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Just five All Blacks could make Ireland team - Mehrtens
Just five of the current All Blacks side could break into the current Ireland team, according to former New Zealand stand-off Andrew Mehrtens.
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Mehrtens and former All Blacks halfback Andy Ellis were tasked with putting together a combined 15 made up of players of both sides on RugbyPass TV Live, and it truly illustrates how the tables have turned in recent years.
There’s no room for Sam Whitelock or Brodie Retallick, nor is there space for the likes of Richie Mo’unga or Beauden Barrett.
According to the former halfbacks only Scott Barrett, Ardie Savea, Aaron Smith, Rieko Ioane and Will Jordan could crack the team, with Ireland taking the other ten spots.
The All Blacks could potentially face Ireland in the quarter-final, depending on the result of Ireland’s game with Scotland next weekend, which will put Pool B – aka The Pool of Death – to bed.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1708069602146529777
For now, All Blacks’ thoughts will not be on Ireland, but rather on putting in another statement win against Pool A minnows Uruguay, after they drubbed Italy 96-17 in Lyon.
“Really satisfied, really good performance,” said head coach Ian Foster. “It felt a little bit strange having the gap after the Namibia game. We did a lot of hard work and this was the game we prepared well for. World Cups are full of games where there’s a bit of an edge to them and we certainly had an edge to that performance.
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“It was a performance we wanted this week. People create a lot of panic about your chances and all that sort of stuff, particularly after we lost the first one (against France).
“The critical game for us in this pool was always going to be Italy. There was enough evidence to show that if we didn’t perform well and they played as well as they have been performing this year, it was going to be a heck of a tough game. We were good enough to take that away from them.
“We have to do the same next week as the same applies. Do the maths and next week’s also equally important. We put ourselves in control of our own destiny and that’s where we want to be and put some pressure on some other teams who have still got some tough games coming up. Look at Ireland. If Scotland win two games then Ireland can miss out. It’s a tough World Cup.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The real deal.
3 Go to commentsIt’s been said that Nienaber will head back to SA too before next World Cup , hoarding all the amazing IP gained in Irish system … get a grip … Irish system needs to Milk the likes of Barrett . First time a leading all Black in his prime has gone to Ireland for any period of time . Enjoy it .
20 Go to comments20 min RC is the only good solution of a bunch of bad solutions. Ridiculous that it has taken this long and caused so many uneven contests. In general these are all very good changes - one is surprised that NH brokers were able to see sense at long last.
6 Go to comments“While a red card will mean a temporary team disadvantage, the replacement system will focus punishment on the offending player instead of disrupting the game itself.” This might work for amateur rugby, where players just want to be on the pitch for as long as possible, but hopefully we’ve got to a point where top level professionals care about the success of their team much more than about whether they personally are on the pitch or not.
6 Go to commentsa lot of focus on the targeting of south africa, but aspects of this are positive. The croc roll; the offside law; and time limits on set pieces are all good. calling for a mark off kick offs is baffling, but I guess we’ll see how it plays out in practice
24 Go to commentsSpeeding the game up is great, but I think we will find that the increase in viewership this year mostly comes down to the competition being more competitive…the fall of the Crusaders has been a boon for viewership. This should be at the heart of super rugby changes - how to make the comp more even
23 Go to commentsThe fact that the press were largely to blame for his taking a break is nothing short of disgusting. He’s made a few mistakes but difficult to name a player of any substance who gives it a full go hasn’t also made mistakes? On behalf of a large number of Bokke fans, bring back Farrell !!!!!
1 Go to commentsPSTD is a fantastic flanker. He could benefit from a bit of self-promotion / flair and he is not quite the danger man that Ardie is. That said, he is my 1st pick to build a backrow around. His speed and hustle made up for Duane who got quite a bit slower at the 8.
3 Go to commentssurprised, disco lights haven't been banned by world rugby board
24 Go to commentsToo many changes. Too often. I’m tired of this WR administration. How do we vote these fockers out? Bill needs to go.
24 Go to commentsDu Toit, 2 time W.Cup winner yet rarely mentioned a “Great “…if one looks back on his stellar carrier perhaps someone will one day elevate him to “Richie” status…a quiet, polite yet devastating loose forward that knew action speaks louder than words..
3 Go to commentsI like the offside rule, but this won't affect my team because all their kicks gets chased and that putts everyone on side. Lekker manne!
24 Go to comments20 minute Red Card is untenable. If you don’t punish the whole team, coaches won’t be sufficently incentivised to pick players with, or coach better tackle technique.
6 Go to commentsI can only think of One time ever a team has opted for a scrum from a free kick… Why the law change I wonder
24 Go to commentsYeah, its not going to work. But we see you World Rugby.
24 Go to commentsLove the reaction after last 2 W.Cups re rule changes…maybe good for more for more of a “ league” type running game( which I personally don’t like) but seems Rassie is definitely in ther heads…
24 Go to commentsGreat. More unwanted changes. Because these always work out well.
24 Go to commentsI’m sure South Africa’s opponents will rejoice at World Rugby minimising one of the Boks’ most potent weapons, but you just know Rassie is cooking something up with free-kicks that no-one else has thought of. Let them play checkers. Rassie’s playing chess. 😂
24 Go to commentsAfter a fairly simple Pac4, the BFs will find out a lot about themselves in September when they face the rampaging RedRoses at Twickenham in front of a record crowd. After that they will face them again in Canada in WXV1. They also have France to contend with. Will be interesting to see what Australia have to offer with Jo Yapp at the helm.
1 Go to commentsSuper Rugby Pacific has been better as a spectacle due to the emphasis on speeding the game up and I’d look at taking things a step further. Instead of giving teams 90 seconds to take a conversion, let’s bring that down 60 seconds. You could also look at allowing 45 seconds for a penalty goal. Maybe teams could get 20 seconds instead of 30 to form a scrum before the ref then starts the engagement process. However, this year the most pleasing change is the added competitiveness in the Trans Tasman matches. What does frustrate me is how the rugby media in Australasia allow the the whole ‘‘rugby is boring’’/’’rugby yawnion’’ narrative to take hold from from vindictive league types, the chairman of the ARL commission and News Limited Australia. Stick up for the game and shift the narrative!
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