Scotland v New Zealand

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Well, I just lost 100 euro's. I bet that the All Blacks would score 50 points against Scotland

 

[Seaton]

Not a very nice game, not at all

 

[admartian]

Right now, I just want to point out, I have always been a Hosea Gear fan. Thought I'd start before the ban wagon gets full.

Hear hear! Been a Gear fan for a while.

What difference it makes to that All Blacks backline when we have a ball player at 2nd 5/8 instead of a battering ram!!

I tihnk SBW is, right now, a bit of a batterring ram. Though, he does seem to possess more finesse than Ma'a,

Here's Scotland chance....Donald is on for Carter (and Dan did not look happy about it.)

And what does he do with his first touch, kicks the ball down the through of a Scottish player, and puts the AB's under pressure again....


Note to Steven Donald....

KICK THE ******* BALL OUT!!!!!!!!!

Missed the game and only caught the last try.

Lol, if I had been watching at this point then I would've been scared of a Scottish comeback! :lol:

I rest my case.

Try scored through the backline and Donald is nowhere to be seen.

Not.Surprised.At.All.

And when you DO kick it out, don't kick it dead in goal from a penalty


DOH!

:lol:

Gumby Donald.

At least he knows which direction the touch line's in now.

I wouldn't count on him remembering that for long!

I think you have to give him some credit. After all it's about the first thing he's done right in the last (I dunno) 20 tests?

Hmm...Not something you would expect from an All Black (2nd/3rd choice) first five.

 

[Amobokoboko]

A pleasant game to watch from a NZ perspective.
MOTM = Gear.
SBW showed some great skills but I'm not a fan of the one handed NBA pass.
Really happy Mils got his points as well.

 

[Amobokoboko]

Sorry mate, you're gone. 30 minutes into the game and Hosea's already made his point in the your jersey.

Roks changed his game lately, he lost his speed but gained power.
Gear deserves his black shirt.

 

[Black Heart]

A pleasant game to watch from a NZ perspective.
MOTM = Gear.
SBW showed some great skills but I'm not a fan of the one handed NBA pass.
Really happy Mils got his points as well.

Those one handed passes set up about 3 tries.

I see your point though. The main thing he needs to concentrate on is knowing when and when not to throw them. But he seems to have a handle on it which is good to see.

 

[coonor]

New zealand were very clincal. For every mistake that Scotland made New zealand made 40 metres and most of the time scroed a try. Scotland weren't exacally that bad but they lack control and no one especially in he backs is showing the abilty to take hold of the game and score tries. New zealands spacial awareness and running support is brilliant. Sonny Bill Williams take a bow. He was central in all of the AB attack. His ball handling skills are incredible.

 

[Amobokoboko]

I'm happy those passes resulted in tries but my rugby coach let you do 50 push ups if you give a pass like that.
Always use your both hands.

 

[Black Heart]

Roks changed his game lately, he lost his speed but gained power.
Gear deserves his black shirt.

It doesn't really matter what he's done. He's still not scoring tries.

I'm happy those passes resulted in tries but my rugby coach let you do 50 push ups if you give a pass like that.
Always use your both hands.

I agree with that point in general but Sonny Bill has an unnatural ability to carry the ball well like that. If it does become a disadvantage for him I'm sure the coaches will tell him to rethink his strategy. If it's working, I'm certainly not going to complain.

 

[Amobokoboko]

True, I fully agree.

 

[nickdnz]

Well, good game from the AB's. Poor refereeing from the ref to be honest. A few of my thoughts have been confirmed.

1. Stephen Donald is a gormless *******. The game imediatly become disorganised when he came on the field. Short of his one good brake, which I'm sure some will think is redemption, he should never wear an All Black jersey again. For a 1st 5/8th who has been praised for his defence, I don't think he can tackle for sh*t, he just scrags players jersy's, until someone else makes a tackle.

2. Andy Ellis' delivery is the slowest of any half back in the world. Some of Jimmy's passing was terrible, but at least he offers something in defence, Ellis is just so laxidasical.

3. Mils, should no longer be the All Blacks starting fullback. Yes, he scored to tries, and has 92 caps, but he really has just become more and more selfish in his play. He'll almost always try and break the line himself, despite there being an overlap, or he'll do an aimless kick down field, which just opens the AB's up to counter attack.

