Former All Blacks captain already looking past Ireland
One former All Blacks captain is already worrying about a potential semi-final against England, just days out from New Zealand’s crunch quarter-final with Ireland.
Ireland have beaten the All Blacks in two of their last three meeting, yet Zinzan Brooke seems more concerned with a potential encounter with Eddie Jones’ England.
“I do fear the England semifinal,” Brooke told the Rugby Paper.
Zinzan Brooke fears a semi-final with England if the All Blacks pass the test against Ireland#NZLvIRE #RWC2019https://t.co/Oz536VI3Nd
— The Rugby Paper (@TheRugbyPaper) October 15, 2019
The piece doesn’t mention the Ireland quarter-final, instead focusing on a potential England NZ showdown.
“If the two teams do meet, which I expect them to, it could come down to a toss of the coin on the day. Top sport is about close margins and I can’t see much between them.
“I’d like to say ‘yes, New Zealand are going to win’ but I don’t confidently see it that way.”
The apparent faux pas wasn’t missed by one fellow NZ pundit.
https://twitter.com/sumostevenson/status/1184358232870940677
https://twitter.com/mikechron/status/1184358816688685057
https://twitter.com/RossGrievePhoto/status/1184360312193064960
Quite typical – not even started with the QF …
— Champion (@ManusLeRoux) October 16, 2019
With Ireland experiencing mixed form at the World Cup, few are talking up their chances of upsetting the All Blacks, despite the recent results between the two sides.
Ireland forwards coach Simon Easterby has been talking up the opposition.
“They have the ability across the board to hurt you and they’re probably most dangerous when it’s loose and maybe get a turnover and are able to do what they did against South Africa – and go from 3-0 down to a 17-3 lead very quickly.
“Things like that can happen very quickly if you’re not on your game, so we’re fully aware of that. We’ve seen that ourselves in recent games, how dangerous they can be. We know that if you give them a sniff, they’ll take their opportunities.”
The All Blacks have changed their approach after suffering a defeat to Joe Schmidt’s side in November 2018, a fact not lost on Easterby.
“I don’t know whether it’s solely down to that game – but I guess every team gets to a point where they must keep evolving and trying to stay ahead of their opposition. We’re no different.
“They have so many threats across the park. They are a team that ensure you can’t switch off for a minute. They have enough ball players to play certain styles but they also have the ability to play a set-piece game and muscle up. In our phase attack, we have to look after the ball and make sure we don’t give them any soft turnover opportunities.
“Without the ball, we need to be on the money and our set-piece has to stand up. It’s going to be a real challenge for us as a forward pack. Whether it was in Chicago (where Ireland beat NZ in 2016) or the last couple of times, the game is certainly set there in terms of tone.
“Both teams will be looking to do that and the rest of your game can thrive off the foundation you set up front.”
Comments on RugbyPass
This just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
16 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
16 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
16 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
16 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
16 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
16 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
16 Go to comments