Autumn Nations Series 2022: England v New Zealand

After mixed results against Argentina and Japan, England’s Autumn Nations Series campaign stepped up a gear with the arrival of New Zealand. The All Blacks were coming in off the back of 2 wins but very different levels of performance in the previous weeks, but this week they ere ahead after just a matter of minutes as Dalton Papali’i read the England lineout move and intercepted Jack van Poortvliet’s pass to go over from long range. England were struggling to get a hanhold in the game early on, and when a scrum penalty allowed New Zealand to kick to the corner, the All Blacks maul found it all too easy to work their way over for a second try in the opening 10 minutes, Codie Taylor getting the armchair ride to the line. Going 0-14 down finally spurred an England attack, and after winning a penalty they kicked to the corner, only for their maul set-up to be pinged for obstruction. Ill discipline and inaccurate play were costing England, and when Ardie Savea pounced on van Poortvliet not controlling the ball well enough at the back of a ruck deep in his own 22, it sparked an attack that ended in a try beneath the posts for Rieko Ioane, only for the TMO to spot a neck roll from him a few phases earlier to let England off. England’s next attack ended in a fumble from Jonny Hill close tot he try line, but when Richie Mo’unga saw a pass fly out of his hands horribly wrong in his own 22, England were gifted with a central scrum, a penalty against Tyrel Lomax gave Owen Farrell the simplest of kicks at goal after 25 minutes. As the clock ticked down on the first half, New Zealand had time for one last attack, only for Jordie Barrett to knock on with the line at his mercy, and while an attempted tackle by Ellis Genge hat involved head-to-head contact was ignored by officials, a penalty against the prop for offsie allowed Jordie Barrett to kick the All Blacks into a 3-17 lead at the break.

With Owen Farrell struggling with a knock picked up lae in the first half, Marcus Smith took over kicking duties and had an easy first kick just minutes into the second half, and a clever delayed pass from the flyhalf on the edge of the visitors 22 sent Manu Tuilagi up to the try line, but after a series of pick-and-gos from the forwards, New zealand won the penalty for the latcher going off their feet while the backs were left looking at the wide open space they had in front of them. And they were made to pay minutes later as a clever crossfield kick to Caleb Clarke coming infield allowed him to release the looping Rieko Ioane, who otpaced everyone to run in unchallenged from is own 22. A clever flat pass from Owen Farrell set Luke Cowan-Dickie charging into the 22, but yet another attack came to nothing as Brodie Retallick waited for van Poortvliet to pick up the ball and hooked his arm as he passed to force the knock on. England kept coming with the attacks, but New Zealand’s defence were finding it too easy to stop them when things got dangerous and turn the ball over. England continued to create chances that they couldn’t finish, while as the game entered the final 10 minutes, Beauden Barrett landed a drop goal to stretch the lead to 19. Barrett’s next involvement was much more cynical, killing the ball as Marcus Smith’s break was stopped just short of the line, and he found himself sent to the bin, while Will Stuart was adjudged to have scored his first England try on the next phase. And England took full advantage of the extra man to strike again just minutes later, with Freddie Steward going over out wide, Marcus Smith cutting the deficit to 7 with the conversion. And with just 2 minutes remaining, England completed the turnaround as Stuart crashed over from close range, Smith’s conversion trying the game with a minute left. It all came down to the restart, and ENgland secured the ball, with Marcus Smith choosing to kick the ball out to end the game as a 25-25 draw.

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Learning opportunity

This is not a match that Jack van Poortvliet will look back at fondly. The young scrum half has been fantastic for England, but had a torrid day against the All Blacks.

Right from the opening minutes, the rote attack of Eddie Jones’ England was laid bare as they looked to throw a long lineout and then go off the top, and while a more experienced 9 may have recognised that the lineout going beyond the 15m line would have given the rear gunner extra time to get up in the passing lane, this was missed by the young Tiger, who saw his pass picked off as easy as you like for an early New Zealand try.

Not long after this, a box kick sailed far too long, allowing New Zealand to gather and call the mark with no pressure, while at the other end of the pitch, he was caught out taking too long at the back of a ruck where the ball was to the side of the hindmost foot rather than under it—therefore technically being out of the ruck—and this gave Ardie Savea the extra fraction of a second he needed to attack him and make the tackle during the kick motion. And then sadly his final act of the game was to knock on as Brodie Retallick perfectly timed a hook of his arm as he tried to play away from the breakdown.

While it was a poor game, it was probably actually what a young 9 like him needed. It was a reminder of the extra pressures of playing at Test level and the quality that you will be up against. Your kicks and passes have to be that extra inch more accurate, and there is that yard less before a defender is in your face. The key for him is to look back at this match as a learning experience and aim to be back to his usual standard next week.

Of course, that is assuming Eddie doesn’t do his usual thing of now dropping him from the 23 and all future squads off the back of 1 bad game…

Playing with the big boys

New Zealand may not be the team that they used to be after years of stagnation under Ian Foster. However, what they still are is a bunch of very skilled—and more importantly very big—players. And England showed exactly how not to attack against them. While they frequently got through the All Blacks’ defensive line with a clever tip on or flat pass at the line, they then tried to make it a physical battle to get over the line.

So let’s look at that New Zealand defence. While you may rightly query Bower’s workrate in defence, he is as physical as anyone else in the New Zealand front row, while playing Scott Barrett at 6 added extra physicality, Papali’i adds much more than Sam Cane at 7, and everyone knows that Ardie Savea is physicality personified! Then in the backs, playmakers Richie Mo’unga and Beauden Barrett’s strength and defensive ability is often overlooked as people focus on their attacking skill, Jordie Barrett has added extra physicality to the 12 position since replacing David Havili, while Rieko Ioane’s strength is often forgotten as people talk about his pace. Then finally on the wings, you have Caleb Clarke, whose strength is clear to all, and Mark Telea, who more that holds his own as well.

So when you look at this team, it is very clear that you don’t want to take them on physically, as there are very few teams who will be able to match them in this department. Instead, they key is to working the shapes and the space, utilising clever tip-ons and running lines to keep the defence on their toes, and most importantly, avoiding your pack getting white line fever and getting it out to the backs once the space is there.

It’s noticeable that with the extra space provided by Beauden Barrett’s yellow card, England put more focus on attacking the space once they reached the 22, and in doing so, they completed the comeback. The complete difference between the first 70 minutes and the final 10 minutes shows just how important it is to target the right areas when attacking New Zealand.

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Autumn Nations Series 2022: Scotland v New Zealand

