Right, so after match report. Awesome night out with the family.

We rocked up about 4pm so we could park closish to the ground. Let the boys (9, 4 & 1) play at a playground for a while and then headed into Kingsland to get some dinner.

My wife stood out in a sea of black again. The 1 and 4 years olds were decked in black, and the 9 year old half black half gold in a show of solidarity for her. Got plenty of attention from passerbys on the way to the ground.

When we arrived the Black Ferns had about 30mins left, and the main excitement there was whether they'd crack 100. Was cool seeing them live, they have some fantastic skills and we'll look to get along to a few RWC games. I think Woodman scored like 7 tries lol.

Then the game, freaking awesome. We started slow, and failed to capitalise on a 1 man advantage early on. Wallabies were extremely lucky not to see red there, I'd say if Dalton got injured they would have.

Then after a slightly disjointed start which is probably to be expected with so many changes, the ABs really started getting into their work. We really just ground them down, leading to a lot of penalties our way through pressure and our backline started to show what they can do on the back of that.

I haven't watched the game on TV, and I did have a 1 year old distracting me a bit, but players that stood out live were:

Jordie - just a dominant presence out there in everything he did. Defense, ball in hand, kicking, passing, he was just phenomenal. I remember getting on @Rancid-Schnitzel's bandwagon a few years ago, and thought a midfield combo of Jordie & Rieko is the future. Well the future came to pass, and it was a thing of beauty. Give those guys every game together now until the RWC please.

BBBR - he was back to his best IMO, a number of strong carries, big hits on defense and doing all the dirty work he is known for. Just threw himself around like a fucking maniac and had the Wallabies back peddling for most of the game. Hugely impressive performance from the big man.

Lomax - as with BBBR he was a dominant force out there. After some real concerns with the depth of our front rowers recently we have unearthed some serious talent there now. Great to see.

Rieko - he is so fucking fast, he's an absolute weapon at 13. Don't agree with the calls to put him back on the wing, 13 is perfect for him, gets his hands on the ball plenty and still has space to use his pace on the outside. For one incredible break he made down the touchline where he cut back in instead of finding Jordan outside him, I knew his haters would lose their shit over that, but it was pretty clear Koroibeti had Jordan covered. I thought that showed Rieko's maturity as a player - too often we try to push miracle balls after a break and turn possesion over. I believe we ended up scoring on the back of the territory we made from his break there.

The rest of the forwards - all excellent, nobody had a poor game really. The loosies went well, Dalton and Akira in particular were very strong in the tight, and Ardie always a threat with ball in hand. Sam led the team superbly, De Groot was good though I think he was gassed at times so fitness still an issue. Taylor was good around the park but the lineouts are still a problem.

The rest of the backs - as above, all excellent. Mo'unga is still a bit rocks and diamonds, but I think the more starts he gets the more he'll iron that out. Beauden was superb from the back, injecting himself at the right time. Clarke was near faultless, nullifying lots of high balls (he got applause for a number of his takes under pressure, they weren't easy), defended well and strong with ball in hand. One of the biggest cheers of the night was when he bowled over that Aussie on our own 22. Will "Christian Cullen" Jordan scored a try Cully would have been proud of, and Smith was very solid though I agree he needs to run more

Now I'll rewatch the game and change my mind on 90% of what I said above.

But all in all a great night out and another fantastic performance from the ABs at Fortress Eden. We really missed a trick not playing the decider against Ireland there, we would have won the series 2-1 if we did.

Awesome to have the Bledisloe and RC wrapped up, and really looking forward to the EOYT with our new and improved backline.

As we have some more overseas posters and readers at the moment, it's important for them to know just how lowly Foster is rated in NZ. During his time in charge of the Chiefs there was a running joke about him getting the AB head coach role, as it would be such an outrageous choice given how poor he is. Another coach that was mentioned in this running joke was Mark Hammett who made an absolute mess of the Hurricanes during his time there.

Then he got given an assistant coach role for the ABs, a baffling promotion given his record to date. That running joke actually continued even after this - "imagine if he got promoted to head coach!".

