France v All Blacks: Spring Tour, live blog and scores

‘Fitness is down a little’ not “done” a little

Every team gets up to play the AB’s, we used to be able to deal with it. The way the game is played today doesn’t favour the AB’s style. We were spoilt by the years of expansive play but Rugby is maybe more like it used to be, now that defence quality matches attack and we don’t have the game breakers to match what we used to have. So we’re gonna hear from AB’s how we let ourselves down etc. because they can’t (and shouldn’t) admit we’re no longer good enough to dominate and control but unfortunately that’s the case, even when Wayne’s bad calls go our way. We don’t have the dominant players we had during our greatest success. Nona, Carter, McCaw, Franks, nor Retallick at his peak. Didn’t help for continuity and growth having our best playmakers at 9 and 10 absent for most all of the NH tour. These days we get slightly outmuscled against the top teams and a little means a lot, at least when playing away from home, which has been a past strength of ours. Moreover, our skill level apparently is overrated because it’s been grown against defences not at the level of NH and becomes error prone under that pressure. Their running and passing skill level, is actually the equal of ours, their tactical decision making around that better and their kick game way better, at least across the very top tier of 4 or 5 teams. Have to add England to the teams favoured to beat us if we’d met this year. Our refusal to kick the ball to touch and dead is dumb imo, yeah they all do it but position is quite crucial because defending teams give away a lot of defending penalties, often involving a succession of free plays. With refs playing longer advantages than previously, field position matters more than ever. We hand back possession kicking long and unpressured, kick it out and dead to a quick lineout instead and we’d force opponents back to structure which we can more easily defend and pressure, rather than kick back duels, that we tend to lose by inferior kicking or giving up on that one and running it back to get knocked down at the advantage line. Apparently, grubber kicks against fast flat defence are a thing of the past. We aren’t dominant over the ball at breakdown and stopping quick ball stunts our continuity. We just can’t get away with conceding possession and territory the way we used to and there’s gonna have to be some honest grunt work done and better decision making and execution ball in hand across the park. Jordie has a long boot but needs to use it better, Tupea is the man for 12, they gotta stop shuffling ALB he’s the nous at 13 that Reiko isn’t, as great an offensive threat as he is but flakey under the high ball as a wing and Bridge showed the value of accuracy there, so I don’t know where they go. I think the coaching team has to come under scrutiny and maybe some of the forwards are past their best perhaps but don’t see anyone better left back in NZ. Guess a couple more years in Vaii and Tokeaiho will bring them on for WC, the props seem all much the same level with no standout weapons. Fosters’ game plan hasn’t shown solutions, big question marks on his ability there but looks like they’ll keep him locked in for WC, in which we’ll be one of the outside ‘favourites’ based on our NH form at the moment. If the Bok’s actually ever do leave our test championship for 6 nations, AB Rugby is toast.

When was the last time one of our loose forwards had 2 turnovers in a game? Good tackle count

Since when do the AB's play defensive rugby. If you kick it away, you have to defend. Ask Australia, that is all they did and got punished. So did the AB's last night. If this is the style that Ian Foster wants to play, then he is not an All Black coach and should be replaced NOW. There is a great core of players there now but they need a coach that will have them playing positive attacking rugby not the crap we watched. Sort it out NZ Rugby.

And thats why his tenure at the Auckland blues was short lived.

This team needs major surgery as I alluded. May as well start at the top Its the dumb stuff That French counter from behind their own try line - 27-25 the score was back to, NZ totally on top, and 3 all blacks cant coordinate a chase to force 1 guy to ground - its lazy....again

The All Blacks had won the last 14 matches against France before today. 2009 was the last defeat. How many records have to be broken before Foster goes?

While France were bloody good WEST, I think the AB’s level of fitness is done a little on previous squads. SA, Ireland and France finished much stronger than the AB’s did .. certainly it was an edge they had.

Fair call, leave Sam in, we just need to fit the right b/r around him.

Except Sam Cane, he has been a bit of a stalwart and I thought played well this morning following such a long time out on the sideline. Classy player

If that’s what it takes… something has to break the dynasty. All kingdoms and empires fall and crumble. Time for change.

Include Argentina in that list Paulo

What about when he loses the Bledisloe next year .. ? :crying:

I stand by Highlander on what I wrote in comments on your article about Foster …he has been involved with the ABs since circa 2012 and in particular as a coach since 2016 … I read somewhere he states he is a different person to the one who coached the chiefs to winning nothing… he’s right… he’s worse

Kirwan, while a great player, was a terrible coach and is a terrible analyst. Agree that some quarters of the kiwi fan base just can’t handle a loss, but these tend to be people who don’t understand how/why we lost. Or respect the progress that other teams have made while we stood still or went backwards.

Certainement pas. There is much to fight for before...

The meltdown refers to the usual outcry by kiwi fans and the media that follows any AB loss. The questioning of player selection, game plan, tactics, coach. There is clearly something not quite right in the AB squad. I just enjoy chaos that ensues. Fans having their say, and watching people like John Kirwan bewildered at why the ABs lost again :stoked:

I doubt it.

You have a good honest and insightful post like this, clearly you know what your talking about. Then you post a ‘meltdown’ post clearly aimed at provoking a response, what gives man?

No doubt any kiwi fan would say the same about the ABs winning it