NC: All Blacks v Ireland

The reason why the Taylor pick at hooker is ever so slightly aggravating is because his absence in the Bok test at Wellington last year was a big reason for the capitulation - the lineout went to complete shit for ten minutes, from approx the 60th to 70th minute ABs won only one lineout out of 5 on own throw. The lineout was markedly worse than it had been in Eden Park the week prior.

Taylor is a trusty and reliable hooker but they need to give the other guys reps so that in the event he gets injured everything doesn't fall apart.

@Jet said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

I think we should have built on our momentum and ensured a clean sweep.
Ireland are no easy beats. We should have been solidifying our status as being “back” and to be feared.

Darry had to play.
Samisoni should be there.
Plenty of time to rest lads throughout the year.

How often were Whitelock and Retallick rested?

Patty T getting the Irish first game back is a tough shift in my opinion.

This Ireland team are going to score 25 points minimum this weekend.

I trust Dave all that being said.

Early on in their careers, they weren’t selected for every test. With Whitelock there were others that got opportunities- Boric, Thorn, Donnelly, Ali, Hoeata,

@Bones said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

Nah, Ireland are poke

Agreed. Totally shit team. Have been since 2022 - now much worse. Never believed all the hype about then being No.1 in the IRB Rankings going into RWC2023. Heck, even Foster & Razor-coached AB teams managed to beat them - and that was without Roigard, Love and Moorby.

50+ points easily...

They’re a nation in decline with a 10 who’d fit in just fine with the Wallabies. They’re not scaring anyone and need to be turned over.

That said, the ABs haven’t proven to be good enough to put a team like this away comfortably in many years.

Rattle JGP, get him off his game and they're a bit of a nothing side now.

@JK said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

All Blacks: 1. Ethan de Groot, 2. Codie Taylor, 3. Tyrel Lomax, 4. Josh Lord, 5. Patrick Tuipulotu, 6. Tupou Vaa'i, 7. Luke Jacobson, 8. Ardie Savea (c), 9. Cam Roigard, 10. Ruben Love, 11. Josh Moorby, 12. Jordie Barrett, 13. Quinn Tupaea, 14. Will Jordan, 15. Damian McKenzie.

Bench: 16. Asafo Aumua, 17. Xavier Numia, 18. Fletcher Newell, 19. Anton Segner, 20. Peter Lakai, 21. Cortez Ratima, 22. Anton Lienert-Brown, 23. Caleb Clarke.

Unavailable: Fehi Fineanganofo (shoulder), Leroy Carter (shoulder)

I'm sure it's done to death but ...
...talking poInts for me.

Is not hugely controversial. All players picked are capable.

Biggest surprise for me is Darry missing out, given three locks in the starting XV. He'd been excellent till now and he was not not named in the injured. Lord and Paddy T are well uo to the job, but IMO Darry would be incrementally better. Not losing sleep though.

Next biggest personally is I would have gone Newell to start, with Tosi on bench. Only coz lack of footy for Lomax. Lomax is my starter all things bring equal, just felt he's missing some rugby. Fletch on the bench I'm surprised at. Having said that there us plenty of imoact from AA, XN and loosies (see below).

Kinda similar at hooker. I'd have started Sami T, AA on the bench. Not that I'm complaining.

Interesting TV at 6. Not unhappy. Them Paddies have some size that need combating. And I like the height.

Hopefully LJ plays like he did against the Frogs.

Interesting bench and the whole lock loose forward mix. I assume the intent to to match them up front early, then run them off their feet.

Moorby played well and deserves the start.

Bench covers appropriately.

Re the players who did not get selected for any of the Squads? Meh. So what?

Am sure for some the sky is falling. But personally am happy enough with XV and XXIII.

@Bones said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

Rattle JGP, get him off his game and they're a bit of a nothing side now.

Same could be said for Roigard

@Victor-Meldrew said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

@Bones said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

Nah, Ireland are poke

Agreed. Totally shit team. Have been since 2022 - now much worse. Never believed all the hype about then being No.1 in the IRB Rankings going into RWC2023. Heck, even Foster & Razor-coached AB teams managed to beat them - and that was without Roigard, Love and Moorby.

