hybrid187 says...

Savaged in all facets of play.

On another note what did people think of the Aussie commentators ? How is Kearns allowed to commentate ? Ive been asking this question for years now.. Dont even get me started on Greg Martin. We had family friends over from England watching it here in Perth with us and they could not believe some of the biased crap coming outta this guys mouth. Were viewers in South Africa forced to listen to his drivel too ? Why weren't there NZ commentators in Auckland ?

Posted 08:13 26th August 2012

2EyedKiwi says...

Not wanting to sound like a smart arse, but I thought the Aussies defended and scrambled really well in holding the World Champs to only 1 try. Could have been a lot more dismal for them, especially if the AB's hadn't dropped so much ball.

Unfortunately the AB's defence is even better, and the Wallabies lacked, well..., anything on attack. Cooper looked like a possum in the headlights, and did his outside backs a diservice all night by passing well before the advantage line. Seems he's not liking tackles on defence or attack? When O'Connor is well, I think Cooper will struggle to make the squad.

All the Deans bashers have a point. Regardless if the Super Rugbys best ever coach is at fault it not, you can't deny the record and he simply has to go. Give MacKenzie the reins.

Trinats14 may disagree, but SBW - the best #12 on the planet at the moment - will be sorely missed by the AB's.

Posted 07:38 26th August 2012

sandal says...

@ Craig

True, true, true.

Posted 07:14 26th August 2012

tweedledee49 says...

@johnputts, you misspelled Chiefs...

Posted 06:18 26th August 2012

papachinzo says...

"Great, now that O'Brien is gone, we might see New Zealand get penalised at ruck time." WRONG!!!!!!!

If your aloud to dive into the ruck from whatever angle you want, and lie on and kill the ball, Your always going to win the game, no matter how hard the other team play.

The All Blacks and the IRB officials that let it happen, are killing our game. As soon as people see it, and as soon as the referee's have the cojones to penalise them, the better we'll be !!

Posted 04:35 26th August 2012

bigb6969 says...

Concerned the ABs left 4 or 5 tries out on the park, still a worry. Otherwise very satisfied with other aspects of play, and especially the NIL score !. The last time NZ scored Nil was 1964 v Scotland (0-0), Australia was actually the next best on that score, they scored NIL in a 24-0 loss to Wales (oh those were the days !) 10 Nov 1973. In the last few minutes a was hoping for a NIL much more than scoring another try. I personally would have take a penalty shot to get on the board first. I would sack Deans.

Also that was the All Blacks 11th consecutive test win, and also the 101st consecutive test where they have scored a try.

We'll miss SBW - but we shall still have a good centre pair of Nonu and Smith in two weeks.

Another concern is not sure how strong NZ really are as Australia were dire. Even when beating them Australia have always matched or bettered the All Blacks in passing and handling, Aussie backs were always slick, but this was just awful, just awful.

As for Genia yellow card - he was interview on radio after and Genia said "I new if he got the offload a try was on, so I did what ever I could to stop it" - so he was caught bang to rights

Posted 03:17 26th August 2012

kiwilad says...

The media in Aus will be calling for Dingos head, but surely the signs of Australias capitulation were there for all to see quite early on in the S15.

2 or 3 world class players in a team of 15 is nowhere near enough.

But lets ignore that, and blame the Kiwi coach.

The problem could not possibly lie with Oneils inability to see the big picture and work on developing the game at grass roots level, could it??

Posted 00:56 26th August 2012

johnputts says...

If we increased the number of Crusaders in the backline, instead of the 'Show Ponies', tries would come so much more frequently.

Posted 23:51 25th August 2012

Craig says...

Read, McCaw, etc had great games, but the two for me were Aaron Smith and Ben Smith.

Aaron Smith, virtually no international experience, only one full campaign of Super Rugby, thrown in against world's best halfback (and Genia really really is) and A Smith dominated him. I know, halfback is a much easier place to play when you're behind the dominant pack, but A Smith is a revelation and for me would be best ABs player over both matches.

And B Smith, wow, he does that for the Highlanders, those weird breaks from nothing when he doesn't appear to be moving fast, fending, stepping, just somehow he breaks the line. Great to see him doing it in a Bledisloe. Not a bad replacement if Dagg goes down, and NZ still have Andre Taylor waiting in the wings...

Feel sorry for Deans. Lost both his captains, James O'Connor is a great player and he's out, AUst rugby doesn't have the depth to handle those losses. And it isn't Deans' job to build depth at the Super Rugby level. I really think Aust have shot themselves in the foot adding two more teams to Super Rugby, their thinner talent base is too stretched, and the conference system means they regularly play understrength sides.

And awesome defence ABs. Shame about the 5 tries left on the park, but great win!

Posted 23:02 25th August 2012

new_j4a says...

@tha_mai, I was 10

Posted 20:27 25th August 2012