USA v All Blacks Test - Chicago November 2014

[Pfitzy]

Structure breaking down after less than 2 phases on attack and less than 1 phase on defense, USA played to their strengths for maybe a combined 6 minutes of the test.

Communication amongst the team just awful in so many ways.

Can we get a new coach now, please?

Well there's maybe that, but like the NRC you've got some club guys in among some really good specimens, and limited time to prep them.

Without the instinct that rugby kids grow up with, you're always doing it tough. Particularly under aerobic pressure.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

I remember a game being broadcast from Italy and the camera angles were just plain weird. Artistic, almost

To be honest fellas - when you and the guys over on the Fern are disparaging of the efforts of US rugby, the commentators, the camermen, etc - you just sound like a bunch of arrogant buggers.

Just enjoy it for what it is.

Although the commentary wasn't to my taste I could see the yank audience at whom it was aimed getting quite a bit out of it.
Presumably they deliberately keep some of the NFL speak (checking in when they mean replaced, for instance) so the viewers have a reference point.
I enjoyed the spectacle - but maybe I am just a rugby tragic.
Next year?

 

[USARugger]

Well there's maybe that, but like the NRC you've got some club guys in among some really good specimens, and limited time to prep them.

Without the instinct that rugby kids grow up with, you're always doing it tough. Particularly under aerobic pressure.

It just irks me that Canada doesn't seem to have these same kind of issues with maintaining structure even though they are no more professionalized than the USA. Especially in attack, there was just no excuse for some of the things that occurred on that side of the ball - it looked like they all reverted to playing shitty collegiate rugby again.

I'm not mad, just disappointed.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

I'm not mad, just disappointed.

Geez - hard marker: they kept them scoreless longer than the Wallabies often do

 

[Dan54]

Although the commentary wasn't to my taste I could see the yank audience at whom it was aimed getting quite a bit out of it.
Presumably they deliberately keep some of the NFL speak (checking in when they mean replaced, for instance) so the viewers have a reference point.
I enjoyed the spectacle - but maybe I am just a rugby tragic.
Next year?

Point I was trying to make with earlier comment IS, just PFitz got wrong end of the stick and a little excited. I could understand exactly why they commented like they did, you have to explain game to your main audience, which is what I thought they probably did well. We do tend to be spoilt down this way with cameramen and production crews that know the game and can get angles etc to suit.

 

[Rugbynutter39]

This was about marketing the game to North American market so absolutely no problem with commentary and thought on that basis did a good job.

Fantastic to see sold out stadium. USA largely club rugby players who have to earn a living outside of rugby so no disgrace in the result against best team in world. Great opportunity for them. You could see some sprinkling of talent amongst USA team.

North American market important market for rugby so seems to have done well with staging of this game.

 

[Ulrich]

Would have liked to see the game.

I think if the USA can get one game against a team like the All Blacks a year it will already help them. They need more exposure to the professional structures top teams have so they can adapt their defence and to the pace of the modern game.

They have a big population and enough exposure against top teams will have them improve over time. They will need to beat teams other than Russia for the game to grow over there and the only way for that to happen is to play regular games against teams like Fiji, Samoa, All Blacks, Italy etc. on a more regular basis.

 

[Rugbynutter39]

USA Rugger no different to us wallabies supporters...

Good to see someone passionate about their team USA....

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

This is for @USARugger's live blog.........

 

[Inside Shoulder]

Point I was trying to make with earlier comment IS, just PFitz got wrong end of the stick and a little excited. I could understand exactly why they commented like they did, you have to explain game to your main audience, which is what I thought they probably did well. We do tend to be spoilt down this way with cameramen and production crews that know the game and can get angles etc to suit.

I think we agree - as long as you leave out our commentary: I'll take NZ every day

 

[USARugger]

Geez - hard marker: they kept them scoreless longer than the Wallabies often do

It's not the score that bothers me - just the repeated use of tactics and same errors that have plagued the Eagles under Tolkin for years now. Obviously the ABs bring a whole new level of pressure but we also refused to take the game into our own hands by playing to the strengths that the squad had.

One of the biggest ones was that when we actually kicked short and contested, Scully grabs it out of the air and earns a penalty. Then we don't compete on another reset for the rest of the match.

Then there was the sudden shift from the opener where 9 was hitting forwards running onto the ball before moving out to the backs, to either passing to static forwards or to a disorganized set of backs. This allowed the Darkness to just fan out from the rucks and win the tackle with one or two men, forcing the kicks that really blew the score out in the first half (although the execution on a lot of those quicks was also terrible as well - I nearly ended the live blog after that chip directly to Dagg while we were going forward in the AB half)

I'll get into more of it when I do the review after I can get the game onto my PC. It's simple stuff that a team of 65-80% professional rugby players should be able to execute for at least one half of the game - defense was a bit of a shambles all match long but we showed so much promise on attack at times but were just unable to maintain the structure at the pace needed to break the AB line.

USA Rugger no different to us wallabies supporters.

Good to see someone passionate about their team USA..

