That's it for the year

Image via Wikipedia

Well the final game in a, once again, very busy year for the All Blacks has ended. The game against the Barbarians wasn't the result we were looking for heading into Christmas, but it was a great chance for the new breed of All Blacks to get some match time. The Barbarians won 25 to 18.

Out of a very busy 14 test match year, the All Blacks won 10 and lost 4. The losses were 1 to France on the 13th of June (not a good start to the test season) and the other 3 losses were against a very strong South African side.

There have been some great improvements over the year and some new talent to get excited about. Zac Guildford will be in the All Blacks for some time to come I predict. Unless of course he is injured which will be a shame, but that boy has got talent and speed. Isaac Ross was another "newbie" to shine this season. He wasn't picked for the end of year tour as he was told he needed to do some strength training. In some respects it is a good thing but there is no better way to gain match and test experience (and game strength) while playing against strong opposition, rather than in the gym every day. Still, he will be another one that will be around for quite some time.

Yes, I will be the first to admit, the All Blacks did not have a vintage year. The best game this year was against France in Marseille. The All Blacks looked like the All Blacks of old. Passes were held onto, kicks (when there were any) were accurate, and the hits were hard. Once again, it came back to the lack of kicking where aimless kicks just gave the precious ball away to the opposition. The current rules have something to do with this but as we saw from the game agianst France, if you run with the ball in hand, you will create opportunities resulting in tries. I would much rather see our score go up in 5's and 7's rather than in 3's - boring!

It is now time for the coaches and the players to give rugby a rest for a couple months. Yes, the Super 14 starts again on the 12th of February. Crickey, that's still cricket season! But I believe that most of the All Blacks will be rested for a few weeks to give them a decent break.

Let's hope the All Blacks don't peak too early and once again miss out in the Rugby World Cup. Speaking of the RWC, I have a new web site devoted to the Rugby World Cup which will be held here in New Zealand. The web site is here: New Zealand 2011 Rugby World Cup. I hope to see you there.

Final test...best performance by far!

The All Blacks played France on Saturday 28th of November and finally showed what being an All Black is all about. The All Blacks won 39 - 12.

The handbrake was finally let go as the All Blacks showed what the critics and the rugby fans wanted to see - TRIES! And they were good quality tries too. At times, it looked like a vintage All Blacks team with passes sticking, players finding the gaps and wingers that actually looked fast. The scrums were under pressure again but it went both ways. One scrum resulting in an All Blacks try.

Sitiveni Sivivatu once again showed his speed off the mark, waltzing through the French defence and with a bit of slight of hand, allowed Mils Muliaina over for a try.

In the forwards, big bad Brad Thorn played over 1000 minutes for the the All Blacks this year. That man is a machine! Another bug performance from the big man.

And again, it is congratulations to Richie McCaw for taking out the IRB player of the year. Well deserved yet again.

One final game this year for the All Blacks. Not a test match but a big game none the less, against a Barbarians side. If the All Blacks play like they did against France, then the Barbarians have got a lot of work to do to match or even better a side that looked the goods...and then some.

All Blacks looked dangerous

The All Blacks played England on Saturday and the All Blacks won 19 points to 6.

Firstly, I must say that Jonathan Kaplan the ref made a good job policing the whole game. He was in control from start to finish but was not in the limelight like Stuart Dickinson last week.

The All Blacks were looking dangerous at times especially Sitiveni Sivivatu, who constantly ran past the England players like they were standing still. I think the English were concentrating too much on Dan Carter and totally forgot about all the other players. Not a wise move.

It was boring to see the same old England tactics came out. The ball very rarely got out to the wings. Jonny Wilkinson needs to learn how to run the ball and not try to drop kick the thing out of the park. One bad example of this was when England were on attack in the 22 meters and they had numbers out to the left. The ball got to Jonny and he decided to try a drop goal which, of course, totally missed. So all the hard work that was done, ended up as nothing. Jonny needs to hang up his rugby boots and start a career in soccer.

The All Blacks looked good when they ran the ball, especially Mils Muliaina and Sitiveni Sivivatu. Richie McCaw had another great game. How does he keep going and going. Check that man for Energizer Batteries please!

