The Bare Bones of Bled II
Well, that was a fair bit more pleasant. Think it was Cane that made the comment that they got caught up too much in the technical aspect of things last week, as opposed to the occasion, which makes a lot of sense comparing the performances (in particular the passion and aggression).
Couple of things from reading through the thread.
Firstly, pretty funny seeing people lauding Mounga for getting absolutely steamrolled by Koroibete - that's a try every day of the week except for Sunday when ALB makes a dream defensive effort to stop it.
Secondly - lots also with praise for Perenara. My main takeaway from his time on the field was that we didn't score any points. I wish someone knew the switch to get him to just play rugby instead of trying to be Itoje, he's so much better when he shelves that shit. Watching him mouth of at White and scream and holler at Koroibete for making a mistake is pretty distasteful.
Onto the rest...
Muuuuch better from most of the forwards. Like others, I thought Frizzel was hot and cold, but he did again appear at the centre of a couple of crucial plays for the ABs and I'd like to see the trio given more time to develop rather than continue through the revolving door so many seem keen on.
Hodgman, take a bow fella, certainly stepped up when needed. You can see he was often playing catch up around the field but I'm not surprised in only his second test and it'll come. Scrumtime he knocked it out of the park. As opposed to Laulala, who surely can't hold out Lomax any longer.
Solid games from the locks and much more like it from Tuipulotu.
Good to see Savea back and Cane continuing being Cane.
Much better from Mounga, as expected when going forward.
That ALB Goodhue midfield works eh! Who would've guessed?
Beauden, sorry for speaking out of turn bro. Here was I thinking your best might be in the past. So happy to be so wrong. The accuracy, vision and pace was a pleasure to watch - as were those couple of top notch tackles to shut down dangerous Aussie breaks. On that note, welcome back Dane too!
Jordie, great game but fuck stop biting in on defence just because your preference is to put a big shoulder on, it is creating headaches watching the defence have to scramble when the opposition make massive yards down your wing.
Lastly...Caleb Clarke, fucken eh!
Awesome afternoon of rugby (day rugby is so much more enjoyable!!), and so good to finally get along to a test again.
With a 7 year old, 2 year old and a wife 30 weeks pregnant we were not keen on the idea of public transport so we drove to the ground at around 1PM so we could park close(ish). By 1.30 all parks within cooee were gone so we were glad we got there nice and early. Had a picnic, let the boys play for a bit, then made a leisurely stroll down the road to the game.
Wife was decked out in her Wallabies gear, standing out in a sea of black, bless her. A tough afternoon for her lads thankfully, and the 7 year old let her know ALL about it haha.
Atmosphere was great, especially when the ABs clicked into gear after 15 or so minutes. That was an improved performance as you would expect, albeit in far better conditions which helped some of our players thrive.
Best moments of the afternoon was when they brought up Eroni Clarke on the big screen a couple of times. The second time was right after Clarke's epic run that set up Ardie's try and he got such a massive cheer he had to acknowledge the crowd. He looked proud as punch.
Some random thoughts on the game, bearing in mind I haven't seen it on TV:
- I thought 20 points flattered us; but for some more clinical finishing from Aus it could have been a damn sight closer.
- Aus picked up where they left off last week and dominated the first 15. It was only individual brilliance from Beauden and then Clarke that kicked us into gear. It does feel like we are still too reliant on that to get into a game, better defensive sides won't allow that to happen so easily.
- On Clarke, fark me what a performance from the 21 year old. He looks made for test footy. It's highly likely Bridge would have got the nod again if not injured, and without Clarke the ABs would have once again lacked the firepower needed to break open the test. The selections are going to be an ongoing concern with Foster at the helm.
- RM is electric in broken play, which is why I like him on the bench coming on against tired legs. In a tight test he doesn't lead the team around the park, and as we found out last week if the conditions are difficult he can be found wanting big time. That said, Beauden is not exactly well suited to the role either, but he has a damn sight more experience trying. Fact of the matter is we don't have a 10 that can really take control of a game when the opposition defense has come to play like we did with DC.
- Beauden was simply superb in the first half, which helped take some pressure off RM who grew into the game and had some fantastic touches to set us away.
- Frizzel is a very solid player but he doesn't seem to possess the power Akira does. I really hope they give Akira a good crack as he has the potential (only that right now) to be our next Kaino.
