Talking points from Super Rugby Aotearoa 2020
Super Rugby Aotearoa concluded on the weekend in anti-climatic fashion due to the recent community transmission of COVID-19 in Auckland. This saw the Highlanders…
Roar Rookie
Joined October 2018
38.3k
Views
11
Published
2.1k
Comments
Published
Comments
Super Rugby Aotearoa concluded on the weekend in anti-climatic fashion due to the recent community transmission of COVID-19 in Auckland. This saw the Highlanders…
The return of professional rugby union is only days away with Super Rugby Aotearoa kicking off on Saturday, three months after the 2020 Super…
Following on from recent articles by Brett McKay and JD Kiwi about creating teams based on players and team units from victorious Super Rugby…
As the COVID-19 lock-down continues, the resumption of Super Rugby is on shaky ground. Rugby administrators will be desperate to find a feasible solution…
Last week the New Zealand Super Rugby franchises announced their squads for the 2020 season. Among the 195 contracted players, there are 46 new…
The All Blacks set out to become the first team to win three consecutive World Cups this year. Their international season culminated with the…
Old foes New Zealand and South Africa go head to head in Wellington this weekend in the entree to the highly anticipated Rugby World…
The abbreviated Rugby Championship starts this weekend, Argentina host New Zealand in what is set to be a very tantalising match-up in Buenos Aires.…
Earlier this week, the All Blacks Rugby Championship squad was announced with 39 players selected for their first two fixtures against Argentina and South…
Since Jerome Kaino’s last Test against the British and Irish Lions in 2017, the All Blacks have used a series of different men in…
Last week, All Black captain Kieran Read announced he will be plying his trade in Japan post World Cup. The 33-year-old will be joining…
Wow that is impressive. Thanks for sharing.
And to make matters worse that’s the NZ emergency services number.
Anything but a snorefest: Revisiting one of the most fascinating RWC finals ever
With the game being close it made for a dramatic final.
A couple of stats I heard which really concerns me moving forward for the future of our game:
21 times the clock was stopped.
The second half took 58 minutes.
Those numbers will put people off watching rugby.
Anything but a snorefest: Revisiting one of the most fascinating RWC finals ever
Hard one to swallow as an All Black fan. Massive effort having to play a good chunk of the game with 14 players. The score was 8-3 to the All Blacks after the red card. The stop/start nature suited South Africa.
The key for South Africa was their physicality in defence. That really stung the All Blacks attack. Pieter Steph Du-Toit was brilliant with his big tackles and his Man of the Match award was justified.
THE GREATEST! Boks beat All Blacks in instant classic to claim record FOURTH RWC in controversial, dramatic final
Well written. Thanks Geoff.
The squad depth is the other thing to add in why South African and New Zealand are in the final. South Africa in particular have a team that when substitutes are made they do not decline (they probably get better). New Zealand have benefited by getting Frizell, Cane, J. Barrett and Lomax back later in the campaign. As much as Irelands team is strong, I think they have been guilty of a lack of squad rotation.
One thing I noted is that England and Argentina came from the same pool which was considered a weaker one. However if you look at the games in that group apart from against Chile, the games were very competitive without the same blowouts in some other groups. This was similar to the Wales, Fiji and Australia pool.
The Wrap: There's a reason Boks and All Blacks are at the big boys' table - the rest have to earn their way onto it
I though the All Black defence was good. There was a handful of times they defended a high number of phases and managed to keep Argentina tryless. Some well worked tries. I I liked the couple in the first half where they sucked the Puma rush defence and worked some good moves to score out wide.
Ian Foster will be absolutely chuffed they are in the final after what he has endured. Has the makings of a good finish next week. The timing of the All Blacks run into the final has been well worked.
Fozzie was one Test away from being sacked - now he's 80 minutes away from World Cup glory as ABs smash Pumas
I think as a whole the weekends 1/4 finals have to be the best 1/4 finals in any World Cup edition. All the games were close and no team was really out of the contest. If teams were behind on the score behind they managed get back into the game.
Let’s hope the semi-finals deliver the same quality. I think Argentina could go into the semis as the freshest team after the two epic encounters in Paris and England getting a scare by Fiji.
