Will 2nd October 2011 be forever remembered as Black Sunday now that Dan Carter has been ruled out of the RWC with a groin injury? This announcement has totally over shadowed this match & even another injury to McCaw.
The key points are now how Slade & probably Weepu at some stage of the game perform at number 10. For me the key is how the forward pack perform as the All Blacks now need a very big 240 minutes from them over the next 3 weeks if they hope to win the tournament. Simple as that.
A very accomplished performance by the All Blacks for their skipper's 100th test with probably the only disappointed Kiwi in the Park being Mils (maybe Cory Jane as well.) An early French charge was repelled & from there the All Black pace & power was too much running up 3 tries & 19 points by the 21st minute. Here are the full match highlights.
Once again Nonu was a stand out in the backline & Carter had one of his better matches running at the line & even slotted another Eden Park drop goal.
Is this really a French "B" team - who would know? It seems this conjecture has mainly come about because they have picked a halfback, Morgan Parra, at number 10 & moved Servat to the bench. Yet many All Black fans want a halfback (Weepu) as back up to Dan Carter & everyone knows the All Blacks love rest & rotation more than anyone else. All I know is that you have to respect the French at a RWC & Buck Shelford's talk of winning by 40 points is not going to help the All Black cause.
While I applaud the Daggy Boy & Whitelock selections, I still have a few reservations about this side.
That's more like it all of New Zeland will be exclaiming after the All Blacks rattled up 13 tries on a surprisingly fine night in Hamilton. Not that it was all beer & skittles with another nervy performance from Slade having all on NZ praying for Dan Carter's wrist to recover. Here are the numerous video highlights.
It was nice to see a workman like performance from the pack & some good touches in the backs. The two stand out players for me were Nonu & Kaino - their direct style of play will be vital for the All Blacks in the big games.
As far as I'm aware the All Blacks have suffered no more "injuries" in the last 45 minutes so the guys should at least know who they are playing alongside now. Either the All Blacks are sand bagging at this tournament or there are real problems in the camp with only 25 fit players now. Thank goodness they are facing Japan (and Japan B by the sound of it) and not anyone decent.
Or as one RadioSport caller said "If they can't make it through a training session how are they going to be able to handle France?"
I'm still scratching my head trying to work out last night's game and that's after watching it live & a replay. The All Blacks started well using their skill out wide to open up the Tongan defense which wasn't up to much tackling in the first half. After building a lead of 29-3 at the break it all seemed to fall away in the second half. Have a look at the video highlights.
On the face of it this should be a simple assignment for the All Blacks & the TAB opened with them giving a 70 point start. However there has been a wave of emotion hit Auckland with the support for the Tongan team quite astounding. Also the selection of the All Black side for this match seems a bit muddled & the expectation now is that the All Blacks will not cruise through this game.
For my part I expect some a really physical start to the game from the Tongans & I'm looking forward to seeing how the All Blacks respond. In 1999 they seemed somewhat shocked by the Tongan approach & it set the scene for later humiliation in the tournament at the hands of the French.
Only the All Blacks would be stupid enough to go into a RWC with only 3 fit specialist loose forwards after the injuries to Kieran Read & Adam Thomson last week. Given the history of taking injured players to World Cups & then being forced to pick players out of position this shows they have learned nothing.
The Wallabies, brimming with intensity & verve in the first half, proved far too good for a stumbling All Black outfit in Brisbane & deserved not only their 25-20 victory but also their first Tri Nations title in 10 years. Here are the video highlights.
The Aussie forward pack must have been reading my preview the way they came out & gave it to the All Blacks especially at the break down in the first half. Flooding numbers in there & driving the All Black backwards reminded me of the Otago approach under Jamie Joseph at the beginning of the Super XV.
This created the momentum for the Wallaby backs and in particular Will-o-the-Wisp to dominate.
Lang Park, now known as Suncorp Stadium, has been the scene of many a fierce battle (who could ever forget Kevin Tamati & Greg Dowling in 1985) and Saturday's night test promises to be another classic encounter. I may sound like a broken record but matches between these countries tend to come down to whether the Wallabies can handle the All Black forward pack and the answer normally is NO.
With the forecast for a wet night this becomes even more critical along with the resultant tactical kicking in the conditions. Aussie will look to draw strength from the venue & have included 9 Banana Benders in their squad (as well as others like Moore who are from there).