- Coles made a real difference and is back to his best (which is better than Taylor's ceiling). Great to see after his serious injury concerns a year or so back.
- ALB is a fantastic all round player and solidifies our midfield big time. He needs to be 12 with JG 13. I can only assume they have JG closer in to help defend the channel as RM is a bit of a liability there.
Overall a really enjoyable game in the sun with both teams willing to play attacking footy. Still a lot of question marks over this AB side, and I can see some very squeaky bum times ahead in Sydney and Brissie, but nice to keep the Eden Park fortress in tact with a comfortable win in the end.
@Derpus said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
@Rapido Toomua going off was the real turning point i reckon. Defensive lynch pin and no 2nd 5 on the bench.
Tupou too, to a lesser extent.
But also the strategy across the park from the start was wrong - we had no chance.
Toomua was a huge loss and contributed to some of the more erratic play from the Wallaby backs. They needed cool heads out there today.
@Derpus said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
@Rapido Toomua going off was the real turning point i reckon. Defensive lynch pin and no 2nd 5 on the bench.
Tupou too, to a lesser extent.
But also the strategy across the park from the start was wrong - we had no chance.
Yep, O'Connor was screwed without him there as well.
@No-Quarter DC is the best 10 I’ve seen play because of the combination of things he brought - kicks off both feet, textbook tackling, pass both ways, and despite his lack of size was excellent in taking on the line.
I remember when he was in a bit of a form funk in the lead up to the 07 RWC and Nick Evans was having an excellent year particularly in attack. Some calling for Nick to start etc. But the thing that wasn’t in doubt with DC was his defence and that sweeping left boot that would get us out of trouble time and again.
The ABs have had challenges defensively at 1st 5 since I can remember watching as a kid and whilst we’ve tried different things to mitigate it and rotated players, it’s not a unique challenge we find ourselves.
I thought Richie was pretty good defensively off set piece defending in that traditional channel. It’s more when he is out wide he’s under more pressure. Man I held my breath when he was the last line of defence in that OZ build up!
I have to say I thought Beaudie was a very good front on tackler in that 10/12 channel. He was vulnerable when defending at fullback as we saw with the Blues earlier this year. But he was excellent tonight and provided a bit of steel in those tackles.
@NTA said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
@pakman said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
If I were Rennie, I'd tinker, but tell the boys to use defeat as a lesson and just to be better next time. Young men.
Obviously Toomua needs looking at with the injury. Koroibete extremely unlikely to play that badly again.
Totally agree.
I'm not yet convinced Tupou is more than a flat track bully with ball in hand although his threat value isn't used enough to decoy IMHO.
Defense moved up early on him this week. Like both Wallaby LHs but not sure on TH. Is there a young Ewen McKenzie coming through?
The skill level is higher than previous squads and that's what we need to start building on. Do that, but like you say don't change too much - just identify that there is less time and space and maybe put away the flick passes.
Hanigan's ball to Hooper after his break was an example- ball in two hands, end over end like a league pass instead of bullet spiral at the chest, waiting until he'd fixed the defender. Quicker and easier, keeps the opposition guessing, commits a number. The younger guys (Wright, Wilson, Uelese) all tried to go out the back of the hand too close to contact and fucked it.
Sometimes knowing when not to pass is more important than passing. Seem to recall something about someone in a better position than passer?!
@No-Quarter Agree with pretty much all of this, but TBF if RM hadn't made game's pivotal tackle things could have been quite different.
@pakman said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
@No-Quarter Agree with pretty much all of this, but TBF if RM hadn't made game's pivotal tackle things could have been quite different.
Was it ALB that dived in to stop Koribete grounding the ball after he landed on RM? Fair play though RM tried to put the required hit in and it did enough to stop the try. I don't think his defensive issues are through lack of trying, it's something that I'm sure will improve with time as it did for BB who struggled there early on as well
@No-Quarter said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
Was it ALB that dived in to stop Koribete grounding the ball after he landed on RM?
Yep. Vital move
ALB has made a big difference in the midfield.
Hodgman was excellent and has surely cemented his place in the 23.
Vai'i was much better than I expected.
Coles is still the best hooker as Taylor's form has been poor this year. But the guy is talented and he should be better in the RC.