This game was a good warm up to the clash against France next week. It is always a mystery as to what game the French will bring. But you can count on an entertaining match.

And the best part about the game, it will be shown at 8:45am on Sunday morning here rather than the aweful 3:30am starts that we have had to cope with recently. Yay for sleep ins!

And remember, please visit the #1 All Blacks Rugby Fan site for all the latest news and views about the All Blacks. You can find All Blacks rugby shirts jerseys and everything else at the All Blacks shop.

All Blacks team named

The All Blacks team has been named for the test match against England on Saturday 21 November.

Mils Muliaina, Zac Guildford, Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Dan Carter, Jimmy Cowan, Kieran Read, Richie McCaw (captain), Adam Thomson, Tom Donnelly, Brad Thorn, Owen Franks, Andrew Hore, Tony Woodcock.

Reserves: Corey Flynn/Aled de Malmanche, John Afoa, Anthony Boric, Jerome Kaino, Andy Ellis, Stephen Donald, Tamati Ellison.

It is great to see that Owen Franks and Zac Guildford are getting starting roles in the test. This may spark the established members of the team to "pull finger" and produce what the All Blacks fans want - a true All Blacks performance.

Second-stringers do the job

A second-string All Blacks side met the Italy team at the famous Stadio Giuseppe Meazza stadium, or more commonly referred to as San Siro. The All Blacks won 20 points to 6.

Now, let me put things straight first. Graham Henry and the team will probably debate that this is not an All Blacks 'B' team that played Italy. Well, the simple fact, it was. The stars of All Blacks rugby were not out to play, instead probably relaxing somewhere in Milan surrounded by beautiful people. It is strange, the NZRFU get their panties in a twist when visiting sides send a second string side down-under, and yet when the All Blacks go overseas, and play teams like Italy, we play a 'B' team to 'protect' our top players. This shows a lack of respect and arrogance really to the host team.

80,000+ people in the San Siro stadium paid good money to see a top All Blacks team, not a team of 'nearly theres'. No disrespect to the All Blacks team, but this is what it seemed to be from watching the build up to the game and the game itself. Come on the NZRFU and the coaches - give some respect to the opposition team.

Anyway, the game was a very stop, start affair with plenty of penalties and way too many reset scrums. The last 6 minutes of the game was reset scrum after reset scrum - that was it. How boring was that! The game really didn't live up to any great heights as a whole unfortunately. A shame, as the stadium crowd was superb and the atmosphere seemed electric.

I wonder if we will produce a second-string side for the game against England - yeah right!

Brilliant debut for Zac Guildford

The All Blacks first test match for their end of year tour was against Wales.

Zac Guildford was making his test debut and he played like a plyer with 50 test match experience. He was not shy about taking the high balls, made some telling runs and was there to make the try for Andrew Hore.

Dan Carter showed is mongrel by taking to a Wales player with a high shot that the ground replays kept showing, and showing and showing. From then on, when Dan Carter was shown on the big screen, boos rang out over Millennium Stadium. I suppose anything to keep the crowd entertained.

Wales nearly made it a draw but the big lock ran out of puff after the 50m line and was mown down by, you guessed it, Zac Guildford. Go Zac.

It was refreshing to see a northern hemisphere team actually running the ball and not just pass and kick. Let's hope that all the other games will be as entertaining as this one was.

The teams have been named

The teams for the All Blacks vs Wales match have been named.

All Blacks
Mils Muliaina, Cory Jane, Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Zac Guildford, Dan Carter, Brendon Leonard, Kieran Read, Richie McCaw (captain), Jerome Kaino, Jason Eaton, Brad Thorn, Neemia Tialata, Andrew Hore, Wyatt Crockett.

Reserves: Corey Flynn, Owen Franks, Tom Donnelly, Adam Thomson, Jimmy Cowan, Stephen Donald, Ben Smith.

Wales
James Hook, Leigh Halfpenny, Tom Shanklin, Jamie Roberts, Shane Williams, Stephen Jones, Gareth Cooper, Ryan Jones (captain), Martyn Williams, Andy Powell, Luke Charteris, Alun Wyn Jones, Paul James, Matthew Rees, Gethin Jenkins.

