@His-Bobness said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

The problem is still the paucity of ideas or punch from the backline and the conservative selections. Love should have been given a shot in the second Argentinan test, but Robertson (worried about losing games primarily) appears to be shying away from succession planning. I wonder, too, whether they need to move JB out one to 13 and have Tupea starting at 12. It will be interesting to see whether they use Leicester F in the Wellington test - perhaps off the bench, with Jordan at 14, Love at 15 and Caleb Clarke at 11.

The win will probably see Razor make no non-injury enforced changes

@canefan I’d give Rieko a rest

@MiketheSnow
Given everything else he missed it all evened out?

Didn't have any money on the Boks

Went out and watched it in the pub with a full cooked breakfast at half time

Wonderful

Tough, tough contest with both teams giving their all

Exciting back and forth with the ABs unable / unwilling to give themselves daylight (should have taken the 3 to take them two scores ahead. Got the try but at that stage you need to create almost guaranteed breathing space)

Yes the weather didn't help but even if it was dry both sides were looking to put pressure on the catcher to create opportunities for themselves

We're not talking about Wales v Japan here

We were watching the two best sides in the world

More ambition from a three legged terrier trying to fuck an Alsatian

I expected better

The officiating for both sides was inconsistent and poor

@His-Bobness said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@canefan I’d give Rieko a rest

Yep, a long one !!

@Old-Alleynians said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@MiketheSnow
Given everything else he missed it all evened out?

Overall maybe

Key decisions favoured the ABs IMHO

We won the Eden Park battle.
The next test times requires development of the team.
I am sick to death of the reluctance to try new players.
When Razor actually brings in high potential players - Parker, Sititi, Holland, they can actually work.

@kev said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@sparky Billy Proctor hasn’t found his feet. Still looking to play super rugby at test level. Doesn’t drop the ball as much as Reiko which is a plus but needs to improve his decisions.

Jordan was calling for the ball on the wing. It was the execution that was slightly off in this case. If Proctor nailed that kick and Jordan went the length of the field we’ll all be singing a different tune.

Proctor was completely fine for most of that test. He did a great job shutting down his much more experienced opposites but let’s just ignore that. Until that cross kick I don’t think he put a foot wrong all night. Did everything asked of him , yeah the kick was probably not the right call but fk me, he’ll learn from that. This is literally his 5th test. ‍️ His first kick of the game also lead to our first try, so maybe give these young players time to find their feet.

If we dropped players for one bad kick / decision that eventually lead to a try, Beauden, Jordie etc would have been dropped ages ago.

Laughable that you say we should move Jordie to 13 when he’s been one of the most headless backs for us this year.

Just keep the combinations growing. Chopping and changing won’t fix anything.

@MiketheSnow This was like a bit like a World Cup Final for us though are those are rarely pretty to watch.

@Canes4life said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

Jordan was calling for the ball on the wing. It was the execution that was slightly off in this case. If Proctor nailed that kick and Jordan went the length of the field we’ll all be singing a different tune.

When you are up by 14 it's a low percentage option. It was a shit option and shit execution. Just own it dude. Cripes.

@Canes4life yeah I would be sticking with him. The thing about that option was we had spent the whole 2nd half defending because our kicking and option taking was terrible. BB and Christie the main offenders.

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Canes4life said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

Jordan was calling for the ball on the wing. It was the execution that was slightly off in this case. If Proctor nailed that kick and Jordan went the length of the field we’ll all be singing a different tune.

When you are up by 14 it's a low percentage option. It was a shit option and shit execution. Just own it dude. Cripes.

Christie and Beauden made low percentage options through their kicking all night. You just don’t like Proctor because he isn’t Ioane. Own it champ.

I'd switch the back three to 11 Clarke 14 Jordan 15 Love.

Leicester F may be a better option than Proctor or Ioane at 13.

@His-Bobness said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@canefan I’d give Rieko a rest

A long rest

@Frank Narawa should have started the season in the test team. Hope he is okay - great 4 mins or so.

@Canes4life said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Canes4life said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

Jordan was calling for the ball on the wing. It was the execution that was slightly off in this case. If Proctor nailed that kick and Jordan went the length of the field we’ll all be singing a different tune.

When you are up by 14 it's a low percentage option. It was a shit option and shit execution. Just own it dude. Cripes.

Christie and Beauden made low percentage options through their kicking all night. You just don’t like Proctor because he isn’t Ioane. Own it champ.

And we criticise Christie and Beauden plenty.

I've been supportive of Proctor replacing Rieko all season. Proctor deserves his shot. No issue there.

Proctor's going ok without setting the world on fire.

That was an awful play. Good news it didn't cost us the test.