Laulala was very disappointing IMO. Two penalties against him in the set scrums cannot be allowed at this level. Thankfully, the game has already been won but what would have happened in a tight one ? I understand that the coaches had a moral obligation to him, but it's time to try Lomax, who had been good when he came in last week.
@Bones said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
@cgrant think Laulala was 2 pens and a FK?
The ref was guessing, and pretty sure there was blame on both sides. BUT, when ref thinks he’s seeing something, better to adjust than hope he’ll see the light.
@Bones Jordie reminded me a bit of Lucky Luke when Luke would noticeably lead in with the big shoulder and be exposed. Great when you can pull it off but very risky nonetheless.
@ACT-Crusader said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
@Bones Jordie reminded me a bit of Lucky Luke when Luke would noticeably lead in with the big shoulder and be exposed. Great when you can pull it off but very risky nonetheless.
You reminded me, Red was pretty damn lucky to get away with one shortly after he came on. Didn't quite stick it, so it wasn't hugely noticeable and I haven't seen a replay. Could be in trouble still if he happened to glance a head...watch this space...
@NTA said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
@pakman said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
If I were Rennie, I'd tinker, but tell the boys to use defeat as a lesson and just to be better next time. Young men.
Obviously Toomua needs looking at with the injury. Koroibete extremely unlikely to play that badly again.
I'm not yet convinced Tupou is more than a flat track bully with ball in hand although his threat value isn't used enough to decoy IMHO.
The skill level is higher than previous squads and that's what we need to start building on. Do that, but like you say don't change too much - just identify that there is less time and space and maybe put away the flick passes.
Hanigan's ball to Hooper after his break was an example- ball in two hands, end over end like a league pass instead of bullet spiral at the chest, waiting until he'd fixed the defender. Quicker and easier, keeps the opposition guessing, commits a number. The younger guys (Wright, Wilson, Uelese) all tried to go out the back of the hand too close to contact and fucked it.
Spoken like a true forward... that was actually a terribly timed pass by Hannigan. Instead of drawing in the defender, he threw it far too early and Hooper got two defenders instead of one (or more likely none).
B. Barrett :7.5. Great first half, both in attack and defense. Rather quiet second spell.
J. Barrett : 5. Nothing really bad, nothing really good. Stayed on his wing and did not look for work.
Lienert-Brown : 7. Nothing flashy but was a welcome regulator in the backline. Very strong in defense.
Goodhue : 5.5. Had his moments, both good and bad.
Clarke : 9. A man of the match performance. I have to feel sorry for his nuts, though.
Mo'unga : 7. His early touches were bad but he went better and better, and showed a few glimpses of brillance.
Smith : 7.5. He was his usual self. Well taken try.
Savea : 7.5. A big step up from last week. Showed much more dynamism.
Cane : 8.5. I had never seen him make so many effective carries. Led from the front. Another great performance from the captain.
Frizzell : 6. Was more constant in his effort than last week. But I would like to see Akira Ioane or Tom Robinson with the 6 jersey as they would bring more physicality, though both are very different players.
Vaai'i : 6.5. Good first half when he made the hard yards. Quieter second half.
Tuipolutu : 6.5. Was anonymous in the first half and then stepped up nicely in the second. Carried a lot and effectively.
Tu'ungafasi : 5. Solid in the scrums but did not reproduce his fine form of the SRA.
Coles : 7.5. Brought the necessary mongrel that the pack lacked last week. Showed he has not lost his incredible pace for a hooker.
Moody : 5. Tackled more aggressively than last week but missed an important one. Not his best year under the black jersey.
MacKenzie : Not enough time on the field to be rated.
Umaga-Jensen : 6.5. Was not out of his breath when he came in. Was good in everything he did.
Perenara : 7. Showed aggression in defense and one nice sniping run behind a maul. A good step up from last week too.
Sotutu : 5.5. Buried in the tight this time.
S. Barrett : 4. Very anonymous. To his credit, he hadn't played for a while.
Laulala : 2. A bad day at the office. Scrummed solidly on NZ feeds but was penalized at least two times on Australian feeds and was nowhere to be seen in the loose.
Taylor : 5. One good carry but two knock ons. He can do better.
