Thoughts

The 4Ns is underway NZ are now under the cosh,problems at 5,6 and 10,surprised specialist Locks like Donnelly for example not added to squad.First
Bledisloe was closer than score suggested.Lineout a shambles,to many penalties conceded at breakdown,poor restarts get DC fit for rest of season only 3 specialist locks seems foolhardy.Luke Whitelock may well be the best of the brothers but a Lock he isn`t.The scrum should now be an attacking weapon under new laws.Rewarding Props who can scrimmage.hookers who can hook,and 9`s who can feed the ball straight.
Not be able to leave the scrum till the ball is out,and 5 yard gap at the base SHOULD mean go forward ball for the attacking side[feeding].
Boks on last weeks performance would now seem favourites.

Interesting points. Most would say that despite their frailties the ABs are still well placed and talented enough to scrape through unscathed.

The thing with watching one team thrash another is that it is hard to conclude much from the performance.

Line out was poor, needs to be looked at, Argentina and SA both have as good a line out as the Wallabies.

Boks are not favourites, no way.

This year it seems all three nations and now Argentina as well have similar injury problems, but NZ still has the superior game plan.

Yes I would say NZ are still out there ahead.

Interesting thought about hookers actually hooking. I bet a lot of hookers in the pro game now have never 'hooked' a ball in their rugby lives?

Just a mention,in the 1963-4 era John Major was selected as hooker to back up and replace "Dad Young".Part of Ranfurly Shield Taranaki side,which was built on mobile
forwards and AllBlack half backs Briscoe and Ross-Brown.He couldn't hook to save his life
only capped once.

The irony is that having the put in is supposed to be an advantage. Not the case now.

Biltong wrote:Boks are not favourites, no way.

This year it seems all three nations and now Argentina as well have similar injury problems, but NZ still has the superior game plan.

With injuries it will be interesting as to who makes the plane to Europe

disneychilly wrote:The irony is that having the put in is supposed to be an advantage. Not the case now.

Well I think it still is, the ball is nearer the hooker's feet and you can kick/block the other hooker's legs with your right and still hook

Not sure what to expect from Aus next up. They won't want to concede three heavy defeats in a row, their reaction to the weekend will be intriguing. The tide is with NZ at this time after their sheer ruthlessness in Sydney, their attacking intent that game was ferocious. Difficult to see them yielding at home after that and at this point it must be admitted that Aus are still at the stage of adapting to life under McKenzie, it's certainly not an easy start. Add to that that they've also got some inexperienced younger prospects coming through (Folau, Mogg, Hooper, Gill, Mowen...)

Not if you get shunted off the ball OzT

Of course having the put in still gives you the advantage. Hookers still have to hook at school and university level and not straight feeds get pinged there. It's still an advantage and the team with the put in still usually wins the ball because the scrum half taps the hooker to let him know he's putting it in. And the hooker shouldn't get shunted off the ball before he can hook it, as that would imply early engagement and a free kick!

I'm just wondering in what way is lock an issue? The depth there? Whitelock, Rettalick and Romano all seem like very good options at second row. Rettalick in particular looks very impressive I think, and he is very young. That is ignoring Whitelock who is already a world class option there.

As for 6, it won't be an issue once Luatua settles in. That guy is something special, I genuinely think in a few seasons he will be the premier blindside in world rugby. He has the complete package.

Romano is out for most of season,if Retalick or Whitelock injured,then it gets iffy,was`nt aware Jeremy Thrush named as back up Lock.
Dane Coles /Hore need to get there Lineout Throwing spot on cut out the long throw over
the top.
Stick to the bread and better stuff,discipline,defence,solid setpiece,kick goals reduce the
risky stuff and hope for a result.

Such a pity you missed the second half Alan cos they fixed most of that. How you couldnt extract one positive speck from the match must mean youre still not well yet...no worries Alan... another one for you this week. 

Agree with the locks and the lineouts. The new scrum format looks fantastic and one area the ABs will benefit hugely from as its a more stable platform to attack from. I'd say the pundits are analysing the potential there big time and we may see as early as the next test or two some big gains from it.

