New Zealand Take Out Tri-Nations & Bledisloe 2008

[Darren]

The All Blacks have retained the Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Trophies.

After taken the lead 17-7 shortly after the half time break, the Wallabies allowed the Kiwis to respond with 3 converted tries before a Ryan Cross try put them back in the running with less than 3 minutes to go.

Unfortunatley a last ditch attack didn't pay off and Australia's hopes for the Tri-Nations and a crack at the Bledisloe fell 22 yards short.

As it happened (With thanks to OxleyMoron):

6:04pm The anthems have been sung, time for the haka
6:05pm The haka is Kapa O Pango, no surprise there for such a big game
6:07pm Wallabies to kick off
6:09pm Wallabies on attack, plenty of free kicks awarded early against both sides
6:10pm Penalty against NZ, taking man out in the lineout
6:11pm Giteau to have a shot, on the 15m line from touch, 43m out
6:12pm Gits penalty is short, right on line, 0-0 4min30 gone
6:13pm Wallabies have had most of the possession so far
6:14pm Penalty against Moore for offside
6:15pm Freekick to NZ, 30m out from Aus line
6:17pm Knocked on by Kaino
6:17pm 3 scrum resets already
6:18pm Freekick against woodcock for wheeling
6:19pm Kaplan wants a word to Palu
6:20pm NZ pressing, Try to Muliania
6:21pm Wallaby defence was too narrow, Tuqiri had three to cover
6:22pm Carter coverts
6:22pm 0-7 after 15 minutes
6:24pm Penalty to Aus, Kaino offside
6:24pm Mistake by Giteau, kicked the ball dead, NZ scrum near halfway
6:28pm Palu looses the ball forward in a great attacking run
6:29pm McCaw was in another timezone, Penalty to AUS
6:30pm Gits kick straight in front, its good
6:31pm NZ knock on from restart
6:32pm NZ blow a good chance, muliaina kicks out on full
6:33pm Penalty against Cowan, Kaplan wants a word, coming in from the side
6:34pm Wallabies pressing
6:36pm Cowan clears, after Kaino takes possession when on the ground
6:37pm Plenty of phases by the wallabies, turned over
6:38pm Palu clutching his knee, limping
6:41pm Smith forces a turnover
6:42pm Palu down for treatment
6:42pm Palu off, BROWN on
6:45pm Ball squirted loose from brown, 22 restart to NZ, McCaw tries a drop kick and stuffs it
6:47pm Wallaby lineout inside their own 22
6:48pm lost forward by NZ
6:48pm Nonu down
6:50pm Wallabies inside 22, try to AAC
6:51pm Sivivatu may get warned for the late tackle on Hynes
6:52pm Gits converts, same angle and ball shape as the QANTAS ad
6:52pm Halftime, 10-8 to the wallabies
6:57pm lousy typo, score is 10-7
6:58pm Missed tackles 8 Aus, 18 NZ
7:03pm 40 minutes left for tri-nations glory, if the wallabies can stay in front
7:03pm Tuqiri loses ball from restart
7:04pm Penalty against Aus, Moore offside, mortlock has smashed Nonu
7:04pm Changed decision to knock on? Aus scrum feed
7:06pm McCaw penalised for not on feet, full arm penalty
7:07pm Lineout on 22, wallabies score, Horwill with the try
7:08pm Great buildup run from brown and giteau in that try
7:09pm gits to kick from touch, got it
7:09pm Williams and woodcock have been down in backplay
7:10pm Palu has a grade 1 or 2 medial strain to knee
7:11pm Hynes just cut Kahui in half
7:12pm Woodcock scores the try, sharpe missed tackle
7:13pm Carter converts from the touchline
7:14pm Nonu off, Somerville off, Afoa and Mealamu on
7:15pm Wallabies on attack
7:17pm Cordingley denied 1m out
7:19pm McCaw penalised again
7:21pm Weepu, Donald are on
7:22pm Horwill loses the lineout, Williams knocks on 5m out from line
7:23pm NZ scrum on halfway
7:24pm 20 minutes to go
7:26pm Weepu try
7:26pm Sivivatu set that try up
7:26pm Carter converts
7:27pm 63 minutes gone
7:28pm dissent from Moore has cost the wallabies 10m
7:29pm NZ break, lineout reset
7:30pm Carter score a try
7:31pm Carter converts
7:32pm Penalty against cross from restart
7:33pm Cordingley has kicked out on the full, momentum has swung
7:34pm McMeniman on, Elsom off
7:36pm Wallabies have just wasted 20sec deciding what to do, Freier on, moore off
7:37pm Turnover by AAC on Aus 22, NZ slowing the play down
7:39pm NZ defending well
7:40pm McMeniman has knocked on 5m out
7:40pm Freier knocked on, wasn't picked up
7:41pm the clock is the enemy
7:42pm A couple of scrum resets are taking more time off the clock, playing into NZ hands
7:43pm Cross scores, Kaplan wants to go upstairs
7:44pm Try scored
7:44pm Gits kicks conversion
7:45pm 1 try to win it all....
7:46pm NZ milking the clock
7:46pm 1 last chance
7:47pm Penalty against NZ, have to run it
7:48pm NZ win
7:48pm NZ win the tri-nations and the Bledisloe
7:54pm So close, yet 22m too far away

