Challenge: Review your team's June efforts

Hi all, following on from Yappy's England tour review (https://www.606v2.com/t31556-england-series-review ), Biltong and mself have "borrowed" his format to put together our reveiws of SA and NZ respectively (http://www.v2journal.com/south-africas-june-tests-review.html and http://www.v2journal.com/new-zealands-june-tests-review.html). We possibly weren't the only ones, Yappy's the layout (and mostly similar conclusions) cropped up in this morning's (London) Times.

Anyways, I thought I'd put up a challenge to everyone. Using Yappysnap's layout*, post a review of your nation's June internationals. At the weekend I'll publish the best ones** on the Journal

* Layout is:
Introduction, summary of pre-tour aspirations and results
Review of management
Heroes (Stand out players)
and Zeroes (Those who didn't cut the mustard)
Conclusion: Looking Forward


** Best as based on positive feedback on this thread, and editorial wim

Wales Down Under.

Wales headed to Australia as all conquering Grand Slam Champions. Australia were seemingly in disarray with David Campese leading the charge against coach Robbie Deans. They lost to Scotland in the warm ups, were having a very poor super XV season (by their standards) and had a shocking injury list which included O'Connor, Cooper and my favourite player in World rugby currently, Kurtley Beale. Expectation levels in Wales were high. Our Lions front row was fit as was our captain, Sam Warburton. The fans smelt Wallaby blood...

There was a fly in the ointment however. Rob Howley is a very fit man. Those of a certain age will remember a clip of this bare chested Adonis on Scrum V doing push ups in a gym. For a while he was Wales' stand out player. One of our only genuinely World Class players. He was immense on the 97 Lions tour and finished his playing career successfully at Wasps under Warren Gatland. Fantastic player, questionable coach. Personally I like my coaches to have charisma, presence, even style. Flamboyant jokers like Lyn Jones, cerebral masterminds like Carwyn James or brooding bruisers like Jim Telfer. Howley is softly spoken, mild mannered. He doesn't engender much of a positive emotional reaction from me when I hear him speak and so I doubt whether he would in the players.

The decision to leave Biggar at home and take Hook was a big one and in my opinion the wrong one. If Priestland is the man, and I doubt it, but if he is, what better way to get the best out of him than to have the threat of Biggar lurking. And there are other selection queries. Why fly Ian Evans away from his honeymoon and not use him? Why persevere with Jenkins and Rees in the front row if our game was to evolve around scrum dominance? It would take a brave man to drop his captain, even if seemingly injured and off form, Howley was not that man.

As to tactics, the 6th tackle kick chase was the only one really. If we wanted to scrum them off the park we'd have picked and driven more, rolled mauls, adopted the Australian (via Ireland) choke tackle.

Our point difference in three tests was -11. We were still on the plane in the first test and failed to kill the game in the dying minutes when ahead in the other two.

Of course I don't actually know what Howley is like in the dressing room, and how the players react to him, but looking at the circumstantial evidence (poor selection, poor tactics, poor execution, poor game management, especially when compared with Gatlands recent games in charge) I'm afraid the facts speak for themselves, he is not head man material.

As to the players, it is frustrating to point out that Adam and Ryan Jones were the stand out players for me because that just makes the sidelining of Evans, Tipuric and Biggar all the harder to understand as they were in the same Osprey inspired rich vein of form. Adam Jones consistently proves that he is an excellent scrummager whilst putting in a good defensive shift. Ryan Jones is in the form of his life. He has found the style that suits him, intelligent play in the tight, less emphasis on ball carrying. Of course, there's also Dan Lydiate. The Powys farmer with the astounding tackle count; and Leigh Halfpenny with his extraordinary place kicking and bravery in the air at full back.

You don't get that close to Australia out there when not firing on all cylinders with poor players. That's not to say that they all played well. Gethin Jenkins is not the best scrummager and it was not his fault that Wales targeted the Aussie scrum. However, you feel that if that was the case, James and Owen or Hibbard should have been preferred, to start at least. Bradley Davies and Luke Charteris gave away the determinative, silly penalties late in the two latter tests and Alun Wyn Jones inexplicably lost the ability to take kick offs in the final test.

