All Blacks v Pumas
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Surely the selectors will need to consider Bb at 15 with Sopoaga playing well when we go to SA
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Finally Laumape ALB combo
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@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v Pumas:
SBW much better tonight.
Not as many mistakes for sure, but I think he stifles the backline. He just does not have the instincts.
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39-22, that's a hiding in the end.
Argentina brought their A game and did enough to rattle most teams. They were very good for the first 45-50 minutes.
But you have to give the ABs credit - it's not easy to get them doubting themselves. They stuck to their gameplan and got the job done easily in the end.
Fifita is a real talent and will only get better, particularly on defense where I want to see him impose himself Kaino-style more. My MOTM, he shifted momentum with that try and we never looked back - that really hurt Argentina's confidence.
Ardie and DMac struggle at this level, I'm not convinced either are worth perservering with.
Agree with @KiwiMurph, would like to see Lima start with Beauden at the back. Beauden does some wonderful stuff but he's prone to some glaring errors as well, mainly with his kicking which is one of his core roles. You can't ignore Lima's class.
Also agree with @Stargazer, Cane and Todd should be in the 23. Todd would be excellent off the bench with his linking game.
All in all a frustrating first half, but have to give Argentina some credit for that, and a really strong finish when it counted which was pleasing to see.
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@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v Pumas:
SBW much better tonight.
Not as many mistakes for sure, but I think he stifles the backline. He just does not have the instincts.
@Crazy-Horse I thought he was quite invisible tonight. No major errors or brain farts, but nothing noteworthy either.
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With the red mist of mid-game posting now gone, I'm still not sure what to make of the All Blacks this year.
They're winning consistently again. But at times there are some echos of the late 1990/early 1991 (and late 97/early 98 team) sides that just sit a bit uneasy...
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Barely heard SBWs name. What a difference when Lima came on, the back line seemed to settle, and his goalkicking was excellent.
Didn't like the look of Moody's injury.
Happy with the win, but going to be next level at Albany. The Boks will have the back line the Argies don't. -
Three problems tonight:
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Our kicking game was poor. Argentina regathered too many kicks (4 in the first ten minutes of the half against McKenzie). I think McKenzie is probably too small to be a 15 but I would like to be wrong about that. Barrett also missed kicks at goal and some of his chip kicks were poorly timed.
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We got muscled at the ruck. I think Romano is just a class below our other locks (including Scott Barrett). Ardie Savea is an interesting case. I should point out that he did make 14 tackles which was the most of any player in the game and he only played 43 minutes. I don't think I have seen a player get through that much defensive work in such a short space of time. Fifita was great but I'm still not convinced by him. We all knew he was a good ball runner - it's the other aspects of his game where he needs to put in the work.
3). We made too many mistakes. Some of the passes were poor but we did put the Argies under a lot of pressure.
The Positives:
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We were terrific with ball in hand when we kept the ball. Argentina missed a third of their tackles and we ran three times as many metres.
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Our set piece was fantastic. We lost one lineout (which turned out to be critical) but won the rest. Ofa came on and scrummed very well which is pleasing given we have a few injury problems.
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Ardie Savea is not fit to lace up Canes boots
@Baron-Silas-Greenback said in All Blacks v Pumas:
Ardie Savea is not fit to lace up Canes boots
Doing my usual review of the thread.
Baron nails it here. I'm still good with Kid'n Play on the pine ... but Cane is so much more effective
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I hope Dagg recovers from his head knock soon. He had a good game. If they start BB at 10, we need him in the backline, on the right wing or at fullback. I'm repeating myself, but I really would like to see both him and Havili in the backline, with either Ioane or NMS on the left wing. I just want to see whether Havili is good enough at test level. He may have to wait for the EOYT to get a chance though.
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Lovely runs by fifita, nehe, dmac, dagg. BB is having a shocker. Terrible goal kicking, kick offs, grubbers...
And what the fuck was with that final lineout.@Mokey said in All Blacks v Pumas:
Lovely runs by fifita, nehe, dmac, dagg. BB is having a shocker. Terrible goal kicking, kick offs, grubbers...
And what the fuck was with that final lineout.So whereas last year I was a heretic for preferring Cruds initially I was won over by Beaudie's irresistible form.
Now ... I'm wondering if Lima gets to start?
