I thought the wee abs used the touchline very well and kept their width.
I thought the wee abs used the touchline very well and kept their width.
They were afraid of being turned over...the tone was set early.
With the ABs going into the lead like that, the Clovers went into theirs shells a little.
They were unexploited overlap situations about x 5...if memory serves.
NZ competed hard at the breakdown. They put in the hard yards, their line speed was great. Another night, another result under the same conditions. Ireland were better moving the ball under pressure. It was just a gutsy and we'll executed plan by NZ. Neither side were poor.
The IRB needs to be heavily criticised. Ireland should have at least made the semis. Ditto the Boks or France. Here again a very good side will go out.
I seldom saw the Irish creating numbers or space. It always looked like NZ had two more defenders than the Irish had attackers. Ireland had to fight for every inch they gained in attack in the second half. Lots of passing to little effect. I don't think they got their game going - think they were under tremendous pressure to perform and after that NZ start they were just playing catchup, and every time they got close NZ scored again. I see some Irish pundits has questioned the amount of gametime vs rest the Irish key players got in the tournament. Not sure if it was a factor but Ireland did seem to start fading in the last 20. That last 6 or 7 minutes of attack was brave but it lacked teeth.
No Beeno if you are creating space out wide it means you are drawing defenders away from the touchline
The Irish did that but then stupidly took contact instead of spreading it
I was looking at that more from the NZ perspective as I did not want the Irish to score and often thought shit the Irish let them off the hook
When the breakdown is being so hotly contested, there is an added risk of being turned over out wide. It takes resources to secure that possession. I don't think that it was as simple as "throw the ball wide". It's the nature of the beast in such a tough game.
D ave
Mozart scream praises of Aki against SA because h e amdxe a line break - I never saw anything bar a defense failure yesterday. We warned Mozart he is useless - so was he sueless yesterday?
D ave
Mozart scream praises of Aki against SA because h e amdxe a line break - I never saw anything bar a defense failure yesterday. We warned Mozart he is useless - so was he sueless yesterday?
Aki has been one of the best players in the competition, more effective than the entirety of the SA squad!
75m run right in the middle of everything, no easy yards, 7 defenders beaten, one clean break, cracker of a try and Ou Mike saw nothing but a defense failure.
"Mozart scream praises of Aki against SA because h e amdxe a line break - I never saw anything bar a defense failure yesterday. We warned Mozart he is useless - so was he sueless yesterday?"
On his wanking machine?
LMAO!
That could be a good call. Let's hope it wasn't "sueless"
I think those two early penalties by Porter had an influence on the game….Ireland has been so clinical, that relaxed the ABs. Much later in the game Sexton missed a kick that also was a psychological turning point.
In the end though, as always, it was back play that cracked it open for the ABs. The well worked try for Fainga and the most consequential break of the year by Mo’unga leading to another Jordan try.
The forward battle was about even I’d say.
Aki actually carries the backline on his back.
...he doesn't pretend to, like Damien.
AE > Aki > Anyone else > DDA
You only needed to watch him last night to see the clear difference he makes. No hidden amazingness that nobody is able to discern. No emperors clothes. Aki is brilliant and even the layman can see it. His contributions, and their net benefit, are of the most clear events on the field.
It's literally night and day between him and DDA.
How anyone can't see that is nutz to me.
This from Planet Rugby:
12 Bundee Aki: Such a shame we won’t be seeing more of the centre in this World Cup, considering his brilliance. Once again, he was utterly magnificent. Arguably the player of the tournament. 9
Bu$#t he does kan o#l5 ly mkae defensiv errors waht are all h)@e do
Bundi has made more metres than any other player in the world cup. Big and Strong, but he also has a playmaking game.
I saw some video on YouTube that suggested perhaps the Irish made a mistake starting a first choice team in every match - as well as even in the world cup warmups.
Despite forward domination at the end was not enough to get over the line one last time.
What I like about Aki is that he actually makes the players around him better.
He creates and they rally around him.
The Bok backs basically try to avoid DDA if they can.
That's why you hardly ever see him involved in set moves.
The one time they'll involve him is when he merely had to catch and give it someone near him.
In short, they trust him only with the most basic things.
That's too much trust if you ask me.
If DDA could be used more effectively as a dummy runner when their is space, that might be better
30,427 posts
Do the hard work to create space and numbers out wide only not to exploit them?
I was rooting for the AB’s and on a number of occasions I thought the AB’s were short on numbers out wide only to be let off the hook by incorrect decisions made by the Irish