Rugbology ........July 11 2023
Quick taps ......... Has Eddie lost his touch? : Will the U20 results be mirrored by the RWC? : Ranfurly Shield goes on the line in Levin : Razor will be planning already !
Rugby Championship.
After much bullish talk, Eddie Jones failed to get the start he predicted. The Wallys were simply, after a good start, strangled and bashed in Pretoria. The Boks XV were at their traditional best and really should’ve won by more especially via as dominant a second 40 you’d ever see where they pretty much camped in the Wallys half whilst they chewed away cleaning the carcass to the bone !
With 11 of the Boks best despatched to setup camp in Auckland prior, the 23 involved in this game delivered a strong message about the overall strength of the Boks squad. now we get to see how they go on the road and in very different conditions but certainly a good home win.
On the other hand Eddies boys after starting with a cracker of a try simply got blown away. They just struggled to cope with the Boks urgency, power and allround game to the point their pack did a “lay down Sally” and Quade just buckled. A massively poor performance and unless there’s a decent rebound against the Argies (Eddie v Cheika - wow!) this weekend, you’d have to wonder if the Eddie Jones magic wand has run out of gas - certainly his mouth hasn’t !
We were then treated to the ABs taking the Argies apart in the first 40 in Mendoza. An excellent half of rugby from a team that simply clicked across the park, scored some brilliant tries and the fatties up front humming. The Argies after much expectation, were blown away. Halftime can be a mood killer though and the Argies came out to play winning the second 40, 12-10. Sure the ABs emptied the bench early with some combinations that fired in the first 40 found themselves riding the pine in the second. So a bit of a messy, frustrating finish but a bloody good win away from home regardless.
Who went well ? Jordie clearly a lock at 2nd 5. Josh Lord was a pleasing revelation - very good at lineout and plenty of good work in the engine room as did Scott Barrett (the mans got one hell of a motor). Frizzell was good at 6, Ardie was a bit quiet, DMac was effective and the scrum went well. Biggest cheer was Narawa getting a try on debut - this fella looks as good as any of the Fijian wingers we’ve had. So a very good result first up but now onto the Boks ………..
The big questions for this Sat at a cosy Mt Smart (gotta be the smallest venue crowd for a Boks v AB test for many a decade - Townsville during covid, aside.) will be Fosters approach to selection. The general assumption is he will start a number of players targeted for this match so expect Retallick, Whitelock, Tukeahoo, Jordan and Leicester to come in plus Mo’unga at 10. De Groot and Lomax stay at prop and Coles will be the most fired up water boy of all time ! Will he retain Frizzell at 6 or be tempted to slot Scooter there for some more bulk ? What about Jacobsen at 8 ? Can’t see Fuzzy dropping Ardie and trying Jacobsen at 6 just more tinkering and produces too small a loose trio. Personally I’d keep Frizzell at 6 and keep him going forward rather than the revolving door he’s had to suffer.
Will Fuzzy give Roigard a run ? What about Stevenson ? Possibly a bridge too far for Fuzzy but Schmidt and Jas the Hobbit may persuade him to chance his arm. So for me;
Jordan, Narawa, Reiko, Leicester, Jordie, Richie, A Smith, Ardie, Cane, Frizzell, Retallick, Whitelock, de Groot, Taylor, Lomax.
Bench : Samisoni, Ofa, Nepo, Scooter, Jacobsen, Roigard, Beaudy, Ennor.
Both sides coming off good wins, bulk of Boks starting XV rested and recent results between the 2 have been even. So another close battle expected with possibly home advantage the helper for the ABs but they will need to front up and be very good in the air because even though the Boks were quite expansive with the ball in Pretoria on a dry track against wilting opposition, they will tighten it right up this Saturday.
Across the ditch, I predict a dour, conservative contest as the Argies & Eddies mob will both be desperate for a win. Unless much changes from last week, definitely a battle between the wooden spooners. Eddies got some big decisions to make and some real coaching to do but has home advantage. Phil Waugh (new CEO ARU) needs to pop down and put one of Eddies feet in his collar and suggest he focuses on the team rather than producing soundbites for the media !
U20 World Champs.
Just a bit on this tournament as its down to the finals and the 6 nations have dominated as expected. This now the order of this grade and as I’ve pointed out previously, the advantage the 6 nations have with their own annual tournament and country u20 comps has left them well ahead. NZ has none of that and play Georgia for 7th & 8th place and that won’t be easy as the Georgian pack is very tough. Even if we win, that’s a poor 7th place in last 2 tournaments. The only way to change this is to put more resource into u20 and play more meaningful games. I’d suggest that if the RWC results mirror the U20s, the NZRU will have no choice. Hmmmmmmmmmm.
Also the NZ XV rolled Japan comfortably in the end once they found some combinations after being thrown together. Ah Kuoi was pick of the tight 5, Billy Harmon is a genuine traditional 7 - nose to the pill with a tackle that hurts and a bolter for ABs next year. Nankivel and Goodhue very good in mid-field although wrong way around as Goodo is a natural 13 - not the speediest but knows where to be, what to do and when to do it ! In my view, has to go to RWC but Fuzzys blinded by Reiko - just imagine the scoreboard impact of a natural centre setting 2 speedy wingers free !! Game 2 this weekend although 3 players released back to NZ some days ago ……….. no word on why although doesn’t sound disciplinary and one of them, Aumua, is playing for Wellington today !!!
Enough ……… pass it on !