All Blacks v Pumas
-
Pretty weird game as others have mentioned. Sort of Par for the course since the RWC though.
Lots of error, plenty of frustration but then some good bits to show what they are capable of.Fifita was my MOTM. Hopefully this is the start of him playing to his potential because IMO he hasn't even really done it at Super level yet. Couple of those runs were great to watch though.
Was nice to see Sop's come on and nail a few hard kicks. BB has got to the level where im more surprised if it goes over. Surely he needs to come up with a new technique. There must be a good kicking coach somewhere in the world that can fix it.
Agree with others SBW was pretty invisible and really doesn't help the flow of our backs. ALB has turned to shit this year too. Have lost count of the amount of times he is running around in circles or throwing basketball passes to the ground. Hopefully Crotty can find a way to not get broken every game and Laumape can keep developing. I wonder when Ngatai will get another shot.
Dmac is fast running out of opportunities IMO. He was dire tonight. He HAS to take those high balls. I haven't seen someone run across field so much since Lote Tuqiri. He might look good in big wins against minnows but he is not a player you want in a tight test on that display.
As much as im an Ardie Savea fan he just isn't offering anything at test level. Really needs to bulk up to have more impact. It's noticeable when Cane isn't on the field. Starting to thing either Todd or a 6 is better cover on the bench. Not as if our 7's are hard on the ball fetchers these days so a 6 could cover injuries to our 7 pretty well.
Not sure what the deal with the ABs is overall. Some silly rushed stuff just adding to the problems. Lineout not going too well this year and in general the plays from set piece have looked rushed and messy or just low percentage plays like Reads grubber from an attacking scrum. That lineout turnover on half time was criminal.
It will never happen but I would be tempted to give the captaincy to Sam Whitelock. Let Read concentrate on getting back to his best form.
Would also be tempted to move BB to 15 with Sopoaga starting at 10. Ioane at 11 and Dagg at 14. If Dagg is out then NMS to 14. Don't want to see Havili anywhere near the team. He must be about 5th or 6th choice FB and is still prone to throwing shitty offloads in Super rugby. -
Missed game due to kids rugby breakup and am watching now. Up to 26th minute and pretty solid other than a pitiful attempted clean out by Ardie. DMacs been good so I assume things go awry very soon.
-
And he goes ahead with a shitty kick under zero pressure.
-
Missed 3 high balls but he shouldn't have challenged for at least 2 of them. He was too far away.
Reckon Romano has been OK. Doesn't have the engine of Whitallick (Rhitelock?) but getting the job done.
Those missed kicks by BB were ugly. They were all hard but he struck them like a bitch.
-
Fifita makes multiple people on SF look like farking idiots.
-
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.@Mokey said in All Blacks v Pumas:
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.I mentioned to my mates the other day that BB was the best player who played 10 for the ABs, but not the best 10. For me game management was much better once Lima was in the driver's seat.
Said this before, but 10-12 combo can be additive or dysfunctional.
Crudes-SBW bought out the best in both, likewise Carter-Nonu, whereas Carter-SBW and Crudes-Nonu never seemed to gel.
Likewise BB-Crotty is great for both, whereas BB-SBW seems 'clunky'. I, too, thought Lima-SBW seemed to work better.
Would be keen to see A.Smith-Lima-SBW-Crotty start against Boks, with BB at 15. Rieko at 11, with real competition for 14.
-
I was impressed with Fifita's first start. Equally underwhelmed yet again with Savea at openside and McKenzie at fullback.
-
Finished. The final scoreline was a fair enough reflection on the game. Despite leading and having an extra player, Argentina had nothing left at that stage.
Few points.
-The backline has some serious issues. BB and SBW don't seem to work, but the entire backline doesn't seem to function very well. I don't know if it's tactics or alignment, but it seems so disjointed. I'd like to see Laumape at 12 with Crotty. Positives were TJP and NMS. Thought NMS had an excellent game and TJP was pretty well faultless.
- Fifita was terrific. I don't wish to brag, but as one of the very few who defended his selection this season, the naysayers can line up to suckle on my sack.
- I actually didn't think Dmac was that bad, but I agree those high balls are a major concern. Some of them he had no business calling.
-BB needs to get his kicking sorted. Some games he kicks like a dream, others your heart is in your mouth every time. Thought he played OK otherwise. Don't see any reason to shift him to fb. Lima had a fine cameo and I rate him big time, but the Argies were pretty friar tucked when he came on.
-
Fifita could well be the impact forward we have been looking for ,
If Kaino is nearly finished , Squire starting , Fifita coming on later could be something they look at .
-
Fifita could well be the impact forward we have been looking for ,
If Kaino is nearly finished , Squire starting , Fifita coming on later could be something they look at .
@kiwiinmelb said in All Blacks v Pumas:
Fifita could well be the impact forward we have been looking for ,
If Kaino is nearly finished , Squire starting , Fifita coming on later could be something they look at .
I'm not so sure that will get the big moments out of him. Although he had some absolutely fantastic moments he also had quite a bit of time wandering around lost. That will change with experience but he looks to me like the type of player that needs a lot of minutes playing to produce the flashes of brilliance.
You can't deny the athleticism but to expect that to happen in a 20 minute spell is expecting a lot.I'll go into bat for DMac as well. Those were perfectly weighted and placed kicks. The type we have seen BFA shell often as well. I don't mind the running sideways so much as he will stop that at this level now he has seen it doesn't work as well as it does in Super Rugby. FFS he has to try and play to his strengths and things that have worked in the past for him to see if they work. He was mindful to make sure he linked properly when no gap appeared and it never cost us ground or possession.
Thought he played much better than BB in that game and no one is having a crack at him apart from goal kicking.
-
@ACT-Crusader Are you saying that in contrast to SBW and ALB because I thought they were great tonight. Especially when SBW was crashing the ball up.
-
TSF is harsh on DMac ... yeah he coughed up the high balls which is an issue but his positional play and opportunity creation was fine.
Savea is a bench 7,Cane is the starter.
-
@MajorRage tsf isn't harsh on DMac. He's just a bit cake and I've seen Dagg cop all sorts of grief for not being Ben Smith.
-
@MajorRage tsf isn't harsh on DMac. He's just a bit cake and I've seen Dagg cop all sorts of grief for not being Ben Smith.
@Bones said in All Blacks v Pumas:
@MajorRage tsf isn't harsh on DMac. He's just a bit cake and I've seen Dagg cop all sorts of grief for not being Ben Smith.
I think you calling him cake kind of makes MRs point. He's had mixed games but the focus around here is only on the errors. Certain players get their errors focused on and certain players get them excused ... that's always the way around here, and that's not going to change, DMac gets his focused on.
Damn, MR beat me and made my point more succinctly.