Hodgman : 7.5. Made a mess of the Aussie scrum and was everywhere in the loose. A very encouraging performance, probably the best from a LHP in a black jersey for two years.
Great response, not much to complain about, selections all played out really well, Fozzie haters will be disappointed. Midfield defense was great, and looses also seemed to gel really well this game. Set piece was good but don’t know what happened with Laulala. Loved TJ and Hodgeman of the bench and what a game from Caleb Clarke. I do have to wonder what Jordie is adding on the wing, didn’t see much chasing and a couple of times we seemed to be craving pace on his wing. Don’t think he can be in that position long term but perhaps it’s a way of building his confidence for the future. Let’s face it despite last week this AB team is just better than the Wallabies and I honestly think Rennie is squeezing every last drop out of them.
@broughie said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
@pakman Ok. 2023. Feel better.
Sorry: just teasing!
@Bones No. Everything’s golden. Just rewatching in case I missed something.
@cgrant said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
Ioane : 7.5. A big step up from last week. Showed much more dynamism.
Assume you mean Savea?
@Bones said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
Oh yeah my one big bugbear from this game - our kick chase is awful. 99% of the time there is absolutely zero pressure on receivers, not even close. I guess it worked ok in this game but it's frustrating to watch the opposition given a free pass.
Agreed, but I think defensive teams are far better at strategically placing defenders in tramlines in front of the receiving winger. They simply hold their line and the attacking winger has to make their way through a maze of defenders to reach the receiver.
I think the box kick/chase is more effective when the 9 doesn't take an eternity to place all his blockers first.
@booboo said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
@cgrant said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
Ioane : 7.5. A big step up from last week. Showed much more dynamism.
Assume you mean Savea?
Only way Akira's going to get a game under Foz, I suspect. Disguise himself as Ardie Savea.
@Bones said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
Oh yeah my one big bugbear from this game - our kick chase is awful. 99% of the time there is absolutely zero pressure on receivers, not even close. I guess it worked ok in this game but it's frustrating to watch the opposition given a free pass.
I don't agree it worked on account of the fact we never got any back!
@booboo said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
@cgrant said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
Ioane : 7.5. A big step up from last week. Showed much more dynamism.
Assume you mean Savea?
I'll edit for you because I'll promote your post to the front page.
Top effort.
@chimoaus said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
@Bones said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
Oh yeah my one big bugbear from this game - our kick chase is awful. 99% of the time there is absolutely zero pressure on receivers, not even close. I guess it worked ok in this game but it's frustrating to watch the opposition given a free pass.
Agreed, but I think defensive teams are far better at strategically placing defenders in tramlines in front of the receiving winger. They simply hold their line and the attacking winger has to make their way through a maze of defenders to reach the receiver.
I think the box kick/chase is more effective when the 9 doesn't take an eternity to place all his blockers first.
Well it's been working for Aus and in SRA... and previous years. Looks to be a tactic to focus more on the tackle/breakdown.
@junior said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
@NTA said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
@pakman said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
If I were Rennie, I'd tinker, but tell the boys to use defeat as a lesson and just to be better next time. Young men.
Obviously Toomua needs looking at with the injury. Koroibete extremely unlikely to play that badly again.
I'm not yet convinced Tupou is more than a flat track bully with ball in hand although his threat value isn't used enough to decoy IMHO.
The skill level is higher than previous squads and that's what we need to start building on. Do that, but like you say don't change too much - just identify that there is less time and space and maybe put away the flick passes.
Hanigan's ball to Hooper after his break was an example- ball in two hands, end over end like a league pass instead of bullet spiral at the chest, waiting until he'd fixed the defender. Quicker and easier, keeps the opposition guessing, commits a number. The younger guys (Wright, Wilson, Uelese) all tried to go out the back of the hand too close to contact and fucked it.
Spoken like a true forward... that was actually a terribly timed pass by Hannigan. Instead of drawing in the defender, he threw it far too early and Hooper got two defenders instead of one (or more likely none).
But Hanigan was there to cover the ruck because he wasn't in contact on the ground, and they weren't going to shift him.
@sparky said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
@booboo said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
@cgrant said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
Ioane : 7.5. A big step up from last week. Showed much more dynamism.
Assume you mean Savea?
Only way Akira's going to get a game under Foz, I suspect. Disguise himself as Ardie Savea.
