World Cup Hangover? More like World Cup P*** Up

Well in the opening exhanges it did seem this AB unit had limited preparation time. SBW was offloading to the Irish players in front of him and Ireland looked quite slick on attack in the opening exchanges.

The problem was they didn't convert that momentum into points. NZ got a run-on from Ireland failing to put the ball in the scrum and then Carter got a good kick. Ireland came back quickly but crucially NZ were allowed to soak up the pressure and get a lead with some very useful long-range penalties from Carter. If Ireland want to give themselves a chance, they must turn off the NZ points tap. Keep that dry and apply your own pressure and then you can force mistakes because the pressure mounts. But NZ was able to get the psychological advantage and the first try to take it out to 16 3 meant the game had slipped away far too early for Ireland.

I wouldn't base Ireland's attack on what happened thereafter. NZ were able to dominate possession and Ireland had to defend too much. It took a lot out of them and it hindered their attack I feel. One area though where they were able to dominate was at the breakdown. Best, Healy, O'Brien, Heaslip etc had good body position and were able to either slow the ball down or steal the ball. NZ must blow those players standing over the ball off their feet and clear that area more for Smith.

That said, the defence in the backs for Ireland let them down. They seemed to be caught out too many times in the midfield and when the ball was released out wide there wasn't an Irish man up in the faces of the ABs, particularly Savea. You can't afford to give these guys space and time on the ball and I don't think in particular the BOD, Earls, Mcfadden axis worked well on attack and NZ exploited that space clinically.

It was disturbing to see for Ireland Cian Healy go down in pain towards the end of the match and to see uncontested scrums and let's hope Ireland have him back for next week and Fitzpatrick can stay on for longer because NZ had real ascendancy in the scrums in the second half and looked to attack at will through that area.

For NZ, the new caps had a useful start with Savea, Rettalick and Smith all playing well. Vito doesn't convince me at 6 but Read is on fire at 8 so no chance of him slotting into the position he's played so well for the Hurricanes. Carter seems free of his injury which is great to see but Cruden had a nice cameo role in the second half. I think Nonu looks a better option at 12 but I agree with the decision to rest him but expect to see him back for the 4N. SBW was heavily marked and had a few good moments but he was too much of a liability on attack with the ball often able to be turned over because he goes into contact with only one arm on the ball and poor body position. Still it's a good learning curve for him and no doubt he will be made to watch some videos outlining those weaknesses of him.

Lastly though I think we have to give credit where credit is due to the coaching staff. They had limited preparation with this team (though the training squads were obviously a good idea) and many doubted Shag and his co coaches. But our defence looked good and we seemed to be good on attack through the forwards and backs. Still some ground to improve there as we had clear chances and didn't convert or didn't take our chances but with the ABs at the top, you want to see continuity and with only 7 players from the RWC team last year it looked very much business as usual. So well done but now that game means nothing. Ireland will regroup and come back stronger I feel next game so NZ has to keep that clinical edge and take no prisoners. For all our reputation of slow starts, there was much to be proud of this first 2012 AB appearance. But now the slate is cleaned and Ireland no doubt will tighten up their defence. So heads down boys and don't get too carried away by this performance. Ireland were made to look worse than they are and NZ are not as good as the scoreline suggests. kia kaha

Yes Smith add some pace to all blacks width. You see how much this disappear when Weepu replace him.

Ireland did not get analystic of Smith and were out flank so many times.

Julian Savea is the Kiwi George North!

Weepu seems to be in the team for his haka. I certainly hope this is his last chance saloon and he is axed for the 4N. Much like Ali Williams. No room for sentiment with the ABs. Maybe the selectors have seen enough of Ellis and want to see how those two go in a better team. But they looked pretty average still behind a largely dominant pack.

Yes Kiakaha I was going to post the same thing! When he start the Haka I knew why he made the combinator.

The ending backline combinator for all blacks of Weepu, Cruden, Carter, Smith, SBW, Smith I think it was very not fluency. I don't know what the coaches was thinking about.

