England vs All Blacks
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Back from my corporate jolly to game...some thoughts having not seen any replays or TV. Long-ish post. (Skip to he last 2 paras for the incisive bit)
Twickenham a pain to get to...and into. Ticket entry barriers weren't working, RFU needs to get its act together - pretty crap really. The crowd was far more respectful to the opposition and the kickers. First time I'd been to Twickenham for a test in about 10 years, so credit to the RFU. Atmosphere was great.
Pom tactics and decision making were excellent in the first 30 minutes - crap after that. Thought Farrell had a poor game - zero variation in his game. Underhill was astonishingly good for England and was my MoM.
AB backline was poor until Crotty came on and he seemed to give a lot of solidity. Thought SBW was poor and you wonder how long he'll be in the team. England targeted DMac with the high ball but he did OK and as well as anyone else - he certainly doesn't lack guts, thats for sure. On attack he was probably the most dangerous AB back. Thought our kicking game (inc. DMac) was shite. We looked way more dangerous when keeping the ball in hand.
Retallick & Savea were immense. BBBR utterly owned the Pom lineout, ruck, maul and, well, the whole pitch. Ardie seemed to be everywhere.
Ben Kay and Ugo Monye hosted a post match analysis for the corporate clients which was excellent. No argument that Lawes was offside from them. We then had a Q&A with Itoje and Danny Care.
Itoje & Care seemed good blokes but I was surprised by the complacency in their attitude. They thought that as they had only lost by 1 point they had scored a famous victory. Astonishing attitude in many ways. Hope I never hear an AB talk like that.
All in all, a mistake-strewn game. But we dogged a win - which I sense Hansen will be happy with
@victor-meldrew Yeah, Underhill was unbelievable and my MOTM as well. Have not really seen too much of him before but he looks to be a really special player. Certainly a lot better than Curry who didn't impress last week. It's about time England had a decent openside and it looks like they have unearthed a gem.
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That was lucky. I had a look at the stats and wrote down a few thoughts here:
https://www.thesilverfern.com/2018/11/11/phew-abs-escape-on-armistice-day/
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Sheesh with all those photos with red and white lines and yellow circles we are in great danger of becoming like Green and Gold rugby. Albeit they are pointing out Wallaby ‘injustices’ and AB ‘favouritism’, but still, it’s not a great look for the Fern....
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How much of an absolute weapon off the bench was Lawes? Huge impact.
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How much of an absolute weapon off the bench was Lawes? Huge impact.
@mariner4life Yeah he was good. Shields a non entity, and dropped the ball. BBBR was better, and Barrett The Younger was as good IMO
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That game was probably good for both teams. England should gain some belief that they can go with us while still keeping their feet on the ground given they couldn't get the win.
Likewise we should have our feet firmly on the ground with regards to the amount of work required before the RWC, whilst taking some confidence with closing out a dogged test in atrocious conditions.
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So much for my canter, but karma's a bitch.
At least England have found their openside.
In fairness he's been hiding in plain sight. For a couple of seasons now.
Great Test.
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That game was probably good for both teams. England should gain some belief that they can go with us while still keeping their feet on the ground given they couldn't get the win.
Likewise we should have our feet firmly on the ground with regards to the amount of work required before the RWC, whilst taking some confidence with closing out a dogged test in atrocious conditions.
@no-quarter said in England vs All Blacks:
England should gain some belief that they can go with us while still keeping their feet on the ground given they couldn't get the win.
Yeah, nah. Where is @Bones post about claiming underdog status for us? "At home", etc etc.
England had everything in their favour, even down to the weather, and failed. Close, but no cigar.
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On my re-watch the ABs weren't as bad as I first felt. No stress means less cursing. A Smith is well off form, both 9's need to stop box kicking until they can both get it away quick and land it in a good place. I'm sure there is a reason why the ABs continually kick to the player to allow them to counter attack, but I don't get it. But they do it so often there MUST be a reason, I would prefer the way Eng did it, box kick to turn around back three (not to compete) and long kick for the sideline. England were firing first 30 or so, but not much after that. Stats agree that ABs were all good, but we couldn't finish (again A Smith), like against the boks. McKenzie is great on attack but a bloody liability in a tight match, an unacceptable 5 TC of an even more unacceptable 20 by ABs. Start Mo'unga 10 or 15, either way, and DMAc for tired defences later thank you.
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On my re-watch the ABs weren't as bad as I first felt. No stress means less cursing. A Smith is well off form, both 9's need to stop box kicking until they can both get it away quick and land it in a good place. I'm sure there is a reason why the ABs continually kick to the player to allow them to counter attack, but I don't get it. But they do it so often there MUST be a reason, I would prefer the way Eng did it, box kick to turn around back three (not to compete) and long kick for the sideline. England were firing first 30 or so, but not much after that. Stats agree that ABs were all good, but we couldn't finish (again A Smith), like against the boks. McKenzie is great on attack but a bloody liability in a tight match, an unacceptable 5 TC of an even more unacceptable 20 by ABs. Start Mo'unga 10 or 15, either way, and DMAc for tired defences later thank you.
@machpants agree. I woke up and watched 2nd half first then first half after. If you didn't see score NZ was dominant and England offered little.
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@machpants agree. I woke up and watched 2nd half first then first half after. If you didn't see score NZ was dominant and England offered little.
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@98blueandgold Yeah I woke up at 430, and watched from 15-0 down with SBW just going off! Great place to start
@machpants I did the same, we must have been good luck.
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If Beauden had made the tackle Underhill then the offside would not have been checked and England would have had possession right on our line.
@no-quarter said in England vs All Blacks:
If Beauden had made the tackle Underhill then the offside would not have been checked and England would have had possession right on our line.
He's a bloody legend. Reads the game better than anyone.
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Out of curiosity I was interested to know when England last out-scored NZ in tries in a test at Twickenham. You might have thought it was in the 38-21 loss in 2012 but it wasn't (3 tries each). You have to go back to the 26-26 draw in 1997 (3 vs 2).
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Out of curiosity I was interested to know when England last out-scored NZ in tries in a test at Twickenham. You might have thought it was in the 38-21 loss in 2012 but it wasn't (3 tries each). You have to go back to the 26-26 draw in 1997 (3 vs 2).
@bovidae said in England vs All Blacks:
Out of curiosity I was interested to know when England last out-scored NZ in tries in a test at Twickenham. You might have thought it was in the 38-21 loss in 2012 but it wasn't (3 tries each). You have to go back to the 26-26 draw in 1997 (3 vs 2).
When was the last time NZ outscored England in drop goals?
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@bovidae said in England vs All Blacks:
Out of curiosity I was interested to know when England last out-scored NZ in tries in a test at Twickenham. You might have thought it was in the 38-21 loss in 2012 but it wasn't (3 tries each). You have to go back to the 26-26 draw in 1997 (3 vs 2).
When was the last time NZ outscored England in drop goals?
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England robbed.
Shit decison. Reverse it and This forum tops porn hub for bandwidth.
Hollow victory for me, Twickenham felt confused
@majorrage said in England vs All Blacks:
England robbed.
Shit decison. Reverse it and This forum tops porn hub for bandwidth.
Hollow victory for me, Twickenham felt confused
What a load of bullshit. I think you've out marshalled Justin Marshall there. Pretty sad for you.
