What a weekend of fun we had. Geoff C and James were in town for the first Bleddy. Friday was a lot of fun. We had a big roast dinner of lamb and potatoes and pumpkin and then some oranges for desert. All washed down with a few beers and wine. Then we played Texas Hold’Em. The girls didn’t really know how to play at the beginning but learnt quickly. I lost focus about half way through a good bottle of red and in the end Tayla (the youngest) won with an all-in bet. Then we sat down to watch the plasma (that is, show Geoff all my latest gadgets.) To be sure Geoff out did me this trip with his brand new Blackberry and a new Nokia Internet Tablet (ostensibly to control his new Lin stereo system but its also able to surf the internet, play games, chat, skype, GPS and it probably makes coffee if he had purchased the Nokia Espresso option). At least he didn’t have an iPhone!
Speaking of iPhones a couple of blokes at work have them so I am watching their experience keenly. Brother Gordon has gone quiet on it which means one of two things: 1) it is in his ample graveyard of deceased gadgets or 2) he’s found an even better gadget. Since I haven’t heard of any upgraded technology I can only assume it has bitten the dust. The iPhone looks fantastic and elegant and all that but it also looks fragile. I’m not the most careful person so I fear that the first time I drop it I am without phone. I have owned three iPods so far – all have died. One died because I spilt the remnants of a Cappuccino on it (perhaps half a teaspoon). The other one had a hard disk failure. My current one only works in one ear (and it’s not the earphones). Conclusion: Apple’s products are unreliable. For these reasons I am avoiding the iPhone for now.
But I digress.
Saturday we had a good start to the day with a decent helping of Eggs Benedict then it was off to the watch Jesse play Rooty Hill at Kingsdene oval. Jesse’s team North Rocks put up a good show but the opposition outside backs were too good. No shame in the Rocks performance and they avoided an all-in brawl which is usual fare when playing Rooty Hill.
Then it was game on. We got to “A New Zealand Stadium” (ANZ Stadium) at around 5:30pm, lined our stomachs with a Doner Kebab and then hit the Novatel for a few schooners only to be confronted with a changed format at the bar which threw us all out of whack! The band was in a different place, there weren’t any outside bars, some bars only served alco-pops and others only beer. What game plan were they up to here? Too many choices with so little time to load up.
After the initial shock I got my bearings and headed for the nearest bar. I estimated the beer queue was about two schooners and a piss long so that was a waste of time. Instead I thought we’d start with a Bourbon and Coke. Mel was happy with a Smirnoff and Ice so, kitted up with a lobster and ten I headed for the short queue at the alco-pop line. “Three bourbon-and-cokes and a Smirnoff please...” to wit the reply was “That’ll be $38.” After picking myself up off the floor running back to get more money and returning, I paid and left grumbling under my breath: That’s $9.50 per drink! Thanks to Kevin Rudd’s (Krudd) new alco-pop tax to discourage minors from binge drinking (i.e., raise tax revenue), us adults are hit with a ridiculous drinks charge. Well, needless to say we took turns taking regular sorties to the beer queue to keep us well stocked from then on.
Soon it was game time. Admittedly I was comfortable – not relaxed – but certainly comfortable. I felt that we were good enough to win. I also knew that the motivation from the Wallabies would be there with the Deans factor and their success over the tired Africans the week before would boost their confidence. Richie was still out so that was a worry. But all-in-all we should be able to win this.
Our seats were very good. Up on the second level in the member’s area so we had a pretty good view of the game.
The Aussies played very well. They defended, they took their chances and they played the right game plan. There was a bit of Crusaders influence there too. Kick high balls – give possession to the opposition – then wait for the mistake and capitalise. We on the other hand dropped the ball, didn’t adapt to the game plan against us and in the last 20 lost our cool.
Today I read in the Kiwi press that there are people saying it may have been a mistake to keep Henry on. WHAT!!!!!!???? You mean you’ve just worked that out? For goodness sakes! There is a physiological problem manifesting itself here in NZ. Do you not see the stupidity? Not only have you created a monster in Deans (how would you feel if you were rejected – you’d want to beat them at all costs) but we’ve kept a failure in Henry (and his coaching team).
As Geoff pointed out, “rotation” is still a policy. It certainly is still there. Where was Conrad Smith? And Nanoo Nanoo was back to his old tricks of not passing the ball. Sivivatu looked good on TV but at the game (where you can see the wider picture) he made a number of silly mistakes like running the ball back in when he had no support – probably directed to do so by Henry and his flawed game plan.