@Frank we have capped 8 players this year, that is a fair amount. You can't just change every one

@MiketheSnow said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

Didn't have any money on the Boks

Went out and watched it in the pub with a full cooked breakfast at half time

Wonderful

Tough, tough contest with both teams giving their all

Exciting back and forth with the ABs unable / unwilling to give themselves daylight (should have taken the 3 to take them two scores ahead. Got the try but at that stage you need to create almost guaranteed breathing space)

Yes the weather didn't help but even if it was dry both sides were looking to put pressure on the catcher to create opportunities for themselves

We're not talking about Wales v Japan here

We were watching the two best sides in the world

More ambition from a three legged terrier trying to fuck an Alsatian

I expected better

The officiating for both sides was inconsistent and poor

Dont like how the refs are coaching teams through the game.

I also think they shout "use it" quite early.....that train has over shot the station.

@kev said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Frank Narawa should have started the season in the test team. Hope he is okay - great 4 mins or so.

Same thing happened to him last time. Scored on debut and then hurt his back.

The obvious issue to me is we could not exit our 22 with Christie or BB, we have had this issue for years. Late in the game SA in their 22 and their 9 box kicks it past half way. We have to be able to exit, its fundamental yet we still can't do it.

@kev said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Canes4life yeah I would be sticking with him. The thing about that option was we had spent the whole 2nd half defending because our kicking and option taking was terrible. BB and Christie the main offenders.

100% it was the wrong option, but to ignore the fact he was pretty bloody solid for the rest of the night annoys me. So many people always focus on the one bad thing and don’t give credit to the rest of the shit he did well. He’s young, he’ll make mistakes but he will learn through experience and he’ll be a much better player for these experiences. Give the guy time, he’s deserved this opportunity and tbh I’d love to see Tupaea at 12 as I think him and Proctor would compliment each other nicely. Jordie is too erratic at 12.

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Canes4life said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Canes4life said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

Jordan was calling for the ball on the wing. It was the execution that was slightly off in this case. If Proctor nailed that kick and Jordan went the length of the field we’ll all be singing a different tune.

When you are up by 14 it's a low percentage option. It was a shit option and shit execution. Just own it dude. Cripes.

Christie and Beauden made low percentage options through their kicking all night. You just don’t like Proctor because he isn’t Ioane. Own it champ.

And we criticise Christie and Beauden plenty.

I've been supportive of Proctor replacing Rieko all season. Proctor deserves his shot. No issue there.

Proctor's going ok without setting the world on fire.

That was an awful play. Good news it didn't cost us the test.

And again I never denied it was the right option, let’s hope he learns from it. If he keeps doing it then yeah I’d expect the backlash but I was pretty pleased with how he performed tonight.

Personally think some of the critique of Christie is harsh. He is the fourth choice halfback, and he played like a fourth choice halfback - but you can’t knock his effort levels.

Considering the circumstances, I think criticising him for what he simply can’t do feels unfair.

@Canes4life said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Canes4life said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Canes4life said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

Jordan was calling for the ball on the wing. It was the execution that was slightly off in this case. If Proctor nailed that kick and Jordan went the length of the field we’ll all be singing a different tune.

When you are up by 14 it's a low percentage option. It was a shit option and shit execution. Just own it dude. Cripes.

Christie and Beauden made low percentage options through their kicking all night. You just don’t like Proctor because he isn’t Ioane. Own it champ.

And we criticise Christie and Beauden plenty.

I've been supportive of Proctor replacing Rieko all season. Proctor deserves his shot. No issue there.

Proctor's going ok without setting the world on fire.

That was an awful play. Good news it didn't cost us the test.

And again I never denied it was the right option, let’s hope he learns from it.

That's quite different to saying something like "Jordan was calling for it and if we had scored you would be singing a different tune"

@frugby said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

Personally think some of the critique of Christie is harsh. He is the fourth choice halfback, and he played like a fourth choice halfback - but you can’t knock his effort levels.

Considering the circumstances, I think criticising him for what he simply can’t do feels unfair.

To be fair he played better than I expected he would tonight. It’s no attack on Christie but I’m just over the levels of kicking we are implementing in our game, especially when we are kicking 30 metres out from our try line. It’s just so go damn negative. Play some footy fellas.

The performance of Ratima and Christie in the last two weeks does show that we really need Roigard back though.

@Jet said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Canes4life said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@kidcalder said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

Christie is there because of injuries, hopefully 1 or 2 will be back soon enough -otherwise be nice to see what Preston can do starting.
We really need to move on from BB at 10 Give Dmac the reins and Love to the bench

We definitely need to start giving Love more game time. We could easily have an injury crisis at 10 like we have at 9. He needs experience and they need to start giving him some.

This is what Rassie is doing, for better or worse.

He has 3 or 4 players in every position with 30 caps each come World Cup time.

And with a whole heap of 33-36 year olds.

Whats coming through doesnt look anywhere as good at this stage

For me the Springboks have always been the ultimate barometer for this team. So tonight was a very, very good result.

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Canes4life said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Canes4life said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Canes4life said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

Jordan was calling for the ball on the wing. It was the execution that was slightly off in this case. If Proctor nailed that kick and Jordan went the length of the field we’ll all be singing a different tune.

When you are up by 14 it's a low percentage option. It was a shit option and shit execution. Just own it dude. Cripes.

Christie and Beauden made low percentage options through their kicking all night. You just don’t like Proctor because he isn’t Ioane. Own it champ.