The main concern for me however was Warburton. Bossed by Pocock he failed to put his stamp on matters. Tipuric looked the better player. Beck was blamed for Australia's try in the second test, but it was Warburton who flew up out of the line creating room for Barnes who already had the luxury of an overlap. Again selection of a stronger front five unit would have helped contain Pocock, giving him something else to do and think about, but Warburton being so far off the pace makes you think he was carrying a knock.

Is Priestland the Messiah or a naughty boy? Neither I think. He has shown flashes of class, but his flakiness, unreliability and weak defence (albeit improved on this tour) put him behind Biggar in my view. That kick (despite what Dr Gwyn Jones says) in the second test was a terrible error. He is an enigma and this won't be trained out of him, ever. Are we prepared to lose games waiting for those rare flashes? I'm not personally.

So what awaits Wales? Gatland has pulled rabbits out of the hat before. I can't see us winning more than two of the Autumn Internationals though and then only against the weaker opposition. A tired team will fall short in Paris (where France will be desperate to beat us) and possibly at home to Ireland or England. 4th place in the 6 Nations awaits us in other words.

Nice one Glas

It's not nice, it's depressing because it's accurate.

Here you go, I tried to be objective but there may be some Deccie bile in there, should be good for the journal with a few tweaks

Ireland in the land of the great white cloud


I think Irish fans entered the Summer tour with a sense of cautious optimism. The backbone of the team (Leinster/Ulster) both reached the final of the Heineken Cup with Leinster emerging victorious. While, this provincial success was quite amazing, we Irish fans knew that at international level, we often struggled. Many speculate over the reasons, in reality its is somewhere in between having players who aren't good enough and the tactics of Director of Rugby Declan Kidney and his staff. With the All Blacks replacing former coach Graham Henry with Steve Hansen, I think the Irish faithful saw the first test as their best opportunity to finally notch a win.

So the first game came, the Irish forwards put in an outstanding performance, Sean O'Brien, Rory Best and Declan Fitzpatrick were stellar. Ireland were arguably superior at the breakdown and had some dominance in the scrum. The problems lay outside. The Irish backs have struggled throughout Kidney's tenure, their back play is somewhat archaic and while try scoring isn't a huge issue for Ireland their creativity is. Kidney surprisingly picked a relatively inexperienced team, Simon Zebo and Declan Fitzpatrick gaining their first caps, Peter O'Mahony only had one previous cap while Brian O'Driscoll took on a new role at inside centre. Wingers Fergus McFadden and Simon Zebo were exposed, a lack of communication also proved to be a problem. McFadden got drawn in at times but he and Earls didn't communicate effectively resulting in some terrible gaps in defence. New Zealand winger grabbed three tries on his debut which largely culminated from poor Irish defence. A final score of 42-10 in favour of the All Blacks meant a bleak outlook, yet Irish fans knew if their backs could front up in the tackle and offer something going forward the match would be a lot tighter.

So the second test was held in Christchurch. In an emotional night for the natives and several players, the All Blacks played a test in Christchurch for the firs time since the Earthquake in February 2011. Ireland gave the All Blacks an almighty shock, with the home side eventually winning out on a scoreline of 22-19. Ireland made 4 changes. The injured Keith Earls was replaced by Gordon D'Arcy. Andrew Trimble was favoured ahead of Simon Zebo, Mike Ross replaced Declan Fitzpatrick and Kevin McLaughlin replaced Peter O'Mahony. While Victor Vito replaced Adam Thomson in the All Blacks line-up. The Irish forwards picked up where they left out showing superiority at the breakdown and also putting in a decent effort come scrum time. The backs also stood up and brought intensity and physicality that was absent in the first test. The Irish tackling was solid, and they hit any Black shirt that moved. At times they showed some intricate backplay but mainly they used physical and powerful runners a few times before recycling quickly and flinging the ball wide, or at least attempting to. The Irish kept the All Blacks in the game by giving away silly and needless penalties, as the shell-shocked Kiwis struggled to create try scoring opportunities. They managed one in the second half but Ireland managed to tie the game at 19-19, and after Israel Dagg's sin binning for an aerial challenge on Rob Kearney (the card may have been harsh but I think the penalty was justified). While it seemed that captain Brian O'Driscoll wanted to go down the line with the resulting penalty, Johnny Sexton opted for the posts and his effort ultimately fell short. After a penalty which cause consternation among Irish fans, the All Blacks marched down the field with Dan Carter sinking the winning drop goal to break Irish hearts.