Reserves: Huw Bennett, Duncan Jones, Bradley Davies, Dafydd Jones, Martin Roberts, Jonathan Davies, Tom James.

How would you like to watch the All Blacks LIVE?
Discover how, within 3 easy steps, you could be watching the All Blacks LIVE at your place, anywhere in the world. Time is running out. Click here now to find out how.

Master the basic skills of rugby and become a skillful rugby player

Tired of being a bench warmer? Discover how to become a skillful rugby player and be the first player picked!

Learn how to master the basic skills of rugby that will have you go from rugby zero to rugby hero in as little as 8 weeks.

Discover how to dominate rucks, mauls, scrums and lineouts, just like the All Blacks.

Click here for more information.

Too much attention and not enough concentration?

I hope that the amount of attention that the ALL BLACKS have been receiving over in Tokyo, has not over-shadowed the fact that a test match against Australia is on Saturday.

Don't get me wrong, it is great to see that the All Blacks are very well received. I am just a bit concerned that their focus is on the glamour not the rugby. There will be a bit of time for all of that AFTER they win the game on Saturday - I hope.

All Blacks side named for Tokyo test

Tokyo, 9.30pm Saturday

ALL BLACKS
Mils Muliaina
Cory Jane
Conrad Smith
Ma'a Nonu
Sitivenu Sivivatu
Daniel Carter
Jimmy Cowan
Rodney So'oialo
Richie McCaw (c)
Adam Thomson
Tom Donnelly
Brad Thorn
Neemia Tialata
Andrew Hore
Tony Woodcock

AUSTRALIA
A. Ashley-Cooper
Peter Hynes
Ryan Cross
Berrick Barnes
Digby Ioane
Matt Giteau
Will Genia
Wycliff Palu
David Pocock
Rocky Elsom (c)
Mark Chisholm
James Horwill
Ben Alexander
Tatafu Polota-Nau
Benn Robinson

Coach shuffle to the left

It seems that Graham Henry was not too impressed by the quality of forward play and has now taken up the reigns to see if he can do any better.

Graham Henry will take responsibility as the forwards coach, Steve Hansen will become the attack coach and Wayne Smith will be defensive coach.

I am wondering if Graham, like the rest of the dedicated rugby public, was waiting on the much anticipated improvements to the forward ethic and play, which seems, did not eventuate. And tired of hearing the endless critisms of the lineouts, will Graham be the light at the end of the very long tunnel.

My take on the lineouts is this. Throw the ball in quicker! Don't wait for the opposition to get settled, make a decision BEFORE you get to the lineout who will take the ball, and go from there. I know, it may not be that easy, but anything is better than what we experienced during this past year.

All we want to see if a big improvement and the All Blacks actually winning their own lineouts (for a change).

Go the ALL BLACKS!

All Blacks team for end of year tour

The All Blacks team for the end of year Northern Hemisphere tour has been announced.

The team is as follows:

John Afoa, Anthony Boric, Dan Carter, Jimmy Cowan, Wyatt Crockett, Mike Delany, Stephen Donald, Tom Donnelly, Jason Eaton, Andy Ellis, Tamati Ellison, Corey Flynn, Owen Franks, Zac Guildford, Andrew Hore, Cory Jane, Jerome Kaino, Tanerau Latimer, Brendon Leonard, Luke McAlister, Richie McCaw (c), Liam Messam, Mils Muliaina, Ma'a Nonu, Kieran Read, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Ben Smith, Conrad Smith, Rodney So'oialo, Adam Thomson, Brad Thorn, Neemia Tialata, Tony Woodcock
Missing from the team are Josevata Rokocoko, Hosea Gear, Aled de Malmanche and Isaac Ross.

Yippee! It all came together on the night

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Great stuff! The All Blacks rose to the occasion and proved all their critics wrong and came out with a crunching win over the Wallabies in Wellington on Saturday night. Final score 33 points to 6.