After a bumper day of rugby yesterday, there was just one Autumn Nations Series match on the Sunday, as Scotland hosted New Zealand. The All Blacks were looking to test some of their depth with a number of changes, but it was new first-choice hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho who drove his way over for he opener after just a couple of minutes. The visitors failed to take the restart though,and the Scots piled the pressure on, until Dalton Papali’i eventually forced a turnover. And just minutes later, a clever grubber out wide released Caden Clarke down the wing, and while the Scottish defence managed to stop him, Jordie Barrett then took advantage of the recovering defence to kick to the corner, where ark Telea dotted down just 6 minutes into his debut. A clever piece of play released Stuart Hogg through the middle and when the fullback kicked on to take advantage of Murrayfield’s deep in goals, he was taken out off the ball by Anton Lienert-Brown in-goal, resulting in a penalty try and a yellow card for the Chiefs centre. And things got better for the Scots just minutes later as the next kiwi attack saw David Havili pass straight into the hands of Darcy Graham, who outpaced Clarke and stepped around Jordie Barrett to score, with Finn Russell—back in the suad and straight back into the 10 shirt following Adam Hastings’ injury—converting to level the scores after 16 minutes. The momentum and belief was with the Scots, and when Hogg kicked into the corner and just failed to complete the tackle on Jordie Barrett on the touchline, he had bought just enough time for Hamish Watson to arrive and play the fullback into touch deep in the All Blacks 22, but as they looked to attack the line, captain Jamie Ritchie was penalised for rolling after the tackle. As Lienert-Brown prepared to return to the pitch, Sam Whitelock was lucky to escape being penalised for a no-arms tackle on Duhan van der Merwe and the 15 men in black were soon back on the attack, the Scottish defence had answers for them this time. As the game approached the half hour, a driving maul from the Scots entered the All Blacks 22 and drew in the defence, and when the ball was spread wide, Darcy Graham just ran out of space and put a foot in touch as he dived for the line. But the maul had drawn a penalty so the hosts had another chance, and a series of hard carries from the forwards drew another penalty beneath the posts, which Russell kicked for the lead. The All Blacks were going through the gears as they looked to get back on top, but the Scottish defence held firm and forced an error from Finlay Christie in the corner, and the pack then won the penalty at the crum to allow them to clean their lines. There was just time for one more Scottish attack before the break, and when Duhan van der Merwe as stopped just short in the corner, the forwards took over with a series of pick and go carries, only to be pinged for sealing off, allowing the All Blacks to kick to touch for a 17-14 halftime score.

An offside penalty against Lienert-Brown allowed Russell to add another 3 points to the scoreline just minutes into the second half. Scotland were looking dangerous every time they entered the kiwis’ 22, but too often failed to convert, and when Stuart Hogg was stopped inches short after a break to the corner, a penalty again allowed the All Blacks to clear their lines. The All Blacks continued to look rattled and the Murrayfield crowd felt like it was beginning to believe, and when the hosts won a scrum penalty in the middle of the field, Russell called for the tee and extended the lead to 9 points. A big turnover at the maul from replacement hooker Codie Taylor gave the All Blacks a scrum in the home 22, and after the pack earned a penalty advantage, Beauden Barrett tried a cross-kick into the corner for Caleb Clarke but overhit it, leaving brother Jordie to kick the 3 points. This appeared to spur on the visitors, who took advantage of a dropped high ball from Hogg to attack into the 22, and when Jack Dempsey was adjudged to have deliberately knocked on as appearing to go for a tackle, the former Wallaby was sent to the bin, and after choosing a scrum to draw in the Scottish pack, it took just a couple of phases before Scott Barrett forced his way over, with Jordie adding the extras to put the visitors back ahead. It looked like the 14 men would just manage to hold out through the rest of the sin bin period, but as the 10 minutes came to an end, they just ran out of numbers on the blind side, allowing Mark Telea to go over in the corner with just 5 minutes left, with Barrett’s touchline conversion making it a two-score game with just minutes remaining. Of course if any team could still snatch victory, it would be one with Finn Russell at 10, and the fly half sent a lovely chip over the head of Caleb Clarke to Darcy Graham, who kicked on and was tripped as he chased, an offence the officials chose to ignore, and the All Blacks saw out the final minutes to secure a 23-31 victory that will leave the hosts wondering what might have been.

Van the man

When you have a player like Duhan van der Merwe in your squad, you want him on the ball as often as possible. Today, Scotland really got his usage right.

The gargantuan wing was being fed the ball as often as possible, and rather than staying on his wing, he looked to bring the ball infield. While it would put him against more physical players, this was clever usage of him, as it meant that the All Blacks couldn’t just push him into touch for an easy turnover, but it also meant that he was drawing in defenders into the middle of the pitch, creating space out wide for Finn Russell to exploit, effectively using him as an extra forward to establish a physical dominance.

And this is how a unit like him should be used: helping to create the physical dominance infield to create space for others, while still having some strike plays to utilise his pace in wider positions where he can then run over smaller wings. The gameplan showed its effectiveness today against the All Blacks, now they need to keep at this, and look how to build off this to further take advantage of the situation.

Shaky

This was an odd performance from the All Blacks. When they came flying out of the blocks to lead 0-14 after just 8 minutes, I thought that it was going to be a long day for Scotland, but the immediate comeback from the hosts and the manner of it appeared to stun the All Blacks.

It was asif the reminder of their vulnerability left them scared, and while they still frequently made ground in attack, there was not the composure that we are used to, while the spaces weren’t opened sufficiently for them to convert any chances (truly only half-chances if we’re honest) that they were creating. In the end, they had just enough late on as the replacements made a difference, but they must also be thankful that Scotland wasted so many opportunities on the New Zealand try line.

So what happened here? Yes there were a number of changes from recent squads, but Telea aside they are all still highly experienced players who are used to this set-up. Did last week’s canter against Wales lull them into a false sense of security? Or is this just another example of New Zealand under Ian Foster being a shell of the team they used to be?

While they may have come away with the victory, this is just another reminder to the rest of the world that the All Blacks are very beatable right now.

Autumn Nations Series 2022: Wales v New Zealand

With the Test Window now open, Wales’ Autumn Nations Series campaign got underway with the visit of New Zealand to the Principality Stadium. Wales were forced into a late reshuffle after Leigh Halfpenny pulled out through injury but should have had an early numerical advantage when referee Wayne Barnes and his team of officials missed Dalton Papali’i making contact with the head of Gareth Anscombe, and instead Richie Mo’unga opened the scoring with a penalty just a minute later. The Welsh were having the best of the possession early on, but a break from Papali’i following a turnover from Ardie Savea put the All Blacks on the front foot in the Welsh 22, and after going through the phases, Codie Taylor finally burrowed over for the try. As both sides tried to deal with a greasy ball, the visitors were getting the penalties in their favour, and their next visit to the Welsh 22 once again ended with Taylor forcing him over from close range after phases of concerted pressure. With Wales finally winning a penalty after 20 minutes, Rhys Priestland put the ball in the corner, but their maul went nowhere and their attack was pedestrian at best, going backwards for the majority of the 17 phases before finally winning another penalty. Priestland again kicked to the corner, and this time the crowd had something to celebrate as a lovely strike sent the looping Rio Dyer through a gap to score on his debut. A counterrucking turnover of the next All Blacks attack upped the volume of the crowd, and a break from Nick Tompkins off the resulting lineout brought the home side up to the 22 and drew a penalty, which Gareth anscombe kicked to bring the deficit back to 7 points after half an hour of play. But the All Blacks were straight back into the Welsh 22 following a penalty from Taulupe Faletau, and after putting pressure on the line to earn a penalty advantage, Richie Mo’unga kicked high to the corner, where Jordie Barrett beat Dyer in the air for the visitor’s third try. The hosts had one more chance before the break when an overthrown New Zealand lineout was gathered by Ken Owens, drawing a penalty which Anscombe kicked for a halftime score of 13-22.