[oxleymoron]

I didn't realise I had typed that much....

[lara93]

yeah that is quite a bit of typing but thank you for the updates
appreciate it

[jargan83]

well that sucked. We had our chances and we didn't take them. To have a sniff at the death just twists the knife a bit more
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[Thequeerone]

BROWNIE WOT A DEBUT - he has that 8 shirt - sorry about Paulu's injury but ...

Honkers BLEDISLOE IV should be a ripper - the lads where hitting their stride tonight

Downside - Defence defence defence - lineouts 10/10, Scrums 8/10 (not a bad effort - almost impressive - Stephen Moore was awesome)

Cross has to improve on defence to retain his spot - Gits didn't fire in the frist half - George Smith was really quiet.

AAC was gutsy and actually deserved the try - maybe thing would have been different if Drew had gone out there for Lote( he was quieter than Hynes !)

The big difference this game was Sharpie - he was powerful - unwavering - tenacious and made more yards than most of the backs - and the Wallabies actually tried to come back with him on the pitch - they succeeded and got 1 of the 2 tries they needed. The Wallabies led at half time.

MOM for the Kiwis - Kaplan - he lacked the courage to send McCaw off despite talking to him at least 5 times - he caused the Wallabies to give up and let in 2 quick trys to the AB's at the 20 min mark in the second half.

Solution: Sack Mortlock and bring back Gregan to mouth off to the ref - and the ARU must insist on a NH ref for Bledisloe IV.

PS - Line bet on TAB should have paid out it was 4.5

[jargan83]

and yet Kaplan singled out Palu and said if he offended again he would be in the bin after only 10-15 mins
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[NTT]

well well how close was that?
Three things from the game stood out for me. Defence was still fragile at times, we were to slow to react to the momentum swing after the all blacks substitutions and our attacking strategy of one off hitups next to the ruck were making defence easy for the all blacks and stifling our attacking flow.
All the Force boys (except Drew who should have come on for Tuqiri who was quiet again) did us proud, especially Browny who was very impressive on debut and had real presence around the field and should replace Waugh in future teams. Crossys try was outstanding and the organisation Sharpie brings to the line out was just the tonic. I didn't see one line out turn over which has been killing us lately. Horwill was very good as was Hynes and AAC was better this week. Rocky also did well i thought but as always : more Force and less Tahs and we play good rugby.

