Field Theory: I'm ever so pissed.
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I spent much of the 2nd and 3rd quarters yelling at the screen to take Donald off, move Nonu back in, and put Toeava on. I claim credit for their first try therefore. He's not a line breaker, his kicking was less than average, he's only there because we don't have anyone good to play in the spot.
It's increasingly bizarre that the All Blacks have one of the best playmakers in world rugby in Carter (he didn't have a great playmaking game, but still), and they choose to put him outside of the play so often in the second-five spot. I don't think it's rocket science - you've got a playmaker, you want the ball in his hands as often as possible, in rugby that's first-five. Rugby league teams have got it well figured out, how come the All Blacks struggle with this simple concept?
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Interesting take on the Read thing; I thought he was a bit lucky not to get binned.
It was a performance as predictable as it was depressing. Is there anyone left out there who disputes this side has been going backwards for long enough to be classed as officially in decline?
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Can I just ask, before anyone gets their bitch on and calls for the coaches to be sacked, that you have one good person to replace them with.
Otherwise, the point, it is moot.
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Interesting take on the Read thing; I thought he was a bit lucky not to get binned.
I think the reason for the non-binning was that it was after the whistle, hence it had no effect on the game (delaying ball, deliberate offside etc). It was simply a cheap shot.
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It was a performance as predictable as it was depressing. Is there anyone left out there who disputes this side has been going backwards for long enough to be classed as officially in decline?
Yes, that game was awful, and yes, this season has mostly been horrible. But the last three games they've lost, (the France game is too long ago for me to remember) they lost against a very, very good side.
Not to defend them overly much, the basic skills were lacking, the line out is a shambles, there are the same problems over and over again, but could we give South Africa their due? They were awesome.
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Can I just ask, before anyone gets their bitch on and calls for the coaches to be sacked, that you have one good person to replace them with
Jake White
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Heh.
Can you imagine the frothing if the NZRU even looked once at bringing in a non-NZ coach to coach the ABs? There'd be blood everywhere.
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Watching "live" I thought Read did nothing wrong - "hey, if Habana wants to run straight into ~100kg of brick shithouse that's his beef"
But on the replay, Barnes was r...rrrrr... he was r... right (excuse me, I have to go cut myself)The gulf between Carter and Donald was unbelievable though. We all knew it was there but sheesh...
And if Nonu would just stop ruining all that great running, busting, line-breaking work by not handing over the ball at the end of it then that would be great, ta. -
Can you imagine the frothing if the NZRU even looked once at bringing in a non-NZ coach to coach the ABs? There'd be blood everywhere.
Surely we've come on from those days?
Especially with the obvious staring us in the face like this.
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I spent much of the 2nd and 3rd quarters yelling at the screen to take Donald off, move Nonu back in, and put Toeava on. I claim credit for their first try therefore. He's not a line breaker, his kicking was less than average, he's only there because we don't have anyone good to play in the spot.
I was shouting the same thing. Donald made awful mistakes and never threatened anything on attack. If they don't start Toeava against the Wallabies, I will have reached the end of my tether.
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And if Nonu would just stop ruining all that great running, busting, line-breaking work by not handing over the ball at the end of it then that would be great, ta.
I started by pointing out to my partner how the South Africans were tackling around his arms and helping him lose the ball by tying them up.
After he'd lost it about four times I'd stopped doing that and was swearing at him like everyone else was.
Surely we've come on from those days?
You must be new around here?
Thought to be honest, our coaches are probably the best in the world. Not sure about South African domestic coaches depth, but certainly better than what Australia or anywhere in Europe can offer as their ten best coaches.
If the current lot were to get the boot, and Deans wasn't available, lets be honest, the next four or five in line wouldn't be ideal, but would be better than almost every other country in the world could put forward. Mostly a little lacking in top level experience, but with a better base than many international coaches have in other top test playing nations.
I will have reached the end of my tether.
By which I interpret "I'll start shouting when selections are made rather than just when they start playing the actual game".
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The weird thing is, we're not that far off from being ok. We need to fix the centres and I'm not sure Toeava is the man to do it but when Conrad and Kahui are fit again... I'd like Roko and Hore gone. JoRo's time is up sadly and Hore, while still being a good footballer just can't do his core job. Mils has also been a great worry all season.
