The Silver Fern

I was at the game, first time at Ashton Gate. Really nice 27k seat stadium. Nice steep stands so really good views, good facilities and really clean.

It had been raining most of the morning but there was heavy drizzle from 10mins before kick off until about 5mins into the first half. First half handling reflected this (sometimes quite comically).

Scrums very solid although bristols scrum isnt particularly strong without Genge (although Sinkler played). First half was just played slow. Virtually no one ran onto the ball not helped by slow arrival to rucks by Heinz with a matching slow pass. Heinz decision making was good and experience on D was also good but the ball would go to a standing still Rehana who would pass to any of 5 players around him who would remain stationary until they got the ball.
Rush defence was rescued by some good wide scramble (Rova and Fihaki did well there) so a bit of work to do there.
Fihaki remains a bit of a 'not sure' player for me. Good kicker, good athlete but hands and decision making still let him down too often for a guy whose been there or there-abouts for a few years now, would have liked to see more improvement in those areas by now.
For conditions that would be ideal for someone with the size +speed of Manassa out wide I think he only got the ball once.
I had no idea someone got a yellow card.
Bristol used a lot of short chip kicks in the first half which was good to get go forward for them in the slippery conditions.
Big screen and announcements of who was replacing who was poor (and not helped that I didnt recognise so many of the players names) but the second half was a different game.
Pace really picked up. Hothams passing was lightyears away from Heinz, really quick and long and a really nice dummy and blind side run from a scrum but not tested as much defensively. So still inexperienced but with game changing skills. It got some movement forward so some momentum.
Overall it was a game where there was a lot of dropped ball that meant a score for either side was on the cards at any point.
Cant say I felt that we 'dominated the second half' as the stuff writer said but for a second pre-season game with new coach and systems they will be better for the experience.

Thought is was our players who ran out of gas around half time. We lost a few turnovers when we put someone through a gap (williams the best example) and left them 10-15m up the field with no one even trying to get there to support. That is attitude mixed with tiredness.

We had almost no variation in our attack all game. 10 never kicked for variation so no stress on the defence. (except BBs daft kick passes)
They knew what was coming every time and we just kept serving it up.

Really liked that while we are playing a high risk late passing game there was no panic if someone got tackled and was pushed back 5m or so. The team got back promptly and calmly and started again.

Great game, nothing in it, we are improving all the time, not the finished article but good signs.
Just have to beat Italy ..... dont want to take them lightly.

But its 12 that is more worrying to me.
If we want a barrett style 12 - uses power to get over the gain line, good backup kicker, good distributer then on that basis we have 3 x 13s in ALB, Proctor and Ioane then we only 1 x 12 in the squad.
Dont get me wrong I like ALB but he doesnt play the same style as barret at 12. Will they try to convert Proctor?
Who is the next barret style 12?

If we learnt anything from the SA games I suspect its that our experienced players we still have aren't the leaders they should be. Good players but not leaders. A Sam Whitelock plays and we win the first test because he has the mana and experience of how to lead to win difficult games.
The move to experience on the bench for the second test showed that our experienced guys werent able to bring the calmness required to win the game.
I think super is a much bigger step down after the demise of the aussies and not playing the saffas.
Super form isnt much of a yardstick for test ability now. Not enough pressure on players.
If you think Fozzie and Razor have a similar capabilty of players to pick from we are all in a dreamland.

Lock, 10 and 12 are still the biggest holes to fill.
We've gone with three locks, two of which are slightly broken/injured, Two 15s who play 10 (well but are actually both best at 15) but no up and comers, and 1 specialist 12.
Will they trt to convert Proctor to 12?

Havent seen the game but would I be right to say the return of Barrett shows his value as a player and the addition of a really good lock has transformed both a struggling lineout and scrum?

In the same way the two years ago the blues pack full of ABs got dismantled at set piece in the final due primarily to a weakness at lock. It proved that props scrummaging is significantly impacted by the quality of the push from behind.

