@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks v France 2:

@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks v France 2:

@Bones said in All Blacks v France 2:

That does raise one point - you'd like to think Williams and Lomax would have made a heck of a difference today.

Would they have?

I don't the forwards had any issues to be honest. It's not like Williams and Lomax are considerably better scrum agers than the players who started either.

They carry the ball more than EDG and Newell

Definitely - I'm not suggesting they're not better players. I just don't think they would've made that much of difference in that game. The All Blacks issues weren't that their forwards weren't carrying effectively enough.

With a better kicking/high ball game, a tiny bit more accuracy at crucial moments or smarter defence, and NZ would've won at a canter (easier said than done, or course, but I don't think better carrying from the starting props would've fixed any of those issues).

@frugby said in All Blacks v France 2:

Why drop Barrett? Thought he went pretty bloody well - DMac on the other hand was rocks and diamonds.

I’d stick with the same team barring injuries (Lomax for Newell & Clarke for Reece). Proctor was poor, but one game is not a big enough sample size.

He did go well, and yes, I agree, those are the only changes I'd make too.

@Kirwan said in All Blacks v France 2:

Barrett’s passing in particular was really good. Am sure Will Jordan wants him to stay at 10.

Speaking of that jammy bastard, he must be getting high up on the try count now

His strike rate per test is nothing short of ridiculous and his class and calmness under pressure is extraordinary

@frugby said in All Blacks v France 2:

Why drop Barrett? Thought he went pretty bloody well - DMac on the other hand was rocks and diamonds.

I’d stick with the same team barring injuries (Lomax for Newell & Clarke for Reece). Proctor was poor, but one game is not a big enough sample size.

I'd like Beauden to draw tacklers more

This will be a much different game compared to yesterday

Swirling mid winter Cake Tin as opposed to under the roof

French ref as opposed to Nick Berry

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v France 2:

French ref as opposed to Nick Berry

Christophe Ridley is English despite the name. This will be his biggest test to date. He will also be younger than some of the players.

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v France 2:

French ref

Huh?

Scooter reportedly in doubt with an Achilles issue. Vaai might go back to lock, making room for another loosie

@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks v France 2:

I'm not suggesting they're not better players. I just don't think they would've made that much of difference in that game

That much of a difference would have been quite the difference indeed. If you're getting a lot more from your props around the field, don't you think that then slides onto what you're getting from your other players?

Even if you just consider their personal contributions, those extra metres you get from Williams in close or that extra dominant hit/turnover you get from Lomax could turn a tight 4 point win into a comfortable 11 point win (and it's highly likely France wouldn't have finished with as much vigour if they were already out of the game).

@booboo said in All Blacks v France 2:

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v France 2:

French ref

Huh?

French first name. Christophe. Close enough....

@canefan said in All Blacks v France 2:

Scooter reportedly in doubt with an Achilles issue. Vaai might go back to lock, making room for another loosie

World-class lock moves back to lock due to injury to captain?

Un embarrasement de riches

@Bones said in All Blacks v France 2:

@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks v France 2:

I'm not suggesting they're not better players. I just don't think they would've made that much of difference in that game

That much of a difference would have been quite the difference indeed. If you're getting a lot more from your props around the field, don't you think that then slides onto what you're getting from your other players?

Even if you just consider their personal contributions, those extra metres you get from Williams in close or that extra dominant hit/turnover you get from Lomax could turn a tight 4 point win into a comfortable 11 point win (and it's highly likely France wouldn't have finished with as much vigour if they were already out of the game).

Would people have felt massively differently about an 11-point win rather than a 4-point win? I feel like exactly the same comments would be made.

But getting into semantics here - obviously semantics have absolutely no place on the Fern.

I felt the props did ok but I did feel that Williams would have more impact around the field, at times EdG looked to me like he was willing himself to get up to speed between rucks.

@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks v France 2:

Would people have felt massively differently about an 11-point win rather than a 4-point win

I can't speak for people, but I struggle to see how an 11 point win against a wilting side wouldn't be much better than a 4 point win against a team threatening to take the win themselves. Especially in the first test. So yeah, I would've felt much different, especially seeing a better functioning ABs.

After the French moral victory in Dunedin, I can't see them making many changes. Rinse and repeat from them and they'll hope they get more out of a Northern Hemisphere ref, especially one with a French first name and who was born in Paris.

@Bones there was a genuine chance we could have lost that. If so I'd be feeling as sick as a dog right now. I take the win and move on.

@BerniesCorner said in All Blacks v France 2:

@Bones there was a genuine chance we could have lost that. If so I'd be feeling as sick as a dog right now. I take the win and move on.

Right? So wouldn't you have felt remarkably better about it being out of reach in the dying minutes? Something like Savea having to do less carries and therefore having more in the tank for a big defensive play. That's the margin.

I'm not disagreeing with you. Thank goodness we won. We were a dropped pass away from losing

@BerniesCorner said in All Blacks v France 2:

I'm not disagreeing with you. Thank goodness we won. We were a dropped pass away from losing

Lomax prolly woulda dropped it.

@BerniesCorner did you think our defence was that bad? A dropped ball and we'd lose?