It was an interesting game we were presented with on Saturday night. Conditions weren’t the best, and errors and poor discipline created a stop-start match.
Front row
George Bower and Nepo Laulala had a solid showing. The scrum held up well against the Wallabies where they said they would target. Replacements coming on were up and down in the scrum.
On attack the front row combined had a couple of solid carries. Laulala was quiet, Codie Taylor and Bower contributed the most. Taylor was solid in lineout throws.
Locks
Both Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick were at their best disrupting the lineout for the Wallabies and securing the ball for us. In play Retallick brought some mongrel into his game but also infringed a few times. Both were solid on defence, and we missed Retallick in that final 15.
Patrick Tuipulotu coming on certainly affected our dominance from the prior 15 minutes. With Beauden Barrett dropping out we struggled not having that physically dominant lock on.
Brodie Retallick. (Photo by Amilcar Orfali/Getty Images)
Loose forwards
It was a solid game from Akira Ioane. He has grown over the last few years and we are seeing him come through nicely, with dominant tackles throughout the game. He solidified the scrum and had good carries throughout the game, leading up to all three tries, as we needed him to do. Again, we missed his dominance in the final 15 – both him and Retallick being off made a negative difference.
Dalton Papalii had a good defensive game. Most rucks from both teams were well protected in this match, and turnover opportunities were limited. Ardie Savea had an up-and-down game that didn’t really go his way, with a few handling errors and carries that were there in the build-up to the tries.
Forwards overall
The All Blacks tried to start off with a hiss and a roar, going wide and lateral when instead we needed to keep it tight and control the middle early on. They couldn’t dominate on attack, with it coming between the 50th and 65th minutes, which was some fine rugby. Watching Aaron Smith bring them together with some cohesion was great to see, but we needed to play tightly like this in the first 15 to 20 minutes, with the forwards to have gained control and allowed the game to evolve from there.
The changes around the 65th minute really affected the dominance we had just gained, and we couldn’t get it back at all. We needed either Ioane or Retallick to stay on or a similar player to on, which Barrett would have been. Maybe next time Savea can go off for Luke Jacobson.
Halfbacks
Aaron Smith had a solid game behind a forward pack that didn’t go massively forward at times. His kicks went well, his direction around that 15-minute mark in the second half was great positional play, leadership and rugby.
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First five
Richie Mo’unga contributed with his intercept and three penalty kicks, which become extremely valuable in the end. He had a shaky game in the first half, unsure at times which option to take, which put pressure on the team. David Havili was used at first receiver to get him onto second-phase ball, which never really eventuated in that first half because of infringements or handling errors. He will be better for it in the long run, watching where he can improve behind a pack and not going forward for 45 minutes.
Barrett, a charged kick and a missed tackle to his name, didn’t really contribute, with the Wallabies dominating the final 15 minutes.
Midfield
Havili and Anton Lienert-Brown are coming along. Havili used at first receiver and crash ball option, with some gains coming from him, and he did well with Lienert-Brown to take the tackle when things went stale on attack to let a reset happen. There were some handling errors from both they will be disappointed about, but both were solid in defence and great with spot tackles to keep the Wallabeis from the gain line.
Wings
Ioane had another solid outing on the left wing. He brought some size out there where we miss Caleb Clarke. He ran some great lines in a lateral backline. Sevu Reece got in there, getting a try off a ruck.
Fullbacks
Damian McKenzie popped up around the place with his lateral running. He was flattened a few too many times in this game. He popped into first receiver to relieve Mo’unga near the end of the first half at times. I think Will Jordan deserves a run to see how he goes.
Backs overall
In a disjointed, error-riddled first half the backs struggled. There was no real direction at times. What they did was very lateral, a couple of times getting bundled out over touch. They didn’t use the wind to gain territory early on, but kicks were non-existent in this game from the All Blacks. Ioane had a couple of decent runs and looked good on the left wing.
The backs contributed to the build-up to the three tries in the second half, linking with the forwards well, keeping the momentum going forward. Changes in the last 15 minutes led to some disjointed defensive work, letting the Wallabies kick through and score.
All Blacks overall
Captain Whitelock did well to take the points on offer after 15 minutes. It kept the scoreboard ticking over when we couldn’t connect with a high tempo plan of attack at the start, the passes not sticking, and discipline letting the side down. Taking the lineout option at the end and rumbling it up with the forwards, keeping it tight and going over, gave us a good lead into halftime.
Coming out in the second half and keeping it tight with what ball they had paid off with three nicely built tries. There was some good, solid running from Savea and Ioane and passing from Smith. This is the kind of play we want all game, or at least for 60 mins, with a defence to maintain the lead for the rest.
It was a rough period of play in those final few minutes when the Wallabies were very dominant. We lost it with starting players going off. The bench didn’t really gel on the field. With both Retallick and Akira off we struggled to maintain the dominance we had built, and we couldn’t contain the Wallabies bench players, who finished well.
Next week
I’m looking forward to next week to see whether the All Blacks can reduce the handling errors and really control their discipline around the park. They need to get some structure from the start and build that into a dominant display.
Original source: https://www.theroar.com.au/2021/08/10/plenty-for-the-all-blacks-to-build-on-in-bledisloe-2/
https://blog.therugbystore.com.au/plenty-for-the-all-blacks-to-build-on-in-bledisloe-2/
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