Bledisloe II: Is Fifty Still Nifty?

[cashead]

The All Blacks will be looking to put the Bledisloe Cup away for another season for a 15th year in a row as they take on the Wallabies at Forsyth-Barr Stadium in Dunedin. They're undefeated at the grounds to date, and the Wallabies have not beaten the All Blacks in New Zealand since 2001 (also at Dunedin, but at Carisbrook).

The key focus would be on the final quarter, where the ABs took their foot off the gas, and allowed for 4 unanswered tries.

Meanwhile, the Wallabies will be fighting an uphill battle, having been written off by virtually all corners after a pretty miserable first-half display, where the game was more-or-less decided in the first half.


All Blacks
1. Joe Moody
2. Dane Coles
3. Owen Franks Nepo Laulala
4. Brodie Retallick
5. Sam Whitelock
6. Liam Squire
7. Sam Cane
8. Kieran Read (C)
9. Aaron Smith
10. Beauden Barrett
11. Rieko Ioane
12. Sonny Bill Williams
13. Ryan Crotty
14. Ben Smith
15. Damian McKenzie

16. Codie Taylor
17. Kane Hames
18. Ofa Tu'ungafasi
19. Scott Barrett
20. Ardie Savea
21. TJ Perenara
22. Lima Sopoaga
23. Anton Lienert-Brown


Wallabies
1. Scott Sio
2. Stephen Moore
3. Allan Alaalatoa
4. Rob Simmons
5. Adam Coleman Rory Arnold
6. Ned Hanigan
7. Michael Hooper (C)
8. Sean McMahon
9. Will Genia
10. Bernard Foley
11. Henry Speight
12. Kurtley Beale
13. Tevita Kuridrani
14. Dane Haylett-Petty
15. Israel Folau

16. Tatafu Polota-Nau
17. Tom Robertson
18. Sekope Kepu
19. Izack Rodda
20. Lopeti Timani/Jack Dempsey
21. Nick Phipps
22. Reece Hodge
23. Curtis Rona

[scuzzaman]

You'd expect the Wallabies to improve; it'd be hard for them to be worse. Indeed, they improved during the game.

The question mark there is, did they look better because the AB's dozed off / subbed a few starters and lost the coherence they began the game with, or were the Oz actually playing better?

I'd expect the first half of this Saturday's game to answer that question. My money says it was mostly the former and if some of the latter, not enough to matter much.

[zer0]

Pleased that Laulala is ahead of Tu'ungafasi, just a shame it required an injury to Franks. Romano has been a solid reserve potion but is past his use-by date. S.Barrett should've been on the bench last week. I'd also swap Lienert-Brown and Williams around, but that's not such a pressing issue.

EDIT: And Whitelock as captain, of course.

[J Dory]

Pleased that Laulala is ahead of Tu'ungafasi, just a shame it required an injury to Franks. Romano has been a solid reserve potion but is past his use-by date. S.Barrett should've been on the bench last week. I'd also swap Lienert-Brown and Williams around, but that's not such a pressing issue.

EDIT: And Whitelock as captain, of course.

I'm not convinced by Williams this time around either.

[old-n-slo-2nd-row]

Thought Genia played really poorly and was at fault or partially to blame for 3 All Black's tries in the first half. Defence was woeful but that of course is down to more than one man

[Buggaluggs]

ABs did get three warm up games. I suspect Aus will be better second time round. 31-21 I reckon.

[rowan]

Slightly OT, but the Wellies have done well in the 2018 test match hosting allocation:

2018 All Blacks Test venues:

June Series
9 June: v France @ Eden Park, Auckland
16 June: v France @ Westpac Stadium, Wellington
23 June: v France @ Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin

Rugby Championship
25 August: v Australia @ Eden Park, Auckland
8 September: v Argentina @ Trafalgar Park, Nelson
15 September: v South Africa @ Westpac Stadium, Wellington

[rowan]

Wow, amazing start by the Aussies! 0-17 after 15 mins. Long way to go but let's hope they can keep it up, because international rugby desperately needs this...

[zer0]

Less amazing and more fortuitous. Though it does make it an interesting match, regardless.

[rowan]

I'm not actually watching it; just following the match-tracker. The only game I'll be seeing live this weekend is Kenya v Hong Kong via Facebook streaming (see Global Rugby Thread for link). Anyway, the Kiwis have pulled one back but Cane is off with concussion. It's going to be an interesting game...

[zer0]

Laulala must surely be ahead of Tu'ungafasi now. These scrums would be golden oldies at age grade, such is the difference in quality between the two.

[Doorzetbornandbred]

Laulala must surely be ahead of Tu'ungafasi now. These scrums would be golden oldies at age grade, such is the difference in quality between the two.

He's seen as a starter but not a bench player and Tu'ungafisi vice versa apparently.

[rowan]

Crucial try for NZ just before halftime. I believe they'll go on to win it now. If the Aussies had just held them out till the break they might have stood a chance, but it is obvious the momentum has swung firmly in the hosts' favor.

[zer0]

He's seen as a starter but not a bench player and Tu'ungafisi vice versa apparently.

Yeah, I've seen comments about Tu'ungafisi being preferred because he can play both sides. However that seems daft to me when you consider that A) he's just not that good regardless of which side he plays; and B) you have a full front row on the bench. You'd be extremely unlucky to lose both loose/tighthead props in a single match.

[morepork]

Fuckin yes!

[OptimisticJock]

Bloody hell, that was some match. How many did Foley miss in the end?

[16th man]

Bloody hell, that was some match. How many did Foley miss in the end?

The 3 missed conversions were more than the winning margin.

Actually feel sorry for players like Hooper, Genia, Beale and Folau. Imagine what they might be able to achieve if they played for a side with a tight 5 that could give them a platform.

[zer0]

That was an entertaining match.

[morepork]

Bloody hell, that was some match. How many did Foley miss in the end?

The 3 missed conversions were more than the winning margin.

Actually feel sorry for players like Hooper, Genia, Beale and Folau. Imagine what they might be able to achieve if they played for a side with a tight 5 that could give them a platform.

Are you suggesting some crossbreeding or just considering a residency conduit?

The Oz forwards, scrum aside, were up for it. They really stuck it to Retalika and made it hard to set up a platform of phases.

[canta_brian]

Only picked up as the match was starting. What was the delay prematch?

Oh and Genia rolling back the years, made some of fringe defense look silly.

[zer0]

Only picked up as the match was starting. What was the delay prematch?

A lighting issue, apparently. Led to the warmups being disrupted which pushed everything back. Or something along those lines.

[canta_brian]

Only picked up as the match was starting. What was the delay prematch?

A lighting issue, apparently. Led to the warmups being disrupted which pushed everything back. Or something along those lines.

Cheers

[SerjeantWildgoose]

Best test match I've seen for quite a while and a great testament to Pine Tree.

It would be too easy to blame Foley for the 9 points he left on the tee, but Australia need to look at the 45 minutes that they went scoreless, blowing a 17-0 lead after 17 minutes. With the exception of their scrum, the ABs were having a bit of a mare in the 1st half, yet managed to head in only 3 points adrift.

To me the real measure of the Aussie performance was the fact that they managed to come back at all, having gone behind.

Great stuff and worth the filthy looks I am getting from the Mrs having spent the entire morning in front of the telly.

[Banquo]

One of the great games, well done fellas

[rowan]

Are the Aussies back? Or are the ABs in decline? We'll have to wait for the next round to find out, but I suspect the Kiwis are not going to have things all their own way against the Boks this year, and (as I said last week) I think SA might just beat them at home. Certainly makes life more interesting . . .