Then after we got bundled out of the 2019 RWC, NZR not only decided to go for continuity by selecting a new head coach from within the existing coaching group, they chose the guy that was so bad as a head coach he was a running joke to a lot of NZ rugby fans.

Everyone at the time was stunned, and the way the ABs are playing now is absolutely no surprise. We knew we were in for a rough few years, but that doesn't make it any easier to take.

The only defense of Foster has been "maybe he's improved since his disastrous stint with the Chiefs". But there was no evidence to suggest he had, because he hadn't been a head coach since then! If he had improved then he should have taken a SR team again and demonstrated that. Giving him the reins for the ABs was probably the worst decision I've ever seen a professional sporting organisation make, and the ABs aren't just any organisation, they are historically the most successful sports team on the planet.

The damage this is doing to the AB brand in the professional era can't really be overstated. We are still blessed with incredibly talented players, but without a top class coach we are becoming easy beats to the other Tier 1 teams who play with actual structure.

It's depressing times for us AB fans.

I mean that loss would fucking hurt for the Wallabies and their diehard fans, I can see why the salty tears are flowing. This is the worst AB team they've played in 20 years, they had just effected an amazing comeback (a FAMOUS comeback) and had what was likely the winning penalty to seal the deal. That was going to set up the chance of history at Eden Park - taking down the Fortress and taking the Bledisloe home with them, the stuff of wet dreams for their fans and players alike. And then Foley fucks around, the ref hands the ABs the ball on their line, and of course we fucking score to break their hearts for the 20th year running. If I was a Wallabies fan I would have thrown my fucking TV out the window after that shit.

LOL Mo'unga "the composure from both teams was awesome". Nether team had anything that remotely resembled composure

My wife had an abnormal result on a smear test. Got the dreaded call from the doctor instead of a text.

A closer look shows she has a lesion on her cervix that has 'high grade cell changes', which are pre-cancerous. She will need part of her cervix removed to get rid of it, and then regular tests to confirm they are all gone.

While the whole thing has been stressful, we are both incredibly grateful that it was picked up before it developed further. Cancer really is a fucking bitch.

If any ladies read this (including the hot Polish chicks), get your smears, they are genuine life savers.

Awesome afternoon of rugby (day rugby is so much more enjoyable!!), and so good to finally get along to a test again.

With a 7 year old, 2 year old and a wife 30 weeks pregnant we were not keen on the idea of public transport so we drove to the ground at around 1PM so we could park close(ish). By 1.30 all parks within cooee were gone so we were glad we got there nice and early. Had a picnic, let the boys play for a bit, then made a leisurely stroll down the road to the game.

Wife was decked out in her Wallabies gear, standing out in a sea of black, bless her. A tough afternoon for her lads thankfully, and the 7 year old let her know ALL about it haha.

Atmosphere was great, especially when the ABs clicked into gear after 15 or so minutes. That was an improved performance as you would expect, albeit in far better conditions which helped some of our players thrive.

Best moments of the afternoon was when they brought up Eroni Clarke on the big screen a couple of times. The second time was right after Clarke's epic run that set up Ardie's try and he got such a massive cheer he had to acknowledge the crowd. He looked proud as punch.

Some random thoughts on the game, bearing in mind I haven't seen it on TV:

• I thought 20 points flattered us; but for some more clinical finishing from Aus it could have been a damn sight closer.
• Aus picked up where they left off last week and dominated the first 15. It was only individual brilliance from Beauden and then Clarke that kicked us into gear. It does feel like we are still too reliant on that to get into a game, better defensive sides won't allow that to happen so easily.
• On Clarke, fark me what a performance from the 21 year old. He looks made for test footy. It's highly likely Bridge would have got the nod again if not injured, and without Clarke the ABs would have once again lacked the firepower needed to break open the test. The selections are going to be an ongoing concern with Foster at the helm.
• RM is electric in broken play, which is why I like him on the bench coming on against tired legs. In a tight test he doesn't lead the team around the park, and as we found out last week if the conditions are difficult he can be found wanting big time. That said, Beauden is not exactly well suited to the role either, but he has a damn sight more experience trying. Fact of the matter is we don't have a 10 that can really take control of a game when the opposition defense has come to play like we did with DC.
• Beauden was simply superb in the first half, which helped take some pressure off RM who grew into the game and had some fantastic touches to set us away.
• Frizzel is a very solid player but he doesn't seem to possess the power Akira does. I really hope they give Akira a good crack as he has the potential (only that right now) to be our next Kaino.
• Coles made a real difference and is back to his best (which is better than Taylor's ceiling). Great to see after his serious injury concerns a year or so back.
• ALB is a fantastic all round player and solidifies our midfield big time. He needs to be 12 with JG 13. I can only assume they have JG closer in to help defend the channel as RM is a bit of a liability there.