The Wallablies coach, Dingo Deans, must be wondering what on earth can he do to beat the All Blacks. After all, his team did beat the South Africans only 2 weeks ago, while the All Blacks could only hang their head in shame after their defeat.

The All Blacks looked like the All Blacks of old that we know and love. They held onto the ball and showed dominance in every aspect of the game, even the lineouts! I know!

I think it came down to ball in hand. No more of these silly tactics of gaining possesion and then deciding to kick the ball in no particular direction hoping that a mistake from the opposition will come. That tactic did not work in all the Tri-Nations games and some one finally siad "hey, let's not kick the ball to the opposition, let's hold onto it so they can't get it!". Magic. There is a place in the game for precise kicking and that is what we had on show from Daniel Carter. And to show that the crowd knew a bad kick when they saw one, when Jimmy Cowan decided to kick a ball when they had men over, and the kick ended up in the Wallabies hands, a groan was heard from the crowd.

It was a positive way to end the Tri-Nations after a very ugly All Blacks season. Let's hope we have turned the corner and from now on, we will see a huge improvement from the men in black.

Did it hit a nerve?

Steve Hansen, All Blacks forward coach, has come out swinging at the critics about the dismal display at the lineouts.

Hansen said "So my job is not about listening to those people, my job is about making sure we stay on task and do the job well, so there is no point in me getting concerned." Umm, do the job well...I wonder when that will be?

I think Hansen should be pleased that there are people out there talking about the lineouts. I would be very concerned as a coach if no one cared about our national game. People are pastionate about the game, more so than the players and coaches it seems at the moment. Yes, that may be harsh but as the viewing public, this is what we see and what comes across. At the end of the day, they still get paid - win or lose. But what the rugby public want to see is good hard, tough and accurate rugby that we excell at. The team I have seen so far this year is far from it.

It is also disturbing to think that we only have one lineout forward capable of winning lineouts - Ali Williams. Issac Ross was a very good replacement and has worked very well so dropping him was a strange move. Mentally strained? If that's the case, more games are needed for him to be mentally stronger not sitting on the sidelines.

This lack of form may be a good thing though. No, I haven't gone crazy. Think about it. The All Blacks usually peak well before the rugby world cup. South Africa are currently on top and are the best team in the world (gulp!). We have work to do to get back up there but if winning the rugby world cup is the aim, let's hope we get it right then rather than now.

As I heard on the news one day, that the All Blacks are a brand name now and not a rugby team. This is very true and very disappointing. Rather than playing for the jersey and the country, it all comes back to how much the NZRFU will receive as a payback for marketing the All Blacks brand. Look what the NZRFU are trying to do with the Air New Zealand Cup. Why keep changing the best provincial tournament, it seems, every year. It's the same with the IRB and changing the rules and sanitising the game of rugby.

The All Blacks play Australia on Saturday in Wellington. Go the All Blacks.

Strange question of the day....

OK, with rucking a thing of the past in rugby (but in my opinion it should be brought back so people lying over ball are cleared quickly), why do they keep on calling a ruck a ruck? The word ruck is meaningless without the physical act of rucking! The IRB might as well call it a pile-up or a tiddly-winks pile-up or something.

It was interesting to here from the IRB chairman about rucking. He stated some people like it some people don't. Who are these people that they asked? Some stuffy-shirt that sits behind a desk all day and makes all these stupid new rugby rules up or the real man and woman on the street. Why not conduct a world wide rugby poll and see what the people think? I know, I know, asking the fans what they want from the game of rugby is a bit far fetched, even though we are the ones paying the big bucks to go and see these games.

A little bit more consultancy with the rugby public may stop the people from turning away from rugby and onto league for example. A poll eveyr so often about an aspect of the game would go a long way to help getting these matters resolved.

Open letter to Graham Henry and the All Blacks

Here is an email I received from a very concerned All Blacks supporter. It is directed at Graham Henry and the way the All Blacks have lost the pride and passion for the black jersey...

"To Graham Henry and the ALL-BLACKS,

I watched one and only one of your training tapes on the All-Black official web site and I have to say I was very disappointed. For god’s sake get some pride and passion back boys.

It is and should always be an honour to represent your country and not about how much money you can get, for this privilege!

