NZ v Fiji Test 22/Jul/2011

[AngrySeahorse]

FT All Blacks with 60-14 win over Fiji who at times, particularly in the 2nd half played very well. Lowest score NZ has ever put on the Fijians.

 

[qwerty51]

Scoreline looks good but it wasn't that brilliant.

 

[Bullrush]

lol I'm just :fishing

I think he's been a bit harsh on you blokess

he made up for it at the end

 

[Blue]

Not bad for the NZ Holding Team.

 

[qwerty51]

he made up for it at the end

And it was still the wrong decision!

 

[Riptide]

Not so sure why a 60-14 victory is so unimpressive, but it really isn't.

 

[RuckinGoodStats]

25 kicks by ABs, 14 back in play 8 for touch, 3 errors. Is this the new game plan borrowed off the Tahs in 2011?

Kick off a concern: Ritchie knocked 1 one; Fiji reclaimed 3 back.

10 handling errors by ABs, rust?

 

[reidstah]

Not sure about that penalty try either, noticed the Fiji 10 was joining the scrum...could that be it?
Plenty of rust in that performance but it's normal for the first game I guess.

 

[da_grubster]

Poor missed tackle from Conrad Smith leads to excellent Fijian try.

This AB side is very far from the finished article. This WC is going to be open.

while it will be an open world cup, this AB side that you saw today would be very different if it was world cup final. Good hit out for some of the fringe players but the real stuff starts next week.

 

[Riptide]

25 kicks by ABs, 14 back in play 8 for touch, 3 errors. Is this the new game plan borrowed off the Tahs in 2011?

Kick off a concern: Ritchie knocked 1 one; Fiji reclaimed 3 back.

10 handling errors by ABs, rust?

There were times when NZ struggled to impose themselves physically on Fiji. ABs missed Thorn as a tight forward as their locks did nothing at all. They didn't commit numbers to the breakdown, so they could have a secondary unit wide of the ruck on the open side to hit it up and suck in the defenders (and then go wide), or to switch to the blind. But they never really broke the gain line consistently from first phase and so kicking became the better option.

AB re-starts were woeful, and they look so much better with Weepu on the paddock.

 

[Garryowen]

Yet they still scored 60 points

 

[Riptide]

while it will be an open world cup, this AB side that you saw today would be very different if it was world cup final. Good hit out for some of the fringe players but the real stuff starts next week.

Way to dampen a good mood!

Agree that Thorn, Read and Carter will make a difference even if Thorn faded toward the end of the season.

 

[antipodean]

FT All Blacks with 60-14 win over Fiji who at times, particularly in the 2nd half played very well. Lowest score NZ has ever put on the Fijians.

Stu Dickinson robbed Fiji by increasing the margin 14 points beyond what it should have been.

 

[Brumbies Guy]

They are nowhere near the level Samoa has risen to recently.

Fiji beat Samoa 2 weeks ago 36-18.

 

[MajorlyRagerly]

Seen better, seen worse.

Think Cruden would have done better today, but Fiji are not a top tier team. Cruden at the moment could have destroyed with his running game. Slade played well I thought, composed and got up after the hits - not too bad a decison making.

Willliams was crap.

This game told me nothing, nothing at all.

 

[DPK]

I got that feeling too, MR. Even the atmosphere at the ground was flat.

 

[DPK]

Fiji beat Samoa 2 weeks ago 36-18.

Got the teamsheets for those games?

 

[undercoverkiwi]

Poor missed tackle from Conrad Smith leads to excellent Fijian try.

This AB side is very far from the finished article. This WC is going to be open.

Ummm, the RWC is ages away, and this AB side lacks a lot of Crusaders players (but has Zac WTF Guildford in it).

Overall a pretty ordinary performance though. Rusty, some guys trying too hard. Next week will be the first real test when we will see the full team rolled out and the game plan adhered to.

 

[DPK]

Ummm, the RWC is ages away, and this AB side lacks a lot of Crusaders players (but has Zac WTF Guildford in it).

And McCaw. And Franks. And Carter, Whitelock and Flynn on the bench.

 

[barbarian]

Fiji beat Samoa 2 weeks ago 36-18.

That was Samoa B though, the team they played last Sunday was completely different. On the other hand the Fiji side that played the ABs was much the same as the one they fielded in the PNC (Pacific Nations Cup).