The Kiwis were under pressure soon after the break, as a rare errant pass from Aaron Smith was kicked to the corner by Tomos Williams, who combined with Taulupe Faletau to force Beauden Barrett out right next to his try line, and while they failed to make anything of note from the position, they did earn a penalty, which Anscombe kicked to cut the lead to 6. Smith quickly made amends though, as he crabbed off the side of a maul and found a gap to shoot through to celebrate becoming New Zealand’s most-capped back with a try. The Welsh refused to give up, though, and when Tomos Williams chipped through in the 22 under penalty advantage, Rhys Priestland challenged Mo’unga in the air to force the ball to bobble loose, and skipper Justin Tipuric just about collected the ball with sufficient control as he went over next to the posts to give Anscombe an easy conversion. The All Blacks were straight back in the Welsh 22, though, and when Nicky Smith fell for the most theatrical of offloads from Ardie Savea, the back row carried through the gap and offloaded to Aaron Smith for another try. A Tomos Williams quick tap pen put him in behind the defence just before the hour, but his offload to Tipuric went agonisingly forwards. In comparison, the All Blacks looked like scoring each time they made it into the Welsh 22, and after a fumble backwards from Caleb Clarke stopped an initial attempt to spread the ball, they reset and went through the phases, with Savea eventually diving over to open up an 18-point lead. With the result looking likely, Wales brought on Sam Costelow for his debut in place of Priestland, but it was the originally intended fly half for the day, Anscombe, who made the next impact as he charged down a kick from former New Zealand U20s teammate Beauden Barrett and regathered, only for Richie Mo’unga to tackle him into touch just short of the line, and with just minutes left in the game, another attack in the Welsh 22 saw Beauden Barrett sent brother Jordie over from close range. With the clock in the red, Wales chose to play from deep after winning a free kick in the own 22, but an untimely slip from Anscombe led to a turnover penalty, and after kicking to the corner, the pack drove replacement Samisoni Taukei’aho over for a try to take the All Blacks over the 50-point mark, with Beauden Barrett’s conversion making the final score 23-55.

Finding a balance

This Welsh team still isn’t the finished picture, but it appears to be finding a good balance. Rowlands and Beard are getting used to playing together as a pair, as are Tompkins and North, 2 combinations where familiarity and chemistry can be so important. In the pack, the return of Ken Owens provides a hard carrying option that allows Wayne Pivac to pair returning flanker Justin Tipuric with another jackal in Tommy Reffell, while North provides a physical option in the midfield to create space for the electric wings Rio Dyer and Louis Rees-Zammit, which was perfectly highlighted by the way he created the gap for Dyer’s try.

They aren’t the finished article, though. The rest of the tight five still needs to provide more metres with the hard carries, and until they manage that, their latchers need to do a better job of securing their weight in the tackle. Meanwhile North chose to keep hold of the ball a couple of times when he could have probably played the ball out to Rees-Zammit and then ran the inside support line. Probably most worrying was how a period of 17 phases saw them go from having a driving maul about 8m out from the All Blacks line to being 30 metres from the line. They may have won the penalty at the end of it, but their attack looked pedestrian at times and easy to deal with… and this is against a team who aren’t known for their impressive defence of late.

It’s a step in the right direction for Wayne Pivac’s men, but they still have a way to go if they want to challenge in the World Cup next year.

Taking control

One thing that the All Blacks should be really happy with from this game is the effectiveness of their scrum. Granted the Welsh aren’t known for having an elite scrum, but the All Blacks pack were dominant on the day, winning a number of penalties and refusing to give Wales a clean platform to work off, while giving themselves a solid and steady platform.

The new starting prop pair of Ethan de Groot and Tyrel Lomax has been a revelation for the All Blacks in recent months, and at 24 and 26 respectively, you can’t help but think that they could potentially be the pairing for the next cycle, while Fletcher Newell is also establishing himself as a regular off the bench aged just 22.

The pack will certainly face much sterner tests, but the continued success of such a young group gaining experience is huge for a side that are arguably in a miniature rebuild with the World Cup just a year away.

2022 Rugby Championship: Team of the Tournament

It’s been a thrilling (and sometimes controversial) couple of months, but the 2022 Rugby Championship is now in the rearview mirror. In one of the closest tournaments to date, arguably the worst performing All Blacks team in years managed to come away with a win that will now surely keep Ian Foster in his job through to the end of the Rugby World Cup (sorry kiwis).

And now all that remains is for me to pick my Team of the Tournament. While I may use some stats to help me decide and sometimes back up my argument, this is largely done of feel from how the games went. I’d love to hear your own selections to, so let me know in the comments! And so without further ado, my Team of the Tournament is…

1) Ethan de Groot: Honestly, I’m shocked at how long Ian Foster stuck with George Bower’s awful defensive performances when de Groot was looking by far the more reliable player, but he was given the start in Round 2 and quickly solidified his place in the team with a series of reliable performances, while also helping to make the New Zealand scrum a formidable weapon.

2) Samisoni Taukei’aho: The decline of Codie Taylor and Dane Coles has been all too clear in 2022, but luckily for the All Blacks, it has coincided with the rise of Taukei’aho. The Chiefs hooker does not have the same pace as those who came before him, but makes up for that with great power and maximum effort around the park, and ended as the tournament’s top try scorer with 5, which helps him just beat out Malcolm Marx for a spot in this team.

3) Tyrel Lomax: Completing and all-New Zealand front row is Tyrel Lomax. Like de Groot on the other side of the scrum, he was given the chance to start in Round 2 and looks to have secured the number 3 shirt with a series of solid performances, making the scruma weapon while also providing a dynamic carrying option in the loose

4 & 5) Eben Etzebeth & Matías Alemanno: One of the most experienced and consistent locks in the world, Etzebeth consistently just goes about his business in both attack and defence and rarely gets the plaudits he deserves. Likewise Alemanno, who is so reliable both in defence and the set piece and does so much good without ever really standing out in highlight reels.

6) Juan Martín González: One of the breakout stars of 2022. The 21-year-old London Irish flanker has secured himself in the Pumas’ first choice back row in place of more recognisable names, and it’s understandable why, as he always seems to be in the right pace at the right time, ending the tournament with 4 tries (beaten only by Taukei’aho) and video footage of a sidestep on Willie le Roux that will be appearing in YouTube compilations for years to come.

7) Fraser McReight: Marcos Kremer is unlucky to miss out on a spot here, but McReight had the unenviable task of coming in at the eleventh hour to take the spot of talismanic captain Michael Hooper, and despite his lack of international experience, he performed with aplomb until being inexplicably dropped for the matches against New Zealand, ending with 3 tries.

8) Ardie Savea: Jasper Wiese is unlucky to miss out on a spot here, but he was playing for a team generally on the front foot, whereas Ardie Savea was often one of the best players on the pitch even when the rest of the New Zealand performance would be described as (to put it nicely) dire. Despite missing Round 5, he still finished joint-1ˢᵗ for carries, 1ˢᵗ for offloads and 2ⁿᵈ among forwards for metres carried.

9) Jaden Hendrikse: Who had Faf de Klerk losing the Springboks 9 jersey to a 22-year-old who started the season with just a handful of caps in their predictions for 2022. Such has been the form of Hendrikse though. Provides quick ball as the Boks try to play a more open game, but also puts in the inch-perfect kicks when South Africa went to their territory game.

10) Richie Mo’unga: Almost wins the spot by default as Santiago Carreras gets used to the position while Australia and South Africa chopped and changed at the position. But that’s not to say Mo’unga played poorly. Controlled games well and his goal kicking kept the scoreboard turning over, while he looked better as the team around him began to improve following Joe Schmidt’s arrival.

11) Marika Koroibete: A consistent performer while the Wallabies’ team performances fluctuate wildly, but still had some performances where he was near-unplayable. His workrate in some games was incredible, but arguably lucky not to be penalised for that try-saver on Makazole Mapimpi.

12) Damian de Allende: Maybe struggled at times with his decision making as the ball went wide on attack, but so reliable with his direct carries and his defence, while also had to take on more responsibility with the loss of midfield partner Lukhanyo Am midway through the tournament and the chopping and changing of players at flyhalf.

13) Len Ikitau: Lukhanyo Am almost earned the spot despite missing half of the tournament, while Matías Moroni’s chances were harmed by Argentina’s inconsistency. However in a Wallabies backline that was constantly changing through injuries, Len Ikitau did a solid job of providing some consistency at a key position.

