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Mailbox: New Zealand back to winning ways

Monday 04th August 2008

Black magic: New Zealand took Australia to pieces

What a difference a week can make, look no further than the All Blacks for evidence of that.

Beaten with such ease last week, and yet back in the form of old this week to revive their Bledisloe Cup and Tri-Nations ambitions, here is what you made of the All Blacks victory:

I would say the All Blacks proved their critics wrong in all facets of the game. The loose forwards were clearly slow to the rucks in Sydney, but in Auckland the Aussies were the culprits, lacking speed and intensity.

So, for now, the All Blacks are at the top of the table with one less game played then there opponents. Good on you ABs, you stuck your necks out and were superior in every position and proved the critics and 'the Henry Haters' wrong, for now.

Sam Thomas

I'm left more stunned by this than their loss in Dunedin. I guess if I were forced to sum it up in two words they would be Richie McCaw. Still their biggest challenge is to prove they can maintain these standards overseas, but all the best to them in SA!

Phil

No doubt New Zealand were under pressure and played brilliantly well - a great victory to them. The errors by the Wallabies were unexpected of late but perhaps normal for the current side. The energy and the pressure of the All Blacks is what we should always expect.

Greg McGlone

I was impressed with the commitment and execution of a more sensible gameplan by the All Blacks. When they play helter-skelter rugby they play right into the Aussies hands. When they play for position and do the basics well, as Saturday night's game displayed, opportunities will come. This Tri-Nations is set up for a thrilling climax. All three teams could win, though you'd have to say that the Boks have their noses in front, courtesy of the only away win so far. But they have to play at home for three games in a row. If either the Wallabies or the All Blacks can upset them in just one of those games, then it could come down to bonus points. Bring it on.

Wayne Kirkland

Well, well, well, rumours of the All Blacks and New Zealand rugby's imminent demise prove to be premature. Talk of Australian hegemony a touch overdone. And well done to Mark Lawrence - good to see a ref pay attention to the offside law at last in this Tri-Nations.

James Lindsay

It is hard to judge how good New Zealand were because of the collapse of the Australian set piece game. Non-existent line-outs, being easily shunted in the scrum and attacking set plays that were slow, not to mention static receivers attempting to run being shut down so easily. This is partially down to the quick line speed of the New Zealand defensive line - albeit sometimes they were at least a foot offside. Again, even though the game was controlled well by the officials, the breakdown was a lottery with no real input from the touch judges as both sides were guilty on infringements throughout. The ELVs should be scrapped and a real concentration made on the breakdown area.

NZ fan in Ireland

Being traditional Kiwis we want more, we want total annihilation, we expect the best from our team and nothing else matters. One more thing, touch judges should stick to the sidelines and not hold the game up for petty little things just so they can get there five minutes of fame.

Pete

The return of Richie McCaw at seven and Rodney So'oialo to number eight meant the All Blacks were able to secure most of the turnover possession available. Both had outstanding games and, this, together with classy Carter and clever play from Jimmy Cowan, kept the Aussies out of the hunt for much of the game.

Chris Jagusch

Any other thoughts you would like to add?