The Wrap: Why that was the All Blacks' greatest ever RWC win - but the road to fourth title is still a rough one
1999 was a tough one as no one was expecting that. We had a good lead at halftime and then France stepped up big time. 2007, we should have won but given we always changed our team it wasn’t a surprise. 2015 was a special team at that 1/4 final performance was phenomenal.
I did not expect us to win by that much against Ireland in the 2019 1/4. From hearing Keith Earls during the week, it sounds like the players have well and truly moved on from Joe Schmidt. I guess having him in our camp we get a good insight of how Farrell operates.
It is going to be a great game on Sunday morning.
17 STRAIGHT! Ireland smash Scotland to set up quarter-final vs All Blacks, sweat on Aussie Mack
I really enjoyed the Argentina vs Japan game today. Both teams scored some well worked tires and Fakatava’s effort was brilliant. Good to see a lock showing that display of school.
We are damned if we do and damned if we don’t with the TMO. We need them to help officiate calls that the on-field referee doesn’t see and can potentially affect the result of the game but at the same token they are contributing to why fans are becoming disengaged as the duration of the game is taking too long. Does there need to be a limit on the number of angles they can watch or even a time limit to come up with a decision when a TMO is called up on to make a ruling.
Thanks for the article.
The Wrap: Wallabies are on their way home - can they please take the TMOs with them?
Yeah that is a very good point. We played well that night to win by a considerable margin.
17 STRAIGHT! Ireland smash Scotland to set up quarter-final vs All Blacks, sweat on Aussie Mack
Ireland were outstanding today. Very clinical on attack. They run such brilliant lines with great timing. They are also very disciplined on defence. This a team that is truely at the top of their game, everyone is on the same page and they are well coached.
A special mention goes to Jamieson Gibson-Park for having to play wing for part of the game.
The quarter final is going to be immense. The All Blacks will want to avenge what happened last year. To do so they are going to have to play some of the best rugby they have played in recent years. Ireland are early favourites at the NZ Tab which is fair enough.
17 STRAIGHT! Ireland smash Scotland to set up quarter-final vs All Blacks, sweat on Aussie Mack
The tempo and skill level was very high from the All Blacks which was good to see. The selections for the Uruguay game now will be interesting as I don’t think we can afford to rest too many first choice players otherwise a lot of momentum created from the Italy game will be lost.
WORLD VIEW: 'Awake and angry' ABs produce 'total carnage' in 'statement and spectacle' win - but Ireland great reveals flaw
Georgia was unlucky today. First half they were in control and were accumulating points. That disallowed try was harsh. I thought it was a legitimate pass.
‘Robbed’: Fiji seal dramatic, controversial win over Georgia to hammer another nail into the Wallabies' coffin
I also think the start didn’t help. Wales scoring that great try early on would have rattled the Wallabies. They did regroup in the first half. The inexperience showed trying to play catch up and the mistakes kept adding up.
Gone in six-and-a-half minutes: where the Wallabies RWC campaign got away from them
Epic battle. Great intensity and physicality by both teams. Ireland deserved the win on the back of some brave goal line defence in the first half but did think their wobbly lineout was going to play into the Springboks hands earlier on.
I thought Bundee Aki and James Low both had big games. Aki with his ability to break through a couple of times and Lowe seemed to have a big moment every time the ball got near him especially with his defence winning a couple of crucial turnovers and some of his kicking (I think he did kick one out on the full).
Thanks Harry.
Biltong vs blarney: World Cup classic battle leaves both teams with a sense of final destiny - and a key area they must fix
I really hope this is a big wake up call for Australian Rugby as a whole on how to run the game across a number of levels on and off the field and there is a big reset. There needs to be more stability in key positions such as the CEO staying longer than a couple of years.
Today it looked like a team that did not know how to handle themselves on the big stage and a lot of the basic errors kept adding up. I know it was a young team but having a couple of wise heads in the squad from the get go would have alleviated some of this.
Fingers crossed the Wallabies can bounce back in the future.
The Wrap: With Wallabies done and dusted in 15 miserable days, who do we trust to take Australian rugby forward?
Was a game that had a knockout stage feel to it. South Africa nearly got the win but they need Pollard for his pressure goal kicking moving forward. Was a bit worried as Ireland were poor at lineout time. Outstanding Irish defence especially in first half. Bundee Aki and James Lowe both played well.
