Menu
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
Latest activity
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Help Support The Rugby Forum :
Forums
Rugby Union
2021 British & Irish Lions Tour
Test Match 1: All Blacks v British & Irish Lions (Auckland)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Mrs. Peter Quinn" data-source="post: 860884" data-attributes="member: 12190"><p>Watched the game late last night not knowing the result. Difficult day in the office for us. In a strange way the scoreboard just felt irrelevant; New Zealand just looked super comfortable all day, it could have remained 13 - 8 and would have felt just as comfortable.</p><p></p><p>It was clear pretty soon we had problems because we never seemed to be coping with the pace at which NZ were playing and seemed out on our feet too early on.</p><p></p><p>The engine room of all good performances so far has been the second row performances with some massive showings from Lawes and Itoje. Today the second row was really poor and that affected quite a few areas. The opposite numbers just showed our duo up big time with their relentlessness and impact.</p><p></p><p>At the breakdown they were all all over us. Cane was magnificent there as well as Read. I felt that a few times Peyper was very quick to call away our competition on a few occasions when it looked like we might have a sniff. The most disappointing thing was seeing us not putting enough men in for the clear out when the all blacks were trying to win the ball. We didn't react and sometimes our forwards were guilty of ruck watching.</p><p></p><p>The All blacks ball retention was the key to their winning. If you can keep the ball long enough and make the defence work, opportunities occur. We looked knackered early on because we tackled and tackled and only Sean O Brien had any luck from memory with the jackle. If you look at the stats, NZ had many more 7+ phases of play. They didn't make many mistakes at all, they varied the play nicely, and dependably moved forward. We couldn't turn the ball over.</p><p></p><p>Although the battle was possibly lost up front there were some annoying and costly errors from our backs. Daly got caught positionally for one try, Watson from memory for another, and Williams failed a few high ball tests. I still don't get why every coach wants to play Daly on the wing. Both Farrell and Sexton distributed shakily. Both need to stop with these bullet passes.</p><p></p><p>You have to look at the lack of a plan B really for the game. We executed our kicking game pretty well on the whole, the difference is that where the super rugby sides were dropping the ball and knocking it on, the all blacks were just entirely comfortable. When that pressure plan wasn't working we really don't have anything because we had no phase play creativity, it was just plan Te'o. And in that senses, the bench was really not what we needed; bringing on Halfpenny was just a joke. Te'o should never have come off. Warburton, not his fault, had nothing to bring especially as Peyper wasn't giving us a chance to compete. Tipuric would have been a much better option.</p><p></p><p>Overall, we can't have any complaints. No particular contingent let the lions down or anything, it was a team failure. But being able to finish opportunities is still costly it turns out, and when you can't bully the opposition pack, it turns out the result doesn't just take care of itself. Who knew!?</p><p></p><p>Gatland now has some extremely difficult selection choices to make. Apart from the locks which should change, we're also facing a troubled scrum, a breakdown-poor backrow and a shitty midfield system. There's not much we can do about the first problem unless Adam Jones is hiding in someones suitcase, not much about the second unless Warburton suddenly gets some form, and I can't see the 10-12-13 axis being changed since that appears to be the sand upon which our gameplan was built.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mrs. Peter Quinn, post: 860884, member: 12190"] Watched the game late last night not knowing the result. Difficult day in the office for us. In a strange way the scoreboard just felt irrelevant; New Zealand just looked super comfortable all day, it could have remained 13 - 8 and would have felt just as comfortable. It was clear pretty soon we had problems because we never seemed to be coping with the pace at which NZ were playing and seemed out on our feet too early on. The engine room of all good performances so far has been the second row performances with some massive showings from Lawes and Itoje. Today the second row was really poor and that affected quite a few areas. The opposite numbers just showed our duo up big time with their relentlessness and impact. At the breakdown they were all all over us. Cane was magnificent there as well as Read. I felt that a few times Peyper was very quick to call away our competition on a few occasions when it looked like we might have a sniff. The most disappointing thing was seeing us not putting enough men in for the clear out when the all blacks were trying to win the ball. We didn't react and sometimes our forwards were guilty of ruck watching. The All blacks ball retention was the key to their winning. If you can keep the ball long enough and make the defence work, opportunities occur. We looked knackered early on because we tackled and tackled and only Sean O Brien had any luck from memory with the jackle. If you look at the stats, NZ had many more 7+ phases of play. They didn't make many mistakes at all, they varied the play nicely, and dependably moved forward. We couldn't turn the ball over. Although the battle was possibly lost up front there were some annoying and costly errors from our backs. Daly got caught positionally for one try, Watson from memory for another, and Williams failed a few high ball tests. I still don't get why every coach wants to play Daly on the wing. Both Farrell and Sexton distributed shakily. Both need to stop with these bullet passes. You have to look at the lack of a plan B really for the game. We executed our kicking game pretty well on the whole, the difference is that where the super rugby sides were dropping the ball and knocking it on, the all blacks were just entirely comfortable. When that pressure plan wasn't working we really don't have anything because we had no phase play creativity, it was just plan Te'o. And in that senses, the bench was really not what we needed; bringing on Halfpenny was just a joke. Te'o should never have come off. Warburton, not his fault, had nothing to bring especially as Peyper wasn't giving us a chance to compete. Tipuric would have been a much better option. Overall, we can't have any complaints. No particular contingent let the lions down or anything, it was a team failure. But being able to finish opportunities is still costly it turns out, and when you can't bully the opposition pack, it turns out the result doesn't just take care of itself. Who knew!? Gatland now has some extremely difficult selection choices to make. Apart from the locks which should change, we're also facing a troubled scrum, a breakdown-poor backrow and a shitty midfield system. There's not much we can do about the first problem unless Adam Jones is hiding in someones suitcase, not much about the second unless Warburton suddenly gets some form, and I can't see the 10-12-13 axis being changed since that appears to be the sand upon which our gameplan was built. [/QUOTE]
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Rugby Union
2021 British & Irish Lions Tour
Test Match 1: All Blacks v British & Irish Lions (Auckland)
Top