[robyn <3]

im disgusted by most parts of that game.
mostly, the 16th player the kiwis had on the pitch. oh, i mean, the ref. sorry. he is BLIND! how could he miss frier's knock on? even i admitted it was knocked on (well... dropped and then picked up kinda thing) and ref didnt blow it! he didnt make friends with palu. i missed cliffy's injury.. what did he do? i saw him go down with his knee a few minutes before..
you could see rocky had the flu. it was so obvious. he was not 100%, the poor bloke. but he was still great. he will be missed by the wallabies for sure!
lote was standing in the corner sulking i think. on a positive note, he didnt drop the ball claps for lote!! ashely cooper was.... better. but NOT GOOD ENOUGH! an improvement is an improvement, so i shouldnt complain.
i do not think stirling is playing his best rugby any more. ryan cross had a better game tonight than i have seen mortlock play all season. i think that aussie rugby NEEDS cross at 13, and mortlock does not cover 12 well. bring back berrick before kearnies' 'iloveberrickbarnes' fan club dies!!!
cordingly needs a smack around the ears. i was ready to cry when after he screwed up that 14-phases-almost-on-the-line try. our loosies were not at mccaw standard. george smith is not as.. mongrelly as mccaw. but he does follow the rule book, so thats ok. i think bam bam should be out there in gold soon!

what really upsets me is the time in opponents 22
wallabies-almost SIX minutes.
kiwis- 2.38 or something like that

WE DO NOT DO ANYTHING WITH THE BALL WHEN IT IS IN THE 22 AND THAT NEEDS TO CHANGE!

im not happy. the kiwis have the s14, trinations and the bledisloe

[lara93]

im not happy. the kiwis have the s14, trinations and the bledisloe

who isnt....aww wait..new zealand rugby supporters are

[blueandblack]

thx TQ1 for final score. shame about the result.

[laura]

So its now 1.40am and I just finished watching the game, and I typed as I watched. The last paragraph is my opinion in 1 little paragraph.
Channel 7, no Haka or National Anthems…poxy effort.
AAC good highball mark
The audience booing Gits’ penalty attempt…wtf, he is an Aussie and you’re in Aus cheer for your team!
Crossy had good vision twice in 5 minutes
Cordingley passing well and Hynes running
Tim Horan called hands in the ruck from Rocky, when it was Steve Moore entering from the side. Timmy Horan should no better
“Pack the bloody thing and get on with the game” Dan Crowley on the timing of calling the scrum to engage.
Rocky has been playing SA and trying to defend himself for too long, I think he got a punch in ~ 11 minutes.
AB #7 pushing Hynes when he was outside the field…wtf?! Why bother fool
9 free kicks & 2 penalties in the first 15 minutes…too many short arm penalties stopping/interrupting flow of play?
Lote’s side stepping made an appearance
Palu tried to go himself and lost it. 2 on his left to go…
Gits gets the penalty goal!!
23 penalties in 25 minutes play, Cowan=swearing fool.
Crossy’s on fire! 20 m run, 7m run.
Numbers at the breakdown, quick ball and committing players to the breakdown.
Palu injured jumping out of my skin that Browny is coming on!!!
32minutes…why is Gits at fullback and not AAC?
Browny!!! 6 seconds and he has the ball!!
10 man kiwi lineout
Gordon Bray: Why should you get another go, if you couldn’t get it right the first time…that’s under 10’s rules” on AB’s getting a second chance at kick (36 minutes).
Gordon Bray “That went forward but initially past backwards, but that’s ok”…since when?!
Gits>Hynes (passed while being tackled in the air)>AAC (palmed off 2 defenders) and AB cautioned for taking Hynes in the air….. How excited was Brownie to first hand witness that?!
Gits conversion, spot on.

HALF TIME 10-7 Crossy fantastic, Gits good vision and Stirlo doing well with the ‘play-maker’ role. Naughty Wallabies keeping the AB’s waiting after half time…good work team!