You must chase the tries, because if you don’t we will lose the Tri-Nations cup and I never thought I would say this you will lose my respect and I have supported you for over 43 years.

Nothing fancy just get back to the basics of rugby, learn to change tactics and keep the opposition guessing, the best game I watched this year was the first game in South Africa at altitude, you guys were awesome, and I thought we were going to win the second test but no Graham stuffed up and instead of sticking with a combination that worked he changed it and we lost!

This is your chance as a team to prove you are worthy of the Black jumper and worthy to perform the HAKA! Do it for your country, but most of all do it for YOURSELVES!

Vince Collie
Personal Trainer"

Strange attitude or sensible approach?

Graham Henry has stated in an interview that they will not be chasing the 4 tries against South Africa and sticking to their game plan. Hold on...I thought the whole idea of rugby is to score more tries than the opposition and thus getting more points on the board and thus winning the game.

I hope Graham hasn't fallen into the northern hemisphere way of thinking that drop goals and penalties is the way to win matches. They may help, but tries are the order of the day.

I'd rather see a game where the scoreboard goes up in 5's or 7's rather than in multiples of 3!

Good luck in Hamilton. Let's hope that tries will come thick and fast..for the All Blacks that is.

Returning All Blacks make the difference

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Each side had three All Blacks returning to the Air New Zealand Cup but there was only one team it all game.

Canterbury played Wellington for the Ranfurly Shield on Saturday and it was a one sided affair. Canterbury dominated in every aspect of the game with the help of Dan Carter, Richie McCaw and Brad Thorn. Canterbury won 36 points to 14.

Wellington did not have an answer to the strength of a determined Canterbury onslaught to retain the shield. Wellington have struggled throughout the Air New Zealand Cup and Saturday was no exception. It would have been nice to see a closer contest but it was the class of Canterbury that shone through.

So well done Canterbury. Maybe next time for Wellington.

Alternative Commentary All Blacks vs Australia 22 August 2009

More alternative rugby commentary for the All Blacks against Australia.

Source: Alternative Rugby Commentary - http://www.arcrugby.co.nz/

He made all the difference

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Yep, Dan Carter made all the difference in the win against the Aussies on Saturday. His kicking was spot on and his skills around the field were like had had never left the game.

Compare his game to Stephen Donald. As soon as Stephen came on, he started the usual "let's kick the ball in the air and see what happens" routine. IT DOESN'T WORK! Stop doing that. It just gives the ball away to the opposition. Graham Henry should have a quiet word in his ear and tell him that if he does that type of kicking again, he's going to get a jolly good clip around the ears... :(

The game on a whole was not the All Blacks best, but they did grind out a win. The Aussies must be thinking that an All Blacks side that is not playing at 100% can still beat them. Poor ol' Dingo Deans must be feeling a bit crook at the moment. And it only gets worse for him with the South Africans in town next weekend. Poor him.

The big 'DC' is back!

Daniel Carter has been selected in the All Blacks team to play against Australia on Saturday 22nd August. It will be great to see him back in black where he belongs after his lay off due to injury and his short term overseas "break".

The All Blacks team is as follows:

Mils Muliaina, Joe Rokocoko, Conrad Smith, Luke McAlister, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Daniel Carter, Jimmy Cowan, Kieran Read, Richie McCaw (captain), Jerome Kaino, Isaac Ross, Brad Thorn, Owen Franks, Andrew Hore, Tony Woodcock.

Reserves: Aled de Malmanche, John Afoa, Jason Eaton, Rodney So'oialo, Brendon Leonard, Stephen Donald, Ma'a Nonu.

Alternative Commentary Test Number 3

More alternative rugby commentary for the All Blacks second test against the South Africans.

Source: Alternative Rugby Commentary - http://www.arcrugby.co.nz/

Dan Carter is back in black

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Wisely, and not suprisingly, Dan Carter is back in the black jersey. Even though one man can't win a test, his influence, skill, leadership and vision of the game will help the team "click" and we will start to see what the real All Blacks are made of.

No pressure Dan!

