The All Blacks' first choice 23 makes a big difference but Ireland won't care
They were beaten by the better side in their opening pool game against France, but there is no doubt that at full strength the All Blacks are a much better unit.
With a handful of starters returning to the line-up who missed France, notably Jordie Barrett, Shannon Frizell, and Brodie Retallick, who came off the bench in Paris, the All Blacks put forward a clinical showing in the 96-point demolition.
While Italy’s defence is not comparable to that of Ireland or France, they could not deal with the precision and speed of the All Blacks.
The maul was used to bag the second try through Aaron Smith but then was often a guise to confuse the Italian forwards, with the fringes of the maul on either side targetted frequently with a variety of peels and wrap plays.
Ardie Savea was offered ball directly off the top by Frizell on one occasion. Italy’s guard, openside Michele Lamaro, could not sight the ball and fell for the fake maul, committing to attach for the counter shove.
That split second decision gave Savea a free lane to come around the corner and run through hooker Giacomo Nicotera defending in the 10 channel.
Savea is a former schoolboy centre who can probably explode through the first 10 metres in an estimated 1.5-1.6 seconds. The half-second hesitation by Lamaro was the difference.
Aaron Smith hit the blindside maul defence the next time around, dummying inside two sliding defenders to score his double after Taylor peeled off the back down the short channel.
His third came from a beautiful line by Jordie Barrett running off Richie Mo’unga’s shoulder off a pod screen. The second five-eighth came from a long way to link with Mo’unga and a clever delay of hand by the No 10 put the hard-running Barrett through.
It was Jordie Barrett’s second assist of the night after a stabbing kick pass was used in the 6th minute to provide for Will Jordan.
Another maul try came for Savea’s second, breaking off the back from a metre out to crash over.
That was just the first half. In the second, the All Blacks executed their counter-attack skills by pouncing on Italian errors.
A Scott Barrett charge down led to a Retallick try. An overthrow led to Dalton Papalii’s five pointer. Will Jordan and Ardie Savea combined for a brilliant try after a ruck turnover.
And the set-piece strikes continued to rain down points on Italy.
Dane Coles had a scamper from another maul paul down the blind side. Damian McKenzie burst through a wrap play from a midfield scrum. Cam Roigard exploded inside Coles another maul variation before setting up Anton Lienert-Brown.
Italy head coach Kieran Crowley was right in his assessment that it was a “glorified training run” as the set plays were working with such a success rate as if they were an unopposed walkthrough.
The All Blacks had done their homework and looked to target Italy’s maul defence. Captain Ardie Savea alluded to as much with his post-game assessment, there was space they had identified and they went after it.
But that space and those opportunities will not present against an outfit such as Ireland. This was a one-off masterclass in starter plays built for Italy.
Ireland know not to turn the ball over and offer the All Blacks the chance to counter and their set-piece defence is not as brittle either.
There is nothing from this game that would instill fear into Ireland’s ranks, and the 17 points scored by Italy will perhaps bring forth a wry smile. If Italy’s attack can land two tries, what could Ireland’s do.
But neither Pool A or Pool B are finalised in terms of who is going through and in what position.
France vs. Italy and Scotland vs. Ireland still have influence while South Africa’s clash with Tonga is also part of the equation.
All Blacks head coach Ian Foster made it clear he does not have a preference for a quarter-final opponent and wouldn’t start worrying about it until it is determined.
If Italy tip over France, New Zealand could top the pool and still play South Africa. If Scotland force their way through with two wins they could be the assignment.
The chips will fall and determine the path forward. While Ireland is likely, it isn’t yet confirmed.
There is still a chance for the All Blacks to play the Springboks yet.
Comments on RugbyPass
surprised, disco lights haven't been banned by world rugby board
13 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.
13 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..
1 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!
13 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.
1 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
13 Go to commentsYeah, its not going to work. But we see you World Rugby.
13 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…
13 Go to commentsGreat. More unwanted changes. Because these always work out well.
13 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. 😂
13 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!
22 Go to commentsIt’s not new for nines to be the key playmaker. For the Boks it has been common, with Fourie du Preez and Joost vd Westhuizen being obvious examples. It's also not that recent for nines to be box kicking, covering high balls in the back field, and tackling in the defensive line. For example, Faf de Klerk has been doing all of that for years.
6 Go to commentsThe hell with this constant regurgitation of what this pretty boy is doing. For all I care he might as well be doing a Jamie Oliver cooking course. Rugby is not a progression toward the NFL, which, given its prominence in your reporting, you appear to regard as the ultimate contact sport. It has virtually nothing to do with rugby, and forever may that remain the case. I know that if I don’t like it I don’t have to read it, but I’m sick of seeing this dishwater-dull nonsense.
2 Go to commentsGuys Eben did not mean it in a ugly way as it’s just a feeling he had. We Safas rate the All Blacks and no Bok player wants to play NZ in a Knockout game
148 Go to commentsHe basically described who Aaron Smith also considers the GOAT 9….the one & only Fourie du Preez😎
6 Go to commentsI’m hoping that the Reds can win their last 4 games with a couple of try bonus points. The pessimist in me wouldn't be surprised if the Drua and the Tahs knock the Reds over. The Reds may end up ruing the fact they were distinctly 2nd best against the Force and just so clunky against Moana Pasifica. The Brumbies should win all their remaining games with some bonus points giving them at least a top 2 finish as the leading Kiwi sides will take points off each other. How the Brumbies handle the fact that they will be expected to beat the Crusaders will fascinate me. You’d probably have to go back to 2001 for the last time the Brumbies would go into a game against the Crusaders odds on to win.
8 Go to commentsFree to air is the key to fan expansion. I attended last weeks game at Suncorp (Reds v Blues) and the total cost is prohibitive to most people that wish to attend. Two tickets $130, parking (event day gouging) $75, road tolls $20, dinner beforehand $130, plus some petrol and a beer inside the stadium and a single game starts to cost $300-400. Who can afford that week in week out, I’d love to go more but could only afford this one game to see the Blues, I’d have loved to have seen more NZ teams here but I’d need to stop eating or sell a kidney.
22 Go to commentsBrumbies are looking good and if they keep their home form up a final is not beyond the realms of possibility. They showed against the Hurricanes exactly how clinical they can be as they absorbed pressure in that contest while also scoring points and applying their own pressure. Reds are well placed as well but need to find consistency. They are building a longer term project with a young side and plenty of quality players. Been surprising to see the strength of Aussie sides this year after the debacle of the world cup. Have NZ sides gotten weaker? Have Aussie sides gotten stronger? A bit of both I would say. Whatever the case its good to see some actual competition between NZ and Aus sides again and thats exactly what the fans wanted and is probably driving better viewership numbers. All of this can only be healthy for Aus and Super Rugby and I hope the Brumbies go all the way.
8 Go to commentsDead time reductions are important as is ball in play time increases. Premiership leads the way in terms of ball in play and Northern refereeing standards around the breakdown has sped up the game significantly. Super Rugby is trying new things but its not leading the way in terms of making gains in reducing dead time and ball in play time. Northern administrators are also not against speeding up the game, on the contrary they want a faster game and have been trying things and are embracing increasing the speed of rugby. Super Rugby isnt providing a blueprint for anything, its just part the agreed upon blueprint that administrators across the world are moving to.
22 Go to comments