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The Rugby Union Discussion

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rhizome17

Fan Favourite
RIGHT!!!

At last, the BLues turn in a performance they are known for. Spencer class for the entire game. It has taken bloody ages (hence my lack of posting :p ) but now it has been shown, hopefully they can get some consistency. Especially since it is South African teams that make up the remainder of the tournament for us, we stand a good show of making the playoffs - maybe :( .

Maybe they will tiem their run at the right time, whilst others (Warratahs) may have peaked early. Crusaders are looking good again, and Brumbies are still the best team in the competition so far. Come on BLUES!!!!
 
R

rhizome17

Fan Favourite
No, sorry, I don't know of any...

I was actually hoping this thread would go away and die (no offence) after the Blues were knocked out of the Super12... but hey, at least there are still 2 NZ teams considering their awful start to the season, and the Blues ALMOST made it despite an abominable mid-season set of results.

Ah well, All Black selection will be VERY interesting this year.
 
A

Andrew

Banned : [Racism]
Life Ban
NZ fully deserved, played fantastic rugby union all through out the game. England were Terrible. The scoreline truly reflects what happened this evening.

Congrats NZ (Y)
 
R

rhizome17

Fan Favourite
Originally posted by Larry
NZ 36
England 3

:o :o :o :o :o :o
Click to expand...

I know!!!!!!

haha, what a game! Graham Henry is god. Every problem we have had in the last few years (lineouts, scrums, defence) seemed to evaporate tonight. England got ONE shot on goal, they just weren't allowed to play their game. Wilko would have made very little difference. And we took our penalties everytime. We matched their scrum. We WON off the opposition lineout. Only area of concern was defense up the middle, which can be exploited by Wallabies like Mortlock and Giteau.

ROll on next week :rockman:
 
C

choppy

Youth Team
Originally posted by rhizome17


We matched their scrum. We WON off the opposition lineout. Only area of concern was defense up the middle, which can be exploited by Wallabies like Mortlock and Giteau.
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Yep the All Balck forwards certainly dominated and I did enjoy watching it. Not too often i go for New Zealand but I sure did this time and the result made it even more satisfying.

We all new that the AB backline would dominate but it wsa definately the pack that set this win up. Mcgaw constantly won the breakdown ball, the locks stole many linouts and the tight 5 kept going forward.

Daniel Carter. Sorry not a fan. I know he can do some flash stuff in attack but he has no mongrel in defence. I wouldn't direct Giteau and Mortlock at him, I would have the big guys like Samo, Lyons and Tuquiri running at him all day. Having these guys run at him will force Umaga come in to help which will create an overlap outwide. No use running at Spencer because the breakaways will get their to help but going that one man wider creates a bit more room.

Apart from that I couldn't see any real weakness. Everyone did their role and they proceeded to give the poms a hammering.

Wel we start our capmaign today.Playing a Scotland team who have been bloody terrible so far on this tour. We usually do struggle with our first few tests so a comfortable win here will be good enough.

Sth Africa had a win against Ireland. Couldn't really care about this one but i suppose that it is good when the Southern Hemisphere teams beat the Northerners.
 
R

rhizome17

Fan Favourite
Originally posted by choppy

Daniel Carter. Sorry not a fan. I know he can do some flash stuff in attack but he has no mongrel in defence. I wouldn't direct Giteau and Mortlock at him, I would have the big guys like Samo, Lyons and Tuquiri running at him all day. Having these guys run at him will force Umaga come in to help which will create an overlap outwide. No use running at Spencer because the breakaways will get their to help but going that one man wider creates a bit more room.
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I can't wait to see Stephen Jones column in the Times. :p

But what Henry does with Carter will be interesting. Carter is there primarily for his boot at this point in time, and if Mehrts was selected I doubt Carter would be there. Sam Tuitupou can always be called on to replace Carter if defenseive play demands, and Mauger is still in the frame. Despite England winning the World Cup, I still think the best team in the world mantle is a fight between the AB's and the Wallabies.
 
