[RWC2019][Quarter-Final 2] New Zealand vs. Ireland (19/10/2019)

[Kapa O Pango]

I wonder if Hansen will start Retallick or bench him.

 

[donmcdazzle]

An on form Sexton/Murray is the best wet weather halfback pairing in the game,
Will they be on form, though? Murray's not been great so far

Also New Zealand is as rainy as anywhere in the NH so it's not like they won't be used to playing in the wet. Their kicking game ain't great, though

agree with all of that. I'm glad we have Mo'unga rather than Barrett at 10 for the kicking side of it, although not as good as sexton. Think our wings handling (or not) Murray's bombs will be massively important for us.

 

[O’Doyle Rules]

Probably the pick of the quarter finals given the recent history between the two teams.

Ireland are fully capable of winning this game but it is going to take their best performance since November 2018. Make no mistake, NZ are clear favorites and although there is talk of "this Irish team expects to win", the reality is Ireland will prefer to come in to the knock out stages as underdogs. Form can begin at any time - Wales have poor autumns then rock up to 6 nations.

Strengths for Ireland:

• For the first time in a long time, a full squad. However, is this a full squad of in form players?
• Atmosphere - the Irish fans will have always known they would make the quarters so they will be there in force. It isn't Dublin, but neither was Chicago so expect it to feel a bit like a home game (France v Ireland in 2015 was something special).
• Lack of fear factor - most players know NZ are not invincible, whether in 16, 18 or the Lions.
• Defence - Ireland's defence at least has been good (2 tries conceded).

NZ defeats have mostly been due to them being poorer than usual and the other side being almost perfectly clinical - Ireland, if accurate, can catch an off NZ. How many times has a team rocked up to Dublin expecting a win then been blown away by a intense Ireland.

I think NZ can just turn up and blow them away, as they can with any team. Given that, I think either Ireland by 5 or New Zealand by 15.

 

[bushytop]

Can't see anything other than an Ireland win.

The All Blacks have always looked like the 2nd best team since we've played recently. Schmidt has Hansen's number.

Strong 6th post that fair play

 

[miccloarch]

I think they may go with Barrett and Tuipolotu. Especially given Retallick is short of a gallop. Then you can have Barrett come on at 6 and Tuipolotu as genuine locking cover. If not the case, then I suspect Todd will be there, although Frizell has looked decent enough in his games thus far.

Tuipulotu had a magnificent Bledisloe 2 but his handling is still a bit suspect. If Barrett is there, either starting or benched, having Tuipulotu becomes a bit redundant, assuming Retallick is in the squad.

 

[Leinster Fan]

Can any Kiwi (or other) posters enlighten me on how Bridge and Reece are in the air? Haven't seen either enough to properly judge.

 

[ETUC]

It's a longshot but could be worthwhile - I've got 5 x Cat C tickets for QF4 (Japan V SA) looking to swap for QF2 tickets. If anyone has any leads, Japanese or SA friends with the wrong ticket, please let me know.

There is a ticket exchange event on friday in Tokyo, not able to post the link
Friday 18 between 5pm -8pm
Don Quijote Asakusa
2 Chrome-10 Asakusa,
Taito City,
Tokyo

 

[Larksea]

Can any Kiwi (or other) posters enlighten me on how Bridge and Reece are in the air? Haven't seen either enough to properly judge.

Bridge is top class under the high ball, he's a genuine fullback with his skillset not just on defense but for offensive high balls as well. He's 6ft1 so not a giant but he's a genuine athlete with a great leap. To Me Bridge has always looked like the natural successor to ben smith at fullback for the All Blacks and he still could end up there long term. There is obviously competition from McKenzie, Havili and Jordie there though.
Reece is better than you expect him to be. He's fairly short and because he's so good on attack and a powerful ball carrier his defense is often overlooked but he's actually very good on defense and under the high ball as well manybe not as impressive as bridge but its not a weakness. Teams often kick his way looking for an advantage because of his height but find there is not really a weakness there. This was my biggest concern for him in test rugby but the more I watched him the more I realized he has everything required on defense including good high ball skills.

~ioane is 6ft2 Reece is ~5ft10... IMO Reece is arguably better and more reliable under the high stuff than Ioane.

 

[Richard Curran]

Venue: Tokyo Stadium
Time: 12:15 CAT (SA, GMT+2)​

I cannot download my rwc tickets. Have written to thier help desk. Still awaiting a reply but am flying to Tokyo in th,ree dats and getting nervouus. Anyone else have a similar experience?

