Rugby - The Game They Play In Heaven II

[finbar]

Heck, I miss birthdays - even my own - to watch Test rugby. You can just about discount the first half. Very few teams were going to live with the Boks in that mood. And they should have been miles out of sight at half time such was the power, fury and speed. The comeback was admirable. Youngs is playing better, and Flood - when he chose to play rugby and not kick, usually badly - wasn't bad either. It was a new midfield so excuses can be made for that reason but it was chaotic. Waldrom made a difference, though. For starters, he's more mobile than fatso Morgan. Morgan needs to lose some fat and work on his fitness.

Scotland could well end up the only NH winners out of these series. How ironic.

[kittenOFchaos]

Ireland should take heart - to get within 3 of NZ on tour is impressive. Perhaps they are learning to cope with NZ?

England too showed that they can compete - and not just in the scrum where they kicked ass. In my view England were lucky that Steyn's place kicking was poor, but England got poor treatment by the referee. One try again against when the ball went through the scrum without contact being made by the front row and a clear case of South Africa bringing down a maul within 5 metres of the line.

Wales simply threw it away.

As for Scotland, I'm delighted for them as they've had a rough ride. In the RWC and 6 Nations there were many games where they lost by just one score having largely outplayed their opponents - but lacking the incision to score tries. In general the quality of Scottish players is improving - even if we have to convert Dutchmen. Next 6 Nations I'd be surprised if we don't win at least 2 games.

[finbar]

I think Ireland was more a case of them turning up to play, motivated by the poor effort the week before. They have a habit of producing outstanding games from nowhere. Hark back to the 6N against England the year before to deny England the GS. Utter rubbish for the entire tournament, a stunning effort against England. Same thing against the Wallabies in the WC. If only they could somehow bottle whatever it is that produces the turnaround. They could just as likely be average again next week. And the ABs, it has to be said, were ordinary by their standards, partly thanks to Ireland's pressure.

England can't complain about the ref. Robshaw should have been carded, and that's the second time in two weeks the ball has bobbled out the other side of the scrum. Just poor ball control and technique. Last week Johnson hooked the ball back in with his hand and was penalised. Yesterday he obviously thought about it but decided against it. They were utterly blitzed in the first half and the Boks should have had 40 on the board at the interval. The fightback was brave and impressive under all the circumstances - Lancaster certainly has instilled a spirit - but I think the first half demonstrated the real gulf of potential between the teams.

You can only assume that Wales' kicking tactics were at the coach's direction. It's a common Welsh tactic. For starters, you have to kick well; for seconds, you have to choose when to kick. Priestland got both very wrong. Phillips' very limited game can also be a liability. In the right context, he can be extremely effective. But not yesterday. Wales actually created very little. The first try was well taken through strong forward play, but, beyond that, they needed a rare Genia error, a toe-through and a chase. Probably they were lucky to be as close as they were.

McVisser should be a big help to Scotland. He's a genuine try scorer, something they've lacked for a long time. The key will be getting the ball to him. They have plenty of young players with great potential. I hope Turnip is the man to unlock it. But I'm not sure he is.

[finbar]

Ben Youngs gone. Pity. He kept them alive on the weekend. You'd have to start Care in his place, a similar sort of livewire, but I fear it might be Dickson.

[Alexander's Horse]

hi finbar

[finbar]

Hey Horse! I've been trying to track you down. As always, you move in mysterious ways. PM me! And I don't mean Julia Gillard me. Trollop!

[Alexander's Horse]

sure, once I work out how to PM again...

[finbar]

I PMd you. You can send PMs via clicking on the person's user name. I think you find the received PMs in the My Profile bit at the top of the page.

[finbar]

Cripes, I've seen some poor English benches in my time but Lancaster has selected a very ordinary state of affairs. Impact? Pffffft. All the impact of ten day-old scone. Which, in fact, would have more impact. Pelted at short distance it could cause a concussion.

[kittenOFchaos]

After a tiring week I dragged myself out of bed to catch the last 20 of NZ Vs Ireland.

Some idiots online had been dissing and SBW Richie last week. Hell, pundits were saying Richie won't make the 2015 RWC. Richie McCaw is the best and his team brought Ireland the ownage

NZ 60 - Ireland 0

In other news Wales have managed to lose by a score, again, to Australia. Won't they ever learn?

Better news is Scotland win again

[finbar]

Well, SBW was v. poor last week after being only average the week before. Without his offloading, he doesn't make much impact. This week, with a little help from some friends, he got his act together. They had an astonishing first half hour, Cruden most astonishing of all till he was injured. Beautiful rugby to watch. Ireland were up for it last week and the ABs below par. Clearly the ABs weren't going to let it happen two weeks in a row. Ireland were just impotent.

This was the match Wales should have won if they were going to win one. It was the Wallabies' poorest effort of the three matches. They missed a lot of first-up tackles and coughed up a lot of possession in the Wales 22. Maybe some of them were getting tired and understandably so. It was Barnes' and several others' fifth match in three weeks. Kurtley Beale was as rusty as heck. Put himself into some wonderful attacking positions but his passing and timing were awful. Alomost proved costly. Another game under his belt and he'll be fine. Wales simply weren't good enough. Their discipline was terrible, giving away idiotic costly penalties, and they just don't create enough opportunities to compensate.

Good for Scotland. It was close, apparently, but a win against Samoa on their turf is probably the best win of the three.

[Havak]

McCaw is class but he will be almost 35 by the next RWC. To maintain his standard until then is a big ask kOc.

Does any side have the split personaility of Ireland?

And Wales come up short yet again.

And another thumping for England yet to come.

A tour season that will have worked wonders for Scottish confidence but not helped anyone else?

[finbar]

I don't know any team in world rugby that could have turned back the AB tide in that first half hour.

[kittenOFchaos]

Dreadful game between SA and England - so many errors and penalties.

A draw was probably a fair result as neither side produced anything of quality.

[LDiCesare]

Hi.
I saw only parts of NZ/Ireland. Good game by the ABs, pitiful for the Irish.
I thought England played quite well vs. SA. It was not a beautiful match, but England played better than I've seen them do for a while.
France trounced Argentina in Tucuman for a change. That was a second strings Argentina team, however, with a few exceptions. The French side included some interesting young players, the 9 in particular, Machenaud, was fast and precise. The scrum was excellent, but then again the opposition was sub-par. It's a bit of a pity not to field something remotely resembling a first team. France didn't field first choices in at least tighthead and flanker, but otherwise the team was serious.