NZ v England

[Lizard]

1. Karl Tu'inukuafe (10)
2. Codie Taylor (39)
3. Owen Franks (104)
4. Samuel Whitelock (106)
5. Brodie Retallick (72)
6. Liam Squire (21)
7. Ardie Savea (32)
8. Kieran Read - captain (115)
9. Aaron Smith (80)
10. Beauden Barrett (70)
11. Rieko Ioane (21)
12. Sonny Bill Williams (50)
13. Jack Goodhue (5)
14. Ben Smith (74)
15. Damian McKenzie (20)

16. Dane Coles (57)
17. Ofa Tuungafasi (23)
18. Nepo Laulala (14)
19. Scott Barrett (26)
20. Matt Todd (15)
21. TJ Perenara (52)
22. Richie Mo'unga (5)
23. Ryan Crotty (42)

[Lizard]

So what is Shag going to do if Ioane is injured? SBW on the wing?

[zer0]

Mo'unga to first five and one of Barrett or McKenzie to the wing.

[Doorzetbornandbred]

So what is Shag going to do if Ioane is injured? SBW on the wing?

Be a good sport and play us with 14? It'll make the scoreline closer...

[Lizard]

So what is Shag going to do if Ioane is injured? SBW on the wing?

Be a good sport and play us with 14? It'll make the scoreline closer...

It's alright. With SBW there it's an even chance we'll play with 14 for a bit, at least.

[Stom]

I don't watch a lot of the RC or NZ in particular, but I did see some of this years and you conceded a lot of points. And your new centre stood out for me. How is Goodhue's defense? Is it an issue? Or was it just because you were trying to play fast and loose and lost control?

Saying that, I wasn't impressed with SA, either, their defense was abysmal. But we failed to score a try...Not surprising really with a SH who couldn't hit a barn door and a 10 who can only pass off one hand...

[Lizard]

Yeah our defence has been poor this year. I don't think Goodhue is necessarily at fault. We normally suffer if Crotty is not there to organise things and he's missed 4 matches.

In fact, so far this year we have our second worst ever average points conceded per game. Only 2000 was worse when we lost 3 out 10 tests. (See stats thread for more)

[cashead]

1. This was a big test for Read's captaincy, and he's come out of this looking like a real captain. He was in the ref's ear all game, communicating with him and asking for clarifications. When the tactics in the first 30 weren't working, he changed it up, and kept the team in the hunt. Considering how Garces is partially responsible for fucking the All Blacks out of a Lions series, it was clear Read had done his homework on that prick. Contrast that to the English - how many times did you actually see/hear one of their alleged captains talk to the ref? Plenty of talk amongst the team, but not enough with Jerome.

2. Definitely some points left out on the field. Could be down to conditions, but the All Blacks should've put at least 2 more tries on England.

3. That was offside as fuck, and no amount of English saltiness will change the fact that Jonker got it right.

4. SBW might be getting So'oialo'd here. Crotty is a must-pick, and he started bringing the rest of the backline in. I like SBW, but it feels like he's trying too hard right now and taking on too much, and he's becoming increasingly brittle.

[Puja]

1. This was a big test for Read's captaincy, and he's come out of this looking like a real captain. He was in the ref's ear all game, communicating with him and asking for clarifications. When the tactics in the first 30 weren't working, he changed it up, and kept the team in the hunt. Considering how Garces is partially responsible for fucking the All Blacks out of a Lions series, it was clear Read had done his homework on that prick. Contrast that to the English - how many times did you actually see/hear one of their alleged captains talk to the ref? Plenty of talk amongst the team, but not enough with Jerome.

2. Definitely some points left out on the field. Could be down to conditions, but the All Blacks should've put at least 2 more tries on England.

3. That was offside as fuck, and no amount of English saltiness will change the fact that Jonker got it right.

4. SBW might be getting So'oialo'd here. Crotty is a must-pick, and he started bringing the rest of the backline in. I like SBW, but it feels like he's trying too hard right now and taking on too much, and he's becoming increasingly brittle.

TBH, Fazlet not talking to the ref is an improvement.

