Planet Rugby Forum

Where:


Venue:


Kick 0ff
7.35 PM NZ time

Teams:
New Zealand


All Blacks: 15. Jordie Barrett, 14. Ben Smith, 13. Anton-Lienert Brown, 12. Ryan Crotty, 11. Rieko Ioane, 10. Beauden Barrett, 9. Aaron Smith, 8. Luke Whitelock, 7. Sam Cane, 6. Liam Squire, 5. Scott Barrett, 4. Sam Whitelock (c), 3. Owen Franks, 2. Codie Taylor, 1. Joe Moody. Reserves: 16. Nathan Harris, 17. Karl Tu'inukuafe, 18. Ofa Tuungafasi, 19. Vaea Fifita, 20. Ardie Savea, 21. TJ Perenara, 22. Damian McKenzie, 23. Ngani Laumape.

France


France: 15. Ben Fall, 14. Teddy Thomas, 13. Mathieu Bastareaud (capt.) ,12. Geoffrey Doumayrou, 11. Gael Fickou, 10. Anthony Belleau, 9. Morgan Parra, 8. Kelian Galletier, 7. Kevin Gourdon, 6. Mathieu Babillot, 5. Yoann Maestri, 4. Bernard Le Roux, 3. Uini Atonio, 2. Camille Chat, 1. Dany Priso.

16. Pierre Bougarit, 17. Cyril Baille, 18. Cedate Gomes Sa, 19. Paul Gabrillagues, 20. Alexandre Lapandry, 21. Baptiste Serin, 22. Jules Plisson, 23. Maxime Medard

Officials

Referee - Angus Gardner

AR 1 - John Lacey
AR 2 - Luke Pearce
TMO - George Ayoub

A bit of news on the injury front, unfortunately Jordan Taufua looks to be out for the entire series but Sonny Bill Williams might be back for the third test - http://www.allblacks.com/News/32544/tau ... third-test

Some thoughts and predictions to get the ball rolling.

Codie Taylor is now our first choice hooker, even when Dane Coles is fit and available. He's gone from strength to strength ticks every box. Coles is ideal as a closer. Hansen has talked about how they want to up the temp of a game in the last 30 minutes and Coles is ideal for that.

The All Black bench was outstanding and did exactly what was required. McKenzie and Laumape were probably our best backs even in their limited time on the park.

Crotty was so good last night and probably the most underrated midfielder in World Rugby. Not bad for a placeholder.

Karl Tu'inukuafe's first scrum gave me a chubby. As good a first act for a prop on debut as you could get.

I'm about to watch the game again but how many times did the All Blacks steal the French lineout ball? Three or four?

Luke Whitelock was surprisingly good with ball in hand.

Rieko Ioane is slow.

Rieko Ioane is slow.

Or, Thomas is fecking quick

Enzedder wrote:

Rieko Ioane is slow.

Or, Thomas is fecking quick

No. Everyone on the internet says he's slow so he's slow.

ABs will only get better. Can't see the French giving another effort like the first 50 minutes.
They have one eye on a summer break

this is about to be cancelled as we are protesting against what happened in the first one, and we will cut our diplomatic relations with NZ in the next days.

jolindien wrote:this is about to be cancelled as we are protesting against what happened in the first one, and we will cut our diplomatic relations with NZ in the next days.

Mururoa Atoll
Rainbow Warrior
Aurelien Rougerie

jolindien wrote:this is about to be cancelled as we are protesting against what happened in the first one, and we will cut our diplomatic relations with NZ in the next days.

Wouldn't be the first time the French were eager to wave the white flag.

Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)

Assistant 1: John Lacey (Ireland)

Assistant 2: Luke Pearce (England)

TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)

BBB wrote:

jolindien wrote:this is about to be cancelled as we are protesting against what happened in the first one, and we will cut our diplomatic relations with NZ in the next days.

Mururoa Atoll**
Rainbow Warrior
Aurelien Rougerie

**Not to mention the Renault Clio. The worst French bomb of them all.

How dare you unleash such a travesty on the world?

Everything is pointless

The match
This thread

Just let France go home ffs

The Native wrote:Crotty was so good last night and probably the most underrated midfielder in World Rugby. Not bad for a placeholder.

I'm a fan but I thought apart from his one outstanding fend a lot of his play was sub-par in that game. Wrong options or poor timing on his pass several times during the game which was unlike him.

Cullen wrote:ABs will only get better. Can't see the French giving another effort like the first 50 minutes.
They have one eye on a summer break

I think they've got at least one good game in them. That was a tough lead up to the first test with jet lag and short prep time. They'll be up for a battle yet.

Flockwitt wrote:

The Native wrote:Crotty was so good last night and probably the most underrated midfielder in World Rugby. Not bad for a placeholder.

