It's as good as this team gets and as well as they have played for some time. The fluency, the confidence and the cut-throat decisions were great to watch.
It looked very similar to Woodcock's try move. Why not use it and have the next oppo England waiting to counter it when the ABs will do something different--bluff and double-bluff and with the homework these guys do they will have plenty of variations on that theme.
Dead right. So it is set up as a fascinating game of chess-rugby and lets hope the weather is fine for the match.
why because he got two tries? He was good but so was everyone else, Savea, Barrett, Bridge, Reece, Moody,,,, the list goes on.
If thats the case you need to be onto them pronto today and demand some redress.
I see through a very misty veil that Wales will beat France and the Springboks will beat Japan.
Youd have to ask yourself and on what basis you make those ratings. .
Incredibly important because every side does so much video analysis on each other so you have to have variations while also saving a big play or too in case that is called for. They will have moves for every part of the paddock and against different style rivals.
Ireland's fading form in the last year suggests they have to rely on a small gene pool who have lost a bit of sting.Big challenge for Andy Farrell I think who takes over from Joe Schmidt.
Id say its 55-45 in Abs favour but if they reproduce that form England will struggle to contain them. They are pretty much near their limits of performance while England still have some way to do. Differnt teams, differnt mentalities about how to get a result which is why the semi has so much going for it.
I thought Todd was unlucky because it looked to me like he had gone behind the line and was caught coming forward. Questionable but though Nigel Owens was very good
Depends who they feel and how England mount their defence but Ireland are a narrow side and it was best to bring them into their comfort zone and then take them away from it
Saw one bad neck roll from them which was not questioned which I thought was intriguing but it was great not to have too much intervention or the sort of nonsense Ben Skeen tried to offer in the first quarterfinal. Hard to say but thank god for the French referee's viewpoint.
England might have a bit more in the backs but I think Elliot Daly looks vulnerable at the back and Ben Youngs can be hounded and shut down which will put even more squeeze on Farrell. Once again though it is up to the NZ pack to hold their opposites or outgun them.
Dont think so. The ABs have their halfbacks that suit their plans and Im sure they will stick with them.
They are travelling well in that department and getting another 50 mins into Retallick and Goodhue will have been a further boost. Worries when I saw Mounga hurt late and limping but he looked to have recovered.
It seems that way from the regular comments Hansen makes and Im sure the case is building after performances like the one we saw last night and the NZRs desire for continuity. Who else would be in the frame---Scott Robertson, Dave Rennie, Gatland?
Im sure it will still continue to fester. He is a different type of athlete now in much the way that McCaw redefined his game. Last night read was excellent but Im not sure he has been in that vein for much of this year. Hope he makes it two then three in a row.
Think its the way they play, they look to be a highly regulated, patterned side who have their methods and feel uncomfortable when they stray outside those guidelines. Their game does look a bit more stilted than normal and they have a few old heads like the skipper who has been very good but has also gone over the top.
They'll have to keep May and Joseph deeper in the backfield to help protect the flanks and Daly who I think is a touch vulnerable and that will open up more room around the centre position for wither cut out passes or dinky chip kicks.
Last few questions for Wynne
Aussie rugby is heading the way of their Super rugby sides. They need a lot of fresh blood in all levels of the game, admin, coaching, playing and ideas.
Now we've got a week of navel gazing, guesswork and hypothesis until the ABs meet the To n Froms. Hope it's fine, the ref pulls his head in and both sides are injury free.
Kicking is England strength, not so strong for NZ.
Alright we'll wrap it up there folks. Thanks for your questions. And thanks to Wynne for his insight
What a day. That will do it for our live reaction blog. Thanks for following along. Stay tuned for all the reaction from last night and coverage of tonight's games on nzherald.co.nz.
