Did Folau lose Australia the final?……Well no..
Did Folau help their cause in the final?…..Well no…
Did Folau actually do anything in the final?….Well….
Did Folau not state he was ‘fully fit’ for the final?….Well yes…
Did Folau given his injury status fool anyone, especially Kaino?…Well no….

Brickbats to ‘Coach of the year’ who should never have started Folau, and after witnessing him getting absolutely
hammered by Kaino (somewhere around 15/20min mark)should have hooked him for Beale.

This is not to say Folau fit would’ve gone ok, but lets face it ,he was mostly ineffective and hardly the incisive runner
we’ve come to expect from a player of this caliber.
The man contributed nothing in the overall scheme of things, therefore you would have to assume he was still
carrying injuries.

To me, Beale was by far Australia’s most potent weapon looking to attack at every opportunity, ok , he has some
defensive shortcomings but displayed sheer grit and determination whenever saw a chance especially on
the offensive.

OK….I digress,but the fact is Israel Folau should never have been selected!

Rubbish……it is incumbent upon the ball carrier to maintain ball security and failure do so should result (rightly so….in my opinion)
in forfeiture.

It is a game of physical contest/s, not tiddlywinks.The idea is to win the ball , use the ball , own the ball for as long as possible.
And,if you haven’t got it , go and get it see……………simple.

Now you want to follow Rugby League example….very unpopular by most pundits, and start awarding penalties for ‘wobbly’
ball carries .

I put this right up there with that appalling rolling maul/lineout move , and I sincerely hope the powers that be dismiss all
talk of penalties or better still just look at it for what it is…..rubbish.

Yes indeed….life does go on, with retirements and the inevitable changes this brings,not just All Blacks
but many teams across the board, enjoy the moment but look forward to;

Exciting times ahead for teams to seize the opportunity.Here’s a benchmark, plan accordingly, put systems in place
four years to build and construct a team plus culture plus all that goes with it.

Set realistic goals and strive to achieve same.

Finances………sad but true,fact of life, some teams/countries will just not have the financial capabilities of some
of the ‘top tier’ nations………….so it’s barbecues and sausage sizzles…………hmmmm,nah.I don’t know what the
solution here is//??Perhaps home nation administrators taking a pay cut etc.What do you think?

Some players (as in All Blacks) who are retiring appear irreplaceable, but it’s a fact of life, get over it,life goes on…

Well,plans are afoot for next Bledisloe and RWC you would think Wallaby management will be thinking towards the future with
a view towards ‘lifting’ one or the other or both.

The trouble is, the other team isn’t co-operating by constantly evolving,implementing new strategies, serious
attention to detail no matter how minor, plus a lot of work on physical and mental aspects designed to assist in overall
performance.

Wallaby management now have the task ahead to match and better this by introducing there own long term strategies
and it all starts with team/player selection.

One great game through the year shouldn’t qualify you for automatic selection,rather the emphasis should be on consistency.
Might mean showing some players the door…….so be it.

Mindset : You are correct in your analysis ,constantly obsessed with what the other team are doing, or ‘bloody Kiwis’ we’ll
show them! or this is it…..this time etc.

Time to kick the headlines into oblivion and get back to basics………..starting with hard work,and hard work,and more hard work.

You’re right, you know nothing about Rugby!

Well, all I’ve heard is how the Wallabies nearly this,and nearly that.

What stupid talk in some quarters about revenge( next years Bled/Cup) revenge….What revenge!
If they are to exact revenge for every match lost to NZ,we could be around for a long time waiting…..

Not to mention vows (not wedding) to do this and do that,shut up an do it.Four years is plenty of time
to put systems in place, just do it and quit bleating.

And I don’t necessarily limit that to supporters,some current players and ex-players,a lot of ex players,are
not without blame,perhaps that qualifies you for a position with Fox Sports commentary team.

Stop with the negatives…

What utter rubbish…..probably something spotted by the same person who saw Ritchie McCaw elbow the SA player.
Isn’t it a bit late for “headlines” now?

Exactly my thoughts…..Wot plan?

what an excellent article/insight into the ‘underbelly ‘of a team certainly looking ominous for opposing teams for years
to come.
What’s the solution?
Perhaps some teams might apply some of these tactics to their arsenal so to speak, trouble is Hansen and Co
are always evolving so it means having to put other packages together in order to be competitive……..What?
Don’t know, but I do know they need to identify future players now and (forget sentiments) start building a team
with a view towards building a framework around which to plan for the next WC.
I particularly like the way you identified ” every-bodies ” obsession with the Pocock thing,and yes you are correct
it didn’t really have any great bearing on the outcome.
For Australia anyway.
I think (shoot me if I’m wrong) from the kickoff Australia were under immense pressure and except for a brief period
in the second half didn’t appear that threatening.
I kept hearing about some plan……..but I couldn’t identify any nor did I see the execution of such.
OK….they played hard, but that’s just not enough .
At times they lacked a bit of cohesion, and even with the whistle seemingly against them, struggled to find any penetration
on attack and spent long periods on defense.
Consequently, by the time they decided to open up it was mission impossible, fraught with danger, high risk, resulting
in more points for All Blacks.
Australia are a better team than this and I for one am very disappointed in the manner in which they lost.
For me this was poor execution and too much obsession with the ball stealing/retention thing ,meanwhile the rest of the game
just went past at a great rate of knots leaving others to shore up the defenses.
On a lighter note ,I look forward to your next installment/analysis.THANKS

Jerry……That just about sums up the Aussie “warcry’ hahahaha…mental anguish.