14) Emiliano Boffelli: Always a danger in the air and arguably not targeted enough in some games, what was most noticeable was how Boffelli’s kicking percentages off the tee were much better as he became the main kicker, leading to him equalling Richie Mo’unga’s points haul a the top of the stats sheet.

15) Jordie Barrett: An argument could certainly be made that his best game came at 12, but was also highly reliable at fullback. Finished the tournament in the top 10 for points scored, offloads, carries, metres carried and defenders beaten.

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2022 Rugby Championship Round 6: New Zealand v Australia

Probably the closest Rugby Championship in a long time reached it’s final week, and it all started aut Eden park, with New Zealand facing Australia. Last week’s controversial victory saw New Zealand enter the weekend at the top of the table courtesy of a 13-point advantage over South Africa in overall points differential, while Australia knew that a bonus point that denied the All Blacks any bonus points would see them go top of the table and hoping Argentina pulled off a shock in South Africa.

But Australia’s job became so much harder just 2 minutes in as Jed Holloway’s cleanout of Dalton Papali’i saw him take the flanker beyond the horizontal, leading to an early yellow card. And the All Blacks were immediately taking advantage of the extra man, with Beauden Barrett—starting at fullback—breaking down the left wing and chipping on, with the pressure forcing Marika Koroibete to carry the ball out over his own dead ball line for an All Blacks 5m scrum, but the Wallabies defended manfully so close to their line and eventually won the turnover penalty after 5 minutes of pressure, allowing them to clear their lines and get back to 15 men. As the game remained a tight, error-strewn affair, the All Blacks finally opened the scoring with a Richie Mo’unga penalty, while the Wallabies were dealt a blow, losing Lalakai Foketi to injury, with Jordan Petaia coming on. And things soon got worse for the men in gold as Will Jordan used his pace to find some space with an arcing run to get outside Petaia and go over for the opening try. The All Blacks were suddenly taking over the game, and a break from Rieko Ioane just a minute later led to an 8ᵗʰ penalty in 25 minutes, though despite the Wallabies being on a team warning, skipper James Slipper somehow avoided a yellow card. However the All Blacks got the drive on from the resulting lineout, and when it went to ground, Andrew Brace awarded a penalty try and sent hooker Dave Porecki to the bin. 1 points down and with a man in the bin, the Wallabies needed something, and a clever move at the front of the lineout released Pete Samu (throwing in due to Porecki’s absence) up to the All Blacks try line, and when the ball came back to the blind side, Koroibete dropped over in the corner, only to find that his foot was in touch. But the Wallabies had a penalty advantage and went for the line again, which saw Harry Wilson stopped just short and the ball held up a phase later. The australian pressure continued, but in their quest for tries not penalties they found themselves turning down kicks at goal but unable to get across the whitewash, and the kicking of Mo’unga and the Barrett brothers continued to find space deep in the backfield to push the visitors back and put the under pressure, so the teams reached the break with the All Blacks leading 17-0.

The Wallabies ay have been back to 15 as the second half kicked off, but they were under immediate pressure, and Sam Whitelock forced his way over the line after just 2 and a half minutes, and despite Angus Bell’s best efforts to dislodge the ball on the way to ground, TMO Ben Whitehouse adjudged that Whitelock had managed to keep control and the try was given. Mo’unga kicked the conversion and a penalty just minutes later to open up a 27-0 lead after just 47 minutes, and this lead was stretched further on 53 minutes as a scrum penalty allowed the All Blacks a lineout 5m from the line, and Codie Taylor was given the easy job of dropping over the line after a strong driving maul. The Walabies finally got on the scoresheet as the hour approached, Mo’unga’s kick partially charged down to Pete Samu, who advanced down the wing, and as he tried to find Folau Fainga’a on his inside, his pass was knocked towards the try line by the despairing hand of Will Jordan, allowing the Wallabies hooker to dive on the loose ball and let his momentum take him over the line. However a series of unforced handling errors from the Wallabies put them under pressure deep in their own 22, and when New Zealand won a penalty, they went to the corner and pushed over replacement hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho for their 5ᵗʰ try of the night, while only the efforts of Koroibete covering back denied the All Blacks a 6ᵗʰ just moments later as Akira Ioane chased his own grubber kick down the wing. The result may have been beyond doubt with 10 minutes remaining, but that was no excuse for TMO Ben Whitehouse choosing to ignore what should have been a red card for Sevu Reece for a tackle on Reece Hodge that led to a head clash, and it was said All Blacks wing who forced a turnover on his own line from Australia’s next attack, with the All Blacks then countering and adding a further 3 points from the boot of Mo’unga. Australia had one last chance to grab a consolation try at the death as they kicked a penalty to the corner, and after 6 phases of pressure, Nic White’s flat miss-pass sent Petaia over beneath the posts as the defence jammed in on Pone Fa’amausili, and Reece Hodge added the conversion for a final score of 40-14.

All that was left for the All Blacks was to wait for South Africa’s match later, with the Springboks now needing a bonus point victory by a margin of at least 40 points in order to deny New Zealand the title.

Inside man

While last week was costly for the All Blacks with the loss of both Quinn Tupaea—who will be out long-term—and David Havili, it may have been a blessing in disguise. While some may have thought this would be the chance for Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to get a start, Ian Foster instead chose to move fullback Jordie Barrett into the 12 shirt, with brother Beauden coming into the team at fullback.

Beauden Barrett is a fantastic player, but not as good a fly half as Mo’unga, and with Jordie Barrett the incumbent at 15 and covering long-range goal-kicking duties, Beauden’s talents were being left to just late cameos.

However as I have covered multiple times before, Jordie is (in the kindest of ways) a freak of nature, as he has the handling, passing and kicking skills to cover playmaking positions, he also has the size and power to carry hard. Havili has frequently been used in the 12 position outside Mou’unga, where he can use his own playmaking and kicking abilities, so Jordie Barrett provides a similar option at this position, but then also added an extra dynamic in the way that he could just run hard into contact himself, while we know that Beauden is more than capable of excelling at 15, allowing him to work his magic while Mo’unga and Jordie Barrett run the game.

With the Autumn Nations Cup coming up, don’t be shocked to see more of Jordie Barrett in this position as New Zealand look to climb back up the rankings.

Their own worst enemy

Australia are their own worst enemy at the moment. They will defend like dogs and hold out when conventional wisdom would suggest they should break, while in attack they can be so incredibly dangerous—especially with this week’s dynamic back row of Rob Valentini, Pete Samu and Harry Wilson—and yet they then ruin everything by giving away a million penalties a game!

OK, so a million may be a slight exaggeration, but it’s not far off. They gave away 8 penalties before they even reached the half hour mark; a top team should be hoping to only just hit double figures in an entire game. And once again they have spent 20 minutes of the match with players off the pitch in the bin, their 7ᵗʰ and 8ᵗʰ yellow cards of the tournament. When you are playing that much rugby a man down, you’re making it all-but impossible to win, while it also can’t help but be in an official’s mind going into a game that this is a team that frequently offends, meaning they will be looking for those offences.

But its so much more than that. Just take it back to a base level. Penalties stop your attacks (Holloway’s overzealous cleanout of Papali’i ended a promising early attack). It gifts your opponent possession, and leaves you having to work harder defending than you would in attack. And it gifts your opponent territory, allowing them to clear their own lines if in trouble, or kick deep into your half if you are in attack.

When you consider how many players Australia are missing at the moment through injury, the fact that they can be so competitive is impressive. However until the Wallabies can improve their discipline, they will struggle to get results consistently going their way.

