They do like those slowmo shots of the All Blacks' tongues popping out of their mouths.
They do like those slowmo shots of the All Blacks' tongues popping out of their mouths.
Will Jordan scores after 90 seconds.
Nice Aussie attack gets sunk by a knock on.
NZ score again. Direct running and offloads. Oz defense not looking up to it. 14-0
Clarke scores. NZ playing with complete freedom. Three backline tries in 15 minutes.
And Australia scores off a lineout. Simple deep throw and a huge gap opens up in the middle. 21-7
Mistake in the Aus backline, Reece collects and sends Ardie over.
Both sides are playing like this is an exhibition game. Pretty to watch.
Codie Taylor turned over again.
Nice breakout by Liam Wright for Aus but lacked support.
Another simple try to Aus, peel around the back of the maul and again there's a huge gap. NZ completely dominating but these soft tries are just about keeping Aus in touch. 28-14
DMac breaks through with two on his inside but his pass goes nowhere.
Jordie scores. Officials checking for a knock in an earlier phase. No try.
28-14 at the break. Mostly NZ but Aus has taken the few chances they had exploiting some patchy NZ defense.
NZ gets themselves an open tryline and Dmac chooses a backhand pass that goes nowhere.
Ardie held up over the line.
Aus now squandering a try by a pass not going to hand and NZ score at the other end through Ratima, who has had a very good game.
Well might not be a try after all as there looks to be a forward pass. Yes, no try.
Aus getting the phases together but always a mistake after 6 or 7. Much more even contest in the second half.
Santos breaking past L-Brown. Some good runners in the Aus side.
Another huge gap opens up close to the breakdown for Aus.
And try for Paisami. 31-21
Aus has to think they have a sniff here. And they break out again into the NZ 22 now.
And another phase dies with holding on just 5m from the line.
Yellow for NZ after the try btw, L-Brown in the bin.
Seeing some fire from the Aus players now that weren't as evident in the first half.
Clarke with a telling break, NZ rumbling now. Penalty for Aus at the breakdown.
Aussie replacements have had a definite impact.
Yellow for Clarke for a deliberate slapdown of a pass. NZ will briefly have only 13. Aus needs to strike and they almost do through Paisami but the try is disallowed for a knock.
Aus probably blows their last chance of winning conceding a penalty right on the NZ tryline.
Wright scores. 1 Minute to go, 31-28 NZ.
And Aus gets held up, NZ scrum, timer into the red. This should be it.
NZ win. 14-3 to Aus in the second half though.
Aus needs to move on from Nic White. Produced little except chatter. McDermott made an impact, so did many of the bench players. Some good players in the Aussie side. NZ defense looks very vulnerable.
So NZ won the game by 3 points and that sows what about the match?.
The Wallabies are getting stronger under Joe Schmidt. Oz Did well to fight back like that. The AB needs to pick up there defence it’s leaving to many holes.
The Oz scrum was standing strong and actually pushing back the AB scrum in the second half. Good game.
Hmm seems it was quite a march. Must watch the replay.
DMAC again doing little of much value.
He really strikes me as a bad apple. Not in the sense that he's a bad guy or anything, just in terms of actual play, he seems to be an unpredictable weak link that will occasionally do something fantastic but mostly doesn't fit in or elevate those around him. Really not a fan of this chap. I think he's all hype.
Comparing him to the Bok "x-factor" players like Arendse, Kolbe, Fassi...my word the difference is stark. It's like our guys understand that if you're Bok it's a given that you put your body on the line and that you have more responsibilities than simply providing some flash now and then. I mean, you look at the defensive work that Kolbe and Arendse put in, the support play and backing up. I wouldn't in a million years trade any of our chaps for DMac. Like EVER!!! I mean, how many light years ahead of DMac is Sacha...and he's frigging 21!?
Perhaps I'm biased but is there anyone here who would trade one of our Xfactor players for Dmac? It's and honest question.
And then there is Clarke...this is the type of Kiwi back that reminds you of what NZ can produce. Power, accuracy, skill...straight-up deadly and hard nosed. He's for sure a guy I'd make a space for in the Bok side.
I dunno, but I get a weird vibe from these ABs. Not only in terms of the fact they are less successful but just generally I look at the team sheets, I listen to the pundits, and there doesn't seem to be any clarity or assured direction.
I'm no Kiwi fan, but I'm also not a fan of seeing what I'm seeing from them right now. They seem to be ever aware of not living on reputation, but at the same time seem inevitably keen to do so!?
Kiwis, kindly give us your thoughts. And don't come with the usual..."It's a transition period" or "no team is great forever"...we already know that. This thing happening in your rugby seems deeper. Like there is too much searching and too few answers or something.
It's weird and I don't like it.
Plum the wee abs are building as new team as are we.
Bear in mind the abs have lost some close ones.
There is not a lot in it between the top sides. Right now we are winning because we have the most astute coach and the greater will to win. We are blending the older and newer players very well and so far our transition has been smoother. A due to wise plan.
I recall some Pundits here mistakenly calling for wholesale changes. Rassie rightly wants to keep winning while incrementally making changes and building the squad for the next RWC. Surely the right approach.
DMAC again doing little of much value.
Two poor passes in scoring positions + the forward pass that canceled Ratima's try puts him at about -21 points.
But a 21 points did not happen - so dream on.
I worry about what the AB's are doing at training or the lack there of.
I worry about our whole focus and tactics to be honest.
The current lot are just not up to it.
We are getting sick to death of AB yellow / red cards.
And I think they have far too many coaches and we are going no where.
No excuses for our shockingly poor performances.
Lets get real - The AB's making the world cup final was a shock - For the last 7 years we just have not been up to it and they just don't seem to be learning.
If there is 1 thing one can guarantee from the AB's at present - Yellow or red cards and this has become a shockingly bad habit - Playing a man down just does not cut it.
And most Kiwi's are not making excuses - They know that the AB's have been very, very poor.
Yeah Clarke's yellow almost cost you the game today, and it was cynical and deliberate just like the yellow against the Boks for blocking the chaser. Lucky to have the Aussie try disallowed that followed right after.
Pakie
The hole the AB's created by pushing SA and Argentina out of Super Rugby is hitting em hard in two ways, nmely -
* the level of play and opposition the AB player encounterd has been drastically reduced and they in reality face only interanal opposition - so the quality developing of players for intational rugby has been detrimentally effeted; and
* the income the Rugby Union received has dwindled and that caused potental All Black players to move to Europe and Japan - which Rugby New Zealand disqualified from playing for New Zealnd.
At least the above two issues have been raised in the NZ media and in discusson prgrams on rugby issues on TV programs. So New Zeald Rugby has shot theselves in the foot and now the essults became clearer.
Another issue s that the NZ commentators call the player reources of the Springboks crazy and that indicates to me that the AB reources are shrinking - together with the new Woke Culture that remove compitiveness as useless in what they believe in removal of nation states and remove the pride in themselves in New Zealand, They sing their national anthem before matches - that include "God help New Zealand" - but since most of our siite members from Austalia and New Zealand are athiests there is indeed nobody that would help them.
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