No worries with Slade or Taylor coming in. The environment is a good one at the moment judging by how quickly Luatua has been brought up to speed. Looks like a good place to be for budding players- they just dont let anyone have bad games easily.

Please don`t put words in my mouth TM,off course there were many plus points in the match.
All 3 Smiths had excellent games,McCaw was back to near2012 form,the new 6 looks useful.
6 tries away to a Top3 world side is good by any standards BUT,the Lineout was worse in
the Second half.Two intercepts,a not straight,a wild throw over the top.
Cruden had a good game BUT his restarts were below par,and an intercept try was conceded too.
The Scrum once set should be fed,it was plain both sides hookers didn't no when to expect the feed.Under previous laws the 9`s would have been pinged for delaying the feed.
Also I don`t like arrogance or complacency just because the AB`s have 3 home games,or
2 Bledisloe Home games.
DOES`nt mean they will win them just by turning up,agreed NZ is the hardest place in the world to win in.BUT it has happened in the recent past.  

Yeah, Mealamu did not have a good day at the line out.

alanmackie6 wrote:Please don`t put words in my mouth TM,off course there were many plus points in the match.
All 3 Smiths had excellent games,McCaw was back to near2012 form,the new 6 looks useful.
6 tries away to a Top3 world side  is good by any standards BUT,the Lineout was worse in
the Second half.Two intercepts,a not straight,a wild throw over the top.
Cruden had a good game BUT his restarts were below par,and an intercept try was conceded too.
The Scrum once set should be fed,it was plain both sides hookers didn't no when to expect the feed.Under previous laws the 9`s would have been pinged for delaying the feed.
Also I don`t like arrogance or complacency just because the AB`s have 3 home games,or
2 Bledisloe Home games.
DOES`nt mean they will win them just by turning up,agreed NZ is the hardest place in the world to win in.BUT it has happened in the recent past.  

thats better...a more balanced view but still overly critical. Luatuas performance, McCaws inspired return, the AB defence were all far more important factors from an AB point of view that will contribute to this series than...'restarts' something that must be the easiest thing to remedy in all of rugby. Nitpicking Al. And the lineouts...as whitelock says a 5% lift in this and that and we'll get it to where we need it...easily done.

This week the ABs should expect a far more physical onslaught by the W's so I'll be disappointed if they get 'surprised' by the Oz intensity. Is Mogg in? He was terrible...no way should he even be in the squad- shows how low resourced they are.

But yes you are correct...it has happened in the recent past...Oz did beat NZ in NZ... 15 tests ago. Good call Al.

Complacency can cost you,Boks won in NZ in 2008 and 2009,Boks and 3Rd Bledisloe 2012 were supposed to be a walk in the park.AB`s nearly lost both and a team with nothing to lose
is a dangerous animal ANY team.  

alanmackie6 wrote:Complacency can cost you,Boks won in NZ in 2008 and 2009,Boks and 3Rd Bledisloe 2012 were supposed to be a walk in the park.AB`s nearly lost both and a team with nothing to lose
is a dangerous animal ANY team.  

I'm not sure complacency was an issue in these games.

yeah me neither. We refused to change our gameplan and paid for it. Its surfaced since that in 2009 the decision was made that the ABs would - stubbornly- stick to a running game as that was how kiwis wanted to play and see it played. Simply...it cost them..but it also had the effect of NZ creating the best bomb disposal unit availavle- we took the "If you want to play ariel ping pong we're not playing it. We'll take them and bring them back on a plate...and more"

So the losses in 2009 ave created so many more wins, and a competitive winning advantage than probably if we had won them.

Complacency was Hong Kong...but really simply running out of real reasons to keep winning. Same with last years draw, and probably the world cup final. England last year was a bit of that, a long season but that one was more attributable to a very strong English side on the day.

Whats annoying about these one offs is the status quo always returns the very next match.

Could be some complacency today, especially with Cruden or DC not being able to be there to tighten the knot on the ozzies and with taylor I think we're giving them a bit of breathing space.

But lets hope he has a blinder.

Scrum focus looks to be the reason for the lineout shambles...

http://www.theroar.com.au/2013/08/24/scrum-focus-impacted-lineouts-retallick/

Always a reason Alan so expect to see a tidier lineout tonight...easily fixed.