ABs for Fiji

First topic message reminder :

So looks like Crocket, Hore, Slade, Siti, Hoeata, Ali Williams and Thompson will all get starts against Fiji.

Personally I'm happy to see Crocket there because I'd have him in as first choice anyway, but the rest are obviously erm, rotated selections. I don't think Henry has any choice, and personally I'm a little more confident about the ABs depth than the Aussies...It'll be interesting to see if the ABs are ambushed in the same way the Wobblies were though.

eirebilly,
Everytime Fiji look like connecting some phases they turn the ball over. The ABs are playing a nice concervative tight gameplan. And continue to go forwards in a solid manner. Fiji do look fairly poor so it is a little hard to tell exactly how good the ABs are. BUt the gap between the teams is very clear. Also clear is the ABs do have another gear in reserve, if they ever needed it. But they won't.

Cowan butchers another attack with a bad and pointless kick. ABs not respecting the ball and frankly don't look like they know what to do with it anyway. Ali Wiliams handling tonight is just awful.

Yeah, it was 3 on 2 there, Cowan should have passed it.

NZ look poor!

Ali Williams has thrown at least 4 absolutely ludicrously bad passes in this match, some of them are hilarious.

I may be an Irishfan but i love to watch the AB's in full flow but they do have weakness's. Sometimes their vision is not as good as it should be when looking for supporting players and they have this tendancy to switch off for periods during matches.

great turnover and try for fiji!

Fiji finally in for a try... nice run from the big fella.

Weepu on for Cowan and praise be for that.

Good for Fiji

Second half significantly slower and more deliberate by the ABs. Let's see if the try gets the ABs playing at a higher pace.

All Blacks just look awful. No conhesion. Awful handling skills. No vision. They seem happier just defending with Fiji running at them. And to be honest that's all that is happening.

If they are playing like you say greyghost, then it may be time to get Wal Footrot out of retirement to inject some pace

Very poor 2nd half for AB's thus far

Yep. I'd get Hore out of there and replace him with a hooker.

What is the actual score now?

32-7 Billy 62 mins

62 minutes gone

Cheers line, the AB's already have won the game. Not as convincing a score as i would have expected by this stage.

Conrad Smith scores from a deft kick through from Weepu. 39-7 now.

I really hate being stuck at work when these games are on.
Roll on my holiday, i cant wait to be at the world cup

A heap of subs on now... including DC.

Have they had any impact yet line?

Strong backline move from a smart little kick featuring Mils, Smith...and Weepu over the line.

46-7 now around 10 to go.

Insane try to Fiji.

Still time for some more points for the AB's.

Yes, well just then they have.

But now Fiji score...toeing a kick through, missed tackle from Smith, gets the bounce...

46-14 72 mins

GG, that was top drawer.

see the way Goneva (sp) nonchalantly kicks the ball on as Smith tries to scoop it up?

Brilliant, typical fiji try

Dickenson cementing his position as the worst referee in the world...just awful.

Hmm, anyone any idea what the penalty try was for?

Think Stu was tired of watching scrums.

Possibly. He's not a very good ref - is he officiating at the RWC? If so, hope he doesn't get any of Scotland's games

AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:Possibly. He's not a very good ref - is he officiating at the RWC? If so, hope he doesn't get any of Scotland's games

ASBO -
REFEREES
Barnes, Wayne (RFU)
Poite, Romain (FFR)
Owens, Nigel (WRU)
Rolland, Alain (IRFU)
Walsh, Steve (ARU)
Lawrence, Bryce (NZRU)
Clancy, George (IRFU)
Kaplan, Jonathan (SARU)
Joubert, Craig (SARU)
Pearson, Dave (RFU)
ASSISTANTS
Garces, Jerome* (FFR)
Pollock, Chris* (NZRU)
McDowell, Simon (IRFU)
Munro, Vinny (NZRU)
Terheege, Stuart (RFU)
Hayes, Tim (WRU)
Damasco, Carlo (FIR)
• - denotes reserve referee
TMOs
Hughes, Graham (RFU)
Veldsman, Shaun (SARU)
De Santis, Giulio (FIR)
Goddard, Matt (ARU)

60-14 final score Billy... (sorry, was just getting ready to go out)

My prediction was All Blacks by 40 points. Not bad.

Walsh, Steve (ARU)

Very very worrying that this guy is still getting away with masquerading as a ref.

Well not the most convincing of displays but I feared this was going to be the case with poor handling and poor option taking. We always seem to have laboured starts to the test season. I think the boys came out at half time and thought the business was done. A late fight back at the end but a few egos will have been bruised by that display.

Then again that´s not a bad thing. It wasn´t by any means Fiji´s best team but there are positives to be taken out of the game. The front row was impressive in the scrums. Don´t quite know how he awarded a penalty try there but somehow I think he couldn´t be bothered resetting another scrum.

