ABs vs Wales - Live chat & banter

Dagg scores a try on his return - well done mate.

 7 - 3 afte r 21 mins.

 Dagg makes a huge kick down field and out of touch after a Bigger kick. Dagg won that contest.

 Blood all over the place so far in this game. A lot of head knocks.

 10-3 Abs after 30 mins. ABs taking the quick penalty on several occasions but finally decide to go for the 3.

 Cruden down injured with a neck injury.

 Reid is looking very good in the lineouts & overall play.

 Wales penalt y but go for the corner instead of the 3. They are here to play.

 Barrett kicks out but it was passed back inside 22. Wales good play off the line out. Wales score, switching the play left and right in the backs. No one on the right wing for the ABs.

 10 all at the half time break.

 JW I see the wee abs are hanging there against Wales. I only seen the last 15 minutes or so and its all Wales. dominating possession etc.
Hope the Crude is okay!
Always nice to see Beau. What happened to carol jane though. Wee Ben Smith says " we need to plaaay down in their half maate. Quite so Ben. Put some real forwards on the field and things will improve.
Well we shall see if the wee abs can put it together in second half.  By now oui saSUE is reaching for comfort from the fridge. Brycy is in a puddle.

 Beeno, Cory Jane is no longer in consideration for the ABs, too much competition. Dagg is making a great come back... looks like the Dagg of old.

 I unfortunately have to go and buy a laptop for my daughter. It's a dogs life! 
JW please don't draw any wrong conclusions in my regrettable absence. I cannot but wonder what mischief you will get up to unattended on the board!!!!!!!!!

 Two ABs off the field because of injuries, bench is a bit depleted now.

 Beeno off to another "conference" will he have the courage to watch the Boks game?

Owen is being subbed by the look of it, another head injury.

 Naholo might have been lucky not to get a yellow there, not clear he was going for the ball.

 Some great play from both sides there. Coles should have passed to Naholo in one of those moves.

 Barrett breaks, B. Smith scores. Very nice try.

 Barrett scores nice try off the back of the scrum.

 A. Savea is on for Cane. Abs on attack, B, Smith good soccer move. ABs penalty & they call for a scrum.

 Reid off the back of the scrum again, pass to Naholo who scores. 29-10 after 60 m ins.

 Naholo blocking Williams after Williams kicked the ball, unnecessary. 

 A. Savea great try off a weird kick from Barrett and some good passing 

 Wales score through Williams who outrun Dagg. Nice try.

 36-17 after 75 mins.

 Another nice try for Wales off an interception.

 Crotty scores but the TMO is checking it.

 Not awarded. Final score 36-22. Good to see A. Savea still doing well & taking his opportunities.  Tamanivalu also played well & is developing.

 Cruden was taken to hospital for x-ray of his neck. Hope he is ok.

 ABs forced to play a lot of defence today, 184 tackles to 84.

 All Blacks finish with mixed bag; Gregor Paul, NZ Herald

A step up in some regards, sideways in others and an unwelcome early check out left the All Blacks with the usual mix of satisfaction and irritation that early-season tests induce.

Much like last week, though, the positives out numbered the negatives and, with news that Aaron Cruden hasn't damaged anything in his neck, there is a degree of optimism the All Blacks have built yet more of the foundation they were hoping to do.

Defensively, other than the last 10 minutes when perhaps they were guilty of switching off a little with the game obviously won, they were considerably improved. They were quicker across the ground, more aware of where they needed to be and, most critically, made a significantly greater number of telling tackles.

That's the key to them playing at their best, making the sort of tackles that stop opponents behind the gainline and leave them scrambling to recycle.

"[We had] a lot more cohesiveness and intensity in the hit," said All Blacks coach Steve Hansen. "There were a lot more dominant tackles than there were last week, although we didn't get many rewards for getting over the ball.

"There was a lot more clarity about what we were trying to do. We scored five good tries so we have to be happy about our attack play and we defended well for long periods of time.

"Our lineout was a lot better and we managed to put pressure on their ball. They resorted to having to throw people on the ground and we scored two set-piece tries from scrum."

The clinical nature of some of the attack in that mid-period of the second half was particularly encouraging for the coaching team. Half-chances were made and taken.

A big part in that was Aaron Smith's passing, which was heart in mouth at times - flinging the ball so fast and flat as to entice the Welsh defence to surge at it, only to have it go past them and leave them out of position.

It's a seriously good weapon and he wasn't the only one throwing measured and incisive passes.

Beauden Barrett was calm and deliberate on the ball when he came on at first-five, careful to take his time and pick his passing options well.

That was important, giving the All Blacks the means to make lethal strikes and capitalise on the pressure they exerted. That lethal striking gives them confidence that if they can play more accurately and with a touch more poise and composure for longer, then they can start building performances that will be tough for opponents to live with.

That wasn't the case last night. For much of the first half, they created space, built promising opportunities but didn't have the control and discipline they needed to get any reward.

"I think we had them under pressure but we either dropped the ball or threw a loose ball or made a poor decision," said Hansen. "It was about creating pressure and keeping it on for long enough to take advantage of."