Puja

[Mellsblue]

1. This was a big test for Read's captaincy, and he's come out of this looking like a real captain. He was in the ref's ear all game, communicating with him and asking for clarifications. When the tactics in the first 30 weren't working, he changed it up, and kept the team in the hunt. Contrast that to the English - how many times did you actually see/hear one of their alleged captains talk to the ref? Plenty of talk amongst the team, but not enough with Jerome.

2. Definitely some points left out on the field. Could be down to conditions, but the All Blacks should've put at least 2 more tries on England.

3. That was offside as fuck, and no amount of English saltiness will change the fact that Jonker got it right.

4. SBW might be getting So'oialo'd here. Crotty is a must-pick, and he started bringing the rest of the backline in. I like SBW, but it feels like he's trying too hard right now and taking on too much, and he's becoming increasingly brittle.

TBH, Fazlet not talking to the ref is an improvement.

Puja

Not so much an improvement as best practice.

Lols at ‘Considering how Garces is partially responsible for fucking the All Blacks out of a Lions series, it was clear Read had done his homework on that prick.’ followed by the accusation of English saltiness.

[cashead]

1. This was a big test for Read's captaincy, and he's come out of this looking like a real captain. He was in the ref's ear all game, communicating with him and asking for clarifications. When the tactics in the first 30 weren't working, he changed it up, and kept the team in the hunt. Contrast that to the English - how many times did you actually see/hear one of their alleged captains talk to the ref? Plenty of talk amongst the team, but not enough with Jerome.

2. Definitely some points left out on the field. Could be down to conditions, but the All Blacks should've put at least 2 more tries on England.

3. That was offside as fuck, and no amount of English saltiness will change the fact that Jonker got it right.

4. SBW might be getting So'oialo'd here. Crotty is a must-pick, and he started bringing the rest of the backline in. I like SBW, but it feels like he's trying too hard right now and taking on too much, and he's becoming increasingly brittle.

TBH, Fazlet not talking to the ref is an improvement.

Puja

Not so much an improvement as best practice.

Lols at ‘Considering how Garces is partially responsible for fucking the All Blacks out of a Lions series, it was clear Read had done his homework on that prick.’ followed by the accusation of English saltiness.

Hey now, I'm not the captain here.





Not yet, anyway.

[Mellsblue]

TBH, Fazlet not talking to the ref is an improvement.

Puja

Not so much an improvement as best practice.

Lols at ‘Considering how Garces is partially responsible for fucking the All Blacks out of a Lions series, it was clear Read had done his homework on that prick.’ followed by the accusation of English saltiness.

Hey now, I'm not the captain here.





Not yet, anyway.

Any more if that chippiness and Jones will be checking the birth place of your grandparents.

[Stom]

As has been said elsewhere, thinking clearly under pressure won you that game. Well, that and your superior handling.

But the stark difference between the 10s was the clincher. Farrell is just balls.

[cashead]

Yeah our defence has been poor this year. I don't think Goodhue is necessarily at fault. We normally suffer if Crotty is not there to organise things and he's missed 4 matches.

In fact, so far this year we have our second worst ever average points conceded per game. Only 2000 was worse when we lost 3 out 10 tests. (See stats thread for more)

So speaking of stats, I just crunched some numbers, and in the 6 tests Goodhue has played this year, the average (mean) points conceded when he's on has been 13.

Test 1 (France): 14 - full 80
Test 2 (Australia): 13 - full 80
Test 3 (Australia): 12 - subbed off on the 60th minute
Test 4 (Argentina): 24 - full 80
Test 5 (South Africa): 0 - subbed on for the final quarter, where, despite the win, the Springboks failed to score any points
Test 6 (England): 15 - full 80

So yeah, the Argentina score ends up being a bit of a statistical outlier, but on the same token, I think it's balanced out by the 0 as well. So while correlation may not necessarily imply causation, the All Blacks are conceding, on average, 7 points fewer than the average score conceded across the board - a converted try is the difference, but as we saw from the Springboks series and this morning's result, that could make all the difference in the world.

Crotty was present for 3 of those tests: Test 2, Test 5 and Test 6. Test 2 arguably doesn't count, as Crotty had to leave the field injured after 3 minutes. When Crotty and Goodhue are paired up though, the average score conceded with both playing in the midfield has been 0.