The broad sholders of Captain Richie

After reading this article in the New Zealand Herald: click here - I had two reactions:

Image by Steve Punter via Flickr

1. Very honest. Well done stating the obvious that our lineouts are not up to scratch. At least someone had the guts to come right out and say it!
2. What do they do at rugby practice? The coaches get paid all that cash and this is the result!

I don't know what to think really. At least Richie McCaw realises that there is a problem and hopefully they can sort something out in the next couple weeks, ahead of the Aussies.

Share this

The Alternative Rugby Commentary

If you are looking at alternative commentary with a bit of humour thrown in, take a look at these highlights from the first test All Blacks vs South Africa on the 25th of July 2009. Kids, you may have to block your little ears as there is a little bit of swearing in these videos, but it's all in good humour.

Source: Alternative Rugby Commentary - www.arcrugby.co.nz

Welcome but straight into it

After a few years absence of writing a game by game review of the All Blacks performances, I am back with my words of "wisdom", views from the sidelines (or the couch mostly) and my general ranting and raving about the rugby team, the refs (!) and anything rugby related really.

Enough of the introduction, let's get straight into it.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

The current All Blacks team - hmmm, where does one start? I could start at the top with Graham Henry. I will let you all know now, I was in support of Graham retaining the top spot as coach of the All Blacks. The NZRFU and the rugby public have this obsession of turfing someone out as soon as he loses a few matches. Yes, yes, I know it was the Rugby World Cup but look at his record. Compare that to the coach of England in the lead up to their Rugby World Cup win. It was shocking. If he was a NZ coach, his days would have been numbered long before the RWC started. We need some continuity in the game. Graham did introduce the rotation policy which I did not like. It didn't work too well but at least he tried it. Everyone would have been singing his praises if it worked and we won the world cup.

Graham does need to take some responsibility for the way the All Blacks have been playing of late. With it seems one game plan only per game, the players are more than likely doing what they have been instructed to do. But the calibre of top class players we have in the team, they should be able to think on their feet if a game plan does not work. But they don't so we lose games.

Now onto the players. I am starting at the number 9 position. I still believe that Piri Weepu is

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

our top number 9. I do not know why the coaches still bring him on as an impact player. If he is so good why not start him. Jimmy Cowan is not up to test match standard as a starting number 9. Swap roles and bring him on in the second half and let Piri Weepu run the game from the beginning. Without a decisive number 10 controlling the play, we need someone who can see what is going on and have the experience to go through with it.

Which naturally leads me to the number 10 position. Stephen Donald is a good player but at number 10, he should be reading the game and telling the other players around him what to do. And stop all the aimless kicking of the damn ball (that is not soley directed at Stephen). After watching past test matches where Daniel Carter would kick the ball into the corners and then attack from there, this is what we are dearly missing from the current tribe of individuals. Some structure and "thinking rugby" and not all this 'let's kick the ball and see what happens" tactic. It does not work!

Constant pressure is what is missing from this All Blacks team. The days of the All Blacks having 70-80% possesion and territory have gone because we are under the illusion that with the new rules, territory and possesion don't count for anything. The All Blacks need to go back to the basics of rugby and not throw it out left, right and centre hoping that holes will appear - they won't. It's all down to pressure of the opposition. That is why the South African team is so good - it comes down to pressure in the lineout, kicks, scrums, rucks - everything really. Something that the All Blacks were once good at.

Phew! Heavy stuff right from the start. I needed to offload this and get it out in the open.

Let's hope that a three week break will help the All Blacks get their heads around what they need to do to actually win games. Don't blame the refs, don't blame the coaches (to some extent), but look at the players themselves.

Image via Wikipedia

Even though the coaching staff are trying to play it cool when it comes to getting Daniel Carter back in the All Blacks, stating that we will have a look at him playing in the Air New Zealand Cup and then we will decide. We all know full well that they can't wait to get him back. I know he is only one man but if he can dictate play then the All Blacks will win games. Fact!

But one positive coming from these losses (yes there is one), is that the All Blacks are not peaking too early for the Rugby World Cup in 2011. Maybe the South Africans and the Australians will burn themselves out before then. Here's hoping.

 Share this