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Brave Scotland almost topple All Blacks

18 Nov 2017

Sonny Bill Williams on the charge

Scotland came out firing today at Murrayfield, putting together one of their best performances of recent years despite losing to the All Blacks 22-17.

FT | What a Test match! Scotland don't give up right until the end and the #AllBlacks hang on for the nail-biting win!#SCOvNZL pic.twitter.com/sIWSNjZZnc
— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) November 18, 2017

The big talking point of the first half was a call by referee Matthew Carly to not yellow card All Black winger Waisake Naholo for a tackle on Scottish fullback Stuart Hogg. Naholo clearly took Hogg out in the air, however Carly was satisfied that the winger was impeded by Ali Price in the lead up.

A penalty each was all the scoring in the first half, however it could’ve been more if either side was more accurate in their set piece. The All Blacks were gifted a 5m scrum off a Lee Jones mistake, however couldn’t make the Scots pay. The home side had their own chance off a lineout close to the All Black line, but again were let down by a forward pass.

Codie Taylor finally broke the deadlock with a try, thanks to the skill of Rieko Ioane. The two combined twice in the movement that originally started with an Aaron Smith kick, with the hooker eventually scoring in the corner.

Damian McKenzie scored shortly after off a beautiful kick through by Sonny Bill Williams. However, Scottish lock Johnny Gray powered his way over to send the crowd into a frenzy, setting up a tense last 15 minutes.

All Black discipline fell apart in the latter stages, two yellow cards to Sam Cane and Wyatt Crockett put them under undue pressure. However, Beauden Barrett managed to score a stunning set piece try while the side was down to 14 men.

Huw Jones drew the Scots up to 22-17 in the 77th minute with a beautiful try that was set up by Stuart Hogg, and then the home side desperately tried to find the winner in the dying stages.

Hogg then made a bust into the 22, but his final pass was forward, which ended the game for a relieved All Black side.

The All Blacks now travel to Cardiff next week for their last game of the year against Wales.

Thank you @Scotlandteam! ?? #SCOvNZL pic.twitter.com/iiHmXbvjkl
— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) November 18, 2017

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Comments on RugbyPass

JW 8 minutes ago

Five Aussie takes: Wallaby watch on wings, rocks and diamonds of Tahs attack

Not sure I agree with Josephs idea of resting players/using this game to freshen things up, it should have been a winnable one I would have thought. Maybe their lack of wins against NZ sides is really starting to grind on them down south and theyre going all out to win the tough games?

I thought Kalani was superb. Is he Wallaby capped/locked already and can NZR snaffle him lol Tate has been dropping a bit of form so perhaps another game out will do him good. I definitely feel like he’s still the type to run on short bursts of form (as apposed to the ‘permanent’ type) so saving the best for last could be a real angle if he was serious.

I think Kiss has improved on his approach from the first two season, or it at least took the team a while to adapt. Enjoy their play this year.

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JW 19 minutes ago

Sky Sports commentator on why Wallabies players are outplaying All Blacks counterparts

None of what?

Sarcasm? I think the view that the fixture list was doctored might have started off as peoples sarcasm, is that what you mean?

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LuisVonSchirach 26 minutes ago

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I never thought I’d be someone who got scammed, but it happened, and I was devastated. I looked everywhere for a solution and found APTRECOUP. What really reassured me was learning that the organization was started by people who had been scammed themselves. They weren’t just another company making promises—they actually knew the struggle firsthand. Their process wasn’t instant, but they were transparent and supportive the entire way. Just searching for them online helped me connect with the right people and start turning things around.

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Timmyboy 1 hour ago

Tommy Reffell headlines list of new deals at Leicester Tigers

Crazy he’s only 25 seems like he’s been around for ages!

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Rugby 101 - Ed Pye 2 hours ago

'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

Another solution would be to move the schedule a week later - there’s a month long break before the Rugby Championship so why would the NZRU schedule the first game in conflict with a major club final?

Once you remove the scheduling issue - it becomes purely about player welfare and that’s the French unions issue to deal with. The whole idea of becoming the best team is moot if you cede all your national power to a club competition.