4. Anthony Boric is average. He's not terrible, but he screwed up every lineout jump. I'd have Thorn, Whitelock, Donnelly,Jack, Ross, Eaton and Williams (depending on recovery) all ahead of him in the pecking order.

6. Liam Messam is the fastest flanker in the world at running side ways, getting isolated and losing ball. He made up for it in a few other parts of his game, but I'd really have Kaino and Vito ahead of him.

Now onto the good bits.

1. Scrum improved, although there still seems to be a real difference in the refereeing and understanding of scrum interpretations from the different referees. Some of the penalties were real guess work, and I thought Woodcock was hard done by with the placement of the bind of Murry, making it hard for Woodcock to get a proper bind on. Owen Franks continues to show he is a monster in both the scrum and around the park. Elliot has a quiet but solid debut, and his lineout throwing was excellent.

2. Sam Whitelock and Brad Thorn continue to be such as good pair, as they destroyed the Scottish lineout, before Thorn left. Both have great work rates, and Whitelock seems to be all over the park. If he stays in this form, I can't see Donnelly or Boric getting much game time.

3. McCaw gave away a few shocking penalties, but other than that he had a good test. Read was playing to his usual high standards. I actually though Braid was fantastic when he came on, so I think our 7 backup is good enough to feel confident.

4. Daniel Carter was on very good form, ran the game very well. As soon as he came off, the game got messy. Set up some great tries, scored a good one himself and his goal kicking was very good as well with 5/5.

5. Sonny Bill Williams pared very nicely with Conrad Smith. I think Cookies being a little too critical of Nonu, as I'm sure he would have also looked good against a free running, but unorganised Scottish team, but SBW showed some very nice touches, and deservedly won man of the match. I think Conrad Smith is actually perfect in helping Williams, as he convers any defensive faults perfectly. I think we'll see a lot of different combos between Nonu-Smith and SBW and Smith. One thing is certain, is that SBW is definetly a better 12 than 13.

6. The back three worked well, except Mils. Used to really rate him, because of his instincts, however they've seemed pretty poor as of late, and he's playing more and more selfishly. His aimless kicking will really come back to bite the team come RWC, and I'd be moving CJ to fullback and put Mils on the bench. Toeava had a solid game, showing good work rate. Not convinced with him on the wing. Hosea Gear, yet again, shows why he is brilliant. I think he's put in a good argument for a regular starting spot. He gave me a call after the match, and said "Nick, thanks for always believing in me, and supporting me on the rugby forum, it's what pushed me to score those two tries. I'll name my son Nick".

SBW MOTM.

Now can I just say NickD and assorted NH posters, I told you so.

Don't see how his performance has any impact on whether signing a player, who hasn't spent much time in New Zealand, for more money than the top players in New Zealand, with little to no guarentees he'll stick around after the RWC, sends a positive message to players who are in New Zealand and aren't earning as much money. It's the principle of signing SBW that I dislike, I wish the best for him in his career. I've never said he would be bad (although I'll admit he's done better than I expected), I just don't think very much about his signing has been done in a way that promotes my values. If you would like, I can show you my original statement on the SBW signing.

 

[Amobokoboko]

It doesn't really matter what he's done. He's still not scoring tries.

Idd, but last weekend I noticed that he spent more time in the centre then on the wing.
Really curious about Sivi when he returns.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

Well, good game from the AB's. Poor refereeing from the ref to be honest. A few of my thoughts have been confirmed.

1. Stephen Donald is a gormless *******. The game imediatly become disorganised when he came on the field. Short of his one good brake, which I'm sure some will think is redemption, he should never wear an All Black jersey again. For a 1st 5/8th who has been praised for his defence, I don't think he can tackle for sh*t, he just scrags players jersy's, until someone else makes a tackle.

The structure didn't fall apart because of Donald, that's a load of crap. He made a mistake or two, he by no means had an awful twenty minutes.

2. Andy Ellis' delivery is the slowest of any half back in the world. Some of Jimmy's passing was terrible, but at least he offers something in defence, Ellis is just so laxidasical.

Agreed

3. Mils, should no longer be the All Blacks starting fullback. Yes, he scored to tries, and has 92 caps, but he really has just become more and more selfish in his play. He'll almost always try and break the line himself, despite there being an overlap, or he'll do an aimless kick down field, which just opens the AB's up to counter attack.