REACTION: 'In your head!' - Irish fans celebrate epic win with rousing rendition of 'Zombie' after Boks botch job
The game of force back at the end of yesterday’s game was bewildering. The Wallabies needed to counter attack then but seemed to lack confidence after conceding a number of turnovers. It looked like Australia would get back in the game after a few lineout steals near the end but as you mentioned Brett, the lack of experience cost them. Fiji played well in an un-Fijian way and deserved to win.
This is no time for X-factor: The Wallabies' challenge is to find a structure to out-structure super-structured Wales
Haha yeah that is a very valid point. It has been an odd tenure.
I guess it hasnt helped with Frizzel and Cane being injured. There is talk Frizzel is still awhile away from some media rumours.
COMPLETE RWC teams week 2: Wallabies make three changes as Fiji name giant centre, Hansen back for Irish
With the All Blacks being short on loosies and calling Blackadder into the squad, I do find it weird he is not even on the bench. They said he needs time to settle after joining the camp but I reckon if he was on the bench and got 20 minutes that would be beneficial especially with the All Blacks not playing the following week.
COMPLETE RWC teams week 2: Wallabies make three changes as Fiji name giant centre, Hansen back for Irish
I am gutted for Marx. He is a World Class player and would have played a big part through this tournament.
RWC News: 'Doesn't make sense' - why ex-Wallaby coach wants Carter axed, Mack bemoans mates 'smoking vapes, drinking beer'
The kicking game of the All Blacks seem aimless at times and there was not too many that were genuine contestables. Also the ball slipping out of the hands at times when the All Blacks looked like they were going to break through were costly as well.
I thought France didn’t really show too much in the first half and clicked into gear in second half. Alldritt was brilliant. And their pack were strong. Peanud threaten as well every time he had space.
It is not panic stations yet but do wonder how the All Blacks approach selection for Namibia. Rest top players meaning they won’t play for 2 weeks and probably wanting a settled team at the back end of pool play? Or play a strongish team and possibly risking not utilising the whole squad in pool play?
Lift off! World Cup opener is just the rocket boost to hook in all of France
Great article. Thanks JD.
With South Africa having so many returning players from their 2019 squad that puts them in good stead in being able to handle a tough pool and a potential quarter final against either France or Ireland if they qualify. It will be interesting to see what else they will offer in terms of their game plan. The game last weekend in Twickenham was how we expect the Boks to play and they executed that extremely well.
I do think Ireland are still favourites at this stage (even though I will be going for New Zealand) for the reason they have shown the most consistent form in the last year or so. I know that does not count in one off knockout games but they seem to have the team where everyone is on the same page. Their game plan is also very hard to defend and teams will have to make a lot of tackles against them.
This is going to be a very competitive World Cup.
Last chance for NZ's Rennie generation, Boks' edge of experience: Which teams are peaking on 'strong side' of the draw
It was a big wake up call today.
South Africa were outstanding in the way they put pressure on the All Blacks today with their forward dominance. The first 20 minutes set the tone and they should have been up by a lot more. The All Blacks were rattled.
On the lineouts, Jacobson was used a couple of times early and took some clean ball. He had to be the player sacrificed when Scott Barrett was sent off. We did miss Frizell though right across the field.
The concern I had was around our midfield defence. I read Jordie Barrett missed 10 tackles today. André Esterhuizen ran through him a couple of times.
All of a sudden we are in trouble up front again. With Retalick, Frizell, possibly Lomax and Scott Barrett all may not be available for the French game.
Thanks for the effort as always mate.
ANALYSIS: 'Time to make the tough call' - South Africa raised the stakes, and the All Blacks folded
With the All Blacks, it is not so much something I have learnt but something I am happy with. It is consistency with selection and the lineup is a lot more settled going into this World Cup than the 2019 edition.
The player I would like to have seen more of is Leciester Fainganuku. He is powerful and busy and showed on the weekend he is more than capable of playing on the big stage. It will be a difficult call to pick Fainganuku over Telea but is a good problem to have.
The Panel: Lessons have been learned, but are some World Cup options burned?
Really surprised that Josh Jacomb who was outstanding for Taranaki in the NPC has only got a wider training squad contract. His form at the business end of the NPC showed some good things and would have been worth a punt.
COMPLETE SRP 2024 squads: Rebels the big movers, Tahs build depth, Reds shore up front-row