this post was submitted on 12 Nov 2024
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Pretty messy game of Rugby in France v NZ. Another international game where territory was 50% plus determined by the referee not the players which I personally hate. I think Barrett's 2 decisions to go for 3 and get it close rather than attempt to get the points that would win the game were mistakes.
Razor also did not select well for this match. Jordan is not in form at 15, and Reece is very out of form at 14. Both players made mistakes that led to massive territory or points to France. Given how well McKenzie played against Ireland I still think the better selection was Jordan at 14 with Barrett at 15.
Finau's early injury forcing Lakai to play 78 minutes probably meant the bench impact wasn't as good as the last two weeks; though having said that the loose forwards looked really good even once when they were rejigged. But I think they really missed Cane's leadership at times in that game - at points looked a bit panicked.
It sounds weird given they got 30 points, but I think in a way France won without having to do too much. The big thing was absorb the pressure, their counter-attack was full of pace and very effective and in the last 60 minutes their defence was very strong. So long as they just managed to stay on the right side of the ref they got the W.
Playing to the ref is what good teams do tbf. I've seen Scotland get that wrong for years. I missed it sadly, but it sounds like a fine margin game, yet another good episode of the France vs NZ epic :)
Yeah, if you look at the stats around carries, (188), metres gained (1319), tackles broken/slipped (34) you'd wonder how NZ didn't finish with more points some of which came down to not getting much pay from the referee at times and some strange calls that took momentum off them at crucial points.
But those numbers obscure that Jordan did a lot of long carries from the back straight into heavy shoulders which in the end didn't really help with much. It was clearly a tactic to run instead of kick, but the price was paid where at times both Reece and Jordan were completely gassed and couldn't get to the support line in time (Vaa'i pass to Jordan), or couldn't get back to shutdown the break (Reece just after).
The lethargy showed in some of Reece's kick chases as well where he got up there completely isolated and had no ability to put any pressure on the French kick receipt to an extent that it was pointless him being there & just deprived NZ of a defender. If it was a tactic designed to fatigue the French, well it didn't really work. The ref let scrums take far too long to set which gave plenty of rest and even if the French forwards were getting slower, out wide & in the back field the French were fresher than NZ due to not having run as much.
With the selected team it makes sense to play that way, because Jordan's kicking game isn't great and against the French it would have been too much chance of being picked apart - but that's why Foster picked him at 14 in Internationals where he excels.
Oh well, so far this season Razor has been very stubborn until injury has forced him to change - hopefully a debrief over the summer will see a bit more of a pragmatic approach from his team.