Overall a really enjoyable game in the sun with both teams willing to play attacking footy. Still a lot of question marks over this AB side, and I can see some very squeaky bum times ahead in Sydney and Brissie, but nice to keep the Eden Park fortress in tact with a comfortable win in the end.

The fact that they’ve picked a team that so many on the Fern wanted makes me nervous. As a collective we have a strong proven record of not having a fucking clue what we are talking about.

Jesus the criticism of the DG is a bit over the top, that got us a 19 point lead with 10 minutes to go. That is 100% NOT the reason we lost, it has absolutely nothing to do with it.

I'm still very much in the toddler stage with the boys, waiting for them to grow up a bit more so they don't think picking up the vacuum cleaner and whacking the TV with it is a good idea. You guys probably yearn for the days when the problems were so simple

@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks v England:

@mariner4life I think what that England match showed was that despite being very good players, the Jordie/Ioane midfield has a long way to go in knowing how to play together. As a combination it didn’t really work. I’m not a doubter in terms of it being able to work, but there were a few concerning moments.

The last match they played together they didn’t really play as a combo either. Jordie played well because he tucked the ball under the arm and had a really attacking mindset. And there was space for him to operate in (Richie was far more assertive in that match also as opposed to England).

I hope they persist with it but it was one of a number of problems in this match.

It's almost as though they should play them together more... and they should not shunt Jordie back to 15 every second game... and that playing Havili against Scotland was a complete and utter waste of fucking time... God that was a frustrating selection.

@Kiwiwomble said in Musk & Twitter:

considering its only been the last 10 year where countries have rolled out hundreds of billions to install fibre...maybe they should have looked a bit further and invested in something like this

Nah, fibre is a much better option if you can get it, much more stable/reliable and won't be interfered with by atmospheric conditions. The roll out of fibre is absolutely awesome and has been a big game changer for so many reasons, including the ability to work remotely / from home. Elon's satellite internet is very cool though, and as @nzzp is fantastic for areas outside of the main centres where laying fibre can be challenging.

@MajorRage good post, though I'm not convinced he went missing, I just think he was asked to play a tighter game against SA. His tackle stats are always up there even in games where he isn't so prominent. I think the fact he can be so devastating with ball in hand counts against him a bit, as when he puts in a tighter shift people think he's gone missing as they expect to see him running over people out wide.

@mariner4life said in Thoughts on Cane now?:

@MajorRage said in Thoughts on Cane now?:

@antipodean said in Thoughts on Cane now?:

@MajorRage said in Thoughts on Cane now?:

I think Akira has a LOT of fans on here, where as Frizzell doesn't. That has a heavy push on the MOTM polls.

While I agree with that observation, I have noticed that The Fern tends to recognise good performances. Nearly everyone agreed that Frizzell had the sort of impact we want to see from a starting blindside.

My major criticism of his is that he's making no impact when carrying the ball.

Generally I agree. Although the 6% of the MOTM poll in Bok II suggests that people are a bit loath to vote for him.

There were a few players in the mix for that match for sure, but I do believe that Akira had played Frizzell's exact game he would have got a LOT more than 6% of the vote.

Bok 2 SF was good but not great and made a couple of really big shitty errors. One of which may have.led.to points?

It was a good shift of tight work but nothing outstanding. That's what you are going to get, judicious use of the shoulder. What makes that valuable is it frees savea up to do savea things.