50+ points easily...

They suffer from not having enough Kiwis in the side.

The Vaa’i selection to me is mostly a response to the likely Irish game plan, which will be similar to their Dublin strategy against Scotland in the Six Nations: disrupt the breakdown, slow down opposition attack and frustrate opposition halfbacks.

The Scottish and AB attacks are currently very similar: gain momentum through quick ball, keep the ball alive and find the attacking space before opposition defence can realign.

The Irish, however, led by Beirne, completely shut down this quick ball against the Scots, limiting them to just 34% LQB (the ABs had 85% against the French, remember). They consistently put multiple defenders into the breakdown (winning 6 turnovers to zero from the Scots), denying the Scots quick ball and any attacking momentum.

Vaa’i is there to help with securing the breakdown, counter Beirne and to help the ABs go through the middle. Tuipulotu is the battering ram. Whereas the halfbacks were crucial against the French, this match will be decided by the back 5 and who can dominate the breakdown.

Whether it will work remains to be seen but it’s a very logical selection, once again. In terms of strategy and selection, Rennie is doing well right now.

@MiketheSnow said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

@Bones said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

Rattle JGP, get him off his game and they're a bit of a nothing side now.

Same could be said for Roigard

Nah.

Lineout formation will be interesting. Patty and Josh both typically jump at 4.

@pakman said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

Lineout formation will be interesting. Patty and Josh both typically jump at 4.

Funnily enough I've had some more oil that they won't both be jumping at 4 at the same time.

Which makes it slightly less interesting.

@Bones By George that's insightful.

@pakman said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

@Bones By George that's insightful.

Do you really want to hurt me

Everything’s not what you see.

@MiketheSnow said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

@Bones said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

Rattle JGP, get him off his game and they're a bit of a nothing side now.

Same could be said for Roigard

Roigard's yesterday.

Moorby's now the man.

@Bones said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

@pakman said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

Lineout formation will be interesting. Patty and Josh both typically jump at 4.

Funnily enough I've had some more oil that they won't both be jumping at 4 at the same time.

Which makes it slightly less interesting.

I got to keep reading the oil, it's so enlightening mate!!

Geez after watching the team naming press conference with Rennie and co, anyone else get the impression of a fair bit of openess etc from this group?

@Dan54 said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

Geez after watching the team naming press conference with Rennie and co, anyone else get the impression of a fair bit of openess etc from this group?

You mean they're not completely full of shit, out of their depth and bluffing everyone into thinking they know what they're doing?

@booboo said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

@ACT-Crusader said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

@The-Irishman said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

Easy win for the AB's.

We will play an aging rake, don’t have any world class locks, can’t even decide who our best 6, 7 or 8 are, have a rookie 10, a revolving door at centre and left wing. Add to that a new game plan that barely got us over the line against a France D side. Plus the daunting unbeaten record since forever at Eden Park. Take all that into account and add that Ireland have NZs greatest ever non-AB halfback.

Ireland by 10

@the-irishman

Add in a fullback prone to choking
A right-wing who should be fullback
Severe drop off to back up 9
Too many Crusaders
...

Guys, we have Sam feckin Prendergast! An aging forward pack, (VDF hasn't played to his past standards for a long long time, Furlong and Ryan the same), and let's not forget fortress Eden Park. This is not the team to break that record. A lucky win against the Aussies (look what the French B team did to them) and a poor display against Japan. No, easy win for the AB's. 10-15 points or more.

@Mauss said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

The Vaa’i selection to me is mostly a response to the likely Irish game plan, which will be similar to their Dublin strategy against Scotland in the Six Nations: disrupt the breakdown, slow down opposition attack and frustrate opposition halfbacks.

Let's hope Nic Berry is better at policing the breakdown than Luke Pearce was that day.

@ShaquilleOatmeal said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

@Dan54 said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

Geez after watching the team naming press conference with Rennie and co, anyone else get the impression of a fair bit of openess etc from this group?

You mean they're not completely full of shit, out of their depth and bluffing everyone into thinking they know what they're doing?

Well that's one way of putting it, but I like to be polite.

