All Blacks v France - first test review

Being a true Kiwi, and long-time rugby fan, this week I am culturally obliged to write a review of the All Blacks first test win over France. So that’s just what I’ll do.

All Blacks by 10

At around 9.15pm on Saturday night the captain was all smiles, the coaches shook hands and didn’t really smile (then again, Steve Hansen never smiles). Some of the crowd smiled and some of the team smiled. So overall everyone seemed happy. And why not? The All Blacks had just beaten a very game French side by ten points. It was a tough, almost old-fashioned test at times and the French somehow combined toughness, determination and flair to make a real game of it. But the All Blacks got into the lead (eventually) and never relinquished it.

But they almost did. What those smiles after the end of the game didn’t convey was that if a couple of Cruden’s Stephen-Donald-esque horribly-struck kicks at goal had wobbled left instead of right and if the French number 8 had held onto an admittedly difficult pass with the tryline begging, this result could so easily have gone the other way.

It wasn’t the worst performance I’ve ever seen from an All Black team; far from it. But it wasn’t great. Time together as a team will help. Let us analyse.

Errors

There were lots. But it was the first test of the season and everyone knows we always start slowly, so we’ll forgive this aspect of the performance a little bit. But that doesn’t excuse dropping the ball so often. Handling has to improve.

The Scrum

I really don’t think some people realise how much of a loss to the All Blacks Brad Thorn has been. His scrummaging power is legendary. But they haven’t even come close to replacing him. The scrum had its good moments but I don’t think it was as good as some people are saying.

Ball-Runners

When he’s in top-form and part of a dominant pack, Kieran Read is a fantastic ball-runner.  On Saturday night he was a bit quiet to be honest and was part of a pack that, although it wasn’t knocked out, probably lost to its opponent in a points-decision. As a result Read wasn’t as prominent a ball-runner as he usually is, and nobody else really stood up in that regard, although Dane Coles was good early on.

But it was apparent, to me anyway, that we were lacking the physically imposing bully (e.g. Kaino or Luatua) or supreme athlete (e.g. Vito) to hit/break through and allow that invaluable quick second phase ball or even better, offloads behind the advantage line. Sam Cane and Liam Messam are fine footballers. But I do think they are lacking size and that has means our tried-and-true game-plan needs to be tweaked.

Captain Mannering

I hope Kieran Read hasn’t received his captaincy diploma from the Simon Mannering School of Leadership. Read and Mannering lead through their actions and are highly respected. And quite rightly so. But the X-factor of captaincy is the innate ability to rally the troops, change the game-plan if it’s not quite working, get in the referee’s ear (without him actually being aware that you’re manipulating him) and make all the right calls. And doing all this while also playing out of your skin. Not easy by any means. But I just didn’t see much of Read being vocal with the team, or the ref. That needs to change.

So let’s go through the team player by player.

Israel Dagg

A much improved performance by Dagg in comparison to his not-so-super Super Rugby form, especially under the high ball. But Ben Smith played like a fullback, set up a try like a fullback and just looked like a fullback, with more than a hint of Conrad Smith’s line-breaking ability thrown in to boot. As fine a footballer as Dagg is when in form, the team looked and played better with Smith at fullback and Ranger on the wing.

Ben Smith

See above. He’s a good winger. But he’s a fantastic fullback. And he would be a very good centre on the end of year tour.

Conrad Smith

A fairly unspectacular but workmanlike performance from King Conrad. He is so dependable and efficient. But he also makes invaluable line-breaks as his body contorts and bends at physically impossible angles allowing him to slip out of the grasp of his opponents. He never seems to have a bad game.

Ma’a Nonu

No player was under more pressure than Nonu heading into this game. I know he hasn’t been in vintage form this season, but to the haters out there; who exactly is his replacement? There is absolutely no way Francis Saili is ready. And I certainly hope Nonu silenced at least some of his critics on Saturday. He was excellent in almost all aspects of his play.

Julian Savea

Was he on the field? No, I’m a fan of The Bus. A couple of nice touches and a couple of big hits, but really there were no clear opportunities for a wing in such a tight test match. He maybe just needs to go hunting for work just a little more when it’s not coming his way.

Aaron Cruden

Sometimes I think he’s a wonderful talent and sometimes I think he looks like the gifted kid from the Under-19 team who gets a shot in the Seniors and then struggles. I thought he was a bit of both against the French. He had some fantastic moments on attack. But his kicking was at times dreadful, and his defence, or lack thereof, on the inside channel is a concern. I do wonder if an in-form Beauden Barrett might be worth a shot next week.

Aaron Smith

..was much, much better than he has been this season. His passing was crisp and his directing of play was generally pretty good, despite perhaps running sideways a bit too often.  But certainly a very good pass mark for Smith. Whether it’s enough to hold out the returning Weepu remains to be seen.

Kieran Read

He was very good without being outstanding. He played a solid loose forward’s game but I’d like to see more from him on attack next week.