All Blacks hooker Dane Coles said much the same thing. The team came in at halftime aware that they almost had Wales where they wanted them.

"We talked at halftime about holding onto the ball, respecting it, being direct and, when we did that, we got the rewards," he said. "We had to earn the right to score. We want to play with quick ball so we have to react [to the breakdown] a bit quicker and better than we did."

 Aaron Cruden neck ok  Articl e

 Just finished watching the tape.
Unf ortunately the Welsh went to sleep for 10 minutes and let in a few soft tries. Was pleasing though to see them punish the wee abs in the closing minutes with two great tries.

 Hey JW I dropped in earlier but no bugger about ! Beendik 10 minutes is all it takes for the Mighty ABs to put away the opposition .Scoreboard dingus ,its a new thing they introduced so the brain dead like you know who won when the ABs make halfwits like you run out of fingers and toes to count .E ven if you do come from Six-toe county.

Beeno, a much improved effort from the ABs & Wales put up a good fight, as usual. ABs went to sleep for 10 mins.
Hi Wardad, yes not much going on this thread I even went over to the ROAR and posted on there during the game. Hope this is not a sign that Bok fans are getting so dispirited they don't want to banter anymore. 
Poms gave the Ozzie a lesson in defence in that game. Eddie must be thrilled to beat his countrymen, what a record he has as coach what with the win in the RWC over you know who & now this.

 

PLAYER RATINGS. Rugby 365

OPINION: NEW ZEALAND PRODUCED AN IMPROVED PERFORMANCE IN THE SECOND TEST TO CLINCH THE THREE-TEST SERIES AGAINST WALES IN WELLINGTON ON SATURDAY.

A number of their players stood out during the 80 minutes, but there were also a few players who still need to work on their performances ahead of the third Test.

Warren Fortune rates the New Zealand players!

15 Israel Dagg
He made a nervy start in the opening minutes, but he eventually found some rhythm in his attacking game and scored a try as well.
7/10

14 Ben Smith
The playmaker had few neat touches with ball in hand on the scoresheet with a try. He also had a good eye for the gap. 
6/10

13 Malakai Fekitoa
Got injured early in the game and was off the field for 12 minutes. However, when he came back on he was almost a non-existent member of the All Blacks' backline.
3/10

12 Ryan Crotty
His distribution and defence was ok, but the Crusaders man lacks some imagination in the midfield on attack. He did have great last 10 minutes.  
6/10

11 Waisake Naholo
Made a few powerful runs with the ball and he also beat a number of defenders out wide. He also scored an easy try and had a hand in another.
7/10

10 Aaron Cruden
He could not ignite the All Blacks attack. A bad injury in the 33rd minute ended his game early.
4/10

9 Aaron Smith
The scrumhalf's distribution to his backline was outstanding. He also exposed Wales' weaknesses in defence in the second half.
7/10

8 Kieran Read
It was another great all-round performance by the captain. He was solid in the tackle and always looked for the offload with ball in hand.
7/10

7 Sam Cane
The flank did nothing spectacular while he was on the field, but he did the ugly stuff well and he also put the Welsh under pressure at the breakdown.
6/10

6 Jerome Kaino
He had a very quiet game. He struggled to get his team over the advantage line when he had the ball, but he did make some good tackles.
5/10

5 Brodie Retallick
He was good in the line-outs and also carried the ball with great intent, especially in the second half.
7/10

4 Sam Whitelock
The tall lock did not have the best of games. He failed to make an impact with ball in hand and was basically just a defender.
5/10

3 Owen Franks
He struggled a bit in the scrum and in open play, but he did make a valuable contribution on defence.
5/10

2 Dane Coles
It is always great to see a hooker run into space and that is exactly what Dane Coles did.
7/10

1 Joe Moody
All he did was tackle and that is not enough at this level. 
4/10

Replacements:

16 Nathan Harris (On for Coles, 76th min)
Not enough time to rated.

17 Wyatt Crockett (On for Moody, 54th min)
He gave the All Blacks some stability in the scrums.
5/10

18 Charlie Faumuina (On for Franks, 47th min)
The big man was strong in the scrum, but did not get enough opportunities with ball in hand.
5/10

19 Patrick Tuipulotu (On for Retallick, 68th min)
Not enough time to be rated.

20 Ardie Savea (On for Cane, 58th minute)
Ardie Savea was brilliant when he came on in the second half. He got over the advantage line on a number of occasions on attack and he also scored a great try.
8/10

21 TJ Perenara (On for A Smith, 65min)
He continued where Aaron Smith left off with some swift distribution.
6/10

22 Beauden Barrett (On for Cruden, 33rd)
The flyhalf changed the game when he came on. He ignited the All Blacks' attack and he had a hand in a few tries - he also scored one of his team's five tries.
9/10

23 Seta Tamanivalu (On for Fekitoa 3rd & 40th min)
He did some good things and a lot of bad things. He made two mistakes in the build up to Jonathan Davies' try.
4/10