We were out coached.
Why fly Ed Craig all the way to the other side of the World to give him 90 seconds of play? WTF does Coach Thommo bring on another prop at the 60 minute mark to replace the Hooker? A prop who's line out throwing skills and mobility match mine?
What sort of line out caller calls the back of the line out when they must know that the thrower can't throw straight?
Don't get me started on why we play 7's in the 8 position. Probably 5 tries botched by the inability to control Gilbert at the back of a dominant scrum, including a 14 point turnaround which appeared to break our back, and give the AIG's the confidence they needed to put us to the sword.
Most of our bench disappointed compared to the Darkness, who I would have loved to see how they would have gone against then Soap Dodgers.
Our loose forwards were outplayed by their opponents, and our inaccurate tackle contest work allowed the Darkness back into the game time and again. The communication in Defence left a lot to be desired, and without the loose forwards slowing the opposition R/M ball down, NZL were able to gain metres almost at will.
Tuttle stood out and he has a bright future in the game. Even though we munted the NZL scrum, we did not control the ball well enough to take advantage of that dominance. Line out work was forgettable. Attack was inconsistent. We were well beaten by a better prepared and more accurate team.
Who would make a combined ANZAC team? Lomax, Tui, Tuttle, Magnay, Maddocks.
All eyes turn to the 2017 U20 RWC, and Curtain Raiser Cup, after yet another disappointing campaign.
