Bahnz
Hall of Fame Member
Except for the breakdown and the scrum, which is why NZ got smashed in the penalties count.
Anyway, well done NZ, definitely deserved the win, and can't see anyone stopping them now.
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Semi Finals
- Thread starter Hurricane
- Start date
Anyway, well done NZ, definitely deserved the win, and can't see anyone stopping them now.
hendrix
Hall of Fame Member
They didn't get smashed in the breakdown. There were a few turnovers, sure, but that's inevitable when you have 70% possession. The penalties were mostly random.
Bahnz
Hall of Fame Member
I didn't say they did, but NZ hardly dominated either, and SA definitely had the better of it in the first half.
wellAlbidarned
International Coach
yeah the boks forward pack was excellent. Absolutely no offensive threat though.
hendrix
Hall of Fame Member
They're a big team. They'll win some rucks.they did absolutely nothing else except defend pretty well, and even then they conceded 2 tries.
Hurricane
Hall of Fame Member
Kaino deserved that yellow despite Marshall's defence of him. Make more of an effort not to impede play from an flagrantly off side position. If a saffer did that I absolutely would have wanted yellow.
In the end it was the best thing that could have happened to us as we started playing more disciplined rugby when we had 14 men.
Nerve racking game. Hendrix and myself nearly had to eat humble pie despite H's comments that the ABs were the better team.
I actually think the saffers defended that darn well that they deserved to be in the running for the game. They also understood the rules of the game better than we did. Kieran Read in particular was bewildered when he was pinged multiple times for illegal defence against a rolling maul.
We need to be smarter.
Still our composure was incredible and years' of planning game scenarios for a match like this paid off:
e.g, - the drop kick
e.g, - the tactical grubber kicks when all else was failing to breach the defensive line.
We thought on our feet in the game and came up trumps. We lost 20-18 in 2007, this time we won by the same scoreline.
I didn't chew nails but did have a tense stomach throughout as that match could have gone either way.
In the end it was the best thing that could have happened to us as we started playing more disciplined rugby when we had 14 men.
Nerve racking game. Hendrix and myself nearly had to eat humble pie despite H's comments that the ABs were the better team.
I actually think the saffers defended that darn well that they deserved to be in the running for the game. They also understood the rules of the game better than we did. Kieran Read in particular was bewildered when he was pinged multiple times for illegal defence against a rolling maul.
We need to be smarter.
Still our composure was incredible and years' of planning game scenarios for a match like this paid off:
e.g, - the drop kick
e.g, - the tactical grubber kicks when all else was failing to breach the defensive line.
We thought on our feet in the game and came up trumps. We lost 20-18 in 2007, this time we won by the same scoreline.
I didn't chew nails but did have a tense stomach throughout as that match could have gone either way.
ohnoitsyou
International Regular
What a call
ohnoitsyou
International Regular
Considering how we dominated both possession and territory its a testament to the strength of the South African defense that we resorted to kicking as often as we did, much to the dismay of the crowd i was with. The boo's whenever Ben Smith kicked followed by the cheers when he recovered it would have made Rattue proud.
wellAlbidarned
International Coach
Yeah I had the same. Kicking doesn't always work but surely it's better than ramming into their defence over and over.
wellAlbidarned
International Coach
best call of the night @75 mins in -
"looks like it's gonna be tight. Time to sub on Grant Elliott."
"looks like it's gonna be tight. Time to sub on Grant Elliott."
ohnoitsyou
International Regular
Untrue. The All Blacks were excellent in defense and Habana still made three or four plays that could of have a serious impact if things went a little differently. Pushing us in the scrum, dominating the breakdown, and forcing errors has always been the best way to beat this New Zealand side.
Uppercut
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It's true but NZ's domination of possession+territory in the second half meant they were always going to be more capable of closing the game out once they got a small lead. Whereas if SA had been leading I'd still back NZ to find a score with ten minutes left.
Spark
Global Moderator
how could you tell? the ABs gave away a penalty almost every time SA got close to the 22.
Bahnz
Hall of Fame Member
Argentina have been reading too much of their own press about becoming 'the new France'. Running the ball from inside your own 22 is is a risky proposition when you've got a full compliment, but it's suicidal when you're down to 14 men (especially when the opposition have David Pocock in their pack). Fun game so far, but the greater experience of Australia is winning out.
flibbertyjibber
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So the final the neutrals wanted then.