Smudge
Hall of Fame Member
Well, where do I start with that performance. 60 minutes of AB dross bookended by 20 minutes of skill and precision.
Obviously, the start was better than expected, and one would have thought we would have run at O'Gara a hell of a lot more after that flimsy attempt of a tackle on Mils. However, the Irish protected him well, and fully deserved their halftime and 60 minute lead.
For far too much of that first half, the ABs were guilty of playing some of the 2003 footy (the ugly stuff) that eventually proved our undoing. In fact, I'd consider Ireland's first 60 minutes to be eeriely similar to Australia in the 2003 RWC semi final - they were feasting on our mistakes as the ABs decided to ignore pick and goes and tried to use the width of the field at every opportunity. I could see the AB reasoning, but the fact was the Irish midfield was shutting everything down and by the time it got out to the wings, the defence closed in around them.
It's all well and good to show a willingness to run the ball - and I had no problems with the general edict to run back from kicks made by the Irish - but we weren't sucking in any forwards by adopting this tactic, and all it did was clutter our backline with forwards.
However, the precision started to return as Henry turned to the bench, while Eddie O'Sullivan stuck with his starting 15. I guess therein lies the difference in depth - perhaps EOS didn't have the same confidence in his bench players.
Brief rundown:
Mils - outstanding at the back. I love the way he runs with the ball in two hands and his sleight of foot when he gets to the line
Howlett - Pretty good - had a bit of work to do to score that first try, but also chased hard and kicked intelligently.
Nonu - classic Nonu. A couple of moments of brilliance, but the rest were failed attempts at further brilliance. His defence got shown up horribly when O'Driscoll scored. If he's the answer at centre, I'm Pauly Shore's lovechild.
Mauger - aside from a kick out on the full, he was pretty solid. However he didn't have much space to work with at times, but did as best he could. Good on defence too.
Rokocoko - looked hungry enough and his timing into the line to set up Muliaina's try was perfect.
McAlister - mostly good, except for the odd lapse. I do enjoy his pace onto the ball - he adds a real ball-running option to his first-five play. But I'm still not convinced his spot is 10.
Kelleher - wasn't bad while he was on. Was choosing his time to snipe at the fringes, unlike Cowan who took it himself too often. Eagerness aside, Cowan did what was expected of him, which was good.
So'oialo - a typical Rodney game. Did the stuff in tight and his fitness told towards the end as he turned up all over the place.
McCaw - was neutralised a bit by the Irish forwards. He may have forced one turnover, but that was about it. Nothing wrong with his game over all though.
Holah - that experiment didn't work. Kaino's impact added a lot more.
Rawlinson - unfortunately continued his Blues form, although the lineout callers could have given him a bit of confidence by giving him a couple of chances at the front. Flavell was mixed when he came on, but cancelled out his penalty with good support play for the final try.
Jack - solid, nothing special. Was beaten by O'Connell on several occasions.
Hayman - what we've come to demand from the bearded colossus. Was all over Horan in the scrum, and was busy on defence. Stay out of the backline though, please.
Mealamu - not sure what the **** was going on with the lineout, but whether the call was being changed partway through and he couldn't hear it, I don't know. Either way, they were a bit of a mess, and he's not his old self around the paddock either - a lack of leg drive.
Dermody - very good debut. Did his job at scrum time and also showed his ability to get around the field, making plenty of tackles with his Highlanders team mate.
For the Irish, I thought Murphy was genuinely dangerous at fullback, O'Driscoll made a fine return to New Zealand soil and was complemented well by D'arcy. Defensive lapses aside, O'Gara's kicking was generally probing.
In the forwards, Leamy tested the ABs at the breakdown, O'Connell showed hints of why he's considered possibly the best forward in the Northern Hemisphere and Best was busy.
Perhaps that match has helped build the match fitness of the Irish, and with no major injuries incurred, I think they're a chance at Eden Park - depending on the AB tactics.
Obviously, the start was better than expected, and one would have thought we would have run at O'Gara a hell of a lot more after that flimsy attempt of a tackle on Mils. However, the Irish protected him well, and fully deserved their halftime and 60 minute lead.
For far too much of that first half, the ABs were guilty of playing some of the 2003 footy (the ugly stuff) that eventually proved our undoing. In fact, I'd consider Ireland's first 60 minutes to be eeriely similar to Australia in the 2003 RWC semi final - they were feasting on our mistakes as the ABs decided to ignore pick and goes and tried to use the width of the field at every opportunity. I could see the AB reasoning, but the fact was the Irish midfield was shutting everything down and by the time it got out to the wings, the defence closed in around them.
It's all well and good to show a willingness to run the ball - and I had no problems with the general edict to run back from kicks made by the Irish - but we weren't sucking in any forwards by adopting this tactic, and all it did was clutter our backline with forwards.
However, the precision started to return as Henry turned to the bench, while Eddie O'Sullivan stuck with his starting 15. I guess therein lies the difference in depth - perhaps EOS didn't have the same confidence in his bench players.
Brief rundown:
Mils - outstanding at the back. I love the way he runs with the ball in two hands and his sleight of foot when he gets to the line
Howlett - Pretty good - had a bit of work to do to score that first try, but also chased hard and kicked intelligently.
Nonu - classic Nonu. A couple of moments of brilliance, but the rest were failed attempts at further brilliance. His defence got shown up horribly when O'Driscoll scored. If he's the answer at centre, I'm Pauly Shore's lovechild.
Mauger - aside from a kick out on the full, he was pretty solid. However he didn't have much space to work with at times, but did as best he could. Good on defence too.
Rokocoko - looked hungry enough and his timing into the line to set up Muliaina's try was perfect.
McAlister - mostly good, except for the odd lapse. I do enjoy his pace onto the ball - he adds a real ball-running option to his first-five play. But I'm still not convinced his spot is 10.
Kelleher - wasn't bad while he was on. Was choosing his time to snipe at the fringes, unlike Cowan who took it himself too often. Eagerness aside, Cowan did what was expected of him, which was good.
So'oialo - a typical Rodney game. Did the stuff in tight and his fitness told towards the end as he turned up all over the place.
McCaw - was neutralised a bit by the Irish forwards. He may have forced one turnover, but that was about it. Nothing wrong with his game over all though.
Holah - that experiment didn't work. Kaino's impact added a lot more.
Rawlinson - unfortunately continued his Blues form, although the lineout callers could have given him a bit of confidence by giving him a couple of chances at the front. Flavell was mixed when he came on, but cancelled out his penalty with good support play for the final try.
Jack - solid, nothing special. Was beaten by O'Connell on several occasions.
Hayman - what we've come to demand from the bearded colossus. Was all over Horan in the scrum, and was busy on defence. Stay out of the backline though, please.
Mealamu - not sure what the **** was going on with the lineout, but whether the call was being changed partway through and he couldn't hear it, I don't know. Either way, they were a bit of a mess, and he's not his old self around the paddock either - a lack of leg drive.
Dermody - very good debut. Did his job at scrum time and also showed his ability to get around the field, making plenty of tackles with his Highlanders team mate.
For the Irish, I thought Murphy was genuinely dangerous at fullback, O'Driscoll made a fine return to New Zealand soil and was complemented well by D'arcy. Defensive lapses aside, O'Gara's kicking was generally probing.
In the forwards, Leamy tested the ABs at the breakdown, O'Connell showed hints of why he's considered possibly the best forward in the Northern Hemisphere and Best was busy.
Perhaps that match has helped build the match fitness of the Irish, and with no major injuries incurred, I think they're a chance at Eden Park - depending on the AB tactics.
