Am I the only one who thinks the ABs game really dropped off when Ellis came on for Weepu?
The AB's did drop off in the latter part of the second half, but I don't think it had much to do with Ellis specifically. I actually thought Ellis looked quite good when he came on; this surprised me slightly as he has always seemed to struggle at test level. Maybe it was simply a case of him playing better than my (low) expectations of him, hence I thought he had a reasonable game!
Overall I'm sure the AB's will be pretty happy with the result. Australia actually held there own at scrum time, and was the AB's scrum (Wyatt Crockett in particular) that was getting penalised. It sounds like Tony Woodcock will be heading to South Africa with AB's. It will be interesting to see whether the AB's selectors think that Wyatt Crockett has done enough to force his way into the RWC squad - personally I don't think they will pick him.
I thought Owen Franks was probably the pick of the forwards - his powerful defence, and big linebreak were definitely highlights. Both locks were pretty quiet; in the case of Ali Williams that was a good thing, as it meant he wasn't dropping the ball! I really happy with the performance of the loose-trio. Kaino looked back to his best, combining powerful running with solid defense, Read was everywhere, while McCaw again showed he is getting back near his best. McCaw certainly wasn't as prominent with the ball in hand as against South Africa, but he defended brilliantly, and he was effective at the breakdown.
Weepu looked quite good; he made a number of little breaks, and tends to read the game well. I did get a bit frustrated with the way he slowed the game down at times when we were on attack, though that may a specific tactic they are using against Australia. Carter was brilliant - it is great to have a 10 who can not only run the attack and kick his goals, but also tackles as well as the best of them. Nonu was pretty good, and I thought Smith too was outstanding, particularly on defense. The outside backs were pretty mixed; Sivivatu was probably the pick of them. Gear did well with the ball he had, and his work under the high ball and covering in behind was very good. His defense (or lack there-of) is a worry for me though.
Stats suggest he didn't make a single tackle, but did miss 3. As I mentioned, not playing for over a month due to injured certainly wouldn't have helped, but I'm sure he will want a big game against South Africa. Muliaina was very quiet (after a strong game last week).
For Australia, the tight-five did a pretty good job, with Horwill and Moore in particular getting the ball in their hands a lot. Pocock was him usual self, and Elsom was improved again, but I'm not yet convinced. He actually forced a couple of turn-overs at the breakdown, and looked dangerous running out wide, but his defense is a bit of a worry though, as he did fall off a number of tackles you would expect a loose-forward to make. McCalman was again very quiet- surely they are going to have to start Higginbotham at 8 in their next game, as he was impressive again off the bench.
Genia was solid, but Cooper struggled under pressure (as he can at times). I actually thought Pat McCabe played alright - he was rock-solid in defense, and generally always made the advantage line with ball in hand (without making any breaks). It will be interesting to see whether they persist with him, or give Faingaa a chance at 12 vs South Africa. Both wings were dangerous with the ball in hand; it will be interesting to see what Deans does if Drew Mitchell gets back to full fitness. I thought Ioane did a really good job defending at first-five too. Beale was solid, but I wonder how badly the knee injury he has is affecting his play, as he just hasn't looked as dangerous these last few weeks as he did during the Super Rugby season.
