England Vs All Blacks
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Also think that while there are still a few issues with the 23 from an external POV, the current team is quite refreshingly different from the side that ran out against England last year:
Williams, Taylor, Lomax, Barrett, Vaa'i, Sititi, Cane, Savea, Ratima, Barrett, Clarke, Barrett, Ioane, Tele'a, Jordan.
Injury's again proven a great selector this year but Razor is definitely building depth, one way or another.
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@booboo said in England Vs All Blacks:
@Bovidae said in England Vs All Blacks:
Rieko is definitely on the outer.
Seriously?
Really disappointed.
Fan of ALB but that's really meh.
Surely not a fan of ALB v2025?
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@frugby said in England Vs All Blacks:
@MN5 said in England Vs All Blacks:
@canefan said in England Vs All Blacks:
@Bovidae said in England Vs All Blacks:
Rieko is definitely on the outer.
Rieko would be soooo much better than ALB. Fucken old timers day at Twickenham
Dynamic wing or centre vs pedestrian centre…..make it make sense razor…..
Been a long while since I heard someone describe Rieko Ioane as dynamic
I do reckon he looked sharp in the Perth Bled off the bench. I really don't buy Proctor and ALB in front of him.
For transparency, am big fan of ALB, not of Proctor.
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@canefan said in England Vs All Blacks:
@booboo said in England Vs All Blacks:
@Bovidae said in England Vs All Blacks:
Rieko is definitely on the outer.
Seriously?
Really disappointed.
Fan of ALB but that's really meh.
Surely not a fan of ALB v2025?
Not averse. Think the vibe about him is OTT.
But I really do I reall do feel there are better options.
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@Bovidae said in England Vs All Blacks:
@canefan The Barrett's have a history of YCs at Twickenham.
I think ALB has the most recent history of YCs there…
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@ACT-Crusader said in England Vs All Blacks:
I would’ve started Ioane on the left wing not because of any renewed dynamism, but because he’s solid and we have our first choice out. But the main reason is because I would’ve like to have seen QT and LF get another start together in the midfield. Whilst there were a few issues last week with both showing a desire to tuck it up the jumper rather than pass, both are actually capable of distributing and may have been better for the run.
Leicester’s defence makes me prefer him on wing.
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@Dan54 said in England Vs All Blacks:
@Chris-B said in England Vs All Blacks:
@No-Quarter said in England Vs All Blacks:
@jimmyb said in England Vs All Blacks:
@stodders said in England Vs All Blacks:
@Victor-Meldrew said in England Vs All Blacks:
@frugby said in England Vs All Blacks:
This All Blacks team is screaming for some X-Factor on the wing.
For me that's Will Jordan. He really doesn't have the skills to be a Test 15.
Who does? I’m not convinced by Love (I think he is a 10). Who are the alternatives? NZ are crying out for the new Israel Dagg to make his appearance.
And here's the other thing, Jordie is still in the team, and is an even better player than he was back then, and has the skillset to completely diffuse opposition bombs which are a key weakness for us right now. Jordie is so much better at 15 than Jordan it's not even funny.
They've had Jordie in the backfield fielding bombs this year and he's dropped his fair share.
I watch most teams play, and yet to see a player take all high balls, whether chasing or receiving.
Also with noone beinge able to screen now, it makes it even harder.And so the main issue now is not our catching but rather our kicking and chasing. Particularly with the latter, our guys just don’t seem to be willing to launch themselves into the zone in the same way as say the wee Saffa wingers do.
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@pakman said in England Vs All Blacks:
@ACT-Crusader said in England Vs All Blacks:
I would’ve started Ioane on the left wing not because of any renewed dynamism, but because he’s solid and we have our first choice out. But the main reason is because I would’ve like to have seen QT and LF get another start together in the midfield. Whilst there were a few issues last week with both showing a desire to tuck it up the jumper rather than pass, both are actually capable of distributing and may have been better for the run.
Leicester’s defence makes me prefer him on wing.
I assume he'll see a few high balls.
Depending on that we may want him quickly back to the midfield. -
@ACT-Crusader said in England Vs All Blacks:
A big opportunity for Parker. I’m glad they picked him to start. I much prefer Sititi in the role he has played off the bench.
Proctor I’m a little less sold on but he did a couple of good things when he came on last weekend.
ALB will be as fresh as fresh can be. If only TNT were fit.
I thought they'd stick with the starting loose forwards from last week - with Kirifi or maybe Parker on the bench.
But, I probably like this more - largely because Sititi offers more impact from the bench than the other two and Parker should help with the lineout for the first hour. Needs to play better than his last couple of outings.
Would've liked to see the same three from last week roll out and see what they can do vs England, but I'm not enamoured with DK or SP on the bench.
I guess they think ALB covers the whole midfield better than the other options, but it's pretty bland.
