JayStarr says...

@ peachlegs: So you took offense, because you think it's Ireland's good play that made the All Blacks play so poorly? Well I'm not taking anything away from Ireland - they certainly stepped it up from the previous week... But don't fool yourself to think that Ireland's play on Saturday was so good that it put the All Blacks under so much pressure that they almost beat them...

No, the close contest was largely due to the All Blacks' complacency and the fact that they never really got off the bus. They played with little fire or intent - they were cruising - and Ireland took advantage of the situation. That's all Saturday was. Next week the All Blacks will actually play with fire and intent again - after this narrow loss - so Ireland's only chance of staying in that one is to hope for wet conditions.

As for the Super Rugby comparison: I stand by it. I have also heard how players say it is such a massive step up to Test Rugby... but then why did Leicester (or one of the English clubs) beat the Springboks a couple of seasons ago? Why did the Brumbies give Wales a go last week? Why did Western Province draw with the B&I Lions when they were here? I can go on...

I'm afraid that rule only counts when you have to test sides who are actually playing at their best. That was not the case for the All Blacks last week - AT ALL. But I didn't just look at their performance - I obviously looked at what Ireland was doing too - action and reaction. I watch every Super Rugby game every weekend, so it was easy for me to imagine the AB's in Crusader or Chiefs jerseys, comparing their play (reactions to certain actions) to that of these teams... and by those standards they were POOR. Because the pressure Ireland was putting them under wasn't nearly of the same quality and intensity as they would've faced from the Bulls or Stormers.

Posted 21:26 17th June 2012

JayStarr says...

BoD should be. NZ didn't win that game, Ireland lost it... and they're not going to get an opportunity like that again any time soon.

You could see - actually from all three NH teams this weekend - that they don't play the SH enough. There were so many occassions where they did things which they might get away with up north, but which in SH rugby is practically considered suicide... No wonder they lost the ball so often.

I also lost count of the amount of times they put NZ on the back foot in their own half, with their half-back or someone fumbling, but then the Irish defenders were just too slow to get there in time to apply the pressure and force the turn-over..! What have you been working for all the time then!?

But the three penalties Ireland gave away in their own half after they scored the opening try was just idiotic. Besides all the other stupid things they did in the game, this is where they really lost the match... You're playing a team who has Dan Carter at 10 - if you can't get out of your own half, then at least don't give away dumb-@$* penalties! Never mind 3 of them in a row!

One of the top 6 Super Rugby sides would've beaten the All Blacks the way they were playing on Saturday... so Ireland SHOULD feel gutted. The All Blacks will be their ruthless selves again next week.

Posted 15:17 17th June 2012