Rugbology July 4 2024.
Quick taps : its Razor time finally - has Patsy resigned? - will the Poms really run the ball? - Super rugby final a full house-nice !! - Stern Vern has always turned up !
Apologies for lack of recent transmission but rest assured I have been keeping a beady eye on things including wandering along to the garden of Eden for the last 3 games of the Blues Super Rugby title.
Yes the Blues got the job done with Verns superbly drilled pack rolling over the Chiefs who simply could not break free from the impressive continuous onslaught. Harry Plummer had his kicking radar on song and Caleb Clarke was a slick finisher out wide. A 21 year drought broken but yet another bridesmaid finish for the Chiefs who probably left a bit too much gas behind in their marvellous dumping of the Canes in that semi.
All Blacks.
In an initial squad of only 32, some form fringe players were going to miss out and experimentation was kept to a minimum. Razor leaned on those with AB experience and his Crusaders reliables when picks were close.
You can’t blame him for that in year 1 but even so he found room for a couple of bolters in massive prop Tosi and emerging player of the century, Wallace Sititi.
Sititis rise to AB status was McCaw like and probably only beaten by Grahame Thorne who somehow made it into an early trial in 1967 after only club rugby, don’t think he’d played for Auckland but proceeded to play his way into the AB squad to Britain. Sotutu did all he could in a standout Blues pack but Razor and his elves apparently felt he fell short on the defensive side of the ball which I’m not sure is simply a historic assumption as all the Super Rugby defensive stats had the Blues firmly at the top and you’d have to believe the loosies contributed big time to that.
England are always tricky and do have a bit of a track record of knocking us over at home including 2003 when the ABs completely stuffed up a close, low scoring game by not taking their shots at goal and being unable to run around the Poms who at one stage were down to 13 men for 10 minutes !! We fell into a stupid arm wrestle up front against the gnarly Johnson & co and simply blew it and Reuben Thornes captaincy was woeful. It was one hell of a frustrating watch.
What will we get this time over 2 tests ? England are tricky for us but we don’t get to tackle them at home very often (last time was 10 years ago) which should be an advantage plus a new coach selected on the basis of a deeply successful CV and an invigorated squad. On the flip side, the ABs tend to be rusty first game up, the pack except for the front row has had to be rebuilt and can DMac handle the reins at 10 in a big one ?
Razors first test lineup is pretty much as expected although Perofeta at 15 is an interesting pick and a bit of a risk but he will get peppered. Pleased to see Finau at blindside but he will need to get his tackle timing spot on otherwise he will be in card trouble. I had like many hoped for the Razor gang to shift Reiko back to wing and bring in a real, visionary, selfless centre that sets wingers up rather than using them as a last resort but no cigar. Assume Blackadder has picked up an injury ?? Also looking forward to Aumua getting a run.
Overall the team is where we are and hard to be critical until they’ve had a run but it will be a big occasion for Razor and a nervy 80 mins for the NZRU, I suspect ! Hopefully the ABs shake off the rust and fire sufficiently under the gladwrap liner in Dunedin.
The Rest.
NZ Maoris too good for Japan XV - best loose forward trio though where Grace and Suafoa should be future ABs and Billy Harmon is a genuine 7 - pity he’s not going to get a shot.
There are a number of mouthwatering matchups over the weekend all over the international rugby world none more so than the Paddys taking on the Boks in SA. Both will be keen to set a marker but I suspect the home advantage will sink the Irish who also have not found a quality 10 to replace Sexton and will miss Gibson-Park but it still should be a great battle. The Boks on the other hand look intact and powerful up front which is the big challenge for the Irish to overcome.
Joe Schmidts new look Wallabies take on the Leakeaters with both teams looking to start a rebuild after player cleanouts and big slips down the global rankings. It probably wont be a scintillating match as there simply aren’t really any world class players on either side but perhaps some will emerge. Who knows.
France are taking on the Argies which will be a decent scrap with the Pumas tough at home and the Frogs not the best travellers. Dupont will be key for the French as will their pack who have strayed a bit from the powerful unit that rumbled over the top of all comers a year or two back. Suspect that quarterfinal loss to the Boks is still reverberating and they’ve had a bit of trouble mentally moving on similar to the Irish who still can’t believe they lost their QF.
Just spotted that the Jocks are taking on Canada - wow wee ! Am glad they found someone to play !
A big weekend for us lazy-boyers so enjoy !!
And as always pass it on !