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ALB hasn’t played since the second RC test against Argentina nearly three months ago. He’ll be a bit underdone, won’t he? Perhaps they’re trying to ensure the now steady flow of yellow cards continues?
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@gt12 said in England Vs All Blacks:
@pakman said in England Vs All Blacks:
@ACT-Crusader said in England Vs All Blacks:
I would’ve started Ioane on the left wing not because of any renewed dynamism, but because he’s solid and we have our first choice out. But the main reason is because I would’ve like to have seen QT and LF get another start together in the midfield. Whilst there were a few issues last week with both showing a desire to tuck it up the jumper rather than pass, both are actually capable of distributing and may have been better for the run.
Leicester’s defence makes me prefer him on wing.
I assume he'll see a few high balls.
Depending on that we may want him quickly back to the midfield.Other than playing Australia, we are going to see plenty of kicked ball to wing regardless of who is out there. Just the nature of the game today.
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@Chris-B said in England Vs All Blacks:
I guess they think ALB covers the whole midfield better than the other options, but it's pretty bland.
I think if Clarke and Jordie were fit Fainga’anuku would be our best bench back option at this point. Next year post Super rugby things might change.
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@frugby said in England Vs All Blacks:
I am not entirely against the selection of Parker, but I find it interesting that on the face of things, they totally dropped him from the 23 last week, and then have brought him straight back into the starting XV this week.
I think that was both a horses for courses and rotation approach - always expected Parker to be back this week, was just a question of who would drop to the pine.
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@Chris-B said in England Vs All Blacks:
It would be interesting to do a detailed season-wide analysis of catching high balls to verify who is best (and worst). Not just a raw score of catches and drops - but, looking at catches in traffic and outcomes compared with expected outcomes - some sort of rational scoring system and commentary.
Unfortunately, it would probably require "someone" to watch all the games again. Maybe he (or she!) can do it next year!
That sounds like an awful lot of work for whoever you’re referring to.
Anyways, speaking of unpaid labour and the exploitation of the working class, this whole high ball-discussion reminds me of a recent Gary’s Economics-video where he’s talking about the rising housing prices. He makes the point that everyone thinks their specific city has a housing crisis while, in reality, it’s a global issue, necessitated by the growing inequality between the ultrarich and the working poor. [Just in case I happened to have piqued someone’s interest, this is the video I’m referring to: youtube.co/watch?v=BTlUyS-T-_4]
I think a similar misconception is at work in the high ball-discussion. The reality is that it’s not just the All Blacks who are experiencing a high ball-crisis. All teams are currently struggling with defensive kick receipts: Welsh fans are about ready to lynch Blair Murray, Freddie Steward shelled multiple high balls against the Wallabies on the 1st of November, Tom Wright didn’t catch a single attacking bomb against the Boks at Ellis Park, and, for the All Blacks XV, 6ft3 Chay Fihaki couldn’t deal with the England A aerials. Whether you're a tall high ball-expert or a scrumcapped Bok midget, the results will most likely be the same: you're going to drop more balls than you're going to catch.
Right now, if your halfback has a solid kicking game, chances are you’re going to be handsomely rewarded for going to the boot. Quietly, box-kicking 9s have been making a clear comeback: Nic White was crucial for the Wallaby success against both the Lions and the Boks, Reinach’s contestable kicking has been instrumental in the post-Eden Park Bok resurgence, and someone like Ben Spencer, the 33-year old Bath halfback, has suddenly become an important piece within the English attacking puzzle.
Galthié has already been criticized for quite a few selection errors against the Springboks but arguably his biggest one was selecting Le Garrec ahead of Maxime Lucu. Le Garrec’s kicks were consistently too deep at the Stade de France which gave the Boks backfield breathing space. Whenever the kicks were on the money, there was little that Kolbe, Willemse and Arendse could do against the French chasers.
Anyway, all of this to say that this isn’t something uniquely pertinent to the All Blacks alone. But where the ABs have been lacking, I think, is in those moments right before and after high balls. What the ABs need to do, more than anything else, is work on their defensive retreat and make sure that any spilt ball from the high ball is cleaned up.
This will be especially critical against England. The English chasers have very little interest in actually catching the ball: they will aim to flood the receipt space with their band of chasing wingers/flankers, making sure that the AB back 3 can’t catch cleanly. After that, they can either (1) attack the space behind themselves (see Pollock try against Wallabies) or (2) release the ball to a backline that is already expertly aligned by George Ford and ready to pounce.
So in my view, while the catch is obviously important, it’s only the first step. What is as crucial, if not more, is the collective coordination both before and immediately after the catch. The AB backline will need to match the speed of English realignment and get off the line, making sure that England don’t have the clean width of the field to attack in these kinds of situations.