@Mauss said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

The Vaa’i selection to me is mostly a response to the likely Irish game plan, which will be similar to their Dublin strategy against Scotland in the Six Nations: disrupt the breakdown, slow down opposition attack and frustrate opposition halfbacks.

The Scottish and AB attacks are currently very similar: gain momentum through quick ball, keep the ball alive and find the attacking space before opposition defence can realign.

The Irish, however, led by Beirne, completely shut down this quick ball against the Scots, limiting them to just 34% LQB (the ABs had 85% against the French, remember). They consistently put multiple defenders into the breakdown (winning 6 turnovers to zero from the Scots), denying the Scots quick ball and any attacking momentum.

Vaa’i is there to help with securing the breakdown, counter Beirne and to help the ABs go through the middle. Tuipulotu is the battering ram. Whereas the halfbacks were crucial against the French, this match will be decided by the back 5 and who can dominate the breakdown.

Whether it will work remains to be seen but it’s a very logical selection, once again. In terms of strategy and selection, Rennie is doing well right now.

But, if that is the case then:
Vaa'i is a good breakdown lock, but is he really the best 6 in the country at securing fast ruck ball?
Why drop Darry, who is our lock (maybe even player in any position) who hits the most rucks?

I tend to think the selections are more focused on disrupting their set-piece, as a combination of Darry+Vaa'i at lock and Parker at 6 would be better to secure our breakdown, whereas Tuipolotu and Newell on the bench suggests a scrum focus, and Vaa'i is by streets our best lineout option at 6.
Vaa'i having to get to breakdowns and tackling a bit wider than usual strikes me as one of the risks of the approach - especially given we've still picked a backline to spread the ball.

Our accuracy at the ruck is definitely going to be tested and it's going to be interesting to see how it plays out, can't wait.

@Dan54 said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

Geez after watching the team naming press conference with Rennie and co, anyone else get the impression of a fair bit of openess etc from this group?

I have loved the subtle measured digs at the TMO/refs from Rennie and Barnes. Just planting seeds. We have been sorely lacking in those respects since the 2017 Lions series. We were more interested in winning as the good guys, than just winning at all costs.

I like that he said Sititi has been given clear messaging as to what’s expected.

I like how he said Mo’unga won’t be going to S.A.

It’s refreshing.

TAB odds:

Spread is 10.5 pts.

Some good watching on the morning of game day

Sky had the full replay of that game on last night.

Weather report?

@chimoaus looks like a perfect winters evening, c 13deg, minimal wind, no rain in forecast

@chimoaus said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

Weather report?

Lovely in the 09 today. Warm sunny with some cloud, light breeze

@canefan sounds similar to the mid 09, given '09' extends about 500km end to end

@taniwharugby said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

@chimoaus looks like a perfect winters evening, c 13deg, minimal wind, no rain in forecast

Great to hear, I have to admit I am looking forward to this game more than any game under razor, this new regime has me full of hope and I like what I see and hear from the coaches and players.

I have this memory of playing maybe under 13's early morning standing in a lineout thinking about how much fun I was having playing rugby and knowing at 2:30 the mighty All Blacks were playing that afternoon. As a kid that was my perfect day. I am just happy to be looking forward to the ABs playing.

@chimoaus said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

@taniwharugby said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

@chimoaus looks like a perfect winters evening, c 13deg, minimal wind, no rain in forecast

Great to hear, I have to admit I am looking forward to this game more than any game under razor, this new regime has me full of hope and I like what I see and hear from the coaches and players.

I have this memory of playing maybe under 13's early morning standing in a lineout thinking about how much fun I was having playing rugby and knowing at 2:30 the mighty All Blacks were playing that afternoon. As a kid that was my perfect day. I am just happy to be looking forward to the ABs playing.

Positive feels are back!

Anyone heading to the game tonight? What’s the buzz around Auckland atm?

Let’s go boys. Drogo, Gollum and Frodo sideline.

Looking forward to this game, have a feeling we are going to click

I hope this backrow combination can answer some questions

Where's James Lowe?

Excellent job of neutering the Irish national anthem with sweet, sweet voices at half speed