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).
The All Blacks have rolled the rotation out again for this weekend with 1 positional & 11 personnel changes to the side that played in PE. Meanwhile Aussie have made 3 changes (one enforced by the School Kid's drinking habits).
NZ - Mils, Jane, Guildford, Smith C, Nonu, Carter, Weepu, Read, McCaw (c), Thomson, Whitelock S, Thorn, Woodcock, Franks the Younger, Mealamu.
Aus - Beale, Ashley-Cooper, Ioane, Faingaa A, McCabe, Cooper, Genia, Samo, Pocock, Elsom, Horwill (c), Vickerman, Kepu, Alexander, Moore.
As predicted the Springboks proved too efficient & relentless for NZ B last week in Port Elizabeth & despite scoring no tries ran out 18-5 winners with all points coming from the boot of Morne Steyn. Here are the video highlights & they don't do the Boks justice as they tend to focus on the All Blacks line breaks.
The Boks stuck to their simple game plan & it paid handsome dividends with forward pressure being converted into points by Morne Steyn (its hard to believe that as little as a week ago his place in the RWC squad was threatened). Meanwhile the All Blacks reverted to a game plan that can only be called "Helter Skelter" or lets just chuck the ball around & go for low percentage grubber kicks, etc.
Last week I tipped the Wallabies on the basis of the Springboks lacking match fitness / game hardness. Given the All Black side selected it would now be hypocritical to pick the All Blacks & I am no hypocrite. I have made my displeasure with the selectors known & I believe the All Blacks have basically gifted this test to what will be a very fired up Bok outfit.
I hate to say it (and Gazza & I will be there to witness it) but I just can't see the All Blacks winning it & will be taking some of the generous odds on offer which have the Boks as underdogs.
The All Black selectors have named a virtual "Possibles" team to play the Springboks this week in PE & have included 6 players yet to start a test this year, four of which have recovered from injury - Dagg, Toeava, Kahui & Woodcock.
Starting XV:- Daggy Boy, Toeava, Gear, Kahui, SBW, Slade, Cowan, Messam, Thomson, Kaino, Williams A, Whitelock S, Woodcock, Afoa, Mealamu (c).
Meanwhile the Springboks look as unsure as ever & have made 5 changes to last week's side.
Starting XV:- Lambie, Pietersen, Habana, Fourie, de Villiers, Steyn M, du Preez, Spies, Brussow, Alberts, Matfield (c), Botha, Steenkamp, du Plessis J, Bismarck.
As I predicted the Boks were always going to struggle to last 80 minutes - training camp or no training camp. They have decided to use as many players as possible from 2007 no matter their form or fitness & at the moment its costing them. Despite leading at half time I always thought my prediction of an Aussie victory was safe. I did not pick it was going to be as low scoring as 14-9. Have a look at the limited highlights.
As a ticket holder for the All Blacks test against South Africa in Port Elizabeth I can only say I am very disappointed in the All Black squad that has been announced for that tour. They have rested first choice players; McCaw, Carter, Smith C, Read, Thorn, Franks the Younger & Mils. More marginal choices like Flynn & Sivi also stay at home.
I can possibly understand Carter but some of the others like McCaw & Smith have barely played this year.
Amongst all the hooplah of last week's All Black victory over the Wallabies - an interesting event seems to have slipped by almost unnoticed (and I even omitted it from my review). Dan Carter coolly kicked only the 3rd drop goal of his international career.
It was almost like he was saying "We've learned some lessons from 2007" as it sailed between the posts. Sure they weren't under pressure by that stage & it seemed like practice but it must be a message for the RWC. Take the points anyway they come.
The All Blacks came out of the shed firing on Saturday at Eden Park & the Wallabies just couldn't match that intensity or recover under the pressure ending up losing the game by 30-14. Have a look at the video highlights.
The All Blacks were fired up & knew there was plenty to play for. As soon as they preformed "Kapa O Pango" which is normally reserved for the Springboks you knew they were in the mood. You could also see it in their scrambling defense that kept the Aussies scoreless until the 52nd minute. And no one stood out more than Carter. Having put in an attacking master class the week before he now stood up on defense.
