Official Rugby Thread

[atisha_ro]

now this i call the new zeeland all blacks rugby team

[jot1]

Wow! Great game. Would hate to lose, though.

[Fiery]

Now that was a game of footy

[jot1]

Congrats AB! Excellent game.

[atisha_ro]

well done, all blacks, even if they actually played 10 minutes out of 80.

[Fiery]

You're a good sport jot1

[Perm]

All Blacks came good at the end, was to be expected with how hard the Saffies were playing in the first 20 minutes. Great effort from the South Africans but a few of our selections certainly needed to be looked at IMO, Ashwin Villemse is an average footballer and I'd much rather have Bryan Habana on the wing.

[BoyBrumby]

Worrying for the world of Rugby that the ABs can produce such an obviously flawed performance and still get over the line.

NZ looked so much fitter in the last ten minutes too; maybe all that conditioning work they did in the first seven rounds of the Super 14 wasn't such a bad idea after all.

[Perm]

Originally Posted by BoyBrumby

Worrying for the world of Rugby that the ABs can produce such an obviously flawed performance and still get over the line.

NZ looked so much fitter in the last ten minutes too; maybe all that conditioning work they did in the first seven rounds of the Super 14 wasn't such a bad idea after all.

The players are visibly looking fitter and stronger as well, which is a good sign for all those teenage girls out there who adore Dan Carter and Luke McAlister.

[jot1]

Originally Posted by Fiery

You're a good sport jot1

If they're good, they're good. No matter who the team or the player is. Goes for me in all sports.
Though I do like us to win.

[ohtani's jacket]

It was a good game.

South Africa came at us hard from the beginning, pressuring us at the kick-off & taking advantage of our weak line-out. I thought we were lucky to be down 6-0 since we had to scramble in defence. The Boks were ferocious at the breakdown, & while there was a lot of killing of the ball and hands in the ruck, we kept getting bad ball & couldn't sustain possession. A lot of our guys were caught in isolation or smothered in ball and all tackles leading to turnovers, and our backline was too flat against the rush defence. We were starting to get into a rhythm when the Boks scored that set-piece try (right on half time.)

At that point I thought it wouldn't be our day, but McCaw was an inspiration in the second half & I felt like NZ were playing better rugby despite falling behind on the scoreboard. That kick-off return from S'oliolo would've made Zinzan Brooke or Mervyn Davies proud & the way we picked up our game thereafter was awesome to watch -- fast passes, offloads, players hitting the ball at pace. Once Os was subbed off, we started to push their scrum around too. It reminded me a lot of Fitzpatrick's '96-97 All Blacks, actually.

South Africa played with a lot of passion, but they seem to lack a playmaker in the backs.

[Fiery]

Originally Posted by ohtani's jacket

It was a good game.

South Africa came at us hard from the beginning, pressuring us at the kick-off & taking advantage of our weak line-out. I thought we were lucky to be down 6-0 since we had to scramble in defence. The Boks were ferocious at the breakdown, & while there was a lot of killing of the ball and hands in the ruck, we kept getting bad ball & couldn't sustain possession. A lot of our guys were caught in isolation or smothered in ball and all tackles leading to turnovers, and our backline was too flat against the rush defence. We were starting to get into a rhythm when the Boks scored that set-piece try (right on half time.)

At that point I thought it wouldn't be our day, but McCaw was an inspiration in the second half & I felt like NZ were playing better rugby despite falling behind on the scoreboard. That kick-off return from S'oliolo would've made Zinzan Brooke or Mervyn Davies proud & the way we picked up our game thereafter was awesome to watch -- fast passes, offloads, players hitting the ball at pace. Once Os was subbed off, we started to push their scrum around too. It reminded me a lot of Fitzpatrick's '96-97 All Blacks, actually.

South Africa played with a lot of passion, but they seem to lack a playmaker in the backs.

Good summary mate

[ohtani's jacket]

Thanks.

I gotta say Burger is like a trio of loosies unto himself. It's great to have him back in Test match rugby after that injury scare. But whoever pushed McCaw to the ground after Burger scored seemed to fire Richie up in the second half.

And did Rodney redeem himself? I think so. How good must it feel to have that sort of run in a Test match.

[Fiery]

Originally Posted by ohtani's jacket

Thanks.

I gotta say Burger is like a trio of loosies unto himself. It's great to have him back in Test match rugby after that injury scare. But whoever pushed McCaw to the ground after Burger scored seemed to fire Richie up in the second half.

And did Rodney redeem himself? I think so. How good must it feel to have that sort of run in a Test match.

Yeah So'oialo had a storming game. It was Bakkies Botha who needlessly hurled McCaw to the ground after the Burger try...he deserved to be nutted for that

[Perm]

Originally Posted by ohtani's jacket

Thanks.

I gotta say Burger is like a trio of loosies unto himself. It's great to have him back in Test match rugby after that injury scare. But whoever pushed McCaw to the ground after Burger scored seemed to fire Richie up in the second half.

And did Rodney redeem himself? I think so. How good must it feel to have that sort of run in a Test match.

Burger is great, he can play the scavanging role or he can be a hard as nails defender and runner, depending on the team's needs and game situation. Bakkies Botha hurled McCaw to the ground, because McCaw wouldn't get off Gary Botha who was lying on the ground. It was slightly uncalled for, but it wasn't a random act. I don't think Rodney So'ialo really had to redeem himself to anyone, other than the idiots who seem to think that Lauaki and Tuiali'i are better options at #8.