Very impressive performance considering time together. Credit to the players and coaching staff, appeared to have a good structure and players doing core roles well.
All Blacks XV
Match thread
Ireland A
@Stargazer said in All Blacks XV vs Ireland A:
@booboo Haha, did it arrive by snail? Was already posted.
Wasn't sure if it was or not. Hadn't been reading the thread. Stumbled across a tweet by @Davesofthunder and thought it'd be remiss of me not to at least mention it in case it hadn't.
@Crucial said in All Blacks XV vs Ireland A:
@chimoaus said in All Blacks XV vs Ireland A:
Wtf was wrong with that. Did he say you can't turn the tackled player?
Said you can’t jackal if you have flipped the player to your side
That was an interpretation I've never come across before.
well i enjoyed that, reminds me of the first MAB game against the Irish - go forward, punishing tackles, and some decent back play when we have space.
@booboo said in All Blacks XV vs Ireland A:
@Crucial said in All Blacks XV vs Ireland A:
@chimoaus said in All Blacks XV vs Ireland A:
Wtf was wrong with that. Did he say you can't turn the tackled player?
Said you can’t jackal if you have flipped the player to your side
That was an interpretation I've never come across before.
Yeah it's odd, even as a kid you know to turn back as quick as you can to stop the ball getting caught on the wrong side.
Good game from our boys. The Irish even got gifted a try that should have been disallowed.
No one really had an off-game, all performing well against a pretty weak Irish side, it has to be said.
My stand-outs: Dmac, Stevenson and Love in the backs; and MMT, Gardiner and Tuipulotu in the forwards.
Disappointed Thompson didn't get more time on the paddock.
I might just make a call here and say I just may get on the Dom Gardiner wagon, he impressed the hell out of me, so will be watching him neat year!
Bloody good performance by all.
As a Cant/Crusaders supporter I have not taken too much notice of Gardiner so I watched him closely. The boy did not look out of place. I can now see why he was picked.
@Jailbreak7 said in All Blacks XV vs Ireland A:
Only together for a week? Wow love to see what they can do after two weeks!
Yeah seems like bad planning to only get two games, I really enjoyed that.
I really think we need more of these games against the likes of Northern B teams if not just highlight players under the top team but also our up and comming coaches
Several players in my opinion stood out in this game
Without counting guys that have worn the All Black jersey before
I thougt Love ,Stephenson and Lam were superb at the back
and in the forwards Mikaele Tu’u ,Gardiner and McAllister impressed
Very good games from Patty T, TJ ,D Mac and RTS
Ennor great on defence
Love's ascension continues. Great player.
For all the question marks during selection I thought Gardiner was great at 6.
@Steven-Harris said in All Blacks XV vs Ireland A:
Comments guy squealing like a pig suggesting a YC , but quiet as a mouse when the ball went out and the AR does nothing
Would have been a 50-22 as well. (An 80-22 actually more like).
Robbed ....
@Crazy-Horse the team that played NZ Māori during the series down here was a better team , only 3 or 4 in this squad with over 10 international caps
@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks XV vs Ireland A:
Love's ascension continues. Great player.
For all the question marks during selection I thought Gardiner was great at 6.
Has he got Barrett blood, I swear I thought it was Scott at times.
@Steven-Harris said in All Blacks XV vs Ireland A:
@Crazy-Horse the team that played NZ Māori during the series down here was a better team , only 3 or 4 in this squad with over 10 international caps
Yeah earlier in the year they had more of the 1st XV guys available because it was a midweek fixture. This team is a better representation of Irish depth in reality.
@chimoaus said in All Blacks XV vs Ireland A:
@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks XV vs Ireland A:
Love's ascension continues. Great player.
For all the question marks during selection I thought Gardiner was great at 6.
Has he got Barrett blood, I swear I thought it was Scott at times.
Gardners old man was a decent 7 in his time Angus.
@Dan54 said in All Blacks XV vs Ireland A:
I might just make a call here and say I just may get on the Dom Gardiner wagon, he impressed the hell out of me, so will be watching him neat year!
Bloody good performance by all.
I assume he's Angus Gardiner's son. He looked bloody impressive tonight.
I did not say a word when Gardner's selection was questioned,But I hoped he would put a performance out there to show he has a massive ticker and is a tough young bugger.
He fell off a bit in the NPC playoffs maybe due to a big work load but he was Canterburys outstanding forward during the RR in the NPC.
@Chris said in All Blacks XV vs Ireland A:
I did not say a word when Gardner's selection was questioned,But I hoped he would put a performance out there to show he has a massive ticker and is a tough young bugger.
He fell off a bit in the NPC playoffs maybe due to a big work load but he was Canterburys outstanding forward during the RR in the NPC.