2022 Rugby Championship Round 5: Australia v New Zealand

Round 5 of the 2022 Rugby Championship kicked off in slightly unusual circumstances on a Thursday in Melbourne with Australia facing off against New Zealand for the first Bledisloe Cup match of the year. The All Blacks came in topping the table after a big victory over Argentina, and took advantage of the Wallabies’ failure to win the kickoff to establish early dominance in the 22, resulting in a driving maul pushing Samisoni Taukei’aho over for the opening try after 3 minutes. Richie Mo’unga, getting a run of games in the starting lineup, kicked the touchline conversion and added a penalty for a breakdown infringement after 10 minutes as ill discipline and handling errors from Australia gifted the All Blacks possession. Australia finally earned some possession and soon kicked a penalty of their own through Bernard Foley, who was appearing for the first time in 3 years, while their next possession in the All Blacks 22 saw them create an overlap to send Andrew Kellaway over in the corner, only for the efforts of Rieko Ioane and Mo’unga to hold the ball up. It was just a temporary delay, though, as Rob Valentini crashed over from short range just minutes later while Dalton Papali’i—on as a replacement for Sam Cane who had suffered a head injury—was sent to the bin for an offence in the build-up. The try and man advantage appeared to spur on the Wallabies, however a series of 15 phases deep in New Zealand territory was ended by a timely jackal from Quinn Tupaea—on early after David Havili suffered a head clash in a friendly fire incident—while the Wallabies also had to bring on Darcy Swain for Rob Leota, who had been attempting to run off an early knock. And the All Blacks immediately made Australia pay for the missed opportunity, with Caleb Clarke breaking from his own 22 into the Australian red one and forcing a cynical penalty from Tom Wright, who was sent to the bin, while Swain joined him just seconds after his introduction for a dangerous cleanout on Tupaea (who left the field with a knee injury), while Papali’i returned to the field to change a 15v14 into a 13v15 situation with 5 minutes left of the first half, which the All Blacks took immediate advantage of to drive Taukei’aho over, only for Jake Gordon to force the ball loose as the hooker tried to ground it, and the home team held on to half time with the scores level at 10-10.

The Wallabies replaced injured captain James Slipper at half time with Scott Sio coming on, but the All Blacks were ahead before the prop had a chance to get involved in the game, with a clever kick downfield and determined chase taking advantage of the extra space in the Australian backfield, while Taukei’aho was not to be denied this time when he got the ball close to the line, while a poor decision to kick from Hoskins Sotutu with plenty of men in support was the only thing that denied the All Blacks scoring on a break from their own 22 with their very next possession. A breakdown penalty won by Lalakai Foketi allowed Foley to cut the lead to 4 as the Wallabies got back to 15 men, but that didn’t last long as Jake Gordon was soon given a yellow card for collapsing a maul. WIth a man advantage and a back line featuring Mo’unga and 2 Barretts, maul was stopped immediately, Mo’unga found a gap outside Foley and held onto the ball through a double tackle as he went to ground to score next to the posts. Just minutes later, Will Jordan beat everyone to a Beauden Barrett chip over the defensive line and swerved around the despairing tackles of the remaining defenders to score under the posts, Mo’unga’s conversion stretching the lead to 13-31. The All Blacks were looking comfortable, until Foley got his arms through a tackle and offloaded to send Kellaway over for a try as they prepared to return to 15 men, which flipped the momentum in favour of the hosts, who struck again with 13 minutes remaining as Foley’ wide pass beat the New Zealand defence and send Kellaway over again, the conversion from Foley bringing the deficit down to just 4 points. Mo’unga kicked a penalty to fight back against the flood of points, but the Wallabies had their tails up, and Pete Samu combined with Marika Koroibete to put the back row over in the corner, while Foley’s conversion drew the scores level with 6 minutes remaining. Rob Valentini won a penalty that Nic White kicked from just inside the All Black half for the unlikeliest of late leads, and when their defence stopped the All Blacks maul 5m from the line and won a penalty with just over a minute remaining, it looked like a momentous comeback victory was on the cards. However referee Mathieu Raynal decided that he had not played a big enough part in the match to this point, and having allowed time wasting from both teams throughout, chose this moment to decide that enough was enough and gave a New Zealand 5m scrum after adjudging that Foley took too long to take his kick to touch, and having been gifted one last chance, Will Jordan sent Jordie Barrett over in the corner for a controversial 37-39 victory.

Dropping like flies

Just one year out from the World Cup, Dave Rennie must be getting very nervous at the number of injuries his squad is picking up. Through both this tournament and the preceding Test series against England, they have found themselves losing a couple of players each game, and rarely just with a knock that would see them back for the next match.

While it does have some benefits by allowing Dave Rennie a chance to test some of his fringe players against strong opposition—just look at Foley’s first cap since the 2019 Rugby World Cup and Pone Fa’aumausili making his debut—the constant chopping and changing of personnel is stopping the team from getting any consistency in selection and creation of units. And as good as all these players are, they need to be playing together regularly to build up the chemistry and trust between each other—you just have to look at the former New Zealand back row of Kaino, McCaw and Read or centre pair of Nonu and Smith to see just how chemistry can take players from very good to great.

But what is causing so many injuries? Are they working to hard in training, leaving muscles at risk? Or are they just going through a string of really bad luck, as you sa with injuries to players like Banks and Perese? Whatever the case, with limited matches remaining between now and the Rugby World Cup, Dave Rennie needs to hope the injuries end soon so that his ideal 23 can get used to working together. In a pool that contains Fiji, Wales and a Georgian team that should never be written off, that chemistry and familiarity could be the difference between topping the pool and an early exit.

Scraping through

While it may be a win for the All Blacks, it’s a very odd one to look back on. While they had moments of genuine quality, many of these came when they were playing with a numerical advantage, while the playmaking trio of Mo’unga and the Barretts was enforced through injury rather than a brilliant tactical decision from Foster. But more telling was just how many breaks or half-breaks came to disappointing ends due to either handling errors or wrong decisions, most notably when Hoskins Sotutu chose to kick with teammates supporting on either side.

But equally worrying is just how easy Australia found it to hit back after periods of All Black dominance. We’re not used to seeing New Zealand take their boot off their opponent’s neck once they get on top, and you would usually expect that a couple of quick tries to build up a 13-31 lead just after the hour would be a spot from which New Zealand would go on to win comfortably rather that the prompt for a fightback from an Australian lineup who are not used to playing together. If recent matches are anything to go by, New Zealand will be better in round 6 after a match of sizing up their opponents. But if they do win he final fixture, then a 3-game winning streak will be hiding plenty of deficiencies still very present within this team.

2022 Rugby Championship Round 4: New Zealand v Argentina

The 2022 Rugby Championship entered the second half of its competition with the second of Argentina’s matches in New Zealand. The Pumas came into the match topping the table after their first ever win over the All Blacks in New Zealand, but an early handling error from Tomás Lavanini gave the All Blacks immediate possession in the Pumas 22, and a minute of pressure earned them a penalty, which RIchie Mo’unga calmly slotted for an early lead. In wet conditions, the Pumas continued to make errors that gifted New Zealand possession and territory, and when Rieko Ioane recovered a chip into the Pumas 22, the All Blacks quick ball kept them on the front foot and eventually saw Ethan de Groot crash over for the opening try. The All Blacks extended their lead as the first quarter came to an end, Mo’unga sending a grubber in behind the Pumas defence—and taking a big hit from Marcos Kremer in the process—which Will Jordan won the race to, and with the Pumas defence retreating, the ball was spread wide on the next phase to send Caleb Clarke over in the corner, Mo’unga converting for a 17-0 lead. This finally sparked a response from Argentina, whose first attack of real note won a penalty, but they chose to kick to the corner and were soon undone by another handline error as they tried to spread the ball wide. Emiliano Boffelli finally put Argentina on the scoreboard with a penalty after 32 minutes, however a lack of communication recovering the restart led to them giving away a penalty in their own 22, and after the All Blacks’ initial attempt was stopped, Samisoni Taukei’aho crossed for the try—written off for a knock-on in the build-up by Tyrel Lomax—while Lavanini was sent to the bin for not being back 10m at the penalty. And the All Blacks took immediate advantage of the extra man, choosing to take a scrum and getting the push on, before giving to the backs to send Rieko Ioane over beneath the post, Mo’unga kicking the conversion for a 24-3 halftime lead.

