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Post by commond on Aug 24, 2024 0:27:59 GMT -5
MacDonald was an assistant for Robertson during Robertson's first year as Crusaders coach. He left after a year to take up the head coaching position at Tasman, then became the Blues coach. No-one has really spoken about what the problems were within the All Blacks, but Robertson has a huge entourage of assistant coaches. There were three back coaches alone plus a skills coach. Robertson said the players weren't executing what they'd practiced during the week, which led some to believe that there were too many voices. They simplified things for the second test against Argentina and produced a excellent performance. There were several backline changes for that match. Whether those changes were made by MacDonald or Robertson remains to be seen.
It's not a surprise that you don't remember Robertson as a player. He had great success at Canterbury and the Crusaders but was part of a group of loose forwards that competed for selection. He was capped 23 times for the All Blacks and was part of the 1999 World Cup squad but only involved in the pool game against Italy. He was initially tipped as Kronfeld's successor, but that role ultimately went to Richie McCaw. He switched to number 8 but fell behind in the pecking order. He did score a memorable match-winning try against Argentina in 2001.
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Post by berkley on Aug 24, 2024 3:12:45 GMT -5
MacDonald was an assistant for Robertson during Robertson's first year as Crusaders coach. He left after a year to take up the head coaching position at Tasman, then became the Blues coach. No-one has really spoken about what the problems were within the All Blacks, but Robertson has a huge entourage of assistant coaches. There were three back coaches alone plus a skills coach. Robertson said the players weren't executing what they'd practiced during the week, which led some to believe that there were too many voices. They simplified things for the second test against Argentina and produced a excellent performance. There were several backline changes for that match. Whether those changes were made by MacDonald or Robertson remains to be seen. It's not a surprise that you don't remember Robertson as a player. He had great success at Canterbury and the Crusaders but was part of a group of loose forwards that competed for selection. He was capped 23 times for the All Blacks and was part of the 1999 World Cup squad but only involved in the pool game against Italy. He was initially tipped as Kronfeld's successor, but that role ultimately went to Richie McCaw. He switched to number 8 but fell behind in the pecking order. He did score a memorable match-winning try against Argentina in 2001. Love seeing those old clips - and they do look old, which shouldn't be a surprise, logically, since 2001 is 23 years ago, but it still is. I'd like to see more old rugby games, full matches, that is, both from my earlier days as a viewer in the 90s and from before my time. I have found a few odds and ends and next time I watch something I'll try to post something about it. A few months ago, for example, I watched the first half of a match between the All Blacks and the Lions from the early 90s, and there were so many things that I'd forgotten how different they were back then.
Interesting about him being seen as a possible successor to Kronfeld - do you think his height worked against him in that regard? I haven't seen enough rugby from earlier times to have a picture of how the flanker position evolved up to the 90s, but since Kronfeld I think they've been expected to be ball-seeking missiles, always the first at the breakdown and threatening to steal possession. Too much height can work against that, so number 8 would seem the more obvious position for someone with Robertson's build.
My favourite memory of MacDonald was the time when he ran down from way back and across from the other side of the field, I think it was Billy Vunipola, unless it was his brother, who was going in for what looked like a clear try as there didn't seem to be anyone within miles of him. But MacDonald got there just in time to save a try against. I can't remember if this was against England or the Lions.
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Post by driver1980 on Aug 24, 2024 4:39:25 GMT -5
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Post by commond on Aug 29, 2024 7:36:24 GMT -5
The All Blacks side to play South Africa:
All Blacks: 15. Beauden Barrett 14. Will Jordan 13. Rieko Ioane 12. Jordie Barrett 11. Caleb Clarke 10. Damian McKenzie 9. TJ Perenara 8. Ardie Savea 7. Sam Cane 6. Ethan Blackadder 5. Tupou Vaa’i 4. Scott Barrett (c) 3. Tyrel Lomax 2. Codie Taylor 1. Tamaiti Williams
Reserves: 16. Asafo Aumua 17. Ofa Tu’ungafasi 18. Fletcher Newell 19. Sam Darry 20. Samipeni Finau 21. Cortez Ratima 22. Anton Lienert-Brown 23. Mark Tele’a
It's basically the same side as last time except for Barrett returning from injury and Sam Cane starting in place of the injured Papali'i. I don't rate our chances of winning at Ellis Park. We did win the last time we played in Johannesburg, but that was after we'd been well beaten the week before. At this stage of the World Cup cycle, I'm not too worried about whether we can beat the Boks in South Africa. It's a tough draw having to play them twice in South Africa this early under a new coach.