8 Go to comments

Rugby 101 - Ed Pye 2 hours ago

'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

You say that winning isnt about psychology and then cite the NZ teams that lost at world cups because they were fretting about choking. Psychology is absolutely part of a winning strategy - its the ability to know that you can come back from adversity because you have trust in the “weapons” that you talk about. Its the difference between chasing someone down or saying “I’m beaten" - there’s no point”

8 Go to comments

J Marc 3 hours ago

'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

Some very interesting points in your post.

8 Go to comments

CO 3 hours ago

Kyren Taumoefolau All Blacks stance splits opinions on eligibility

Exactly, Moana is entirely a NZ side and it the second Auckland franchise. Its the only side in the world that's been setup for the alleged purpose of developing players for two other ‘countries’ from playing talent from another country.

In reality it's best players are always going to be picked for the Allblacks as they're eligible kiwis. That's never going to change so the best thing to do is stop the pretence and make the team just another NZ super franchise that isn't ethnically based to allow talent equal access to professional contracts regardless of their ethnicity.

Commentaries claiming players from this team need to be ignored by the Allblacks selectors are of course advocating for the ridiculous situation that NZ becomes the only rugby country that overlooks players born and living in that country with that countries citizenship.

19 Go to comments

RedWarriors 4 hours ago

'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

Serin?

8 Go to comments

RedWarriors 4 hours ago

'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

I am not really sure how this tour benefits France beyond showing NZ ways to beat them. They already know how to beat NZ.

Ireland won a series there in 2022 which prompted a year long shift in strategy to specifically beat Ireland. This was confirmed recently by Will Jordan.

Winning tight matches isn’t necessarily about psychology. It’s about having weapons to get over the line. For SA that was a scrum to win penalties and a kicker to either kick the penalty over or down the line if a try is needed. See SA v England in 2023 SF.

England used their jacklers to win penalties to get them deep into the 22 a couple of times late against France. Ireland improvised with drop kicks to win versus SA.

NZ spent decades fretting over choking in RWCs. Their strategy was often to develop such an outstanding team that pressure wouldn’t come into it. All they needed to do (France 99, 07) was to use some of their prep to learn how to neuter their opponents.

NZ have learned that lesson well and it should have gotten them a RWC win in ‘23 after knocking Ireland out. They will do the same against France or attempt to.

It doesn’t matter with SA v NZ because those teams are set up to beat/not lose against each other.

I don’t see NZ whipping the French second string and there is no benefit in showing NZ their hand.

I don’t agree with the image of International Rugby or respect comment. International Rugby should put all their focus on expanding the game (Tier 2) which was the supposed purpose of a RWC not as a status symbol for Tier1As.

No offense to Marshall and NZ, but if they demand respect they should give some too. Ireland certainly were not respected after their 22 series win and France won’t be either.

8 Go to comments

SC 4 hours ago

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Now the U20s need to go back to playing for their Super Rugby development squads and push hard for selection into their main squads.

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SC 4 hours ago

'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

There are 14 pro teams in France’s top league. So what if the players from the top 2 are unavailable. That is 12 teams to choose 33 players from to tour NZ.

France had over 50 players play test rugby in 2024 so there will be no shortage of capped players to choose from as France has 3 test quality players at every forward position and in the midfield and outside backs.

It is only 9 and 10 where France may lack test quality depth. Antione Dupont, who is the only French player who is clearly the best at his position, is unavailable to tour regardless.

8 Go to comments

Ed the Duck 5 hours ago

'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

So before you even begin to look at the issues behind this, it’s surprising that anyone in NZ was surprised a less than full strength French squad would turn up. The dates alone indicates this was always going to be the case, with the first test to be played a week after the Top14 final.

Galthie would love nothing better than to head south with a full squad at his disposal but the issue here is the French league set up, it’s duration and the contractual power of the club owners, via the LNR. They have the final say on player availability and since they also fund the clubs and player wages, it’s their call to make. Again, this won’t be news to NZR.

So really, if there are questions to be answered here, they need to be pointed as much at NZR as anyone else.

8 Go to comments

JPM 5 hours ago

'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

Well written and balanced article explaining both arguments and specific constraints.

8 Go to comments

Graham VF 6 hours ago

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The three top teams in the URC are all coached by South Africans and the fourth is a South African team coached by a New Zealander. I don’t think Australia had produced a world class coach since Eddie Jones.

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Mary Jul 6 hours ago

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