The Lions win....a non emotional take.
AB forwards (playing one man down for 55+ minutes) did well against a supposedly stronger NH set of forwards.
ABs gave m ore playing time to a couple of players and gave Luamape a good run (he did ok for a trial by fire) so they are building depth. That's a plus.
Next test will be terrific and maybe we will see the end of those saying this is the last of the Lions tests.
1. SBW deserved red,... that was a shoulder charge to the head-face
2. Vunipola's could be more debatable,... he wasn't using his arm but didn't hit with the shoulder because Barrett's head was movig backwards,... if he had hit Barrett's head with the shoulder it should have been red
3. "The ABs played a perfect 14 man game, which they lost when the Lions yellow occurred"
agree, the AB were in controol of the game when playing with one man down,... and, incredibly, things changed when the number of players were levelled
4. "Cruden for Naholo really weakened the effort."
agree, after the last reshuffle of the backline when Naholo was concussed the backline looked shaky
"Perenara made a crucial mistake in the Murray try."
I don't think it was Perenara's mistake,.... he was correctly placed but Farrell (I think was) try to tackle him ill egally out of the ruck and grabbed his foot,... in the effort to free his foot Perenara left a corridor for Murray in his side of the ruck,.... probably a penalty against Farrell (but difficult to call, in fact it was reviewed by the TMO)
and IMO the decisive mistake came from Savea who let a huge corridor for George to braeak the line
5. Dagg failed his tackle, no doubt,... and should have done it at least a little bit better, Retallick was coming,... but that fist try was a collective mistake,... the backline was out of position, ALB missed tackle lead to Watson's break,...
In my view Garces' worst thing was that he let the Lions players to claim any call they disliked,... that was already a bit messy,... once he changed one of his calls after the claimings that became the total mess because the AB, obviously, began to claim every call they disliked also
Nonsense Mozart.
There was no ducking of any kind. His head remained at the same level for at least a meter and a half before he was hit in the face with the shoulder. It was intentional ... designed to injure.
It's not the firtst time either. SBW has done this before ... many times ... it's how he rolls.
He is a dirty player and deserved the red. I'm hoping for an additional 6 to 8 week ban for this low life.
i think it was a mistake to bring the inexperienced Laumape to the squad,.... this was probably the worst game to make someone debut,.... the B&I Lions series is not the time to debut,.... I think they should have choosen Fekitoa instead, more experience and proven defender
with Ioane (young, inexperienced) and ALB (young, little experience) there's already enough but if you add Laumape there's too much youth and inexperience for a B&I Lions series in the backline
missing Crotty I would have started with Fekitoa at 13 today,... even considering that ALB is a better and more complete player,.... and ALB from the bench
Including the new back line players made us vulnerable but who knew SBW would have been sent off and so early? Fekitoa would probably been better for this one game but he was not available and Hansen decided to invest in developing Laumape. He also decided to risk dropping Savea in favor of Ioane (the depth will help us later but why rush?)
Hansen pushes the risk factor up sometimes but he usually gets it right. Today it didn't workout.
Re SBW- you can take the boy out of league but looks like you can't take the league out of the boy...looked ugly....lets' hope Crotty is able to start next week as not sure if Laumape is quite ready for the big time..
...the way i saw it we lacked leadership this time - we were rudderless in attack.... last week the ABs were unbeatable with Cruden at 10...he steered the ship masterfully and orchestrated an emphatic win...this week, what a contrast...Barret led , Cruden left on the bench til late in the piece - say no more...still anyone's series though...
...let's hope we also have a wet weather contingency gameplan for next week filed somewhere... and little use having two of the worlds best wingers if you're not going to use them ...at least Julian Savea used to go looking for work in the centres..
SBW hit was dangerous and he deserved what he got.Vinipola's clean out was a typical AB's type of clean out and I thought it was fair but overplayed by Barrett for a penalty or better.
In my opinion, the All Blacks are great at handing out borderline hits but cry foul when receiving the same treatment.
What goes around comes around............
Here's the article as published in Rugby Stuff--------------------------------------------------------
Video of the incident in the 59th minute appears to show O'Brien making contact with Naholo's jaw with his arm after the All Blacks wing received a kickoff.
Naholo left the field soon afterwards for a head injury assessment and didn't return, casting doubt on his availability for the third and deciding test in Auckland on Saturday.
Australian citing commissioner Scott Nowland on Sunday morning said O'Brien had been cited for dangerous play in the Wellington test, won 24-21 by the Lions.
"The incident, in the 19th minute of the second half, is deemed to have met the threshold for a red card," Nowland said.
A judicial panel consisting would hear the case in Wellington tonight.
All Blacks second five-eighth Sonny Bill Williams is already facing a judicial hearing at 5pm after he was red carded for a shoulder charge to the face of Lions wing Anthony Watson.
Lions prop Mako Vunipola also raised the ire of referee Jerome Garces, and was yellow carded for making contact with Beauden Barrett with his shoulder when cleaning out.
Sean O'Brien could be in trouble for his swinging arm on Waisake Naholo.
Sean O'Brien could be in trouble for his swinging arm on Waisake Naholo.
O'Brien would constitute a massive loss for the Lions if he is cited and ruled out of the third test.
The 30-year-old Leinster breakway was one of the Lions' best ball carriers in Wellington, joining lock Maro Itoje with nine carries.
He made 28 metres - the most by a Lions forward - and made 12 tackles.
Waisake Naholo is taken off for a concussion test.