I'm a fan but I thought apart from his one outstanding fend a lot of his play was sub-par in that game. Wrong options or poor timing on his pass several times during the game which was unlike him.

He also utterly failed to draw the last man before the disallowed try due to Snecky Smith's obstruction. One of the most bizarre potential bombed tries I've ever seen, he basically passed it to a player to allow him to get tackled, but his blushes were spared by ALB bumping off the defender anyway.

Flockwitt wrote:

Cullen wrote:ABs will only get better. Can't see the French giving another effort like the first 50 minutes.
They have one eye on a summer break

I think they've got at least one good game in them. That was a tough lead up to the first test with jet lag and short prep time. They'll be up for a battle yet.

not a chance, for real, CS is right, we should just go home, summer in post-season is not time for rugby

Given that there isn't anything "testing" at all for the ABs, can this still be called a "test match".

TheFrog wrote:Given that there isn't anything "testing" at all for the ABs, can this still be called a "test match".

yeap, WR is testing their referees after all

Going to be another half century I won't watch

TheFrog wrote:Given that there isn't anything "testing" at all for the ABs, can this still be called a "test match".

Testy fans and neutrals?

Laurent wrote:Going to be another half century I won't watch

That’s the spirit

TheFrog wrote:Given that there isn't anything "testing" at all for the ABs, can this still be called a "test match".

Seems to be making the odd person testy.

edit...damn, behind the fair again.

Jesus, are the French really that morbid or are they appealing to the mockers en masse?

The Native wrote:Jesus, are the French really that morbid or are they appealing to the mockers en masse?

That team is shite

The coaching is poor

It's hey Theo backwards

The French are the most schizophrenic team in international footy.

One should never write them off. We saw 2 French sides last Saturday, and if we get the one that played the first half, who knows what sort of game we will get.

With the controversy over the non citing of Cane and Tuungafasi over a tour ending injury, this is reminiscent of the '05 lions tour, except the visiting fans are not as fun on the piss......

NZ were very rusty in that first half on saturday, shovelling the ball and looking uncertain. France will have to up their game immensely to stay with the ABs this week, and be a lot more creative in attack, which they can be given the off-loading game they brought to the last few games in France.

I'm very interested to see who gets a run, Goodhue certainly deserves a shot, ALB was poor by his own standards.

Toro wrote: I'm very interested to see who gets a run, Goodhue certainly deserves a shot, ALB was poor by his own standards.

I think you need to watch a bit more French rugby.
Basta has been running riot at times in the T14 and he's not in the team because he's the best looking guy in France.
ALB did very well to contain him.

Magpie26 wrote:

Toro wrote: I'm very interested to see who gets a run, Goodhue certainly deserves a shot, ALB was poor by his own standards.

I think you need to watch a bit more French rugby.
Basta has been running riot at times in the T14 and he's not in the team because he's the best looking guy in France.
ALB did very well to contain him.

It was more in attack where I thought he wasn't great, again, by his own standards. He not the flashiest player around but his strength in test rugby for me has always been doing the basics well. But all that apart I'd like to see Goodhue.

Toro wrote:

Magpie26 wrote:

Toro wrote: I'm very interested to see who gets a run, Goodhue certainly deserves a shot, ALB was poor by his own standards.

I think you need to watch a bit more French rugby.
Basta has been running riot at times in the T14 and he's not in the team because he's the best looking guy in France.
ALB did very well to contain him.

It was more in attack where I thought he wasn't great, again, by his own standards. He not the flashiest player around but his strength in test rugby for me has always been doing the basics well. But all that apart I'd like to see Goodhue.

I would like to see him too but I think he will have to wait a while yet.

Magpie26 wrote:

Toro wrote:

Magpie26 wrote:

Toro wrote: I'm very interested to see who gets a run, Goodhue certainly deserves a shot, ALB was poor by his own standards.

I think you need to watch a bit more French rugby.
Basta has been running riot at times in the T14 and he's not in the team because he's the best looking guy in France.
ALB did very well to contain him.

It was more in attack where I thought he wasn't great, again, by his own standards. He not the flashiest player around but his strength in test rugby for me has always been doing the basics well. But all that apart I'd like to see Goodhue.

I would like to see him too but I think he will have to wait a while yet.

No one will get dropped from that's team and we aren't going back to rotations. So unless there is injury or suspension it will be unchanged.

Any word on Canes head?
S Whitelock and Franks are closing in on 100 tests. I hope one lines up with the first Bledisloe for that extra motivation

Cullen wrote:Any word on Canes head?

He passed the HIA during the test.

Flockwitt wrote:

The Native wrote:Crotty was so good last night and probably the most underrated midfielder in World Rugby. Not bad for a placeholder.