So we need a couple of guys back from injury and please please please let's see some of the younger talent brought in for the AIs. The time is exactly right for this looking ahead to 2011.
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I started by pointing out to my partner how the South Africans were tackling around his arms and helping him lose the ball by tying them up.
Yes, but the problem is also in how they are carrying the ball.
This is why I'm not entirely willing to blame the coaches. Yes there are problems all over the field, and yes, there are huge problems in selections (if Russell doesn't get his Toeava wish for the Wallabies game, I'll eat my hat) but a lot of the problems are basic skills, and should they really have to be coaching that at All Black level?
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Yes, but the problem is also in how they are carrying the ball.
I wasn't paying close enough attention to see how the Boks were tackling other players, but I did wonder if this was a specific thing they'd decided to do with Nonu this test. When he breaks through, tacklers from the side and back attack him high and grab his arms rather than go lower and bring him down to the ground. But yes, he was clearly susceptible to it.
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Yeah, they were definitely targeting him, but probably because of where he's holding the ball.
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Watching "live" I thought Read did nothing wrong - "hey, if Habana wants to run straight into ~100kg of brick shithouse that's his beef"
But on the replay, Barnes was r...rrrrr... he was r... right (excuse me, I have to go cut myself)Possibly but it was after the whistle and Habana was being a bit of a knob running off down field and trying a chip over Read. So I assume Read was just trying to tell him that the whistle had blown. The hurt look on Habana's face was totally worth it.
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Can I just ask, before anyone gets their bitch on and calls for the coaches to be sacked,
My taxi driver on Saturday says Todd Blackadder. I'm sure Tracy Nelson has the stats to back him up.
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I have come to the realisation that Stephen Donald's suckiness is a bit like climate change. While most people agree with it and there is huge amounts of data to prove it, there are still some pockets of deniers who still think he's actually alright.
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I have come to the realisation that Stephen Donald's suckiness is a bit like climate change. While most people agree with it and there is huge amounts of data to prove it, there are still some pockets of deniers who still think he's actually alright.
I don't know if there were too many people jumping from rafters proclaiming Donald as the undisputed king of the NZ pivot. Most just seemed resigned that he was our best option at 10 with Carter injured.
And that probably still is the case.
Let's hope some of the raw talent performing in the ANZC can make the step up.
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Regarding lineout throwing... there is no rule stating that it must be the hooker who throws the ball in. Who else remembers BG Williams throwing the ball in to the All Black lineout in the 70s? Isn't there an argument for finding someone with more physical co-ordination (and more brains than a seal-murderer) to handle the very important task of trying to fix this area?
Regarding the shoulder charge... we got what we deserved, it was a cheap shot, which ultimately cost us the game.And did anyone else think that Steyn's monster conversion went under the posts? Iit sure looks that way when you frame by frame replay it.
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I do hope that they take Cruden on the end of year tour. He was fantastic for the age graders in the final a few months ago. Be worth taking him on tour, getting him into the All Black environment and trainings, and maybe giving him a start against a lesser team.
Seems like an ideal opportunity to take 3 first-fives rather than three halfbacks where we've got a pretty settled list of talented players.
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I have come to the realisation that Stephen Donald's suckiness is a bit like climate change. While most people agree with it and there is huge amounts of data to prove it, there are still some pockets of deniers who still think he's actually alright.
I think that analogy could also apply to 3 men sitting in a box, swigging on sponsored water, and staring into their laptops.
Donald’s carrying a disproportionate amount of the blame on here.
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We will continue to lose big games until we fix our lineout.
Thorne is a good player, but a lineout jumper he is not. If I were Henry I'd pick some young locks for the NH tour, and leave the old guy at home
The depressing thing about Saturday is that we played so badly and still lost by only three. We were kings of the breakdown, and even started to disrupt the opposition throw-ins in the second half. But if you can't win your own lineouts you don't deserve to win.
There's really no point calling for Henry and Co to be sacked. The only positive from all this is that being a great team between World Cups has never helped us win the thing.
The Read thing: I cringed at the time. He was lucky just to get a penalty. It was a cheap shot.
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Also, clearly the Donald/Carter combination didn't work.
But be fair to Donald: he was out of position, playing against the best team in the world.
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Scott,
We will continue to lose big games until we fix our lineout.
Follwed by
There's really no point calling for Henry and Co to be sacked
How can you have those two statements in the same post?
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