has been quoted as saying that ....
"New Zealand beat France 8-7 in the World Cup final but Henry said it would have romped to victory if star flyhalf Dan Carter had not been injured. Carter missed the final with a groin injury."
Isn't that the same as saying the AB's are a one man band?....it's what some of us on here have been saying for a very long time. Case closed.
Actually, Carter was utterly shambolic throughout last year. He was totally upstaged by Colin Slade who led the best attacking diisplay by an All Black side for some years. The French dictated that final, and had the game been reffed fairly they would have savaged New Zealand. They made all the plays and were by far the more dominant side. In fact, not even with the superior Morne Steyn would New Zealand have won that final in an even contest! The fact of the matter is that Carter was only ever exceptional in 2005 and to a lesser extent 2006; from there he has been in constant decline. No more than an okay link and another overbloated reputation by a fanatical media drive.
@der Aristokrat
What crap bud.
Slade had a slightly above average year last year. He def didnt upstage Carter at any stage.
That's the kind of tight logic that wins lawsuits denny.....maybe not a one man band, but heavily dependent on one player.
Graham Henry also said if NZ had lost he'd be smoking marijuana and drinking wine in the south of France. If your not used to his sarcasm and wit then you might not understand that he often plays little games with the media and a lot of stuff is tongue in cheek.
Dan the man is a little bit over rated and he's often criticised as being a bit of a pretty boy with billboards of him in his underware all over the place but it's wrong to think the ABs are ever overly reliant on any one player to win especially when that player didn't even participate in the WC final to be relied upon and they won anyway without him . The All Blacks manage fine without him as do the Crusaders as exemplified by their win on the weekend. It's a 15 a side game so how a team can be a one man band is beyond me and i'm sure your coach will be focusing on beating more than just one player if he wants to win.
"...he often plays games with the media...." Well that's a bit strange seeing as Henry's one condition for attending the function was that there be no media prescence. I can't find the article but I remember it saying that he is suing the organizers after his comments were published. All that is neither here nor there, the killer line is that Henry said that the "AB's would have romped to victory had Carter played" .....on the roundabout that's like saying they're heavily reliant on him......and it showed.
Speculating about what could have been should have been is a waste of energy but I hope the ABS can win a bit more convincingly this year to keep you happy. Sounds a bit like bluster from Henry and maybe massaging Dans ego abit but he also could be pushing your buttons or all of the above. The name Graham Henry will soon be lost in the annals of history so i would'nt worry about him too much.
Black udder methinks your chances of beating the Boks this year are slim although one does have to see who Meyer selects before being dogmatic.
Carter is your best flyhalf by some way and you do miss him. However you were not worthy winners in the finals and would never have had a hope of beating the Boks of the form they showed against OZ - better by at least 20 points given a fair ref. Franc ewere also better than you in the final by some margin but our craig joubert handed you the WC on a plate. Probably to prevent mass suicides!!
Mass suicide sounds abit dramatic Deano- IS that what happened in SA after their loss? Seems like it will be a long four years for you mate.
We will be picking our AB players on form though. How do you guys do it - visit the old folks home? You guys do seem to have a bit of a crush on Dan Carter though the way you go on and on about him and that Craig Joubert has to be a far worse ref than Bryce Lawrence for his indescretion. Does he still live in SA or has he been banished from the kingdom?
Blackudder, you don't know your team very well. The All Blacks are very old side with very little talent to replace them!
Your right i don't know this years AB team my friend. Something to do with them having not selected the team yet perhaps. Will you guys be fielding the same squad as last year?
And if the ABs do beat your boks with an old side of very little talent then what will that say about your team? We might have to revisit this conversation a bit later in the season perhaps.
Your side barely squeeked through in spite of ref assistance; I doubt they'll dominate the Boks.
Play nice black adder, afterall Joubert cut your blokes some slack bigtime in the final...not so?
You infer that Craig Joubert is corrupt and a cheat . Surely not ...after all he's a South African
"You infer that Craig Joubert is corrupt and a cheat . Surely not ...after all he's a South African"
No he's an idiot, you get them everywhere, not just in the good old R of SA. You lot and the Ozzies have your fair share of them.
I would say Craig was biased and did us no credit. Not half as bad as NZ ref of the year BL.
I would agree BA that this year is a new start and things are somewhat uncertain. I do think however that if we play it smart there is no reason why the Boks should not beat nz.
Joubert was very uncharacteristic in that final. His body language, how he often literally turned a blind eye to New Zealand. I don't believe he is naturally a cheat, but something was definitely said to him. In the world of corruption certain individuals can get heavy-handed if you do not toe-the-line. I believe there are many threats made behind the scenes.
that was not all Aristocrat, money was also involved! We even paid the French players to miss penalties! so be afraid, be very afraid come 2015 because we will do the same thing all over again!
Heck - but this is indeed a ively Board. lets get to henry first - was at the cricket this morning and did not have much to cheer about. Whatsoever he said - he cannot be taken seriously in any event - so his sayings must be taken with a pinch of salt. Hell - I forget the POMS and Sheepshaggers do not put salt in their cooking and the food taste like rubbish.
Now for the refs - there areno doubt that Joiubert was not subject to a lack of confidence recovery period after the final. Still a top class referee. The New Zealand referee of the year lost confidence in his ability and is on a recovery program. Is it true that he suddenly became a new farm owner since the refereeing debacle he was invovled in?
actually he reffed the game between the Rebels and the Warratahs yesterday brilliantly! He even knocked on when the tryline was begging!