The Pumas made a change at half time, with Benjamín Urdapilleta replacing Santiago Carreras—who had taken a knock to the thigh courtesy of an unpenalised late hit from Sam Cane—and he immediately had the Pumas on the attack, until a strip from Sam Whitelock on Thomas Gallo saw the All Blacks win the ball back and kick downfield, with a great chase putting the Pumas under heavy pressure, resulting in possession once again deep in the Argentina half and, soon after, another penalty for Mo’unga. As both teams went to their benches, George Bower found himself turned over by Matera n the Pumas try line, and this sparked a period of attacking intensity from the Pumas which saw Fletcher Newell binned for collapsing a driving maul and as the penalties continued to come their way, Lavanini’s stretch for the line saw the ball dislodged by Mo’unga, while another handling error ended their next attack in the 22. Winning a penalty advantage off the resulting scrum, the All Blacks chose to try and play with ball in hand, and Will Jordan released Rieko Ioane to break away, and a few phases of pressure saw Sam Cane put through to draw the last defender and feed Jordie Barrett for the try. That try killed off any remaining hopes of an Argentina comeback, and New Zealand’s next foray into Pumas territory also saw them score, Ardie Savea dotting down with 12 minutes left to make it 2 tries scored while Newell was in the bin, while Brodie Retallick marked his return from injury with a try with 6 minutes remaining and Beauden Barrett crossed after the final hooter, with brother Jordie converting for a 50-3 victory that will likely see many with short memories say that Ian Foster is the man to lead the All Blacks again.

In behind

Last week I talked about how the All Blacks just mindlessly ran into the heart of the Pumas defence phase after phase. Well it looks like Ian Foster has done his homework and created a gameplan to attack the Pumas (a week late), as they have done much better this week. And it all comes down to one thing: kicks in behind the defence.

The Argentina defence is made up of a group of absolute units getting in your face and hitting you hard, but once you get in behind them, they are vulnerable as they are forced to chase back, and often start giving away high numbers of penalties. This week, the All Blacks were finding a way to get in behind the defensive line, by having Richie Mo’unga and David Havili play clever shallow kicks in behind the front line.

It was a clear planned tactic as Will Jordan was always aware and ready to chase for it, while the kicks all notably came when playing to the All Blacks’ right wing, away from aerial master Emiliano Boffelli. Worst case scenario, these chips and grubbers were forcing the Pumas to have the ball deep in their own half, but what was often happening in the game was that Jordan was beating the defence on the turn, and in that moment the All Blacks attack would press their advantage to score a few phases later.

Now if only Ian Foster can start figuring out how to beat a team in 1 week rather than 2 or 3, the All Blacks may be able to put together a run of wins.

Kicking themselves

While New Zealand got their tactics right this week, the Pumas didn’t. Much like in the first round against Australia, Argentina focused too much on attacking with the ball in hand, which worked against them as a combination of wet conditions and a solid All Blacks defence saw them continually making handling errors that killed off their match.

What they should have been doing was playing the kicking game that they did in round 2, putting the ball up and letting players like Carreras, Boffelli, Cordero and Mallia put pressure on the All Blacks in the air. Granted the All Blacks are better set to deal with this than the Wallabies (courtesy of both Jordie Barrett and Will Jordan being experienced fullbacks), but with conditions making the ball slippery, it would have still been a much more effective tactic, while also forcing the All Blacks to play from deep.

It’s noticeable that the high ball game did feature a little more after the break, and it did cause some problems for the All Blacks, but the game was already all-but over as a competition by that point and needed a more attacking gameplan from the Pumas, which then worked into New Zealand hands as the handling errors continued.

2022 Rugby Championship Round 2: South Africa v New Zealand

Round 2 of the 2022 Rugby Championship kicked off with a twist, as Round 1’s fixtures were repeated, leaving South Africa again hosting New Zealand, this time in Johannesburg. The All Blacks came into the match on the back of a 3-match losing streak that had seen them fall to 5ᵗʰ in the World Rankings, but they started much better than last week, releasinging Ardie Savea down the left wing. And while he was stopped just short of the line, Damian Willemse was sent to the bin for cynically not rolling away to prevent a quick recycle, though a brake foot infringement from Samisoni Taukei’aho after New Zealand opted for a scrum allowed he Boks to clear their lines. New Zealand were finding some early success on their left wing, but an interception from Pieter-Steph du Toit suddenly put the 14 men on attack, and though he was stopped short, he offloaded to Lukhanyo Am, who was held up on the line. Am did successfully dot down a few minutes later after a looped pass from Aaron Smith went loose in his own 22, but the All Blacks got a reprieve as Luke Pearce adjudged that they had won the ball back just before that courtesy of a knock-on from Ox Nché, and so Willemse’s sin bin period ended with the game still scoreless, though the home team had also been forced into an early reshuffle in the back line, with Jesse Kriel suffering a head injury and being replaced by Willie le Roux—moving Am to the wing and Willemse into centre. The first points of the match finally came early in the second quarter, Richie Mo’unga sparking a break down he right wing with some quick hands to evade the defender shooting up and releasing Will Jordan and Rieko Ioane, and while they were finally stopped n the South African 22, the defence was caught offside, allowing Mo’unga an easy first kick at goal. A break from Caleb Clarke as Aaron Smith drew the cover at the edge of a breakdown brought the All Blacks straight back up to the same spot on the pitch, and after a series of phases earned another penalty advantage, Will Jordan got the ball in space out wide and sent his captain Sam Cane over in the corner for the try. And just minutes later, the All Blacks were threatening the line again, and after a couple of high tackles stopped early efforts, Taukei’aho eventually forced himself over from close range, Mo’unga adding the extras for a shock 0-15 lead. Jacques Nienaber looked to the bench early, introducing Malcolm Marx, Steven Kitshoff and Jasper Wiese, and after the trio were involved immediately in a solid lineout and maul, the ball was spread wide to Am, who slipped his tackler and just managed to stretch out and reach the line, Pollard adding the extras to give the team—and the crowd—a much-needed boost. And when the Springbok pack won a scrum penalty right as the clock turned red, Handré Pollard stepped up to nail the penalty from within his own half, reducing the deficit to just 10-15 at the break.