Too short, it would be immediately noticeable
@DMX said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
I do have to wonder what Jordie is adding on the wing, didn’t see much chasing and a couple of times we seemed to be craving pace on his wing.
Couldn't help but think - when we kicked ahead into the in goal and Jordie was beaten in the chase - Will Jordan missed out on his first test try! 
Think Will (and a couple of others) will be waiting for a game vs Argentina.
@Chris-B said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
@DMX said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
I do have to wonder what Jordie is adding on the wing, didn’t see much chasing and a couple of times we seemed to be craving pace on his wing.
Couldn't help but think - when we kicked ahead into the in goal and Jordie was beaten in the chase - Will Jordan missed out on his first test try!
Think Will (and a couple of others) will be waiting for a game vs Argentina.
I thought it was more noticeable earlier when BB made a break from inside our 23 and when he looked to pass to his right wing Jordie was well back.
@Bones said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
Oh yeah my one big bugbear from this game - our kick chase is awful. 99% of the time there is absolutely zero pressure on receivers, not even close. I guess it worked ok in this game but it's frustrating to watch the opposition given a free pass.
100%. There was one kick we put up into the sun and then hardly chased. The Aus player completely lost it and it bounced back in field. A decent chase would have had them in some strife there!
Really enjoyable game of footy. Oz were right in it but, I thought, started chasing the game too early which played into our hands. 20 point margin unfair on them.
Still loads of work ons for AB's but some positives from the debutants. Stepped up the intensity, got into the face of the Aussies and most importantly weren't listless round the ruck fringes as we were in Game 1.
Beer tastes much better after an AB victory.
Still not totally convinced we are on the right track but definite step up from Game 1
@DMX It's funny how one week Foster is singlehandedly leading the downfall of NZ rugby and the next all is rosy.
I think the ABs weaknesses remain - i thought the Wallabies were at least several notches below where they were the week before and still managed to keep the losing margin to our lowest in 10 years at Eden Park.
As good as he is, I can't see Caleb Clarke running straight over the top of three Saffa or English forwards. That was a uniquely Australian performance.
I know he's copped a lot of grief but credit to McLeod's defence this week. The only Wallabies try came off of Moody knocking himself out. Coles showed the intent early and there was definitely a lift in intensity with the defence - far less passive and a lot more accurate. The more the game went on the more it felt like the ABs were starting to work out the Wallaby attacking pattern although I think a big part of that was Toomua going off.
Without Whitelock I thought the AB lineout could really struggle but it went well - was really impressed by Vaai - in a tough first 40 minutes he was really good for a 20 year old rookie. He doesn't seem to back down at all.
Clarke showing why he should be starting - this is why people have banging on about him. Having a threat like that out wide makes a huge difference - something the ABs simply didn't have last year - combination of size, power and footwork. I like the combination of Clarke getting himself in the game and the ABs trying to get him in the game.
Ardie was excellent - question marks remain about his game against bigger packs but credit to him he had a wonderful game.
The two debutants should be proud - both made a good impact when they were on.
The Wallabies shouldn't be too disheartened at all - I thought they would have been really happy at halftime right in the game but were just too sloppy after the break. I thought JOC had the better of Mounga in the first 40 and a complete role reversal in the second 40. Moving forward Wallabies should start Petaia on the wing and give Koroibete a rest.
@Chris-B said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
@DMX said in Bledisloe Two: Auckland, October 18:
I do have to wonder what Jordie is adding on the wing, didn’t see much chasing and a couple of times we seemed to be craving pace on his wing.
Couldn't help but think - when we kicked ahead into the in goal and Jordie was beaten in the chase - Will Jordan missed out on his first test try!
Think Will (and a couple of others) will be waiting for a game vs Argentina.
Both Jordie and Koroibete seemed to be wading through treacle chasing that ball.
Overall, that was a great game of rugby with harem-scarem passing, a referee who let most infringements go and both teams really going for it. A 20 point deficit was harsh on the Wallabies as the game slipped away from them fast. The wind that helped their kicking in Wellington wasn't there to make it a lottery and made too many of their kicks aimless - including the awful one by JOC that deserved to be punished and effectively ended the game coming so soon in the second half.
@Derpus i dont think people think everything is rosy, i think the game was won by the high skill of the players rather than the best team performance