H

henry#14

Starting XI
Originally posted by choppy
Sth Africa had a win against Ireland. Couldn't really care about this one but i suppose that it is good when the Southern Hemisphere teams beat the Northerners.
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I care(H) better luck to England next time:(
 
C

choppy

Youth Team
Well we beat Scotland by 20. Much different Scotland team than we have seen in the lead ups. Usual start by the Wallabies, as they struggled thru the 1st half like they seem to do in the first test every year. Not a real good game to get an indication on the positions. I would like to see Gerard replace Sailor next week although Wendell did no wrong today. Gerard had an outstanding super 12 and deserves a go.

WE still weren't as impressive as New Zealand for the 1st test of the season but we never are. They always come out of the blocks quicker than us.
 
C

choppy

Youth Team
Didnt really get given the chances he got during the Super 12. He was strong in the linouts and general play but he didn't get much space to run with the ball. Made some good hits in defence.

Solid if not spectacular
 
C

chatterbox

Banned [Multiple Accounts]
Life Ban
Another All Black whooping of England 36 - 12. England did not score a try in the two tests against New Zealand....normalcy has been restored after that World Cup fiasco !
 
R

rhizome17

Fan Favourite
Well, it was a shame the sending off came when it did, as England were asserting themselves and putting the AB's under pressure. I still think we would have won in the end as we were fitter and more tactically aware, England looked tired. Should be a good fight against the Wallabies (literally, a fight).

Ben Cohen was particularly outstanding, he was committed throughout and deserves more from his teammates. But if the Wallabies are going to beat England, they need to change their tactics from te WC final and get involved up front. Get George Smith to exchange a few knocks early on, and challenge at scrum and lineout time - England have been used to dominance in those areas and win their games from there. THe AB's took them on in those areas, knowing that dominance there would let the backline do their stuff - just look at the try from Rokocoko that came from winning the ball off the back of the lineout. THat was one of the most cleanly executed moves I have seen from a team in a long time, and if anyone has seen the aerial view they will surely agree.

One thing that is still buggin me - JUSTIN ******* MARSHALL. Too slow to pass, mishandles the ball too much, and you could see Xavier Rush beginning to take over clearing duties at the back of the scrum. Please get well soon, Steve Devine. He is a much cleaner distributor of the ball.

Was good to see Mehrtens make a cameo, he was effective when he came on. Still not sure we have the team to beat the Wallabies, but we are on the right road. If this team had been at the world cup, I suspect the outcome would have been different.

But most of all, I think Henry's biggest influence so far is the defence - England did not score a try in two games, something reminiscent of the Blues and Auckland when Henry was in charge - a stingy defence.
 
C

choppy

Youth Team
I didn't see the Wallaby game on the weekend as I chose to go to the Rugby League and watch Souths beat my beloved Sea Eagles. (Wasn't that a studip thing to do) But from what I understand we were not real impressive.

I did see the All Black match and I didn't think that England were too bad. The scoreline indicated a blow out but I thought England were quite impressive with 14 men. I agree that our forwards will have to step up this week to beat them but I think they have been playing quite well. I guess thats more credit to the AB's for still scoring 36 points. Rockocoko is just scary at the moment. Its a pity that him and Tuquiri play on opposite sides cos that would be an epic clash.

Our problem still seems to be lack of cohesion in the backs. Our backline is good enough to score points on any one but they dont seem to be finishing as well as they should. GTregan is still too slow with his delivery. His two steps back he takes before he passes is allowing the defence to get in Larkhams face and this is rushing the moves a bit.

I think we will beat them, but not by much.
 
M

mufc_daddy

Starting XI
Well wev've lost a few games in a row. Wilkinson is to us what Zidane is to the French team.

We proved we needed him.

Still we're world champions, thats all that matters.

Hmmmmmm hmmmmm hmmmm.

(H)
 
C

choppy

Youth Team
Australia was just below Indonesia and to the left of New Zealand. Where we usually are.


We go well enough at too many sports already. We don't need to win that as well.:)
 
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