Yeah AWOP it was awful. Though they did finish the game hungry for tries which I found pleasing though all shape was lost for much of that second half and Savea was being protected which is not a bad call. Personally I'd like to see the likes of Tamati Ellison as a reserve instead of Smith as Guildford and Savea (who missed a kick off) weren't tested at all. But maybe they will be next week so Hansen will keep Smith as insurance. But to me SBW had a very mixed bag and seemed to be a liability in the first team combinators.

Yes I would still picking Nonu in the center because he has better brain and defender and also not so much short ofloading game but very good wide distributor with long fast pass and better vision about the game.

Cruden should have replace Carter straight and I agree about Ellison reserve.

Agree with all that AWOP. Jane replaces Guildford when he comes back (does anyone know when) and Nonu back for SBW. Savea is still a work in progress but he looked at home on the left wing today which has been an area of weakness in terms of a specialist position.

the world cup hangover theory was just the rest of the world desparately hoping that the All Blacks would slip up.

welliamwibb wrote:Julian Savea is the Kiwi George North!

Apart from Savea actually scores tries.

North has scored only 1 try for country or club in the last 8 months.

welliamwibb wrote:Julian Savea is the Kiwi George North!

Be fair, he's only young and it was his first test. He'll get better.

My AB ratings

Dagg 7 There was much to like about Dagg's plays on attack. He set up the second try for Savea sucking in 3 defenders. Looked like his old self after indifferent form this Super XV season.

Guildford 6 Not much ball went his way. Was lucky Ireland's kicking was often too long and inaccurate as he doesn't looked assured under the high ball.

Savea 8 Can't ask for much more from a player on debut. He's there for scoring tries and he picked up three so very useful performance. You could see the confidence he got from scoring not to mention the big hit and turnover on Kearney.

Smith 9 NZ's player of the match. Just does the right thing on attack and defence. Super reliable and his try in the second half was fitting reward for an outstanding all-round display. BOD may have been the world's most consistent OC for a decade but the mantle of best OC is arguably Smith's now and has been for a couple of years.

SBW 5 A real mixed bag. His offload to set up the first try was when he got it right. Too often though he got caught out in the tackle situation and got turned over because he doesn't protect the ball well with only one hand and though he was a heavily marked man he needs to learn to protect the ball more.

Carter 8 Goal kicking was immaculate and he looks to have so much time with those snappy passes from Smith. Great to see such a talented player back to his best and showing how much he offers to the side.

Smith 7 This was an impressive debut by the youngster. That pass is quick. Would love to see him attacking the blind side running with ball in hand as well as clearing the ball quickly. But looked at home behind a pack and not afraid to marshall the players.

Read 8 Looked in very good form and free from the injury scare he had a few weeks ago. Powerful running and was a weapon at restarts.

McCaw 6 Not quite at his best and overshadowed by O'Brien. Must take some of the blame for Ireland's ability to unsettle AB play at the breakdown.

Vito 6 Not sure 6 is his best position. No big lapses but no great presence with the ball or on defence either.

Whitelock 7 Had a strong game and worked well in the set piece. A much needed player of experience to partner his young lock couunterpart.

Rettalick 7 Another good debut and did what was asked of him in the set piece.

Franks 6 Good in the scrum but needs to be more of a nuisance at the breakdown in clearing out players.

Hore 7 A very solid display and did what was asked of him at lineout time.

Woodcock 7 Got stronger in the scrum but failed to get any ascendancy over Fitzpatrick.

Weepu and Williams looked a step down coming on in the second half. Cruden was the best performing sub looking assured slotting into flyhalf and Smith didn't really have much to do.

Finally, Hansen and co must be given credit for limiting the AB rustiness after such short preparation time and the defence looked good. 8 for them.

There was a point bottom right corner where smith went to a short right and they were pushed out where dc was wanting it left to a well laid put backline. Suggests a little lack of communication between the two but good to see smith is able to use his own initiative at times. That area will improve.

I thought sbw was ok. He took it up continuosly taking on the hard yards job of nonu. That extra marking and smiths pass had the effect of opening up the area outside him massively. Ireland couldnt defend wide with the threat of sbw needing two to bring him down. I think his role overall has been underated as i havnt seen so much empty space outside centre. Dagg was often flying in with a clear 20-30 yards infront of him, making the irish scramble- often to no avail.