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Post by berkley on Aug 29, 2024 20:05:07 GMT -5
The All Blacks side to play South Africa: All Blacks: 15. Beauden Barrett 14. Will Jordan 13. Rieko Ioane 12. Jordie Barrett 11. Caleb Clarke 10. Damian McKenzie 9. TJ Perenara 8. Ardie Savea 7. Sam Cane 6. Ethan Blackadder 5. Tupou Vaa’i 4. Scott Barrett (c) 3. Tyrel Lomax 2. Codie Taylor 1. Tamaiti Williams Reserves: 16. Asafo Aumua 17. Ofa Tu’ungafasi 18. Fletcher Newell 19. Sam Darry 20. Samipeni Finau 21. Cortez Ratima 22. Anton Lienert-Brown 23. Mark Tele’a It's basically the same side as last time except for Barrett returning from injury and Sam Cane starting in place of the injured Papali'i. I don't rate our chances of winning at Ellis Park. We did win the last time we played in Johannesburg, but that was after we'd been well beaten the week before. At this stage of the World Cup cycle, I'm not too worried about whether we can beat the Boks in South Africa. It's a tough draw having to play them twice in South Africa this early under a new coach. One of the interesting things about SA right now is their adding Tony Brown as attack coach. I didn't see their most recent games against Australia but against Ireland a few weeks earlier they seemed to be taking some time to adjust to his tactics. So I I don't think it's a guaranteed win for the Boks by any means, even though the ABs are going through a much bigger transition in terms of coaches and players. It'll be interesting to see ho some of the less experienced players do against the world champions.
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Post by commond on Aug 30, 2024 17:13:26 GMT -5
Ellis Park is such a tough venue to play at that I'm not brimming with confidence. I'm still debating whether I should get up and watch it. The time difference isn't too bad, but there's nothing worse than watching the All Blacks lose in the dark in the early hours of the morning.
Just saw that Agustin Creevy is retiring this weekend after a 19 year international career. He made his debut in 2005. Incredible feat. It's amazing how long a test match career can last in this day and age.
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Post by berkley on Aug 30, 2024 18:53:46 GMT -5
I hope to see it tomorrow night, my time, depending on bow fast I can find it online.
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Post by commond on Aug 31, 2024 17:56:08 GMT -5
Ellis Park spoilers: {Spoiler: Click to show} Once again the All Blacks built a lead and capitulated in the final quarter. The Bomb Squad got it done for South Africa again. New Zealand needs to work on their game management in the final quarter and build up some bench strength.
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Post by berkley on Aug 31, 2024 21:15:59 GMT -5
Ellis Park spoilers: {Spoiler: Click to show} Once again the All Blacks built a lead and capitulated in the final quarter. The Bomb Squad got it done for South Africa again. New Zealand needs to work on their game management in the final quarter and build up some bench strength. And when they did bring on subs some of the moves were puzzling - like bringing on Leinert-Brown but keeping Ioane on, moving him to the wing, and taking Caleb Clarke off. What was the thinking behind that, I wonder.
NZ rely so much on what they consider their best players that it feels to me as a spectator like they don't have a lot of faith in their subs, bringing them on very late in the game. And if it feels that way to me, I wonder if it feels that way to the players too.
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Post by commond on Aug 31, 2024 22:22:06 GMT -5
We used to have a world class bench, but it’s not the case anymore. Perhaps we need to take a page out of South Africa’s book and develop our own Bomb Squad. The All Blacks were certainly up for it, though. Next week should be interesting.
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Post by berkley on Aug 31, 2024 22:49:37 GMT -5
We used to have a world class bench, but it’s not the case anymore. Perhaps we need to take a page out of South Africa’s book and develop our own Bomb Squad. The All Blacks were certainly up for it, though. Next week should be interesting. One of the intriguing things about watching the top 4 or 5 international sides play each other is seeing how they adjust after a defeat. I think NZ and SA in particular are very sharp at this so next week's game might be even more interesting than this one was.
As to the NZ bench, I think some of it's their own doing. If they keep waiting till the last 10 or 15 minutes to bring on their subs those players are never going to get the experience they need to be effective at the international level. I can see why they might be doing that now, with 4 years to go until the next WC and many of the new ABs quite young, but I would hope by next year to see some of them coming on with 30 minutes to go instead of 10, and even starting now and then against some of the top opponents.