O'Brien's performances in New Zealand have impressed his Irish backrow partner Jamie Heaslip.
Speaking on Irish radio station Newstalk's Off The Ball programme, Heaslip said O'Brien had not played much in the last season but had looked after himself and prepared well for the Lions tour
"It doesn't take a lot to get that kid going. His game is such that he can shine in all sorts of conditions. So, if it's a game where it's dry and it's open, he'll get his hands on the ball and he'll play.
"He's so strong and his centre of gravity is so low…just the bulk, you know what I mean? He's bloody hard to tackle. Trust me, I've been training with the man for the last 10 years – I know all about it! And he's got skills as well to play and offload.
"But then when it's a wet game, he's in there – he's like a groundhog on the ball, like. And when he gets on it he's like a tick, man. He's dug in. He's not coming out.
"So he's able to adapt his game no matter what. I'd say he's very happy with how he's playing, and by all reports, he's having a great time down there!"
- Stuff
Critical points for me in the game when we should have closed it out.
1. a) Cruden's obstruction of a Lions player on the wing. There was no need. Barrett had it covered. People foul play when they don't trust the player next to them.
b) Cruden's cross kick when the points were locked at 21 all with 2 minutes left. Very dumb giving away possession. The forwards would have kept it tight for a drop call infront of the sticks.
For those 2 dumb moves I expect Cruden to be dropped for the 3rd Test and Sopoaga recalled to the bench. I hope his move to France is not distracting him at present.
2. a) Barrett's chip kick at the death on his 22. Very dumb. It gave the possession back to the Lions and they scored from a penalty.
b) He did not convert kickable penalties infront of the sticks.
I expect Barrett to still be there for the 3rd Test.
3. Laumape's knocking on at a crucial moment of the game. Possession is everything son. U will get better. Just need to work on your distribution and kicking game next.
4. Perenara a) knocking on at a crucial time of the Test.
b) Not tackling his opposite for an easy try. Very soft
Remember when u come on as a sub for a 14man Team, man up and mark up and possession is everything.
I expect Perenara to start the 3rd Test. He is wasted on the bench.
5. Aaron Smith -- >Watching the ponderous Aaron Smith is painful. Smith's every move is telegraphed and easy for the Lions to read and no tries were scored by the All Blacks because of Smith's slow delivery. Even when the ball is available, Smith deliberately dillydallies at the base of the ruck -->reminds me of a certain Justin Marshall.
Fully agree, Arthur.
Mozart sees what he wants to see. He saw the man ducking when there wasn't any ducking. Then he comes up with additional nonsense about SBW options and no space for his arm.
In truth ... he had no intentions of using his arm. We can all see that on the video footage available. In truth he had every intention of following through with the shoulder charge ... every intention of injuring the player ... with the hopes of getting away with it ... as he usually does. He had plenty of time to pull out but decided not to. He's a dirty player and the red was derserved
It's not the first time he's done this.
Barrett milked a penalty. He should have been given an Oscar for the performance. Missed his calling. He should conside any offer he gets from Holiwood. A typical Kiwi cheat.
Mozart fabricates as far as he goes. He's known for twisting facts to suit his argument.
This is just another bit of the same old nonsense we've seen from him. It's based on his dislike of the British ...
Dismiss it for the rubbish it is.
Glad the SA posters have something to go on about what with their wins over France and now an AB loss. It's been a grim place in here starting early last year. Even Beeno has been domes ticated so not much fun from him lately. Yes, things should pick up now.
What really worries me is if the other French ref red cards another ABs player at Eden Park for some obscure reason and effectively ending the series without a shot being fired or a Test Match being played.
Vunipola was acting all tough after SBW was sent off -->what was funny was the ABs forward pack wiped the floor with him scrum time to earn a penalty. Even against 7 Vunipola could not scrum if his life depended on it. He wheeled the scrum, stood up and then put his hands up as if the ABs did something illegal....run all u want Vunipola, but we will catch up with u come Eden Park where there will be a reckoning u cheat.
If Warren thinks he will ever coach the All Blacks with the kind of rubbish he is producing, he got another thing coming. Warren will never ever coach the ABs.
...Cloudy , its not the airport so you don't have to announce your departure... or just try ignoring the grumpy green tellytubby supporters...some of them are completely lala...
Moz the reason it took four hours was due to the fact that the NZ official keeps calling for a replay of the alleged incident.
Finally, the penny dropped when he could not argue about an NZ arm causing the hit.
Haaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahaha!!! Looking for sympathy now I see, Lara?
I never said anywhere that you werent allowed an opinion. Please clarify!!
It doesn't mean that I have to comply to the horseshyte your selling.
Nonsense is nonsense ... whinging and whining is all the same ... no matter where it comes from ... be it "testosterone" filled or "oestrogen".
What a disappointment you are.
All we ask is for the ref to spray the Lions players with permanent red paint before the game starts so we know which arm belongs to which Team. Spraying the ABs with black paint won't work as most of them are black anyway LOLS .
Yeah, yeah ... I'm a meany and you're such a nice person.
We get it.
The sub call was wrong when the red card occurred. The AB's should have kept Kaino on and lost a wing for the sub 12.
The AB's actually embarrassed the Lions for in fact the Lions should have easily overcome 14 men.
The easy missed kicks saved the Lions embarrassment.
But the result keeps the series alive and reinforces the retention of the Lions as a touring side amidst the rumblings of the Lions tradition being culled
Nonsense. It was an excellent call which kept the All Blacks in the game.
Save the lecture, BlueBok.
Thanks.