I've noticed this lately - he was good at the start of the season, maybe he needs another reminder form Dagg?

4. Anthony Boric is average. He's not terrible, but he screwed up every lineout jump. I'd have Thorn, Whitelock, Donnelly,Jack, Ross, Eaton and Williams (depending on recovery) all ahead of him in the pecking order.

I think Andrew Hore contributed to the lineout falling apart somewhat come the end of the game.

6. Liam Messam is the fastest flanker in the world at running side ways, getting isolated and losing ball. He made up for it in a few other parts of his game, but I'd really have Kaino and Vito ahead of him.

He ran sideways once, and in a different play lost the ball once - or rather he was penalised for holding on, which only happened because he had no support from the kick off, it was hardly his fault.

Now onto the good bits.

1. Scrum improved, although there still seems to be a real difference in the refereeing and understanding of scrum interpretations from the different referees. Some of the penalties were real guess work, and I thought Woodcock was hard done by with the placement of the bind of Murry, making it hard for Woodcock to get a proper bind on. Owen Franks continues to show he is a monster in both the scrum and around the park. Elliot has a quiet but solid debut, and his lineout throwing was excellent.

Yeah, there seems to be little consistency.

2. Sam Whitelock and Brad Thorn continue to be such as good pair, as they destroyed the Scottish lineout, before Thorn left. Both have great work rates, and Whitelock seems to be all over the park. If he stays in this form, I can't see Donnelly or Boric getting much game time.

Agreed

3. McCaw gave away a few shocking penalties, but other than that he had a good test. Read was playing to his usual high standards. I actually though Braid was fantastic when he came on, so I think our 7 backup is good enough to feel confident.

I didn't see much from Braid, couldn't make a judgement either way...

4. Daniel Carter was on very good form, ran the game very well. As soon as he came off, the game got messy. Set up some great tries, scored a good one himself and his goal kicking was very good as well with 5/5.

Agree with all of that apart from him coming off causing the mess.

5. Sonny Bill Williams pared very nicely with Conrad Smith. I think Cookies being a little too critical of Nonu, as I'm sure he would have also looked good against a free running, but unorganised Scottish team, but SBW showed some very nice touches, and deservedly won man of the match. I think Conrad Smith is actually perfect in helping Williams, as he convers any defensive faults perfectly. I think we'll see a lot of different combos between Nonu-Smith and SBW and Smith. One thing is certain, is that SBW is definetly a better 12 than 13.

Agreed

6. The back three worked well, except Mils. Used to really rate him, because of his instincts, however they've seemed pretty poor as of late, and he's playing more and more selfishly. His aimless kicking will really come back to bite the team come RWC, and I'd be moving CJ to fullback and put Mils on the bench. Toeava had a solid game, showing good work rate. Not convinced with him on the wing. Hosea Gear, yet again, shows why he is brilliant. I think he's put in a good argument for a regular starting spot. He gave me a call after the match, and said "Nick, thanks for always believing in me, and supporting me on the rugby forum, it's what pushed me to score those two tries. I'll name my son Nick".

Yeah Mils definitely kicks it a bit much - at the end I would have liked to see some more counter attacking. Gear played well, though I think he definitely has a lower work rate than the other wingers in the squad, he didn't actually touch the ball that much, particularly in the first half, whereas Toeava had the ball a number of times, from what I could see.

Couple of my points in bold...

It was a good game, fun to watch - you gotta feel for the Scots, they didn't do a lot wrong, as such.

They have, however, been over hyped - beating an under strength Argentine team and Australia only because Giteau's goal kicking was sub sub par isn't exactly something to boast about. Heck they only won one game in the latest 6 Nations.

 

[nickdnz]

The problem for Scotland is that they have had more ball and territory but they're just running left to right.



Sorry mate, beat you to it.

Dead right though. Gear is a class act, hopefully the coaches pull their heads out of the clouds with regards to Rokocoko.

Umm, don't think so. I've been on the forum for a year talking Gear up. The only others posters who also agreed were admartain, ranger and William18(I think). Olyy also came on board early.

 

[coonor]

I am always annoyed when players knock it on when they pass like that but he has shown he has the skill to do it. If I was an all black fan I'd rather him do it than not because he rarely messes it up and the space it creates is great.

