How the All Blacks can stop the bleeding
Roar Pro
By ohtani\'s jacket, 28 Jul 2008 The Crowd is a Roar Pro
- Tagged:
- All Blacks, Daniel Braid, Daniel Carter
Let’s face it, the All Blacks aren’t very good. Whether that’s because of Henry, rebuilding or papering the cracks, they haven’t been this bad in a while.
I don’t expect much of a turnaround, but we can at least stop the bleeding.
If McCaw plays, we can’t expect him to be any more match fit than Daniel Braid was.
If Henry is belligerent, he’ll play So’oialo at blindside and Kaino at Number Eight. How about admitting the right and left flanker combination is a mistake and reverting to the traditional set-up?
These weren’t the positions So’oialo and Kaino played in this year’s Super 14.
We’re playing for pride, not to judge whether it was McCaw holding things together in the earlier Tests. McCaw will have enough on his plate trying to organise the defence.
In the backs, MacDonald and Muliaina simply have to play together. One of them needs to switch to the right wing. It’s a specialist Test position and we need a stop gap measure. If Nonu is the second five, then MacDonald should start at fullback.
Nonu and Smith need to play as the midfield combination, no ifs and buts. It’s the only option we have. Without Luke McAlister or Nick Evans, there’s no way we can switch Daniel Carter to second five.
Whoever plays at halfback, we simply have to persevere and give him better support at the breakdown.
There will be all sorts of talk about the All Blacks re-gathering this week, but they want this Test match about as much as Roger Federer wants to play Nadal in a Grand Slam final.
Henry will talk about the need for structure and spending time in the opposition 22, but he actually needs to do some coaching this week.
By all means look at the tactics and where the game plan went wrong, but the wolves are at the door and they’re ready and waiting to rip this team to shreds.
Saturday’s Test isn’t about McCaw and whether he’s the difference maker. It’s not about his ability to lead from the front. It’s about everyone stepping up.
It starts in defence and in the commitment to the tackle. It’s about hitting the breakdown, cleaning out the rucks and driving hard on the pick and go. It’s about timing in the scrum and clearing the ball from your own 22.
These are simple, basic things that the All Blacks have been doing well for years. It’s about building a platform and controlling the tempo.
The passes stick better when you’re on the front foot.
Henry was a kingmaker. Now it’s time to convince these boys that they can still win a Test match.
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LeftArmSpinner said | July 28th 2008 @ 9:00am | Report comment
jacket, my back line would be
15. McDonald
14/11 Sivi/Muliana
13. Smith
12. Nonu
10. Carter
9. Weepu
The AB’s need more quality and more experience but importantly, players playing in the correct position and playing according to those positions. Although Sivi was great, he has a habit of slowing down as he draws the defence. This is a schoolboy error. He needs to stay at full pace.
ohtani's jacket said | July 28th 2008 @ 2:29pm | Report comment
McCaw is apparently 50/50 for the Test this weekend, and I have some doubts over whether Weepu is really fit enough for Test match rugby under the ELVs.
Things are pretty much going from bad to worse.
I’m not really sure that Deans would’ve been getting better results. He probably would’ve got average Test match players to play better than they really are, but they’d still be average Test match players
mudskipper said | July 28th 2008 @ 4:30pm | Report comment
It wouldn’t be fair for New Zealanders to think that McCaw will make all the difference. He is not match fit. The All Blacks have little or no combinations working in the backs. Mils, Sivi, So’oialo and Carter all had good games. There are many holes in the backline and the forwards are average at without Collins, Jack, Oliver and Hayman.
Mortlock will be back and be giving Smith real trouble. The Kingmaker will be under siege this week. We can see the burn cities from here…
ohtani's jacket said | July 28th 2008 @ 5:36pm | Report comment
Well, it’s up to the forwards to prove that they’re not such average players.
I was a little disappointed by our tight five and in particular the second row, after their physical battles against England and South Africa and myself and others talking them up.
I don’t think they adjusted well to the tempo Australia set. Usually teams like England fall into the trap of trying to play at the All Blacks tempo. We fell into that ourselves.
