-
All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw - Source: Photosport -
Related
Last night's All Blacks victory over the Wallabies left me underwhelmed.
I was disappointed with what was a very poor game overall with the referee having too much influence and too many basic errors coming from both sides.
There were really only three highlights in the game, with the three tries, and with Alain Roulain blowing penalties left, right and centre it spoiled what should have been a great game.
The All Blacks had control for the bulk of the game but the Wallabies managed to grab some momentum in the last 10 minutes and had they held on to a few more passes they might have managed to sneak a win.
All of the penalties that were handed out kept them in the game and allowed them to pose a threat right up until the final minutes.
Individual mistakes hurt both teams - it was just very unusual to see top-line players drop so much pill.
The All Blacks made too many unforced errors with passes hitting the shoulders or going slightly behind players, hindering their chances with the ball in hand.
The two set-piece tries the All Blacks scored were beautiful to watch and it's a pity we didn't see more of that.
Up front there was a fair bit of chicanery going on with each pack trying to counter and nullify the other.
The All Blacks were looking to have a crack at David Pocock and while they managed to get him out of the way early they conceded a few penalties along the way.
The Aussie forwards played pretty well considering they didn't have a lot of ball initially but it was a funny game in the manner that players from both sides cancelled out their opposites.
The loose-forwards as a whole were kept fairly tight and Richie McCaw, Kieran Read and Liam Messam were not able to operate with as much freedom as they would have liked as there was more kicking from both sides than fluent running of the ball.
I thought Messam played pretty well. He managed to get around the park and was quite a nuisance coming off the line quickly to shut down the Wallabies attack. Liam has form on his side this year and is playing very well and I think he'll hold his position for the next game.
Our two big midfielders always receive a lot of hype which they haven't always delivered on, but last night I thought Sonny Bill Williams and Ma'a Nonu played solidly.
Sonny didn't get many breaks and defensively the Aussies tied him up pretty well. They always had two players on him so he never had much room to move at all.
After the way we demolished the Irish in June I expected a lot more running rugby but we just didn't see enough of it.
I think the All Blacks were playing things very close to the chest and didn't give away too much and we relied on the kick more than anything else.
Looking ahead to next week at Eden Park I think there will be improvement from both sides and hopefully a more expansive and entertaining match as a result.