And we criticise Christie and Beauden plenty.

I've been supportive of Proctor replacing Rieko all season. Proctor deserves his shot. No issue there.

Proctor's going ok without setting the world on fire.

That was an awful play. Good news it didn't cost us the test.

And again I never denied it was the right option, let’s hope he learns from it.

That's quite different to saying something like "Jordan was calling for it and if we had scored you would be singing a different tune"

The space was there and the option was actually on but Proctor just didn’t execute. At that moment in the game it was the wrong option. Should have just rooted it down field.

@chimoaus I like the way the Aussies dealt with rush D to clear their line. Bridge pass, give the winger the option to kick long. Our bridge pssses didn’t go to hand and our wingers didn’t kick. I liked Narawa as an option because he had those Corey Jane type skills.

@frugby said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

Personally think some of the critique of Christie is harsh. He is the fourth choice halfback, and he played like a fourth choice halfback - but you can’t knock his effort levels.

Considering the circumstances, I think criticising him for what he simply can’t do feels unfair.

Yup don't get it myself. A good player to rely on for a crisis.

@chimoaus said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

The obvious issue to me is we could not exit our 22 with Christie or BB, we have had this issue for years. Late in the game SA in their 22 and their 9 box kicks it past half way. We have to be able to exit, its fundamental yet we still can't do it.

We put ourselves under so much pressure with our exits.

They are meant to alleviate pressure not increase it!

@kev said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@chimoaus I like the way the Aussies dealt with rush D to clear their line. Bridge pass, give the winger the option to kick long. Our bridge pssses didn’t go to hand and our wingers didn’t kick. I liked Narawa as an option because he had those Corey Jane type skills.

Yeah gutted for Narawa, hopefully he gets another opportunity soon.

@DaGrubster said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Jet said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Canes4life said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@kidcalder said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

Christie is there because of injuries, hopefully 1 or 2 will be back soon enough -otherwise be nice to see what Preston can do starting.
We really need to move on from BB at 10 Give Dmac the reins and Love to the bench

We definitely need to start giving Love more game time. We could easily have an injury crisis at 10 like we have at 9. He needs experience and they need to start giving him some.

This is what Rassie is doing, for better or worse.

He has 3 or 4 players in every position with 30 caps each come World Cup time.

And with a whole heap of 33-36 year olds.

Whats coming through doesnt look anywhere as good at this stage

Just like us, they are reaching the end of their great generation

@Canes4life said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

.

Laughable that you say we should move Jordie to 13 when he’s been one of the most headless backs for us this year.

Jordie? He was darn good against France.

@Jet said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Canes4life said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@kidcalder said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

Christie is there because of injuries, hopefully 1 or 2 will be back soon enough -otherwise be nice to see what Preston can do starting.
We really need to move on from BB at 10 Give Dmac the reins and Love to the bench

We definitely need to start giving Love more game time. We could easily have an injury crisis at 10 like we have at 9. He needs experience and they need to start giving him some.

This is what Rassie is doing, for better or worse.

He has 3 or 4 players in every position with 30 caps each come World Cup time.

The dirty little secret of the Boks, and it will become apparent soon enough, is that the players coming through are nowhere near as good as the older guys

@Chuck72 said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Frank we have capped 8 players this year, that is a fair amount. You can't just change every one

To an extent I agree that you can't just bring in a lot of inexperienced players all at once. But when you look at how this season virtually every new cap.(or low cap) player has performed well it does seem like being a little less cautious in selections might pay even bigger dividends.

Love for one is a player that could have been very useful this year given the struggles under the high ball. I mean he played well in Hamilton but has not been in the match day 23 since.

That's not to be negative btw, the win tonight is massive and full kudos to all involved, any win v the Boks is an achievement, whatever the circumstances.

Seen enough of Preston at this level to tell me if he has promise?

@nostrildamus said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

Seen enough of Preston at this level to tell me if he has promise?

Not enough. But his pass had some zip. Aside from Cam, HB is wide open IMHO

@nostrildamus said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

@Canes4life said in All Blacks v Springboks I:

.

Laughable that you say we should move Jordie to 13 when he’s been one of the most headless backs for us this year.

Jordie? He was darn good against France.

His level has gone down over the last few tests and he’s not a 13. It’s frustrating because when he’s on he’s bloody good but a bit like when he last played for the Canes he’d have a really good game and then play a complete shocker the next (like he did in the Semi at home against the Chiefs in 2024) You think by now he would have ironed out the weaknesses in his game but he seems to make a lot of the same mistakes he was making 3 years ago. Maybe it’s the coaching, who knows.. but he surely isn’t consistent.

As a long time critic, I reckon I'd have to say well done and thank you to Christie. Going overseas, qualified for Scotland, and resets that timer to answer an SOS for the ABs in rough circumstances. That is bad for him personally, and he plays pretty bloody well last week and this. Anybody blaming BB's incompetence on Christie must have sonehow missed BB's incompetence with all-comers at 9, including probably the best of all time in Smith.