I keep seeing this repeating factor in the AB game – making the same mistakes. No plan B. Panicking when we have plenty of time to win. 50-50 passes when they weren’t necessary.
Now it has occurred to me that Henry is a School Principal. I recall from my school days that the Principal is never wrong – it’s the principle you see. Perhaps Henry simply cannot admit he’s wrong and can’t adjust a game plan half way through because that would admit he was wrong. Perhaps the team is so bereft of IQ that they can’t figure out that what they’re doing is not working so why not try something new? When they could see that running it back was not working why didn’t they start kicking for the touchline? When they could see they were using up all their enery attacking and getting nowhere, why did they not kick for territory?
Geoff pointed out that they would go for a drop goal to put them further in front than a converted try and…they did it. And as Robbie ‘Dingo’ Deans said afterwards they had anticipated that this would make the ABs panic. It worked. Out came the crazy “Islander rugby” with its 50-50 passes that never stick and every player thinking they were in a seven’s game. Awful to watch my beloved team disintegrate like that. Where were the cool heads? There was plenty of time to win and it was time to start playing careful structured rugby but oh no, we went for broke from inside our 22 with the inevitable result that we got isolated and turned over by an Aussie team that are far too good at defending to be beaten like that.
I can recall in the late 80’s a wonderful Bledisloe Cup game played in Brisbane in which Fitzy’s team were 20 odd points behind as we went into the final 15 minutes. There was no panicking back in those days. They stuck to their knitting and eventually we won the game. Where is that level headedness under pressure? Where is that determination? The current team needs to view that video and soak up the way the ABs were not frazzled right to the very end.
Auckland will be a consolation prize. The Wallabies are expecting to lose and I doubt we will disappoint like we did in Sydney. I am almost of the opinion that perhaps the best solution is that the All Blacks lose in Auckland so that the Henry era can die off quickly and we can start rebuilding sooner rather than later.
I am not saying “the Wallabies were too good on the night” , they weren't. I am saying “the All Blacks were too bad on the night.”
All Black Score out of 10: 0
Wallaby Score out of 10: 8
Speaking of iPhones a couple of blokes at work have them so I am watching their experience keenly. Brother Gordon has gone quiet on it which means one of two things: 1) it is in his ample graveyard of deceased gadgets or 2) he’s found an even better gadget. Since I haven’t heard of any upgraded technology I can only assume it has bitten the dust. The iPhone looks fantastic and elegant and all that but it also looks fragile. I’m not the most careful person so I fear that the first time I drop it I am without phone. I have owned three iPods so far – all have died. One died because I spilt the remnants of a Cappuccino on it (perhaps half a teaspoon). The other one had a hard disk failure. My current one only works in one ear (and it’s not the earphones). Conclusion: Apple’s products are unreliable. For these reasons I am avoiding the iPhone for now.
But I digress.
Saturday we had a good start to the day with a decent helping of Eggs Benedict then it was off to the watch Jesse play Rooty Hill at Kingsdene oval. Jesse’s team North Rocks put up a good show but the opposition outside backs were too good. No shame in the Rocks performance and they avoided an all-in brawl which is usual fare when playing Rooty Hill.
Then it was game on. We got to “A New Zealand Stadium” (ANZ Stadium) at around 5:30pm, lined our stomachs with a Doner Kebab and then hit the Novatel for a few schooners only to be confronted with a changed format at the bar which threw us all out of whack! The band was in a different place, there weren’t any outside bars, some bars only served alco-pops and others only beer. What game plan were they up to here? Too many choices with so little time to load up.
After the initial shock I got my bearings and headed for the nearest bar. I estimated the beer queue was about two schooners and a piss long so that was a waste of time. Instead I thought we’d start with a Bourbon and Coke. Mel was happy with a Smirnoff and Ice so, kitted up with a lobster and ten I headed for the short queue at the alco-pop line. “Three bourbon-and-cokes and a Smirnoff please...” to wit the reply was “That’ll be $38.” After picking myself up off the floor running back to get more money and returning, I paid and left grumbling under my breath: That’s $9.50 per drink! Thanks to Kevin Rudd’s (Krudd) new alco-pop tax to discourage minors from binge drinking (i.e., raise tax revenue), us adults are hit with a ridiculous drinks charge. Well, needless to say we took turns taking regular sorties to the beer queue to keep us well stocked from then on.
