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'Wake-up call for England': Sir Clive Woodward on All Blacks win
The All Blacks are still the team to beat ahead of the Rugby World Cup, says former England coach Sir Clive Woodward.
In his latest column for the Daily Mail, Woodward said rugby nations emboldened by New Zealand’s record loss to Australia in Perth last week will have to think again after the 36-0 demolition of the Wallabies at Eden Park.
Woodward said the All Blacks’ win on Saturday was a “wake-up call” for England, describing the All Blacks as “simply fantastic”. He also praised Sonny Bill Williams and said in first-five Richie Mo’unga the Kiwis now have a world-class goalkicker to complement the all-round abilities of the team.
“It was business as usual for New Zealand and a wake-up call for the rest of the leading contenders for Japan,” Woodward wrote in his weekly column.
“After losing to the Wallabies in Perth the rugby world was hoping there was a possible chink in this All Black team but yesterday Steve Hansen’s side handed the Australians a lesson at Eden Park winning 36-0. It was a real sit-up and say ‘wow’ moment.
“Make no mistake they are still the team to beat.
“They were simply fantastic in very bad conditions. Sonny Bill Williams was back and Richie Mo’unga is a proper goal kicker and that counts for a lot in World Cups.”
Elsewhere, Daily Mail columnist Nik Simon echoed Woodward’s praise for the men in black in a piece called Lessons from an All Blacks backlash!
Simon wrote that “normal order has been restored in world rugby” and that despite the All Blacks’ aura fading recently, “the World Cup is still theirs to lose”.
He also had praise for lesser-known players who impressed during the emphatic victory.
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“Wingers George Bridge and Sevu Reece had just six caps between them. The All Black production line (with help from Fiji) is still churning out talent,” Simon wrote.
“Bridge floated through gaps before rounding off his night with a try, and the slight Reece showed deceptive strength and fast-twitch skills to also get on the scoresheet. With prolific Rieko Ioane also in the mix, Hansen has hot pickings out wide.”
Simon also heaped praise on the All Blacks pack.
“Only Alun Wyn Jones and Maro Itoje could challenge Brodie Retallick to the title of the world’s best lock,” he wrote.
“The All Blacks pack is vulnerable without him but yesterday, at least, proved that they have the ability to plug the gap. The lineout struggled but the scrum was dominant.”
Sonny Bill Williams also caught his eye.
“The centres don’t have the authority of Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith in 2015 but there’s a wealth of options and Sonny Bill Williams is still a major force.
“Richie Mo’unga is an able deputy to Beauden Barrett, while scrum-halves Aaron Smith and TJ Perenara have 141 caps combined (Willi Heinz has two).”
This article first appeared on nzherald.co.nz and was republished again here with permission.
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Comments on RugbyPass
It’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.
24 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
24 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.
2 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.
24 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
24 Go to comments