Maybe he suffered a bit at lock? Played the last couple of games there didn't he?
Great to see a team competing at defensive lineouts.
Roigard will be a little disappointed with his time on the field. A fumble and poor kick led to an Irish try.
DMac has to be playing 1st 5 for the Chiefs next year.
@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks XV vs Ireland A:
@Chris said in All Blacks XV vs Ireland A:
I did not say a word when Gardner's selection was questioned,But I hoped he would put a performance out there to show he has a massive ticker and is a tough young bugger.
He fell off a bit in the NPC playoffs maybe due to a big work load but he was Canterburys outstanding forward during the RR in the NPC.Maybe he suffered a bit at lock? Played the last couple of games there didn't he?
Yeah You probably are spot on there,he played a bit there due to Darry getting injured.
6 is his spot IMO he also had the most line out steals during the NPC.
I hope that some of the players that stood out today will start again, next week, and not end up on the bench or drop out of the 23, just for the sake of rotation.
It is a shame there are only 2 games on this tour, as some players might not even get to play. TKB will be playing for the Baabaas.
@Crazy-Horse Me neither! Link Much appreciated.
@Crazy-Horse Yep, and that YouTube video can be more easily re-watched (and paused) than a stream on Sky Go and similar platforms.
@Jailbreak7 said in All Blacks XV vs Ireland A:
@chimoaus Yes please. My chips are only with fish.
are you typing this on a halibut?
I'm way behind you all (thanks for link) near end of first half only but what a great game!
-Ireland A look nowhere near defensive quality of Ireland (but interestingly a lot of this team played against the Māori All Blacks https://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/ireland-a-braced-for-unofficial-series-decider-against-the-all-black-xv-42117829.html)
-DMac looks better than RM and BB so far (I surprise myself)
-Patrick having a v. good game but I haven't seen much of Dickson?
-MMT looks a good 6/8
-Jacobson doesn't look AB level (too many stupid decisions)
-also Ennor: still has a concentration problem and still stinks up the midfield (from what I could see RTS was good so far in first half?)
-Love looked too small to me at FB, looks more like a 10, but I read here he really comes into the game
-the wingers esp Stevenson are awesome
But DMac really impresses me, he turned TJP's sloppy passes into magic (TJP's passes do have a plus side: gives me time to put the kettle on) and yeah if TJP can move like a bullet early out of the line in the Irish why can't his passes?
Shaun Stephenson and Ruben Love showed their class tonight. AJ Lam was very good too but had less opportunities. This back three is really impressive. Stephenson + Lam is superior to Reece + Clarke IMO : better in defense, better under the high ball, great work-rate, deadly finishers.
The loose forwards were outstanding. Jacobson was not brillant but his tackles were aggressive. Gardiner is my man of the match. He was into everything. Reminds me of A. Whetton with his lanky frame. McAllister very good too : pin point LO throws (Codie, take a look !), consistently making the hard yards. Tuipolutu was physical. The Oirish could not compete. TJ was a fourth loose forward and his rush defense fooled the green attack. DMac blew hot and cold with a few odd kicks in play. But his distribution was first class and he kept his head cool even under pressure. Is he better than RM ?
Coaching : superb job done by McDonald and McMillan. With just one week behind them, they made this bunch of players look like a seasoned team.
@cgrant said in All Blacks XV vs Ireland A:
Shaun Stephenson and Ruben Love showed their class tonight. AJ Lam was very good too but had less opportunities. This back three is really impressive. Stephenson + Lam is superior to Reece + Clarke IMO : better in defense, better under the high ball, great work-rate, deadly finishers.
The loose forwards were outstanding. Jacobson was not brillant but his tackles were aggressive. Gardiner is my man of the match. He was into everything. Reminds me of A. Whetton with his lanky frame. McAllister very good too : pin point LO throws (Codie, take a look !), consistently making the hard yards. Tuipolutu was physical. The Oirish could not compete. TJ was a fourth loose forward and his rush defense fooled the green attack. DMac blew hot and cold with a few odd kicks in play. But his distribution was first class and he kept his head cool even under pressure. Is he better than RM ?
Coaching : superb job done by McDonald and McMillan. With just one week behind them, they made this bunch of players look like a seasoned team.
Dmac played behind a good functioning pack that protected him. Despite TJP's slow passing, he had way more time than he'd have in an All Blacks match. RM, BB and Perofeta would all have done great against this pretty weak Irish team.
Dmac definitely had a good game, but the comparison is off.
@Stargazer TJP's passes weren't just slow, they were terribly inaccurate!
I thought DMac did very very well to keep them in play.
On another note could Gardiner be a future 8? He has a nice turn of speed.