The third test is something most Irish fans have blanked from their memory. In the absence of Dan Carter and Kieran Read, the All Blacks turned in a superb performance, Aaron Cruden and Sam Cane deputising brilliantly for the absent duo. The Irish team of the second test failed to turn up , the lacked physicality, slipped off tackles stood off the All Blacks and looked like they wanted to catch the plane home at times. Some mind-boggling selections like playing Paddy Wallace who only arrived in NZ on the Thursday of the game were a bit odd but all round Ireland were awful and this lead to an embarrassing 60-0 loss.



Irish team Analysis


Coaching staff

Declan Kidney - 5/10


While he obviously missed key players like Tommy Bowe, Paul O'Connell and Stephen Ferris, as well as the versatility of Luke Fitzgerald, the performances of the first and final test were poor. Our tactics were awful and we persisted to kick ball to the All Blacks without a good kick chase. While he isn't directly in charge of our backplay you have to feel his ideas have some merit, it's somewhat strange because his Munster played with more panache then the current Ireland backline do. I think that some fans place a bit too much blame on Kidney but he does deserve a fair bit and I think it might be time to get some new ideas into the Irish team and setup. His marks mainly come from the 2nd test performance and the decent play by our forwards in the first 2 games


Gert Smal- 8/10


The Irish forwards coach deserves immense praise for the way the pack played in the first two tests, they were dominant at the breakdown, the scrum was solid with new cap Declan Fitzpatrick and as good with Mike Ross. If Fitzpatrick can work on some of his fitness/health issues, then there is a spot available for him in the Irish setup.


Les Kiss- 4/10
The rating is admittedly harsh and I don't think it's all his fault, more the IRFU who seem to be insisting on Kiss working two jobs. When Kiss was solely our defensive coach, we had a very reliable defensive unit, conceding the least amount of points in the 2011 6 Nations (tied with England) and conceding the 2nd most in 2009. Yet after the departure of Alan Gaffney, Kiss was also asked to take up the role of backs coach, our defence suffered a sharp decline, dropping from tied first to 4th overall. Our backplay hasn't been great either, at times we put some moves together but overall we seem to just go through the middle and hope gaps appear. Similar tactics work for the Welsh, but they have far more big target runners than Ireland have. I think Kiss could still do a very good job as our defence coach but I don't think he has what is takes to be a backs coach.


Players that enhanced their Reputations


Sean O'Brien- It might seem odd that a former ERC European Player of the year could do much more to enhance his reputation but "SOB" did. O'Brien confirmed that he is a superb backrow operator. While I think the Irish aren't in need of the classic "7" so many claim we need, O'Brien was a menace at the breakdown and arguably outshined Richie McCaw over the first two tests. O'Brien showed he has the ability to play all 3 backrow positions effectively at the highest level having seen him play 6 and 8 for his province and country.

Declan Fitzpatrick- While the Ulster man deputised for John Afoa in the Heineken Cup Semi final and played extremely well, I'm sure I wasn't the only Irish fan worried when I heard Mike Ross was definitely out of the first test. Fitzpatrick and his front partners Rory best and Cian Healy marshalled the All Blacks scrum, and enjoyed a bit of dominance at times but parity for the large part. Most of us expected trouble from the New Zealand scrum but credit to Fitzpatrick he was imperious. There's a spot in the Irish setup if he can work on his fitness and injury problems.


Cian Healy - At times, Healy has struggled in the international arena but over the tour he did a very good job on Owen Franks. He was used sparingly by the Irish in terms of ball carrying but we all know what he can do there and he was effective when used.


Donnacha Ryan- In the absence of Paul O'Connell, Ryan was very effective in the lineout while also disrupting at the breakdown and hitting tackles with incredible ferocity. He should partner O'Connell in the Autumn Internationals with Dan Tuohy, who performed solidly on the bench.