Our loosies issue is still the lack of a good big (mass and height) 6. We lack height and power in any of our loosies that play well enough to get picked. When we had both read and kaino we had height and enough mass/skill to do the tough stuff. For the last 3 seasons we had players playing well in a 6 role but either tall enough but not solid enough or a solid enforcer who wasnt tall enough.
I could be wrong as its just my perception.
Paps is the classic example. But heavy for a 7, too short for a 6 or 8. Great player for a role in the game for all sizes but ironically not quite the right size.
EB, broken a lot but brings a lot of energy. Too tall for 7, probably too light or is about more speed less power for 6 or 8. Offers things of real value to the collective group but not quite the right shape.
Hos, lots of talent and size. In the semi either was the focus of containment for the defence or just didnt have a great game in the game that mattered.
Jacobseon, great player at 6 and 8 but has the size of a 7. Not as good a 7 as he is 6 or 8. Great bench option for cover but impact.....not sure if hes the line busting 6/8 you might need in the last 20mins of a big international.
Finau. Really capable 6 with good size. Not quite there yet but could be another Kaino or just stays the same.
Satitti. Gives off the same mental aptitude and attitude of an early Mccaw. Next ABs captain if we can find a taller 6 or 8 to get the loosie balance better.
And here we are back at the big lineout option and ball carrier at 6 or 8 again that we dont seem to have.

While Id be happy to welcome williams back if hes ready, I'm not sure that prop has been where we are losing games.

The other element of improvement for Jordan this year is in his leadership and communication.
Probably easier to see whats going on from FB rather than wing.

Christies defensive game is why he get picked for the big games. Defence wins trophys.

I was surprised though at just how much slower his passing was compared to both Ratima and Hotham which I think was a very significant reason why the 'finishers' had such a late game impact. The backs had more time and your pods can run onto the ball because you know its coming rather than waiting and then starting your run. (are getting it passed to where you are standing not in front of you).

So for three games in a row our bench hasnt added value.
Who goes onto the bench to improve that?
Loosies still not what we want but do we even have the cattle for what we want?

Sad for Jordan if thats the case but its ok as we have halfpenny to cov ....bugger

Our friend Patience still missing then

Who was Penny against for the job? (cant remember)

The point that DH has been moved to yet another position and was at least as good in his first go as all of the other specialists in the squad says a lot.
Ist Five depth is not in a happy place in NZ at the moment .........but if they are all about the same it keeps things even.

Perhaps the backs is actually more disturbing.
Back up 10 isnt getting any younger so a problem in the longer term remains there. Burke leaving reduces the options somewhat.

Yes but if Jordie goes down are we not in bigger trouble?
Seriously our entire backline activity changes completely if hes off.
ALB would take his place but he is a very different 12 and hes been playing at 13 when he comes on has he not?

So you're saying the force pack was better than the blues as well !!
Lucky you had anyone in the ABs (heh heh heh).

Ahh the joys of statistics.
EB tackles 7/4 horrific and almost 20% of all missed tackles
Aumua great performance but still only has a 50% tackle rate.
Not happy for a 7 to have a 7/4 tackle rate but equally amazed that a hooker only manages 50%

It was such a different game from the last two weeks, pressure, space, defensive approach that its very hard to compare the performances.

Well done the new guys who had their chances and performed well though.

While we can speculate on which loosie is better than the other what we do know is that they are all slightly different but all very very good.
We also know that we are no longer in the Mitchel days of coaching and I am sure the players missing out have been told what they need to do to get in .... in a position that has lots of injurys and with an ABs XV and Māori's and 14 tests this year. I'm pretty sure there will be room for Hoskins to show what he can do sometime this year.

When you interview for jobs and have three outstanding candidates the final reason for picking one over the other can be quite frankly a coin toss. I dont think they actually tossed a coin but decided they had seen something they wanted just a tiny bit more in one player over the other.
And there's only one way to find out.