NZ there for the taking...

First topic message reminder :

Bare with me, I know this sounds crazy at present but I have a theory.

NZ have blown away all before them in the rugby championship, they've finally won their world cup (of worth) they are sat on top of the world rankings and noone looks like coming close...

So what do they have to fear? Ireland got nowhere near them in the summer, the NH teams are all squabbling amongst themselves for 4/5/6th spot and Aus and SA are injuury hit/confused about where they are going.

Therefore I am going to put my money where my mouth is and say...

WALES WILL BEAT THEM 24th NOVEMBER 2012!!

majesticimperialman wrote:

anotherworldofpain wrote:Look, I think we all agree:

On their day, Wales will beat New Zealand.

NO i dont.

Oh look Madge <offensive comment removed> is back

viewtothegym wrote:

majesticimperialman wrote:

anotherworldofpain wrote:Look, I think we all agree:

On their day, Wales will beat New Zealand.

NO i dont.

Oh look Madge <offensive comment removed> is back

SO view. Do you truly think that can and will beat the Abs in the Ais?????

If so say so.

I woukld like to think that being an English man, that England could go and beat the Abs this year. But personaly speaking i think this year is too early for England to win against the Abs. Espescialy when Stewart Lancaster is still in his first year of being in charge of the England team.

So i will ask you AGAIN, viewtothegym. Do you think that this Wales team is good enough to beat the Abs in this years Ais?

To be the ABs or beat them majestic. Both are difficult but the former especially seems well beyond them.

From an AB perspective, the Wales England matches are easily the biggest challenges the ABs face up north this autumn. Both depend on the performance of the forwards and dominating possession and territory because the ABs showed that they can live off scraps and it's been well over 100 games now that the ABs have scored at least a try in every match they've played so you need to factor in getting a few more points than that.

majesticimperialman wrote:So i will ask you AGAIN, viewtothegym. Do you think that this Wales team is good enough to be the Abs in this years Ais?

No I don't think Wales will be able to be NZ. It would take too long to perfect the accents etc.

With regards to beating them, we need to get two good wins in our first two games to stand a chance. I can't see it, but they can't keep on winning forever and somebody will inevitably catch them on an off day.

There is no off day Risca Rev. That is why they have the record they have. To beat them you must have at least a great day.

I'm sorry but your all talking like teams on great runs, or head and shoulders above the rest cannot lose games...

NZ's boys maybe thought that in the last world cup, never been beaten!!!

There is no such thing as an invincible side, and anything can happen.

As I said in reality I honestly believe one of the NH teams are going to take them, but theres no fun in that so I'll stick with Wales.

I have never seen an international team look so strong and dominant, and therefore so susceptible to taking someone lightly. I HOPE TO GOD THE KIWI TEAM AND COACHING STAFF ARE AS DISRESPECTFULL AND ARROGANT AS SOME OF THEIR FANS ON THIS BOARD, it'll give us all that much more of a shot.

Some NHers will have one game against them in AIs. On that scale, Ireland came pretty close on one of their occasions! I wouldn't say 19-22 in their backyard was "nowhere near them".

Yes, they can be beaten but you have to play out of your skin or they have to play well below their abilities to get there.

Wales to pull it off? Why not believe that? Yeah, if you're Welsh you have to believe it's possible. No point in playing them unless you're looking to beat them.

I wish you the best of luck bluesman.

I've read a few comments over the last few months saying NZ have been a bit lucky with the Wallabies and Boks burdened with injuries, off their best game, wrong team tactics, wrong coach, etc.

However, even with a best XV (or 22-30) on the paddock against them, the ABs would simply step up a notch or two. They relish the greater challenges. They remained undefeated in the toughest rugby competition on the planet and still had a bit to spare - even if they were off their absolute best, imo. Scary thought that!

I really don't believe they (the players) are disrespectful nor arrogant - they are just such a professional bunch of super-talented players and are brimming with self belief as always. Nothing wrong with that at all in my book.

Sure, an upset (by England... or even Wales) may be possible but it seems unlikely at this stage. I would be more worried about a team like Argentina causing an upset against one or two of the home nations.

Ok fly I'll conced the Irish comment, but from my view it was a spirited 65 mins that just wasn't quite enough, but I can definately take the point considering it was NZ's back yard and not many teams do that.

But my point is NZ cannot rise any further, this is not like previous tours where there were question marks over Carter/Mccaw being unfit, a weakened scrum, will SBW work etc etc, they will come up north expecting 30 point wins against all, no will they choke questions like at the WC, noone thinking they stand a chance of losing.