Sam Cane

I read a column in Stuff.co.nz in which the author was essentially saying that although McCaw was clearly missed, Sam Cane ‘stepped up to the mark’. The article contained this quote;

‘‘While it would be fair to say the French won the battle at the breakdown, Cane gave everything and didn't let the team down.’’

As much as a prop’s core task is scrummaging, an openside’s key responsibility is controlling the breakdown. If the French won the battle at the breakdown, which I agree they did, then Cane didn’t fulfil his main role for the team. He’s brave and tough as nails but I, and several others I’ve spoken to, think he tended to ‘go missing’. He’s definitely worth another run, but I hope he pulls out some old DVD’s of Richie in action and does some study this week.

Liam Messam

Tough. Dedicated. Strong. Determined. Feisty. Technically proficient. Too small. The All Blacks need a bruising ball-runner in the number six jersey. I’d like to see Vito given a go next week. Messam’s value in my team would be as a benchie who can provide cover for all three loose forward positions.

Brodie Retallick

Another solid performer. He’s a monster of a man. No real complaints, although the locks’ contributions in the scrums was at times questionable.

Luke Romano

Again, not a bad day at the office. He does a lot of the dirty work that’s often not noticed by the crowd but is very much appreciated by team-mates. But he made too many mistakes, especially in contact. I still think he needs more Brad Thorn mongrel about him in the scrums. I’d like to see a second row of Dominic Bird and Sam Whitelock at some stage.

Owen Franks

He scrummaged well and always gets around the field wonderfully for a guy who looks like he should never be able to run around so fast. He did his job well.

Dane Coles

He was dynamic in the loose, especially in the opening stages of the match. Apart from a couple of wobbly lineout throws, he had a very good all-round game. It’ll be interesting to see if Andrew Hore gets a run in the next two weeks; I suspect he may. And good on Coles for shedding a few tears before kick-off. It clearly shows how much representing his country means to him.

Wyatt Crockett

He was all over the park and contributed a lot to the team effort. He’s quick in the loose and obviously very fit for such a big man. Most of his game was very good.

But those scrums. I’ve seen many comments since the test saying how well he scrummaged. I just don’t agree. I think he is a tall prop whose technique is questionable at best, perhaps in some small way due to his height. He illegally angles in on his opposing prop, i.e. doesn’t scrummage ‘straight’ as game laws require him to, more times than he doesn’t and somehow gets away with it much of the time. At one stage Jeff Wilson commented, during a replay of a scrum in which the French tighthead prop had been penalised, that Crockett had ‘held a straight body position’. During the replay, at the moment Wilson made that comment, the scrum was still in progress and Crockett was facing the assistant referee on the sideline. Didn’t look like straight scrummaging to me. I’d quite like to see Franks or Afeaki wear the number one jersey next week. But I’m starting to feel like I’m picking on Wyatt (which is not my intention at all), so I’ll leave it alone from now on. Maybe.

Big Bens

Afeaki and Franks came on and each did a good job. Franks in particular was angry and brutal in contact situations and very solid in the scrums. His ability to play both sides of the front row is invaluable. Afeaki only had six minutes so it was hard to gauge his performance.

Keven Mealamu

Seems to be carving a niche for himself as an impact player. He’ll never let his team-mates down as long as his battered body holds together.

Rene Ranger

What a beast. The backline transformed when he came on. While I understand Steve Hansen likes him as a dynamic impact player, he should be given an opportunity to start next week just to see how he goes.

Tawera Kerr-Barlow

Not many opportunities but did nothing wrong.

Beauden Barrett

Not enough time on the field to judge him.

Overall a good performance by the AB’s.  But there were a lot of mistakes and also evidence of rusty or unfamiliar combinations. They’ll be a lot better next week. But so will France…

Sad

Finally, just a quick reference to what’s so wrong with junior rugby in my opinion; the parents. Just a small percentage of them, but enough to ruin the spectacle some weeks.

I coach a junior team and have had some ‘interesting discussions’ with opposition parents who like to voice their opinions on my refereeing decisions. The language is often unacceptable, especially in front of kids; the tone and body language is aggressive; the comments are often ill-informed.

This weekend this trend stretched to the opposition coach, who was a little chap with a goatee beard and an attitude. He started out friendly but joined in the sideline commentary on several occasions. At halftime, despite my offers to hand over the whistle to him, he declined and advised me, ‘You’re reffing well, keep it up’. Confusing. There was apparently a bit more banter from the same ‘supporters’ in the second half but to be honest I didn’t hear any of it.

But then a member of ‘my’ team was tackled heavily, but fairly, and stayed down. I did hear the next comment, which was ‘Yeah son, you got him good. Look he’s still down.’ These boys are 7, 8 and 9 years old. They shouldn’t be running around trying to hurt other kids. But some of them are, and they’re being egged on by some of the nastier parents.

Some of those parents returned my wave and smile as they left the ground; some didn’t, which didn’t bother me. I won’t be coaching after this season. And I know others who feel exactly the same.

Till next time,

SG