 

[Black Heart]

2. Andy Ellis' delivery is the slowest of any half back in the world. Some of Jimmy's passing was terrible, but at least he offers something in defence, Ellis is just so laxidasical.

Compleatly agree. Why they chose to rest Mattewson when he's starting to make some good stides at this level is beyond me. Weepu is by far our first choice halfback and depending on whether you prefer experience or skill you could toss a coin between Cowan or Mattewson.

3. Mils, should no longer be the All Blacks starting fullback. Yes, he scored to tries, and has 92 caps, but he really has just become more and more selfish in his play. He'll almost always try and break the line himself, despite there being an overlap, or he'll do an aimless kick down field, which just opens the AB's up to counter attack.

Interesting. I think they'd be dumb to loose him this close to the world cup. Yes, his last 3 games have been quite poor as far as his technical game is concerned but I'd still back him. Jane would be the sensible option to replace him if they were ever going to but Mils still offers a huge amount of leadership and experince which they're going to need come next year.

4. Anthony Boric is average. He's not terrible, but he screwed up every lineout jump. I'd have Thorn, Whitelock, Donnelly,Jack, Ross, Eaton and Williams (depending on recovery) all ahead of him in the pecking order.

Never really rated him either. Again, I don't know why they chose to rest Donnelly given the little experience that he has.

6. Liam Messam is the fastest flanker in the world at running side ways, getting isolated and losing ball. He made up for it in a few other parts of his game, but I'd really have Kaino and Vito ahead of him.

I'd back Messam over Vito. I think much of his running is due to his 7s experience. What I like about him though is his support play and his defence. He's a decent tackler and much fitter than either Kaino and Vito so he's always in support with the backs on attack.

Just needs to sharpen his ball carrying.

3. McCaw gave away a few shocking penalties, but other than that he had a good test. Read was playing to his usual high standards. I actually though Braid was fantastic when he came on, so I think our 7 backup is good enough to feel confident.

Was it just me or did Braid look a bit slow around the park? His tackling was sound though.

Umm, don't think so. I've been on the forum for a year talking Gear up. The only others posters who also agreed were admartain, ranger and William18(I think). Olyy also came on board early.

Lol fair enough. I was talking about this particular thread.

You're right. Gear should have been in the team right from the beginning of the year and certainly after the Maori tests.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Olyy also came on board early.

It's true,
He's one of the only players I actually enjoyed watching tear England a new

 

[TRF_Cymro]

Umm, don't think so. I've been on the forum for a year talking Gear up. The only others posters who also agreed were admartain, ranger and William18(I think). Olyy also came on board early.

You can keep Gear ... my boy SBW is where its at!

 

[donmcdazzle]

haha invictus in to defend the waikato boys, regular as clockwork. Donald had a pretty bad time of it, the way he drops the ball before he kicks it is so weird if he drops it slightly off centre then the kick is inaccurate (slow-mo the missed penalty touch). Everyone else leaves their hand on the ball right until kicking it, he is the only guy ive ever seen at this level who lets it go with both hands completely and just lets it drop, makes me nervous everytime he kicks it. And yeah if you don't think Slade/Cruden/any half decent 1st 5 wouldve gone through that gap at the end, you're dreaming. Wouldve loved to have seen Cruden running against that tired Scotland side for sure.

SBW, wow pretty good game. Hope he can do the same against the likes of Jean deVilliers. Pretty impressive though if he keeps up the improvement Nonu might start getting worried. Smith proved just how good he is, he is just a great player. I love that he is not especially fast, doesnt really have a step, isnt huge, but is still as good a centre as you could find anywhere.

Agree regarding Ellis he is miles behind Mathewson.

Also well played to Toeava and Gear, surely Joe has to go now gievn CJ is to come back.

 

[dullonien]

Well what to say about this game? Scotland were useless today. Even their set piece faltered, normally something which is so strong. No answer atall to that NZ display which was on occasions phenomenal, although I got the impression they didn't get out of second gear in that second half! SBW was awesome, he must have hands the size of pancakes the way he can offload like that. Wales have gotta make sure they tackle the arms when we come up against him, pick Bishop and tell him to take him down all day long, no half tackles against him.

Nothing much to critisize the All Blacks for, their game became a little loose in the second half, but then it looked like they were treating the game like a training session after the first 30mins. They elected to take a scrum from a full penalty on the Scottish 22m line, too easy to attack from 5m out via a lineout??