South Africa started the second half still on the front foot and an early Pollard penalty cut the deficit to 2 points, but Mo’unga was soon able to kick one of his own after Jasper Wiese tackled Aaron Smith after the whistle. A huge penalty kick to touch put the Springboks back in the All Blacks 22, and after a series of strong carries in the middle, le Roux released Am out on the right wing only for Caleb Clarke to just drag a toe into touch before he could offload. However the home side has a penalty advantage and went back to the corner, however Ardie Savea made a crucial jackal to win a turnover as they threatened the line. A break from Am had them straight back on the attack, though, and after making big ground and drawing all the nearby black shirts, he threw a wide pass to send Makazole Mapimpi over uncontested, only for Luke Pearce to adjudge that Am’s break was helped by a block from the offside Jaden Hendrikse, so instead of pulling level with a conversion to take the lead, South Africa found themselves going a further 3 points behind courtesy of Mo’unga’s boot. There was no denying Mapimpi’s next try though, as Marx forced a turnover straight from the restart and Willemse sent a wide looping pass over about 5 men to send the wing over in the corner, Pollard’s touchline conversion making it 20-21 as the clock hit the hour. With just a quarter remaining, New Zealand tried playing out from their own 22 but debutant prop Fletcher Newell dropped a simple pass, and as Hendrikse hacked the ball into in-goal, he found himself blocked by replacement Beauden Barrett, who was sent to the bin just moments after coming on, while Pollard kicked the penalty to give the Boks their first lead of the game. New Zealand soon found themselves with a lineout just outside the home 22, but replacement hooker Codie Taylor saw his throw pinched by Franco Mostert, and then suffered the further indignity of having his throw penalised for not being straight, and the South African scrum took advantage of George Bower trying to walk around the outside to earn a penalty and kick themselves back into the New Zealand half. Despite being down a man, the open nature of the game suited the All Blacks, and Rieko Ioane’s break down the left wing brought the Kiwis back into the South African 22, an the team kept the pressure on to eventually see Ardie Savea’s offload find David havili, who stretched out for the try with 6 minutes remaining, Mo’unga adding the extras for a 5-point lead. With 3 minutes remaining, Mapimpi tried to run from deep but found himself turned over by Sam Whitelock, and a kick to deep from Jordie Barrett held up just in the field of play, forcing le ROux to play the ball and try clearing from the corner under heavy pressure, gifting the All Blacks a lineout just 5m from the try line, and after the maul and a series of carries were stopped on the line, Scott Barrett managed to force himself over to secure the win and deny the World Champions a losing bonus point, Mo’unga adding the extras to complete a 23-35 victory.

Poor opening

Did South Africa get their selections and tactics wrong for this game?

Obviously the loss of Jesse Kriel so early could not be expected, but the choice to have a 6-2 split on the bench forced a reshuffle that was far from ideal with Am being moved out to the wing, where he can be less involved defensively and will also not be able to compete for kicks as well as a wing would. And whether it was due to the early yellow card and then the reshuffle or not, but the defence looked to be much less willing to shoot up this week compared to in round 1, which game the All Blacks forwards a chance to get some momentum before contact and gave the backs a little more time to get their shape.

But besides that, there were also the selections of Dweba, Nché and Vermeulen, who were all removed after 30-35 minutes. Dweba wasn’t even in the original 23, only coming in after Bongi Mbonambi was injured, and he made it very clear that there is a substantial gulf between him and South Africa’s top 2 hookers. Aside from being responsible for one of the New Zealand breaks, he was also killing the Springboks at the set piece, having one early throw stolen and another deep in the red zone go askew, and even one overthrow that led to a decent South Africa attack did not look deliberate; while at the scrum, an early brake foot infringement meant that he was coming under extra scrutiny. Given Marx’s form, it was no shock to see Nienaber make the change after just 30 minutes in an attempt to gain some control.

Meanwhile in Vermeulen it was very clear that we were seeing the return of a quality player from injury, as he did not look close to 100%, and you can’t help wonder if Nienaber was expecting a much more deflated New Zealand side than they found themselves facing.

While the Boks have the depth of quality to recover and make a game of this, the match was lost in the first 35 minutes. And just over a year out from the World Cup, with a high likelihood that these teams meet in the quarterfinals, this is a timely reminder of how you have to get your tactics right to beat the All Blacks, even when they’re at their worst.

Silver lining to a very black cloud

While this victory should not be enough to save Ian Foster’s job, it is a welcome and timely reminder that it would not take much to get the All Blacks back to being a legitimate threat in time for the World Cup.

Richie Mo’unga was given a rare chance to not just start but have full control of the back line—as many of his chances to start have seen Beauden Barrett allowed to run the game from 15— and while he didn’t have the same in-your-face pressure as last week’s team faced, he managed to to get the ball moving much more effectively than we had seen from New Zealand in a while, with the ball repeatedly being got out to the wings, where they had players like Rieko Ioane, Will Jordan, Caleb Clarke and Ardie Savea all just waiting for the opportunity to get up a head of steam into the space in front of them.

Meanwhile, the protection around their catchers under the high ball was much better, taking away an area that had been a real weapon for the Springboks last week, and th forwards were making ground with much more determined carrying, even Sam Cane looked much better than he had at any point since his return from injury.

And the other big success that needs mention is 24-year-old loosehead Ethan de Groot. Though he did give away a couple of penalties around the park, he put in an assured performance at the scrum against Frans Malherbe, one of the most destructive scrummaging tightheads in world rugby. With Joe Moody unavailable and Bower continuing to struggle at the moment, de Groot should be given the starting spot for the remainder of the tournament.

Things were still far from perfect for the All Blacks, with far too many unforced errors, but this will be a timely reminder that there is a good team here, just waiting for the right head coach to unlock them.

2022 Rugby Championship Round 1: South Africa v New Zealand

The 2022 edition of the Rugby Championship kicked off in Nelspruit with the first of 2 away matches for New Zealand in South Africa. The Kiwis came in at risk of dropping in the world rankings and with Ian Foster’s role as head coach being seriously questioned and it require a great tackle out wide from Jordie Barrett to stop Makazole Mapimpi going around the outside of him as the Boks looked to spread the ball wide. The home side were almost immediately back on the attack, and when Kurt-Lee Arendse put pressure on Beauden Barrett in the air under a Handré Pollard high ball, Lukhanyo Am was there to claim the loose ball and feed the Bulls wing for the early try. Though New Zealand were getting some possession they could not get out of their half, and when captain Sam Cane was pinged for going off his feet at the breakdown, Pollard kicked the 3 points to make it a 10-point lead with a quarter of the game gone. With Arendse challenging them in the air, the All Blacks were struggling to deal with the high ball, and when Siya Kolisi beat Akira Ioane to the net loose ball, South Africa quickly recycled and spread the ball wide, but Damian de Allende’s kick forward just refused to stay infield as Mapimpi tried to catch up to it, while a timely turnover from Ardie Savea under his own posts brought the next South African attack to an end. With just 4 minutes left in the opening half, Jordie Barrett got the All Blacks on the scoresheet with a penalty after Damian de Allende encroached into an offside position at a South Africa scrum—though rarely seen penalised, both back lines should stay at least 5m behind the hind foot until the ball is out—and this appeared to give the visitors some heart as they went on the attack, only for Malcolm Marx to bring it to a swift end with his second turnover of the match on his 50ᵗʰ Test cap, which saw his side go in at the break with a 10-3 lead.

The South African dominance continued after the break and saw Pollard kick another penalty with 30 minutes remaining. With Jordie Barrett struggling with a foot injury, Richie Mo’unga was brought on at fly half—with Beauden Barrett moving to 15—but it had little impact as South Africa continued to dominate, allowing Handré Pollard to kick a drop goal just before the hour. New Zealand finally saw themselves gifted with possession in the South African 22 with just over 15 minutes remaining after Arendse kicked out on the full when the ball had been played back into the 22, but the threat lasted just a couple of phases before replacement hooker Dane Coles knocked on. As the game entered the final 10 minutes, the South African defence continued to play as they had all night, and when Lukhanyo Am won a turnover penalty just inside the New Zealand half, Pollard kicked the penalty to open up a 16-point lead—a notable figure as a loss of 15 points or more would see the All Blacks drop to 5ᵗʰ in the World Rankings. An impressive game for Arendse was ruined by a late red card for taking out Beauden Barrett in the air with 5 minutes remaining—an incident that saw both players stay down for a number of minutes and Arendse eventually stretchered off. With just minutes left but a one-man advantage, Caleb Clarke made a break and was stopped just short by Damian Willemse, but bought time for his support, which allowed Shannon Frizell to go over in the corner, but some loose play as New Zealand went hunting for the bonus point on their next possession saw the All Blacks flanker fumble Sam Cane’s pass, and replacement Willie le Roux nipped in to score under the posts, Pollard kicking the conversion for a 26-10 victory.