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Post by commond on Sept 6, 2024 9:01:37 GMT -5
Here is the All Blacks side for the second test against South Africa:
All Blacks: Will Jordan, Sevu Reece, Rieko Ioane, Jordie Barrett, Mark Tele'a, Damian McKenzie, Cortez Ratima, Ardie Savea, Sam Cane, Wallace Sititi, Tupou Vaa'i, Scott Barrett, Tyrel Lomax, Codie Tayor, Tamaiti Williams.
Reserves: Asafo Aumua, Ofa Tu'ungafasi, Fletcher Newell, Sam Darry, Luke Jacobson, TJ Perenara, Anton Lienert-Brown, Beauden Barrett.
Jordan finally gets to start in his preferred position. Clarke is injured so Reece and Tele'a are back in the starting lineup. Ratima and Sititi are thrown to the wolves. TJ and Barrett are on the bench to provide some sort of spark. Blackadder is injured.
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Post by berkley on Sept 6, 2024 23:51:29 GMT -5
Here is the All Blacks side for the second test against South Africa: All Blacks: Will Jordan, Sevu Reece, Rieko Ioane, Jordie Barrett, Mark Tele'a, Damian McKenzie, Cortez Ratima, Ardie Savea, Sam Cane, Wallace Sititi, Tupou Vaa'i, Scott Barrett, Tyrel Lomax, Codie Tayor, Tamaiti Williams. Reserves: Asafo Aumua, Ofa Tu'ungafasi, Fletcher Newell, Sam Darry, Luke Jacobson, TJ Perenara, Anton Lienert-Brown, Beauden Barrett. Jordan finally gets to start in his preferred position. Clarke is injured so Reece and Tele'a are back in the starting lineup. Ratima and Sititi are thrown to the wolves. TJ and Barrett are on the bench to provide some sort of spark. Blackadder is injured.
I'm surprised they've gone so suddenly from keeping Ratima and Sititi on the bench or not subbing them in until very late straight to making them starters against the #1 ranked team in the world. On the whole, though, I approve Maybe it's too much too soon, but it's better than what they've been doing up to now. A more measured approach leading up to this would have made the transition less drastic, though. I wonder if part of it is punishing Perenara for costing them a try in the previous game through letting his mouth go too much for the ref's liking.
That doesn't explain Sititi though. I see they dropped Blackadder - is that the explanation, possibly? I thought he worked really hard last week in both offence and defence but wasn't always as effective as a ball carrier as they'd probably like, getting driven back in the tackle quite often. I assume Sititi is more of a specialist no. 8 than Savea, so that would explain him taking that spot, plus you get Savea's ball-carrying in place of Blackadder's by moving him there.
I thought Jordan didn't have a great game last time out but I beleive he's coming off an injury so probably needs a little time to get back into top form. The All Blacks have so many options at wing and to a lesser extent at fullback, that I'm really never sure who I'd prefer seeing there. Reece and Tele'a have been performing well but wasn't Caleb Clarke one of their best players last game? Maybe they'll just keep rotating all their wings in and out until someone really stands out above the rest - which will be hard to do, however, as they're all really good.
I'm a bit surprised they didn't tinker with the front row a bit, as the Boks seemed to have a slight advantage there at times. Why not bring in Tosi, at least as a sub? I'd really like to see Aumua get more playing time but it's hard to justify right now with Codie Taylor playing so well - he had a really good game last week, I thought. Then again, we see that SA aren't afraid to bring on the bomb squad at around 50 minutes, no matter how well their pack has been doing up to then.
One of the main things I would like to see is a change in their tactical kicking: both the decision-making of when, where, and how far to kick and in the execution - both McKenzie and Beauden Barrett had bad games last week in that respect, though they were really good in almost every other way.
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Post by commond on Sept 7, 2024 3:21:40 GMT -5
Clarke and Blackadder are injured. I believe Clarke picked up his injury during last week’s test while Blackadder was injured in training.
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Post by commond on Sept 7, 2024 20:17:29 GMT -5
Spoilers {Spoiler: Click to show} Ugly game. I thought the All Blacks played okay in the first half, but they struggled in the second forty. The most frustrating aspect of it was that South Africa didn't play that well in either test. Yet here we are, the first four test losing streak to the Boks since 1949 and the Boks win the Freedom Cup for the first time in 15 years. Plenty of things for the All Blacks to work on. They weren't humiliated on tour, but there are definite flaws.
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