Players who didn't make the grade


Fergus McFadden- He was exposed on his wing quite a few times in the first test and while not all of this was his fault, a good deal of it was. He has shown little in his Irish performances to date even though he has been playing out of his regular position of inside centre.


Simon Zebo- Harsh to judge the youngster on one test but there were quite a few times he was caught out down his side and his positioning needs some improvement. He wasn't targeted more chiefly due to McFadden's shortcomings. He showed some promise in attack and will benefit a lot from the tour but I think he will need to work on a few things before he gets a regular spot.


Conor Murray- A very solid second test where Murray delivered decent service was sandwiched in between two substandard game for the youngster Murray has a lot of potential, his pass is very good and his service can be quick but at times he ponders too much at ruck time, different to the hotshot who broke on to the scene at the tail end of last year. He has both time and ability but he needs to start going back to the things that got him involved in the Irish setup.


Paddy Wallace- This is an extremely harsh judgment admittedly. Wallace only arrived two days before the final test after being flown at as injury cover. He should not have started the game but the coaching staff seemed to think otherwise. Wallace was poor in the game his passing wasn't decisive and his tackling wasn't up to its usual standard. He hasn't played rugby in a month and while he may have kept up fitness, to start a guy in New Zealand despite not playing for a month is unfair on Wallace. I would say it highlights the coaching staff's lack of faith in McFadden as a centre and also of O'Driscoll's ability to play inside centre. It wasn't fair on Wallace to expect him to perform to the high standards he has set himself in the white shirt of Ulster.


Now that the dust has settled


Ireland had another one our great "underdog" performances and another moral victory but it was not enough. Ireland, had the All Blacks in their grasp in the second test but lacked a killer instinct and a bit of guile to get over the line. They let New Zealand into a game they shouldn't have been in . The performances in the first and final test were abject and showed a trademark of the Kidney era, a lack of consistency, the All Blacks were superb in the final test and while they played very well in the first test, they weren't amazing. Ireland have progressively gotten worse under Kidney and despite some stellar one off performances like Australia in the World Cup, or the 2nd test in Christchurch, I think his ship may have sailed. He has given immense joy for Irish fans with Munster and Ireland's success but I think his time might be up

After a penalty which cause consternation among Irish fans...

Really? I didn't think you lot liked criticising the Ref

Glas, I didn't say I was annoyed by it, some were and you saw/heard of the whole article written in the Irish times about Owens and his performance which I thought was a joke. The article, not Owens. He had two decent games.

I'm only lightly ribbing you Thomond

NZ vs Ireland

Well many, including Kiwi posters, thought that this was Ireland's best chance to break the duck. They came tantalisingly close in the second test but the game moved away from them at the wrong moment. It was one of those decisions that could've so easily gone the other way and maybe the Irish tour would be now debated in other terms.

Kaino and Thorn were big losses to AB rugby. Thorn wasn't your typical lock but he had a brilliant linking ability with the players around him and a ton of heart on attack and defence mixed with brute force. Kaino was a beast on defence and was learning more and more the art of taking up the ball. Those were two huge voids to fill.

Some of the changes Hansen and co had to make were forced upon them. Some they made was a recognition of talent. Finding a replacement for Kaino proved the most difficult. Only Messam had a big game in terms of physical presence and at the moment little can be read into his best performance because the Irish looked very subdued much too soon in the 3rd test. Aaron Smith was the find for me of the series. Too often we have had laboured passing from the ruck but Smith gave his flyhalves that all important extra time and space on the ball. Rettalick proved capable enough but Romano looked the most effective and physically dominant but, much like Messam, further games are required to guage his true ability at this level. Cane was another gamble that largely paid off but he is still very much a work in progress and has much to learn yet.

In the backs, SBW proved a capable replacement of Nonu and grew in the inside centre role culminating in his final game. The jury is still out though on whether he adds more or less than Nonu. The wingers were a mixed bunch. Savea started strongly but was exposed under the high ball and got axed after his very anonymous second test. Gear looked hungry and sharp and Smith was solid but by no means special on the other wing. Jane will certainly be welcome back and Gear should take the other wing position. Savea's time will come and Guildford can be cover but I think there are better wingers available. Carter's absence by no means proved disastrous and Cruden seems to be very comfortable not to mention effective in the flyhalf role.