Rangi said | July 28th 2008 @ 9:36pm | Report comment
I expected that this year might not be too flash but was prepared to drop a couple of games in the cause of rebuilding and always hoping that the Three Wise Men might have learnt something. No more rotating for one thing and playing people in their right position being another and then we might see the benefit of combinations.
Why the hell has So’oialo played everywhere except No.8 this year ? We lose our openside flanker so instead of replacing him with another openside we stuff up two positions by playing our best No.8 there.
And why bring Adam Thompson in from out of nowhere as a No.6 for the future and then play So’oialo there as well.
Still not happy with Nonu as I think No.12 is too important a position to have a one-trick pony. I like the dual playmakers we have had for a while and with this in mind maybe Stephen Donald could be worth a look as he played there for the Chiefs when David Hill was the first five. He can run, tackle,kick, pass and most importantly can think. As Inky said in another post, ” No more black jerseys for dunces’.
Same applies to the Three Wise Men.
ohtani's jacket said | July 28th 2008 @ 10:35pm | Report comment
Well, you know how it is Rangi.
Henry & Co. believe they’ve got it right and won’t change anything until they’ve lost five of six.
They’re pretty adament they’ve got the right team and have already hinted that there won’t be any major changes. All I can say is that they better have a better game plan.
mudskipper said | July 28th 2008 @ 10:55pm | Report comment
ohtani’s jacket…5 or 6 lost even as a Wallabies fan I hope th at is not the case.
ohtani's jacket said | July 28th 2008 @ 11:18pm | Report comment
mudskipper — if it happens, it happens.
We had a good run of three successive Tri-Nations titles.
Most New Zealanders don’t care too much about that, since we didn’t win the World Cup, and to be perfectly honest I don’t think they’d care if we won it again this year.
They care about the 2011 World Cup and the possibility that Deans was the best coach to lead us to World Cup victory.
If we lose the Bledisloe, then you’ll see some genuine emotion. I sometimes wonder if deep down NZ rugby fans prefer it when the Aussies hold the Bledisloe. There’s something about “winning it back” that’s more satisfying for us than retaining it.
New Zealand rugby has always built its Everests. For most of its history, winning in SA was that Everest. Now it’s “winning back” the World Cup. For a short time (that felt like an eternity) it was winning the Bledisloe.
Perhaps it’s because we’re a small country or maybe it’s because we win a lot.
Anyway, the Tri-Nations needed a boost and so did Australian rugby, so the results have been positive for the game to the extent that some of the doom and gloom has ceased.
Westy said | July 29th 2008 @ 1:30am | Report comment
I was informed by some NZers at the test they were missing the players in Europe. There is no agenda here only my ignorance but could anyone inform me how many of the current NZers overseas would be in serious contention for positions if any ? or was this just an understandable comment /excuse upon defeat.
ohtani's jacket said | July 29th 2008 @ 2:16am | Report comment
Westy,
It’s a point that Sean Fitzpatrick keeps bringing up in the New Zealand Herald.
I don’t know what Fitzpatrick is on about — http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=80&objectid=10523727
Does he remember 1990-1995? You’d think a guy who played in (and later captained) an All Blacks side that lost at two World Cups, lost the Bledisloe Cup to Australia twice and a home series to France would have a little more perspective.
Some of the players in Europe could’ve made it into the All Black side this year, but not all of them. Guys like Kelleher, Oliver and Jack were 10 year vets. Do you play them another year to win another meaningless Tri-Nations title?
Isn’t that papering the cracks?
To answer your question, Hayman would’ve been the first choice tighthead, McAlister would’ve been the number 12, Evans a utility back, Kelleher the first choice halfback, Jack the third lock on the bench and Oliver may have been used as a second or third hooker. Hollah may have been brought in as specialist openside cover, though he was never really Test match quality. Collins probably deserved a spot on the bench. Perhaps Mauger or Howlett.
That’s only on paper, however. Form is another story. Look at Mealamu.
More than anything I think they would’ve strengthened the New Zealand bench with some veteran presence.
These guys had their chance. Some of them went to 2 or 3 World Cups.
I don’t see Wallabies fans complaining about the loss of Gregan or Larkham.