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Has Campo's big mouth given the All Blacks all the ammunition they need for next Sunday?
David Campese has been a huge vocal critic of the All Blacks this past week, but he has not been the only one. The Wallabies great didn’t miss the opportunity to lampoon his former rivals after the 16-16 draw between the two sides in Wellington last Sunday.
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This isn’t the first time these sort of pronouncements have been shared though. The 2017 British and Irish Lions series was perhaps the genesis of talk of the All Blacks’ decline.
Their struggles against the Springboks in recent years only fuelled that criticism, and it culminated with the World Cup semi-final loss to England. However, there are some in Australia that are clearly more tentative than Campese, who feel this antagonism could be dangerously provocative.
After all, in response to such comments people have been quick to list just some of the instances in recent memory where the All Blacks had looked exposed one game before comprehensively answering all critics a week later.
It must be remembered that last weekend was the first match in almost a year for either side, but it is also undeniable that the sort of opinions shared by Campese have become far more frequent in the past two years than they had been in the decade prior.
Another setback for Ian Foster https://t.co/O5t0TqvHQc
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 15, 2020
Further, although Michael Hooper’s side came within the width of the goalpost from winning – and on balance probably deserved the win – they ultimately did not succeed. Those in New Zealand feel that this weekend may be a better indication as to where the All Blacks and the Wallabies are as their ‘aura’ has been questioned in the past.
Although there was promise for the underdogs in Wellington, Eden Park is a veritable fortress for the three-time world champions, where they are yet to lose in the professional era.
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This Sunday is likely to prove whether Campese and co are on to something, or whether they have only awoken the beast.
Not that old chestnut. “The aura has gone”. Been mentioned since about 1993.
— J Robertson (@JimmyRob78) October 14, 2020
Don’t poke the bear Campo!?
— jaycee (@curtain_jay) October 14, 2020
https://twitter.com/johnnyddavidson/status/1316334851474284547?s=20
David Campese talking the all blacks aura… didn’t go too well when Gatland made similar comments a few years back ??
— Kieran Ricketts (@ricketts_kieran) October 14, 2020
There's a nugget of truth but it's premature to suggest that this is the end of AB dominance.
For the last 10 years or so they've traditionally had ONE bad game a year. They slip up once, then recover and close ranks.
In 2019 they had more than one bad game. It's a start.
— Alex Tarr (@alexthetarr) October 13, 2020
Australia has a tendency of getting ahead of themselves. It was one match
— LaZo (@LaZo_F2) October 13, 2020
https://twitter.com/bobscove62/status/1315806594991493120
Says at least one Pundit/ex Player every year, after an average ABs performance.
— Max Mason (@Maxtemus) October 13, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
Billy's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
28 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
3 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
28 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to comments