Slade was solid. Kicked his goals, the Fijians tested out his defence and he got himself a try as well. He´ll feel much better for that game under his belt and I think the selectors will be happy enough. Now to test him in a 3N game maybe in the away games to see how he copes at that level. Sivivatu and Weepu looked sharper and more impressive than they did in Super rugby.

Now to the guff that I hope gets blown out of them tonight. Aimless kicking - looking at you in particular Cowan. Do that against Oz and they´ll punish the ABs. Poor handling, poor passing and poor option taking. You can get away with that stuff against these teams but not against the top nations. They make you pay for mistakes.

That said, I think it was a good game for the ABs to have. If they´d won it convincingly, people would have inevitably said they´re peaking too soon. That loose performance will be a wake up call for next weekend. I don´t think that´s such a bad thing and it´s been an opportunity to have a look at fringe players and give some rugby to those who are in need of some more game time. Thanks to Fiji - bula to all the people in the village in Nadras near Lautoka where I lived when I was a spring chicken - and good luck to you in the World Cup. No doubt you´ll have huge Kiwi support.

Now the ABs can watch the first 3N game with interest and see where they need to sharpen up after this bumbling performance. Good luck to those fans tomorrow. kia kaha

Good win for the AB's in the end but judging by alot of the comments on here it still was far from convincing... Would that be the correct assumption?

Yeah, but not much to worry about for the All Blacks imo. That game is out of the way, a comfortable win, and they'll improve from here.

I thought Hoeata (sp?) and Slade had solid debuts and they'll benefit from that as well.

That´s a fair assessment. Pretty gash performance first up but then again all the more reason to have that game. Keeps the boys focused and their heads down at training and tells them they have a lot of work to do. That is a good thing I feel.

Normally most sides would be happy with 60 - 14, and dare I say it the Welsh would be ecstatic. But McCaw sounded as though he had lost in the post match talk. And most fans would think that way too.

Notch wrote:Yeah, but not much to worry about for the All Blacks imo. That game is out of the way, a comfortable win, and they'll improve from here.

I thought Hoeata (sp?) and Slade had solid debuts and they'll benefit from that as well.

Hoeata(sp?) seemed quiet to me?

Thanks for the updates all. Haven't been able to get near it cos of work.

Yeah, cheers for all the updates lads, like Care Diem, i am stuck at work and could'nt watch it.

Not a performance to go wild over but I thought he did well, the scrum was solid- there weren't that many lineouts, hard to judge him there and his role in defence and at the breakdown was filled without any problems. I thought most of the pack were quiet but he certainly didn't look out of place.

Possibly what the All Blacks needed was a bigger ball carrier in the back five of the pack, Kieran Read and Kaino will make a big difference.

Cowan was terrible. There was a marked improvement when Weepu came on. From the get-go Cowan over used the box kick, was laboured in his passing and got isolated and turned over when he chose to run.

If that is the All Blacks "new structure" then they should go back immediately to the old structure.

So many times there were passages of play where the ABs had the ball and just seemed to be static and looking at each other as though the game had been whistled up. Very few players showed any kind of urgency or aggression.

Hore's line out throwing was again a liability. At the breakdown the ball security was appallingly bad. I suspect that the Fijians were getting away with coming in from the side and disrupting illegally, but all the same someone should have stamped it out.

Zac Guildford isn't an international wing in my view.

TheGreyGhost wrote:Cowan was terrible. There was a marked improvement when Weepu came on. From the get-go Cowan over used the box kick, was laboured in his passing and got isolated and turned over when he chose to run.

If that is the All Blacks "new structure" then they should go back immediately to the old structure.

So many times there were passages of play where the ABs had the ball and just seemed to be static and looking at each other as though the game had been whistled up. Very few players showed any kind of urgency or aggression.

Hore's line out throwing was again a liability. At the breakdown the ball security was appallingly bad. I suspect that the Fijians were getting away with coming in from the side and disrupting illegally, but all the same someone should have stamped it out.
Zac Guildford isn't an international wing in my view.

GG, I felt that both teams were getting away with the host of ruck offences - playing the ball on the ground, sealing off, not rolling away, etc.

I agree with you there. Dickinson didn't have a clue. He seemed to miss just about everything and then blow up for phantom penalties. The breakdown penalty against McCaw was just ridiculous, as was the penalty try, as was the two knock ons and blatantly forward pass in the ABs final try.

He looked uninterested rather than disinterested.

Have to agree with that assessment. The match was not top drawer Rugby. But the worst performance was Dickinson. Disinterested is a good word. Missed boatloads of infractions - equally for both sides. The penalty try was the worst. Not that the ABs wouldn't have scoed off that passage of play eventually. But that just put paid to an awful performance.

Have NZ peaked too soon?

BATH_BTGOG wrote:Have NZ peaked too soon?