1
All Blacks let down by decision-making with ball-in-hand
The All Blacks may have eventually romped out to a comfortable 47-9 win over Italy on Saturday, but the performance left plenty to be desired.
ADVERTISEMENT
It wasn’t until the 28th minute that the All Blacks were finally able to crack the Azzurri defence, with Finlay Christie pouncing on a loose ball from a fluffed Italian scrum to nab his first test try and pave the way for a 21-3 lead at halftime, after Dane Coles crashed over for two scores of his own.
The All Blacks were their own worst enemies throughout the match, dropping high balls, shelling simple passes and overplaying in the contact area to constantly hand possession back to Italy.
Tupou Vaa’i, Quinn Tupaea, Braydon Ennor and Damian McKenzie were particularly guilty, making over 10 handling errors between them.
Still, the mighty defence of the All Blacks coupled with their clear superiority at the set-piece meant even with the numerous mistakes, Italy weren’t able to hold out against the black tide. The fact that the All Blacks were able to rally and still score a comfortable win left head coach Ian Foster content after the match, even if there were plenty of work-ons to take out of the game.
“I think it was a good learning performance where we learned to deal with pressure and came out the other side, so that side of it I’m pretty pleased with,” he said. “To finish both halves in a really strong manner was pleasing.
“Clearly, we probably have to work on some of our decision-making with the ball a little bit better, we put ourselves into a few brick walls at times but that’s okay, we’ll tidy that up.”
ADVERTISEMENT
The All Blacks had completely rotated out their starting XV from the previous win over Wales, which could be partially blamed for some of the disconnect between the players. Many of the players in the line-up were also lacking in test experience, with six of the starters boasting fewer than 10 caps.
As such, the strong performance at scrum and line-out was a particular positive for the All Blacks, with Italy conceding one penalty and two tightheads at scrum time and winning just eight of their 15 lineouts.
“I think if you judge our pack based on some of the set-piece work we did, I think it was really, really good,” Foster said. “We carried well but we also tried to overcomplicate that for parts. Overall, pretty pleased.
Did Quinn Tupaea do enough against Italy to usurp David Havili in the All Blacks' first-choice midfield?
✍️ @TomVinicombehttps://t.co/dF372lDKX6
— RugbyPass+ (@RugbyPassPlus) November 7, 2021
“Like I’ve said right from day one, it’s a tour like no other. We’ve had to make sure that we grow depth on this tour because we’ve got players here for a long, long time. And again, we’re delighted with the progress we’re getting out of that. Tonight’s just another really good learning curve for a number of newer players.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Many of the players in the match will have featured in their final game of the season for the All Blacks, with the last two tests coming against Ireland and France, who Foster will likely field his top team against.
Nearing the end of a mammoth 15-test season, the match was one final opportunity for some aspiring first-stringers to push their case, and other junior members of the team to simply get some minutes under their belts. In that sense, the win was a success for Ian Foster’s men.
Comments on RugbyPass
smith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
36 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
9 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
36 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
36 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
36 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
36 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
36 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
36 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
36 Go to comments