All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
A Savea showed his absolute worth and also illustrated why i don't like him starting at 8 all in the same game. His 2nd half was majestic and he's a fucking menace out wide. That bloke is a point of difference, and i swear him playing the last 30 minutes as an all-energy impact sub makes us a very dangerous proposition.
Ardie is a great player in general play - overall, he may well be our MVP in that aspect. Peter Gus' try showed what a really big man can do off the back of the scrum (and elsewhere) - Ardie does that with determination rather than bulk - but, his (Ardie's) biggest "shortcoming" in my view is being too short to be a genuine lineout option. He's pretty much Rodney So'oialo v2.0. I can see why they want him on the paddock, but he doesn't help balance the loose trio.
and this is the dilemma facing the selectors, and why they get paid for this shit.
A dude with so much obvious upside, and yet glaring deficiencies at the same time. How best to use?
A decision made tougher by the skipper playing in what is probably Ardies best spot if starting. And a guy who also looks to the manor born also in that spot.Fucking good spot to be in though isn't it?
@mariner4life said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
Fucking good spot to be in though isn't it?
Problem is that the shortness means the loose forward trio just unbalances. That's a nut the selectors haven't cracked yet.
Honestly, to me giving him a big 20-30 off the bench against tiring legs is probably the best option; his versatility and looser play becomes a real strength. -
It was a cracking number 8 run to score that try and no surprise it happened well into the second half.
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It was a cracking number 8 run to score that try and no surprise it happened well into the second half.
@antipodean said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
It was a cracking number 8 run to score that try and no surprise it happened well into the second half.
Dude a 13 would be happy with that, outside swerve to beat the line, ball in two hands to send teh FB away, over untouched. It was pretty sexy
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
A Savea showed his absolute worth and also illustrated why i don't like him starting at 8 all in the same game. His 2nd half was majestic and he's a fucking menace out wide. That bloke is a point of difference, and i swear him playing the last 30 minutes as an all-energy impact sub makes us a very dangerous proposition.
Ardie is a great player in general play - overall, he may well be our MVP in that aspect. Peter Gus' try showed what a really big man can do off the back of the scrum (and elsewhere) - Ardie does that with determination rather than bulk - but, his (Ardie's) biggest "shortcoming" in my view is being too short to be a genuine lineout option. He's pretty much Rodney So'oialo v2.0. I can see why they want him on the paddock, but he doesn't help balance the loose trio.
Was pretty annoying watching a side playing three locks throw to a short 8 at the front.
@Kirwan said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
Was pretty annoying watching a side playing three locks throw to a short 8 at the front.
While I don't disagree with you, if you believe the AB stats Savea is the same height as Grace, who seems to be lauded as a lineout gun. A lot of teams use a loose forward at the front to get quick ball. Often they are easier to lift than a bigger lock.
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@Kirwan said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
Was pretty annoying watching a side playing three locks throw to a short 8 at the front.
While I don't disagree with you, if you believe the AB stats Savea is the same height as Grace, who seems to be lauded as a lineout gun. A lot of teams use a loose forward at the front to get quick ball. Often they are easier to lift than a bigger lock.
@Bovidae said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Kirwan said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
Was pretty annoying watching a side playing three locks throw to a short 8 at the front.
While I don't disagree with you, if you believe the AB stats Savea is the same height as Grace, who seems to be lauded as a lineout gun. A lot of teams use a loose forward at the front to get quick ball. Often they are easier to lift than a bigger lock.
Grace has been used as a lock at times by Canterbury (?) so that doesn't make too much sense.
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@Bovidae said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Kirwan said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
Was pretty annoying watching a side playing three locks throw to a short 8 at the front.
While I don't disagree with you, if you believe the AB stats Savea is the same height as Grace, who seems to be lauded as a lineout gun. A lot of teams use a loose forward at the front to get quick ball. Often they are easier to lift than a bigger lock.
Grace has been used as a lock at times by Canterbury (?) so that doesn't make too much sense.
@Old-Samurai-Jack said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
Grace has been used as a lock at times by Canterbury (?) so that doesn't make too much sense.
There are plenty of shorter locks in NPC teams, or even SR teams (looking at you Blackwell).
If you compare Grace to Christie (1.85/1.86 m).
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@Old-Samurai-Jack said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
Grace has been used as a lock at times by Canterbury (?) so that doesn't make too much sense.