Pocock,Cheat?nah…you must be confusing him with McCaw!No one does it better for longer and with consummate
ease than ol’ Rutchie.

Yeah….neither do channel nine!

Wots th matter dude???

Watching Channel 9 news broadcast yesterday where I first heard reference to “Ritchetygrub” thing
absolutely appalling especially coming from that conceited,smug, holier than thou prik ,news reader Carl wotsisname.
To listen to him rolling out this type of verbal tripe on live TV defies description,mind you his co-hosts weren’t much
better.Rubbish the All Blacks if you are a Wallaby supporter but to attack a player under the guise of reporting
some abhorrent headline from somewhere else (since when did anyone else’s view matter?) I think is ‘climbing’
to a new low….outrageous.

Get over it fer crissake1?

yeah

Belted at the scrum???with a man down .I don’t think so!

A very good analysis of a very grueling match.All Blacks were woeful in discipline but also awesome in defense
when it mattered most.Springboks defense was the best I’ve seen from any team for a long time,but
ran out of gas late second half.My only gripe with their plan was they lacked penetration,and didn’t have a “attack button”.
Despite all this they almost pulled it off with only stoic defense and lotsa luck going the Blacks way.
Actually,as soon as I saw the conditions i for one realized there would be no cricket scores happening here!
Interesting to note the Blacks switching from attack mode to defense when required for lengthy periods and I never
ever prescribed to that expansive game only theory.They seem to have a game plan for any/most occasions and it will
be interesting to see what’s in store.

Yeah,you are right about that!

Exactly my thoughts to play that badly and still win sux…..
Couldn’t believe how wet it was,soon leveled things up.South Africa was resolute in defense
and in attack….what attack?Some unbelievably stupid penalties by ABs, this almost cost them
the match and they were also fortunate to have a penalty reversal thanks to Victor Matfield.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again,the All Blacks do have a power game which was put to the test
by a very good defensive effort from a brave Springbok team.

Nah….and was Marshal even there?

Yeah,well mebbe you get lucky and see them impress even you…

Well,I for one haven’t seen anything from Bokkie that would inspire me to run out and place a bet in their favor.
Never mind about their lethargic effort against the Blossoms,all the way through to a very fortunate
win against Dragons……..I’m of the opinion they are extremely lucky to be here.
Still….you make your own luck and I feel they’ve probably used all theirs up,and whilst they have
to ‘dodge the bullet’ again I don’t think they have that big game temperament .OK,they are playing the All Blacks
so they have a history thing going on here so what?
.I still remain unconvinced on current form they have any answers, ok,ok they’ll stay with the ABs for a time,
probably operate on high energy adrenaline,power and aggression,but gradually their decision making will erode
as will fitness levels and consequently the error rate will escalate.
I understand Hansen and McCaw talking about feet firmly on the ground etc,but what else would you expect.
Further,I think too much has been read into S A power game,don’t you think All Blacks are capable of that also?
From what I’ve seen they are capable of playing any number styles and it’s going to be interesting to see
which one the turn up with…….

The man is a walking encyclopedia alright(thanks to his wife I think)
But at a pivotal moment,who wants to hear some waffle about someones history especially
with “the game in balance”.
He is also prone to jumping the gun but unlike those serial offenders Phil Kearns and all the Gregs
he is willing to retract his commentary during a match unlike the others who never own up.
I don’t know how you find sky sports commentary any different/worse than Fox Sports Aus,but
your true colours are starting to show through.
I for one don’t even rate Gordon Bray as a commentator and if I did it would be because there is
a paucity of real callers who call it like it is.

A very good analysis on a team that by definition has an unique place in the world sporting arena.Like you, I marveled at these armchair
critics especially when describing pool matches …….Wobbly All Blacks….Choking under fire,etc.Like the coach said ‘there’s no cup for winning pool matches’.Now,we come to the business end and everything before (including record margins and close calls)count for
bugger all as every team start with a clean slate whilst some seem to cruise there ,with others having to work hard,throw in some
luck I think the four teams left are deserving of there positions.Whilst I for one would rather not see blow out scores I suppose that’s
the beauty of the contest……unpredictability.Whoever loses I expect them to leave nothing in the tank(Not bow out wondering)and the winners ……..well you know.