The lineout seems a very reliable source of possession for us and the kick offs were even more dominant. The scrum was very mixed. At times we were dominant and other times we were dominated. Certainly when our attitude is right, we look very difficult to deal with. But when we lose focus and get pressured into mistakes we can be made to look ordinary and very much beatable.

So all in all, a 3 - 0 result is a very encouraging sign. We introduced a wide range of new players to test rugby and uncovered some depth in positions we previously struggled in. We lack depth in the backrow, locks and props but there are encouraging signs of new faces able to take up these roles in the future. The coaches made the right (and often bold) selection calls and looked to have a nice balance of attack and defence (apart from the second test). A great result but now the transition phase will be sorely tested in the upcoming 4N with injuries that might arise from Super rugby no doubt testing more that new found depth.

A decent challeng to set us There KRD

Well...!

We had a lot of hopes not misguided either for a result out of this tour but I'm affraid we came up short by the narrowest of margins.

In reflection of the last thirty years this was Wales most successful tour down under.

In reflection of recent Wales prrformances it was poor of us not to win the two closest tests and poorer still to let the Aussies get so ahead in the ascendancy in the first.

It didn't happens this year but it will surely happen soon. This is a strong player base in Wales and the youth rugby is strong, looks like we are doing the right things.

I'm not very happy with the performances in Australia but I am happy that we are doing the right things.

As a New Zealand supporter I dont think we should get too carried away with reviewing our June Performance, its our August performance where the Springboks lie waiting for us that we should be previewing.

Its all we can do for now though Laurie.
Things we can take from this into August that we didnt know before the series is:

-we have a test halfback capable of doing the basics very, very well. Whether we have a 3N quality 9 we'll know in August

-we have 3 able 10's all with test experience, Cruden now a potential matchwinner

-we have two young locks in waiting

-Ali is gone burger

So above average I would give our current status as a side, perhaps a little ahead of the other two in terms of readiness for the 4N

Wales

Objective: kick on from a great RWC and another Slam, go Down Under and come out on top (with everyone showing their respect) 1 win would do but we thought we could win the series.
Management: It seems Howley is our achilles heel not window cleaning
Heroes: Honestly i struggle, Roberts for not going. Evans for ditching his wife
Zeroes: 1, 2, 4 5, nearly 6, definitely 7, not 8, 9, 10, North went south, 12, 13, cuthbert showed heart. leigh was a hero until he started bleating about respect

Conclusion: BORED

Taylorman
Something that I was really impressed with during those last three test was the performance of Conrad Smith, I felt he contributed far to his team from the centre position than his opposite(s), and supervised the defenses to the extent that there really wasnt anything there for Ireland in fact I'd say his control on defense starved Ireland of any opportunities.

I cant remember which game it was that he took a short ball off Cruden, to score that try, he was more than confident that he'd done enough to strech Ireland that he could have gone anywhere on the field, and he would have been unmarked, and thats not even taking into consideration the pump balls by Cruden that sent Irelands defense sliding within metres of their line.

What I fear is that Aus and SA have the ability not to let us get into the positions that we got with Ireland, and we will all of a sudden seriously appreciate the first half of the secnd test. every minute against these two teams will be like that first forty.

That could well be the case Laurie but if we are switched on and can get front foot ball by gaining ascendancy in the breakdown area, the gaps will come. Obviously a big if but one I think we're still capable of.

It's going to be a fascinating 4N. It will be interesting to see the injury toll in the last quarter of the Super XV. I think if Australia only get one team in there, it may well be a good thing for them in terms of bring back players to speed. Already the Crusaders are without a few ABs this weekend for example so how quickly will they be rushed back in order to get vital points? Hopefully they will be managed well.

Also, it will be interesting to see how the 3N teams approach their games with Argentina. Will they rest key players and bring in inexperienced players? And will Argentina, notably at home, catch a couple of teams off guard in the wrong frame of mind?