There are plenty of shorter locks in NPC teams, or even SR teams (looking at you Blackwell).
If you compare Grace to Christie (1.85/1.86 m).
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@Bovidae Grace is 1.93m and Christie 1.86m.
Grace played at lock for NZU20s and for Canterbury in his first year.
Photo from 2019.
@Stargazer if he frizzed up his hair he'd get at least another few centimetres
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@Stargazer if he frizzed up his hair he'd get at least another few centimetres
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@Stargazer if he frizzed up his hair he'd get at least another few centimetres
@nzzp said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Stargazer if he frizzed up his hair he'd get at least another few centimetres
Now that we know he's Polynesian he can start growing a ginga afro.
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@nzzp said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Stargazer if he frizzed up his hair he'd get at least another few centimetres
Now that we know he's Polynesian he can start growing a ginga afro.
@Nepia said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@nzzp said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Stargazer if he frizzed up his hair he'd get at least another few centimetres
Now that we know he's Polynesian he can start growing a ginga afro.
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@nzzp said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Stargazer if he frizzed up his hair he'd get at least another few centimetres
Now that we know he's Polynesian he can start growing a ginga afro.
@Nepia said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@nzzp said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Stargazer if he frizzed up his hair he'd get at least another few centimetres
Now that we know he's Polynesian he can start growing a ginga afro.
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@Bovidae Grace is 1.93m and Christie 1.86m.
Grace played at lock for NZU20s and for Canterbury in his first year.
Photo from 2019.
@Stargazer said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
@Bovidae Grace is 1.93m and Christie 1.86m.
Grace played at lock for NZU20s and for Canterbury in his first year.
Photo from 2019.
That would be correct Dallas McLeod is 190 cm and Grace is a bit taller in this photo.
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Reece's 29th minute try was due to a very laboured, and inaccurate, pass from Sexton. I guess he had gotten his head knock when he slipped into a tackle a few phases earlier.
Up until that point the game was pretty even. NZ making some mistakes, but our set-piece was better.
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On the 33 minute mark, Ireland have begun to look tired, and Savea gets his excellent Fringe running game going - it's probably game over if you give an AB team with a 9 point lead that bit of time and space.
Beauden Barrett defending very well. Kicking game pretty good too, after an early nothing kick.
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Ireland's kick chasing in the 1st half was poor, and their defensive line-speed wasn't as good as usual. ABs clean out was much better, and they shifted the point of attack when using forward ball carriers better than last year. Looked like a few backline moves executed with players standing deeper.
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Enjoyable test match and it will be interesting to see if Ireland can bounce back. There was certainly enough positives for Ireland to take out of the match that if they can get these things right, then they can win.
They were extremely competitive in the forwards / breakdown, but we just capitalised on their (often forced) mistakes ruthlessly. If they had managed to get one of the two (correctly) disallowed tries and avoid Reece's runaway then suddenly the score is 35-26 which is certainly much closer.
I predict they will come out firing again, and the final to be within a score. If we get up (which I do put us down as favourites for), then I predict the series will go down the well trodden AB series path of a 3rd test blowout in our favour. If Ireland can get up ... then it may just come down to last man standing! A few other comments
I really like O'Mahoney as a player, but man he's a ref whinger. It's really boring.
Stuart Barnes thinks Cane is toast and is holding Ardie back.
Scott Barrett, above discussion aside, had a great game.
The Ioane / Tupaea axis worked really well and I'm excited about seeing this again.
Aaron Smith may have been surpassed by Dupont as the premier scrummie in the game, but he's still no slouch .. can he hold on until RWC 2023?Roll on the weekend!
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On the 33 minute mark, Ireland have begun to look tired, and Savea gets his excellent Fringe running game going - it's probably game over if you give an AB team with a 9 point lead that bit of time and space.
Beauden Barrett defending very well. Kicking game pretty good too, after an early nothing kick.
@Tim said in All Blacks v Ireland - 1st Test:
On the 33 minute mark, Ireland have begun to look tired, and Savea gets his excellent Fringe running game going - it's probably game over if you give an AB team with a 9 point lead that bit of time and space.
Beauden Barrett defending very well. Kicking game pretty good too, after an early nothing kick.
Thank you, I felt like I was watching a different game to some posters wanking on about how bad Beauden's kicking was. He even got blamed for a try as one of his kicks from inside the 22 was caught by an Irish player on the 50m line.