That's really the only coherent argument in his favour, the "Rueben Thorne" argument that he does the hard graft to allow others to shine. I don't really buy it though, I just think he's mostly pretty ineffective at the top level which is why he never stands out.

@nostrildamus said in Thoughts on Cane now?:

@No-Quarter said in Thoughts on Cane now?:

@Victor-Meldrew said in Thoughts on Cane now?:

@Rancid-Schnitzel said in Thoughts on Cane now?:

I think Akira is one of those players who gets disproportionate backlash because he's expected to be a super star but hasn't got there. Disappointment maybe due to such high expectations? Maybe similar to Clark? He was the next Lomu not that long ago and to some he's now apparently useless and even has issues standing up straight.

I've always been a big fan of Akira, but it is very frustrating that he hasn't gone the full Kaino yet. In any event, I'd rather they persist with him than Frizzell.

I find there's very little difference between Frizzell & Akira in terms of performance - both have good games and disappointing games. I just hope one of them kicks on and nails the 6 slot. Akira seems more likely.

I just don't understand how Akira can be MOTM multiple times and in the mix for MOTM in so many other games, while Frizzel has been the mix for MOTM precisely zero times in all of his starts, and you can draw from that that there is very little difference in performance between the two. Even in Frizzel's much talked about game in SA II he took home a total of 6% of the votes. I feel like I'm living in a parallel universe to some of you guys where Frizzel actually has an impact on the games he starts. When Akira has a quiet game, that's equal to the best game Frizzel has ever produced.

Was with you to the last sentence, Frizell had a good dominant game this year when he came back then went into background mode again.

Did he? Which game was that?

@Victor-Meldrew said in Thoughts on Cane now?:

@Rancid-Schnitzel said in Thoughts on Cane now?:

I think Akira is one of those players who gets disproportionate backlash because he's expected to be a super star but hasn't got there. Disappointment maybe due to such high expectations? Maybe similar to Clark? He was the next Lomu not that long ago and to some he's now apparently useless and even has issues standing up straight.

I've always been a big fan of Akira, but it is very frustrating that he hasn't gone the full Kaino yet. In any event, I'd rather they persist with him than Frizzell.

I find there's very little difference between Frizzell & Akira in terms of performance - both have good games and disappointing games. I just hope one of them kicks on and nails the 6 slot. Akira seems more likely.

I just don't understand how Akira can be MOTM multiple times and in the mix for MOTM in so many other games, while Frizzel has been the mix for MOTM precisely zero times in all of his starts, and you can draw from that that there is very little difference in performance between the two. Even in Frizzel's much talked about game in SA II he took home a total of 6% of the votes. I feel like I'm living in a parallel universe to some of you guys where Frizzel actually has an impact on the games he starts. When Akira has a quiet game, that's equal to the best game Frizzel has ever produced.

@Kirwan said in Musk & Twitter:

@No-Quarter said in Musk & Twitter:

I understand numbers have actually increased since Musk took over. All the crap about how Twitter is going to crash was so ridiculous, and written by people that obviously don't know the first thing about tech, they just hate Musk and want him to fail. Cutting out the fat of tech departments is probably a worthwhile exercise for a lot of companies, there are so many talkers and so few doers these days in the world of Agile.

Record usuage, record logged in users, handling the World Cup load fine (20,000 tweets per second).

The risk at the moment is they do appear to be changing alot, so the engineers that remain have to be good.

Yeah, change is the biggest risk, I probably would have put a restriction in place until they have more people on board, though that's clearly not the way Elon thinks!

Like a tweet I saw that went viral among lefties and "anti-Muskers" that reckoned a key reason it was going to crash was "a random HDD will fill up because nobody is watching it", and it would be catastrophic. Like yeah, sometimes directories get full and cause issues, but they are the easiest of incidents to fix, and the easiest to prevent repeats of. Just absurd nonsense.

I understand numbers have actually increased since Musk took over. All the crap about how Twitter is going to crash was so ridiculous, and written by people that obviously don't know the first thing about tech, they just hate Musk and want him to fail. Cutting out the fat of tech departments is probably a worthwhile exercise for a lot of companies, there are so many talkers and so few doers these days in the world of Agile.