Haha I'm just passionate about rugby mate. The Wallabies, Reds and Eagles just happen to be the teams I support.

 

[Ulrich]

If the USA had something even remotely resembling the same structure that American Football enjoys they would probably be in the top 5 in World Rugby right now at a minimum.

The latter game evolved from rugby football if I'm not mistaken and it's here where the USA as a nation have for many things chosen to be different and we have to respect them for that.

American football instead of rugby, baseball rather than cricket, big guzzling cars rather than efficiency and at a push we could say they went along with France choosing to drive on the right hand side of the road.

It is very sad because they could potentially be the best in a more global sport such as rugby instead of being the best amongst themselves in another sport.

At the end of the day though as rugby has proven derbies bring in more revenue I imagine that one state vs another is just as great. The states in that country could very well be countries of their own had history taken a different course.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

Ulrich - the way the commentators were talking it up and from my own intermittent research and hearing input the game is booming in the states.
A problem, though, seems to be that it is taken up in college and there is no junior game to speak of.
USA Rugger will know if that impression is right.
It may be no bad thing, however, because it projects a different image to USA football.

 

[Ulrich]

Ulrich - the way the commentators were talking it up and from my own intermittent research and hearing input the game is booming in the states.
A problem, though, seems to be that it is taken up in college and there is no junior game to speak of.
USA Rugger will know if that impression is right.
It may be no bad thing, however, because it projects a different image to USA football.

That may very well be true but at least it is better than nothing.

I think if we examine it from an American child's view we would concurr that American Football is where the fame, money, women and success lies. In addition, because of history we consider Russia as the enemy and therefore any victory over them is success.

With more exposure to better teams than Russia the population will be educated and learn that as much as Brazil, Germany, Argentina, The Netherlands and so on are the yardstick for the game of Football; the All Blacks, Boks, Wallabies, England and France are the yardstick for rugby. Without this knowledge you can't lobby for a change in structure from bottom-up and without playing these nations you won't know that you need be lobbying in the first place.

As it stands only those involved in club rugby in the states are likely to be aware of the global game and who the real powers are. A good portion of the public will likely have learned the USA played the world champions this weekend but they probably have no idea as to the heritage and history of NZ and how much the game means to them in the broader sense. Similarly they don't know that rugby is more than just a sport but also about comraderie.

Argentina had enough games against top opposition and they eventually reached great success regardless of their fairly amateur structures during RWC 2007. The success in that tournament was the ultimate propellant required to introduce them to a great tournament. Now that the national team is involved here they are starting to put structures into place to involve a Super Rugby team which will really just grow things locally for them as more teams from other regions try to achieve the same.

 

[rugbyskier]

I remember a game being broadcast from Italy and the camera angles were just plain weird. Artistic, almost

The French are like that too with the artistic shots and slo-mo. Remember the artistic slo-mo of the French second rower fondling the prop's junk in a scrum during the Wallabies test at Stade de France.

However Dan did make a valid point that some of the production flaws in the telecast were probably due to a lack of understanding of how the play flows. If I understand correctly, NBC was the host broadcaster and this was likely to be the first rugby game they have televised.

 

[rugbyskier]

Another thing, I didn't realise that American football is played on a much narrower field. The NFL markings were still on the ground and the sidelines were around 7 metres inside the rugby sidelines.

 

[FilthRugby]

For the US to even get points on the board against the best team in the world is an underrated achievement.

I personally hope more of these games occur and I take my hat off to the Yanks for putting in a gutsy effort.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Not-too-bad post-match write up, worth a read:

www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/10692112/US-rugby-fans-turn-out-in-force-for-All-Blacks-clash

Haka meets hip hop, not sure who won:

 

[Ulrich]

So there's this idiot from the IRB lobbying for Six Nations games being played in the USA.

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,9817_9543852,00.html

You have to wonder what the supporters in Europe would make of this first and foremost. Even if you did draw a crowd in the States you'd sacrifice what you would have gained in Europe.

You need incentive to draw crowds. I live in a rugby loving country (Union) and I couldn't care two shits about rugby leage even if Australia's two best teams were to play on my front lawn.

A supporter is incentivised from seeing his own team play first and foremost.

Suggesting there are enough ex-pats in the USA to fill a stadium does what exactly for the American game and public? There's no use creating a spectacle for expatriates. You simply HAVE to involve the locals in some way or another.

The best way to involve them and also showcase higher quality games is to host a Junior World cup or World Cup.

This is a money-hungry executive who has taken note of the potential numbers the USA can draw to a game but he is delusional if he thinks a patriotic nation like the USA will abandon favoured games like American Football, Baseball, Basketball and Hockey to attend a game they consider obscure featuring two foreign teams.

Rather start off by giving the USA more first-tier games so they can improve and draw home crowds to help fund the local game.

What you want is something resembling the structure American Football enjoys. Had Rugby enjoyed this professional structure in the States they would most certainly be within the top 5 rugby playing nations in the world at a minimum.

 

[USARugger]

Just no.

USA is not one of the Six Nations.