 

[Richard Curran]

Venue: Tokyo Stadium
Time: 12:15 CAT (SA, GMT+2)​

 

[Cooper]

Can any Kiwi (or other) posters enlighten me on how Bridge and Reece are in the air? Haven't seen either enough to properly judge.

Following on from what Larksea said, Ireland will find no weakness here and it would be dangerous to kick to either of them, then you have Barrett backing them up at 15!! Love it!!

I'm very confident and content with this new look back line.

Bridge has been an absolute standout for the last 3 seasons for a Crusaders side that has dominated Super Rugby and Reece was this seasons bolter. He's a power cube with speed and a wicked skillset.

 

[mania]

I prefer experienced and smart, cool headed players to finish World Cup knockout games. I guess sbw has big March experience, but he can throw some bad offloads at time's; In big matches, not sure?

agree which is why i pick crotty over SBW. whilst SBW has played well he's also made some big errors that couldve cost tries. ALB and crotty to start in the midfield. SBW off the bench with bender beside him.
retallick and whitelock to start. always start your best team and these 2 are pillars of the stingy ABs defence.. tuipolotu (one of my favs) and sBarrett unfortunately arent retallick. getting retallick involved as much as poss is a must.
sBarrett on the bench with mattTodd.
i'd start weber as well. TJ has had an awesome season but weber has been hands down better. aaronSmith and weber for this game either to start

 

[mania]

Can't see anything other than an Ireland win.
The All Blacks have always looked like the 2nd best team since we've played recently. Schmidt has Hansen's number.

ahh the good ol lets hope they choke prayer.

 

[mania]

yay rain!! this will suit ABs
ABs to kick for territory and once in Irelands red zone will throw it around and force the greenmachine to try and keep up.
ABs need to stop Ireland from getting the lead and shutting shop. as long as Ireland are behind on the scoreboard they will be forced to try and score tries. that will play into the type of game ABs want to play with counter attacking opportunities.
i'm looking forward to this game. its only right that the ABs come up against Ireland in the WC. Ireland was ranked #1 and you gotta beat the best to be the best

 

[Gena_ZA]

Bridge has decent length and a great jumper with good timing, very safe.
Reece is a fearless freak and very explosive, he is likely to side step the first two defenders while still in the air

 

[Umaga's Witness]

Can any Kiwi (or other) posters enlighten me on how Bridge and Reece are in the air? Haven't seen either enough to properly judge.

I haven't seen anything from Reece to say he is bad, but I haven't seen enough to say he is great either. Super rugby and the rugby championship haven't had a lot of high balls of late, so players ability in the air isn't always obvious. He hasn't played ireland yet and he is short. Before last years encounter I wouldn't have said McKenzie was terrible under the high ball, he's usually pretty good. But he couldn't handle what ireland threw at him.

@mania I'm concerned from a psychological perspective if Ireland get too far ahead. Can these guys handle the pressure?

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

The highlight from the last, and only, world cup meeting between these two.

Even though I'm fearful of a similarly bad scoreline this time I reckon Tadhg Furlong has the balls to do this!

 

[Leinster Fan]

I think the rain is good for us, increases the likelihood of the game being low-scoring and seeing a lot of kicking, which should suit us. Will make the game all but impossible for us to chase if we go behind and will mean we'll have to make very few errors but those two things were always going to be the case anyway.

 

[Zapphod]

I think the rain is good for us, increases the likelihood of the game being low-scoring and seeing a lot of kicking, which should suit us. Will make the game all but impossible for us to chase if we go behind and will mean we'll have to make very few errors but those two things were always going to be the case anyway.

I think it would be a grave mistake to give the All Blacks more ball than necessary and allow them to utilize broken play.

 

[Larksea]

I haven't seen anything from Reece to say he is bad, but I haven't seen enough to say he is great either. Super rugby and the rugby championship haven't had a lot of high balls of late, so players ability in the air isn't always obvious. He hasn't played ireland yet and he is short. Before last years encounter I wouldn't have said McKenzie was terrible under the high ball, he's usually pretty good. But he couldn't handle what ireland threw at him.

@mania I'm concerned from a psychological perspective if Ireland get too far ahead. Can these guys handle the pressure?

no matter how good a player is under the high ball with a good kick and multiple chasers the defender is almost always at a disadvantage, McKenzie is a good example because he has excellent high ball skills yet he's been targeted by some very good kicks with great pressure, barrett and Bender as well we know how good they are but... good kick with good chasers is almost always advantage to the attacker.