year v BIL will be interesting. If all fit I'd be expecting 2/3 between SBW, Crotty and ALB; with SBW/Crotty starting and ALB to cover the 23 shirt.

 

[Makos]

Yeah, Fekitoa probably won't make the final cut when everyone returns from injury. But he's still a world class player and now we have some real depth at centre. It was looking pretty ominous before ALB put in one of the best rookie seasons we've seen.

I'm pretty excited about seeing what SBW can do with ALB, their offload game and defense is going to be something else. SBW should aim for 3 RWC's and his experience will be valuable.

Since he's moved to the Blues, I'm interested to see what he can do with Moala as well.

 

[Nubiwan]

First two I'll give you, but "entertainment"?? The most entertaining thing in rugby is a try and France didn't manage to score any.

Disagree. I watched the first half, and first 5 minutes of the 2nd. France were doing all the rugby entertaining whilst the ABS were doing all the tackling. The ABS first touch in the game was a try from a cross field kick, that the French winger could forget. Their next try was from their own goal line. An intercepted pass. In between, France were playing all the rugby with ball in hand. Say what you want, but France were entertaining me, whilst you fellas dug in. Matters not France didn't score. Everyone knows the ABs will score fro anywhere, given a sniff. What I saw, France were unlucky, and/or could not execute inside the 22. Credit due to the ABs but they were far from entertaining after the haka.

 

[The Jones Boy]

Yeah, Fekitoa probably won't make the final cut when everyone returns from injury. But he's still a world class player and now we have some real depth at centre. It was looking pretty ominous before ALB put in one of the best rookie seasons we've seen.

I'm pretty excited about seeing what SBW can do with ALB, their offload game and defense is going to be something else. SBW should aim for 3 RWC's and his experience will be valuable.

Since he's moved to the Blues, I'm interested to see what he can do with Moala as well.

Really?
SBW has gone to the Blues to hang out with Tana?
I didn't know that...
Thats very interesting.
And yes I think you're bang on the money, it will be worth it's wait in gold as a learning curve for Moala.