Soon it was game time. Admittedly I was comfortable – not relaxed – but certainly comfortable. I felt that we were good enough to win. I also knew that the motivation from the Wallabies would be there with the Deans factor and their success over the tired Africans the week before would boost their confidence. Richie was still out so that was a worry. But all-in-all we should be able to win this.
Our seats were very good. Up on the second level in the member’s area so we had a pretty good view of the game.
The Aussies played very well. They defended, they took their chances and they played the right game plan. There was a bit of Crusaders influence there too. Kick high balls – give possession to the opposition – then wait for the mistake and capitalise. We on the other hand dropped the ball, didn’t adapt to the game plan against us and in the last 20 lost our cool.
Today I read in the Kiwi press that there are people saying it may have been a mistake to keep Henry on. WHAT!!!!!!???? You mean you’ve just worked that out? For goodness sakes! There is a physiological problem manifesting itself here in NZ. Do you not see the stupidity? Not only have you created a monster in Deans (how would you feel if you were rejected – you’d want to beat them at all costs) but we’ve kept a failure in Henry (and his coaching team).
As Geoff pointed out, “rotation” is still a policy. It certainly is still there. Where was Conrad Smith? And Nanoo Nanoo was back to his old tricks of not passing the ball. Sivivatu looked good on TV but at the game (where you can see the wider picture) he made a number of silly mistakes like running the ball back in when he had no support – probably directed to do so by Henry and his flawed game plan.
I keep seeing this repeating factor in the AB game – making the same mistakes. No plan B. Panicking when we have plenty of time to win. 50-50 passes when they weren’t necessary.
Now it has occurred to me that Henry is a School Principal. I recall from my school days that the Principal is never wrong – it’s the principle you see. Perhaps Henry simply cannot admit he’s wrong and can’t adjust a game plan half way through because that would admit he was wrong. Perhaps the team is so bereft of IQ that they can’t figure out that what they’re doing is not working so why not try something new? When they could see that running it back was not working why didn’t they start kicking for the touchline? When they could see they were using up all their enery attacking and getting nowhere, why did they not kick for territory?
Geoff pointed out that they would go for a drop goal to put them further in front than a converted try and…they did it. And as Robbie ‘Dingo’ Deans said afterwards they had anticipated that this would make the ABs panic. It worked. Out came the crazy “Islander rugby” with its 50-50 passes that never stick and every player thinking they were in a seven’s game. Awful to watch my beloved team disintegrate like that. Where were the cool heads? There was plenty of time to win and it was time to start playing careful structured rugby but oh no, we went for broke from inside our 22 with the inevitable result that we got isolated and turned over by an Aussie team that are far too good at defending to be beaten like that.
I can recall in the late 80’s a wonderful Bledisloe Cup game played in Brisbane in which Fitzy’s team were 20 odd points behind as we went into the final 15 minutes. There was no panicking back in those days. They stuck to their knitting and eventually we won the game. Where is that level headedness under pressure? Where is that determination? The current team needs to view that video and soak up the way the ABs were not frazzled right to the very end.
Auckland will be a consolation prize. The Wallabies are expecting to lose and I doubt we will disappoint like we did in Sydney. I am almost of the opinion that perhaps the best solution is that the All Blacks lose in Auckland so that the Henry era can die off quickly and we can start rebuilding sooner rather than later.
I am not saying “the Wallabies were too good on the night” , they weren't. I am saying “the All Blacks were too bad on the night.”
All Black Score out of 10: 0
Wallaby Score out of 10: 8
1 comment:
Iphone is going briliantly thanks.Yes its fair to say I have a good collection of ex gadgets but thankfully I have not killed my Iphone. I can honestly say its the best cell phone I have ever owned, and I have had a fair share.For those intersted out of the box its just average. Its when you hack it and unlock it and then get all the amaising applications downloaded that it really transforms a cool looking but average device into a brilliant device.The latest 3G version also hooks up to exchange and using apples sync you can get true push email like Blackberries and all your contacts & appointments and notes syncronized to your exchange folders over a company Wan.Almost any limitations you think it might have are fixed by add ons or just better versions of the existing software..eg Video camera as a download instead of just inbuilt camera.Adobe is currently finishing Flash player for the iphone and many GPS devices are fully configured to accept iphones.So is it all thats its cracked up to be..well yes. Is there a better option that does more out of the box..yes imate jasjar or htc ...Is there a better phone when you crack it and download apps...definately NOT!. Any traps..yep..don't update itunes past 7 and don't update the iphone past 1.14.
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