Fifty up

On a recent article, I named Malcolm Marx as one of my top 5 hookers currently playing. Today was the perfect example of why.

While he was ultra-reliable at the set piece, he was also used as one of the primary carriers on first phase off the lineouts, and yet despite this meaning pretty much all of his carries were into an organised defence, he still managed to break the gain line with every single one of his carries, with one knock on in contact the only real blight on his 53-minute performance.

But where he really came alive was in defence, where he won 4 turnovers. The best openside flankers in the world would be happy with 4 turnovers in a Test match, this is coming from a hooker. He is so physically strong and in control of his body, while he has the nous to get himself in the right position as the tackle is made an the technique to get himself over the ball and latched on in a split-second.

Don’t ever be fooled by how often he starts on the bench, Marx is an elite player who should never be underestimated. This Man of the Match performance on his half-century was a timely reminder.

New faces, same result

The NZRU shockingly allowed Ian Foster to stay in his job following the series loss to Ireland, instead sacking his assistants. But this will surely have doomed Foster, even if he remains in the job for one more week with another Test against the Boks in South Africa next weekend.

The big worry for a while with New Zealand has been how there appears to be no plan in attack. Well the change in coaches certainly didn’t help there as the All Blacks looked worse than ever, creating just 1 attack of note, which was not even manufactured by the team, but simply a broken tackle late on and the individual skill of Caleb Clarke. Had the Boks nt scored that second try at the death, a 9-point difference would have been far too kind on the All Blacks and thoroughly undeserved.

Granted, the South African defence didn’t make things easy for New Zealand, with players regularly shooting out the line to make the man and ball tackle, but New zealand never looked like thy had an answer and continued to try and truck it up through the middle with their centres and forwards, who were too often being caught behind the gain line.

As a rugby fan, it is actually a real disappointment to see the All Blacks reduced to such a shambles. If Ian Foster survives this latest embarrassment, I begin to worry just how far this team can fall.

Ireland in New Zealand: Team of the Tour

We are one week on from that historic day that saw Ireland ear their first series victory over the Kiwis in New Zealand. A fantastic 3-Test series saw the Irish recover from a disappointing defeat to make history 2 weeks running to win the series 2-1, while the wider squad also got plenty of rugby during the tour with a 2-match series against the Maori All Blacks, which ended 1-1.

And so, as we spend this period after the Summer Tours patiently waiting for the beginning of the Rugby Championship,it’s time to look back over the tour to create my combined XV. Now this one will be a little different, as I have made the executive decision to base this on all 5 matches rather than just the Test series.

Who do you think should have made the XV? Let me know in the comments below.

My combined XV from Ireland’s 5-match tour of New Zealand is:

1) Andrew Porter: Oh how the All Blacks miss Joe Moody. In his absence, George Bower got the start in all 3 Tests… and if you’ve watched Squidge Rugby’s video on the 2ⁿᵈ and 3ʳᵈ Tests, you’ll know how poor his performances were! In contrast, Porter continues to play at a high level after moving over from the tighthead side. He may still have room for improvement at the scrum and should arguably have received a red card for his high tackle on Brodie Retallick, but in the loose he remains an important player in both directions, and carried well for an important early try in the 2ⁿᵈ Test.

2) Dan Sheehan: It was a quiet series for Codie Taylor as New Zealand struggled to create anything in attack. Sheehan meanwhile completely outplayed his more experienced opponents, being solid at the set piece and being an ever-willing carrier in the loose, with some clever footwork helping to beat the defenders. With Rónan Kelleher currently out injured, this Test series may have just given Sheehan the advantage in the race for the #2 jersey.

3) Tadhg Furlong: Maybe not the most notable performances from the Leinster tighthead, but he was solid and reliable all around the park, which is more than can be said for the All Blacks’ options.

4 & 5) Tadhg Beirne & Kieran Treadwell: Regular readers will know that I’ve been championing Beirne since his Scarlets days, but now his quality is becoming impossible to ignore even in the biggest Test matches. Solid and reliable all around the park, he put in some great carries to help get the Irish on the front foot, but really stood out in defence. If he wasn’t stopping the All Blacks with a tackle before the gain line, he was getting in with the jackal to win a crucial turnover or penalty. Became a one-man defensive behemoth late in the 3ʳᵈ Test, with a interception and a series of successful jackals stopping consecutive attacks. As for his partner, Kieran Treadwell gets the nod here after some solid performances against the Maori All Blacks, while he immediately acclimatized to the game when coming on late in the defensive efforts to finish off the crucial 3ʳᵈ Test.

6) Peter O’Mahony: A few times I have wondered if O’Mahony was past it and taking up a spot in the 23 that would be better suited to a young player who could benefit from gaining more experience. But these last few weeks saw him play arguably some of the best rugby of his career. Gains bonus points if his supposed dig at Sam Cane is true.

7) Josh van der Flier: Is he one of the most underrated players in world rugby? Ultra-reliable and constantly in the right place to make a tackle, he also appears to have added a bit more of a carrying game, just adding another bow to his quiver.

8) Ardie Savea: Probably one of the hardest spots to pick, and Caelan Doris is very unlucky to miss out, but Savea was one of the few positives for the All Blacks during this series. Has pace, power, good handling and a good rugby IQ. One of only a few players who frequently looked dangerous or caused Ireland issues, New Zealand were certainly hit hard by losing him in the 2ⁿᵈ Test.

9) Jamison Gibson-Park: If we were basing on just 1 match, Aaron Smith’s 1ˢᵗ Test was the most impressive performance, but he struggled to make an impact in the other 2. Gibson-Park may not have had such a stand-out performance but consistently kept the ball moving quickly form the base of the ruck to keep the All Blacks on the back foot.

10) Johnny Sexton: Like O’Mahony it recently looked like Sexton may be past his best but he was vital on this tour. Led the attack as he usually does, while his leadership was spot on. You just have to look at the way Ireland fell apart after his injury in the 1ˢᵗ Test to see how important he is to this team.

11) James Lowe: A quick shout-out to Connor Garden-Bachop, who looked dangerous going forward in both matches for the Maori All Blacks. Instead it was the former Maori All Black who gets the nod here. Like some other players on this list, he may have put in more spectacular performances in the past, but he was reliable both on offence and defence, and took his moments well to assist the Irish when going forward.

12) Bundee Aki: Came off the bench and impressed in the first 2 Tests after a solid first match against the Maori All Blacks, and took advantage of Garry Ringrose’s head injury to get a deserved start in the deciding 3ʳᵈ Test. Carried hard and with great lines to put the All Blacks on the back foot.

13) Robbie Henshaw: Split his time between 12 and 13 depending as to if he was partnering Bundee Aki or Garry Ringrose, but the quality of his performances never faltered. Did what was required in attack while helping to marshall the Irish defence..

14) Will Jordan: One of only 2 All Blacks to make the list, what makes it even more impressive is that Jordan does so from 1 start and one appearance off the bench. Jordan knows how to make finding and exploiting a gap look easy and was one of the few players to have any success against the Irish defence.

15) Hugo Keenan: What impresses me so much about Keenan is just how well he does the basics. He so rarely makes mistakes and then builds off that to produce an accomplished performance with regularity. Completely outplayed Jordie Barrett, despite the latter also being the All Blacks’ goal kicker.

Eyes on the Ball

Thoughts from the world of sport and the Schmoedown

Tag: New Zealand