Mortlock’s tackle on Nonu, ripper tackle by Stirlo unlucky shoulder-head for Nonu.
Horwill try!!! Browny so close to the action again!
Gits’ conversion, exactly like the QANTAS add they played straight after, text book fantastic!
George Smith & AAC ended up canceling each other out and Woodcock got through for the try.
Cordingley doing really well as scrummie this week, making it to the breakdowns and good passes.
Steve Moore penalized for not rolling away…he had 2 players ON him, how on earth can he roll away?
Ruck that led to Weepu’s try, why was there no penalty on the AB’s Hooker (I think) who was offside tackling Hynes (who was onside) from behind him?
Gits had no one to pass to…
All the AB’s replacements are making their presence known; Robbie should probably be thinking the same about now (53 minutes).
All Blacks chant…is the crown entirely Kiwi?
Jonathon Kaplan blew his whistle and then said “Nothing wrong” so why the whistle?
Crossy you champ! 4 defenders and still managed the try.
The boys look absolutely buggered, shows how well they played and how much effort they gave busting their gut for it.
Dan Crowley “Don’t you just hate a smug Kiwi?”

At 8pm after finding out we lost, I wanted to swear but after watching the game…fantastic effort by the boys, close game and the Wallabies definitely stepped it up a huge notch from 2 weeks ago. At the end of the day they showed up and stepped up to the challenge, Brownie had a great debut, Crossy was on fire Sharpie showed why he should be in the team, nothing spectacular but his presence and control over the line-out is incomparable to anyone else. I can handle a 4 point defeat (and losing both trophies) because the boys gave their everything and played their hearts out.

[Flamethrower]

Dan Crowley “Don’t you just hate a smug Kiwi?”

Not as much as a Saffa with a whistle.

[Jehna]

on a positive note, Lote didnt drop the ball claps for lote!!

That's because he never got the ball...

My take on it, written up this morning in a rant to a friend...

Bah. Stupid game. Totally ruined my night. *sigh* So angry. I think we played better than what I saw against the Springbok so that was a positive. We really bounced back after such a crushing defeat. But we still haven't learned how to play against the All Blacks after all these years. The first half was more about the All Blacks playing crap than us playing well. We need to learn to play the ball wide and utilise our best assets which are our centres and at least one of the wingers. Not to mention that the All Blacks defence out wide was horrendous yet we failed to capitalise on that. Rather we seemed to think that running straight back into a maul of massive maoris and getting crushed to death was a better idea...I mean look at the first half stats. We dominated possession and territory and all we had to show for it (until 1 minute before the end) was 3 points. Oh good. What's the point in having all that ball if you're not going to use it?

Second half was a little tragic but perhaps less of the players fault and more Robbie Deans. I would have thought that he of all people would know the impact the 3 changes the All Blacks made would have on the game. And if not, I would have thought it was pretty obvious after the second try in 5 minutes...he really needed to make some changes and get some fresh legs in there. For a start...wtf was Tuqiri still doing on the field? Ok I know I hate him but seriously...where was he? The whole game he was out of position. I saw one spectacular take by him in the dying minutes of the game but that is not enough of a performance for anyone wearing the wallaby jumper let alone someone being paid $6million to do it.

On the positive side...Brownie has a brilliant game and i'm so pleased he got a decent amount of game time. Cordingley also had one of his better games. Gits was excellent as always except perhaps for one mis-hit which allowed the All Blacks to score a try But I'm pretty sure he made up for that. Sharpie also had a good game and proved why he should never have been dropped from the team. But I'll be so glad when Sheps is on the mend and can take over as fullback...Adam Ashley Cooper despite having a better game is still a waste of space and should go get a room somewhere with Tuqiri....

[chook]

Gits is not a great 10. Defend for the whole game. Cross and Tahu need to go to Union Defence School. Defend for the whole game. Play for 80 minutes. Kick the ball out or hoof it as far as possible down field when stuck in your own half.

Wallabies sucked for about 60 minutes of this game and still lost by 4. Maybe its nerves? I dont know. They are closer to the ABs and need to believe in themsleves. If the team was a bit more settled perhaps but then they have to work with what they got. Brown was really good! Happy for him! Horwill was good too.

Kaplan was crap for both teams so cant really critisise too much although haow many warnings does a team get ( either side) before he would produce a card?

Still, and entertaining game. Not as entertaining as the Barbars but near enough.

[travelling_gerry]