For me this is the first tour in years where they have nothing to prove, they are touted as the best (and rightly so) and if the team and support staff think along the lines of the NZ fans on here they will lose!

I'm pretty sure the nowhere near them quote was about consistency. In which case I think it's right-but in terms of a one off win yeah of course one of the NH teams can knock over NZ. As I said before England does it usually once every ten years and it's coming up to that time so an ambush could be on the cards. I reckon it would be either Wales or England to do it though as NZ will play their top XV against Scotland and should win, then should beat Italy with some developing players on the field.

It's the media that's saying this unbeatable crap most of the time. Bluesman I didn't really see any arrogance from Kiwi supporters-may sound defence but I'm sorry man. We haven't had an unbeaten season since 97 and even with the 85% success rate since 04 that means we lose once or twice a year, hell in 09 we lost five times.

Damn right Fly if you go into it not thinking you can win damage limitation mode sets in making you more likely to get a hiding.

This record is a big motivation so hopefully we beat Aussie, if we're lucky enough to surpass it vs Italy then the sights will be on the calendar year. So there are some more wee milestones to achieve which is good for goal setting. Plus Wales and England in particular are stern challenges on their own. Italy was difficult in 09 and the Scots have turned over Aussie and SA recently so we'll have to be on our toes like a midget at a urinal. First things first though, this Aussie game is huge.

The one thing you can't accuse the ABs of is not playing like World Champions. We usually get lambasted for peaking too early. Does this year mean we're peaking too late now?

Linebreaker until last week I was worried by a prospect of an uber confident argy team coming north, good first campaign and IMO deserved to beat SA and NZ (wait for those fans to jump on that)

Argentina may well prove to upset a few up north, although I suspect after a hard first RC campaign it will be more of a learning curve this year.

'(the players) are disrespectful nor arrogant'
I don't doubt for one second the players or coaches arrogance, but I am truly hoping that the disrespectfull and arrogant comments on here by some are being said to them team constantly, for anyone who has played the game will know how dangerous these attitudes can be.

Risca Rev wrote:

majesticimperialman wrote:So i will ask you AGAIN, viewtothegym. Do you think that this Wales team is good enough to be the Abs in this years Ais?

No I don't think Wales will be able to be NZ. It would take too long to perfect the accents etc.

With regards to beating them, we need to get two good wins in our first two games to stand a chance. I can't see it, but they can't keep on winning forever and somebody will inevitably catch them on an off day.

You are right that it is the accent that was missing when either Wales or England tried to wear black to ride on the coat tails of the legacy. Although to be fair large proportions of the England team had the accent natively without trying...

The author of this article has a screw loose.

Learn to read madge, and look back through the thread and you will see my opinion on the Wales V Newzealand game.

The author of this article has a screw loose.

Oh hang on the intellectuals are in...

New Zealand just won the inaugural Grand Slam in the 4N - without breaking sweat, it seemed.

Their away record against any team - particularly on November tours - is incomparable.

If this article had a title that said, some of the SH teams are there for the taking, I would agree.

But not New Zealand. Never.

I think we have to repsect NZ, but we also have to believe- Wales and england are almost on an exact par at the moment, probally just below Aus and SA and just above france and ireland. But way below NZ.

I dont think there is one Aus or SA fan here that believse they cant beat NZ and I dont think us NH lads should just give up hope. But "there for the taking" probally isnt the best way of putting it!

Its an amazingly tough thing to do, beating the AB's. They are about five steps above any other rugby nation right now but they can be beaten.

Ireland showed in the second test that if they dont play that well and their opposition do then they can be run very close.

Teams have to believe that they can beat the AB's, they do come with that 'awe' factor which i feel is worth a few points straight away.

thebluesmancometh wrote:The author of this article has a screw loose.

Oh hang on the intellectuals are in...

Reeled right in like a proper trout.

Bluesman has a point where he says NZ have no more to prove in the AI's and may get caught out assuming the same.

I would have agreed with that when they went for the same record two years ago where motivation was such a key factor for them to keep winning games. I recall Henry desperately trying to become the underdog for this or that reason. In the end Hong Kong had nothing on it other than a win and the sequence as the Abs had won everything.

This time round this side has learnt from that experience and now really does inspire completely from within. When they say they are trying to set standards this time they really mean it and the comeback against SA and the way they took Argie at home are all signs of playing to internal standards.

For Brisbane the motivation is there for the 3N defeat last year but I dont think theyll need it as much this time. One team will knock them off eventually- most likely an Oz or France throwing all the toys into the mix, having a go.

But this year this side has been slowly growing under the bonnet and it does look ominous for the NH with a returning Hansen as head coach to the NH.