I'm a fan but I thought apart from his one outstanding fend a lot of his play was sub-par in that game. Wrong options or poor timing on his pass several times during the game which was unlike him.

This is what I saw as well, he also looked a bit slower on break than he usually does.

I don’t think Hansen will mess with what he sees as his best available XV. We may see opportunities for players like Goodhue, Mo’unga, or Frizell in a dead rubber third test, but not yet. Let the combinations gel a little bit more and seal the series, then you can experiment a bit.

Hopefully the French offer more than a bit of defence otherwise we'll be going into the rest of the season a little under cooked.

naki wrote:

Flockwitt wrote:

The Native wrote:Crotty was so good last night and probably the most underrated midfielder in World Rugby. Not bad for a placeholder.

I'm a fan but I thought apart from his one outstanding fend a lot of his play was sub-par in that game. Wrong options or poor timing on his pass several times during the game which was unlike him.

He also utterly failed to draw the last man before the disallowed try due to Snecky Smith's obstruction. One of the most bizarre potential bombed tries I've ever seen, he basically passed it to a player to allow him to get tackled, but his blushes were spared by ALB bumping off the defender anyway.

Agree with those summations. Mind you, neither did ALB have a stellar beginning to the test, in fact he was pretty bloody awful, but he redeemed himself in spades later.

It could be a worrying sign, I wonder if Crotty is still suffering the after affects of the head knocks.

The Native wrote:Some thoughts and predictions to get the ball rolling.

Codie Taylor is now our first choice hooker, even when Dane Coles is fit and available. He's gone from strength to strength ticks every box. Coles is ideal as a closer. Hansen has talked about how they want to up the temp of a game in the last 30 minutes and Coles is ideal for that.

The All Black bench was outstanding and did exactly what was required. McKenzie and Laumape were probably our best backs even in their limited time on the park.

Crotty was so good last night and probably the most underrated midfielder in World Rugby. Not bad for a placeholder.

Karl Tu'inukuafe's first scrum gave me a chubby. As good a first act for a prop on debut as you could get.

I'm about to watch the game again but how many times did the All Blacks steal the French lineout ball? Three or four?

Luke Whitelock was surprisingly good with ball in hand.

Rieko Ioane is slow.

Don't agree with your assessment of Coles as a finisher. As good as Cody Taylor was, my MotM, a fit and firing Coles would not be the ideal finisher. If anything, Taylor's extra explosiveness lends itself to that role, whereas I feel that Coles' leadership has been missed at times.

It's a nice thought though, having two very good hookers available. That's if Coles ever recovers.

Cullen wrote:ABs will only get better. Can't see the French giving another effort like the first 50 minutes.
They have one eye on a summer break

Did you mean to say 30-40 minutes? The French were already on the slide. The AB's came out in the second with pick n goes and generally more route 1 play, which put the French on the back foot.

Ted. wrote:

Cullen wrote:ABs will only get better. Can't see the French giving another effort like the first 50 minutes.
They have one eye on a summer break

Did you mean to say 30-40 minutes? The French were already on the slide. The AB's came out in the second with pick n goes and generally more route 1 play, which put the French on the back foot.

In all fairness we only took the lead around the 52nd minute mark, but I agree they were hanging by a thread by then.

Ted. wrote:

The Native wrote:Some thoughts and predictions to get the ball rolling.

Codie Taylor is now our first choice hooker, even when Dane Coles is fit and available. He's gone from strength to strength ticks every box. Coles is ideal as a closer. Hansen has talked about how they want to up the temp of a game in the last 30 minutes and Coles is ideal for that.

The All Black bench was outstanding and did exactly what was required. McKenzie and Laumape were probably our best backs even in their limited time on the park.

Crotty was so good last night and probably the most underrated midfielder in World Rugby. Not bad for a placeholder.

Karl Tu'inukuafe's first scrum gave me a chubby. As good a first act for a prop on debut as you could get.

I'm about to watch the game again but how many times did the All Blacks steal the French lineout ball? Three or four?

Luke Whitelock was surprisingly good with ball in hand.

Rieko Ioane is slow.

Don't agree with your assessment of Coles as a finisher. As good as Cody Taylor was, my MotM, a fit and firing Coles would not be the ideal finisher. If anything, Taylor's extra explosiveness lends itself to that role, whereas I feel that Coles' leadership has been missed at times.

It's a nice thought though, having two very good hookers available. That's if Coles ever recovers.

I see it as much as the same as when Coles took over from Mealamu. Coles was seen as the more dyanmic of the two and Mealamu the wise head when he came on to close out games. Coles is also 31 and has been injury prone in the last couple of years.