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How New Zealand's media reacted to 'Disaster in Dunedin'

Folau Fakatava, New Zealand vs Ireland July 09, 2022 in Dunedin, New Zealand. (Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)

After singing the All Blacks praises last weekend, New Zealand’s rugby media were more muted in their assessments of Ireland’s historic 23-12 win in Dunedin.

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It was the first time the northern hemisphere side had won in New Zealand and crucially levelled the three-match series to set up a decider in Wellington.

Discipline proved an issue for the All Blacks which frustrated many corners of the media, as they had three players sinbinned in the first half alone and were forced at one point to play with 13 men.

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To make matters worse, replacement prop Angus Ta’avao was shown red in the 31st minute for clashing heads with Gary Ringrose in a tackle.

Following this, the 14 men of New Zealand struggled to take charge and were crippled by two Andrew Porter tries, scored either side of halftime.

Consolation tries from Beauden Barrett and Will Jordan were not enough to prevent Ireland claiming a fourth win in the last seven meetings between the sides, a statistic that has left the home team’s media incensed.

Gregor Paul, writing for the New Zealand Herald, did not mince his words when arguing the result was further proof of New Zealand’s sad decline.

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“It will forever be known as the disaster in Dunedin,” he wrote. “From being heroic in the first test, the All Blacks were catastrophic in the second.

“The All Blacks took one step forward last week, they took at least two if not three back in Dunedin and while their list of faults was long and comprehensive, the nuts and bolts of their demise could be summed up by saying they lacked physicality and imagination.

“The All Blacks were passive and insipid, saved from humiliation only by their miraculous scrambling defence which was brilliant. But the All Blacks can’t survive in the rarefied air of test rugby by spending most of the game on their own goal line and given their recidivist offending in the art of muscling up, it is now increasingly difficult to see how the coaching team can survive.”

Hayden Meikle adopted a similar perspective when penning his assessments for the Otago Daily Times, comparing the physicality of Ireland with the absurdity which New Zealand succumbed to.

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“It was a humbling night for the All Blacks, who were comprehensively out-played, just a week after crushing Ireland in the first test.

“It was their first loss at Forsyth Barr Stadium, and their heaviest loss in Dunedin in history. They struggled for any attacking fluency, and their shocking discipline and error rate gave them little hope of staying with the rampant Irish.”

It was not all praise for Ireland from Meikle who cited their lack of killer instinct in the face of valiant defensive resolve from their opponents.

“The All Blacks at least scrambled well on defence to keep the scoreline reasonable, but this was a night to forget for Ian Foster’s men.

“The Irish dominated possession but wasted lots of opportunities and only led 10-7 at halftime. The All Blacks had been thoroughly out-played but were still well in the game at halftime.

“By the final whistle, though, only Irish eyes were smiling.”

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Liam Napier of the New Zealand Herald was not as scathing when reflecting on the home team’s performance, drawing attention to the battling spirit the side showcased.

“Ian Foster’s men fought gallantly throughout but as the match wore on and fatigue set in, attacking errors compounded as they attempted to launch an improbable comeback.

“In many respects, Ireland made hard work of their significant advantage but through two tries to prop Andrew Porter and Jonathan Sexton’s boot, they gradually pushed clear to hand the All Blacks their first home defeat since September 2018.”

Richard Knowler of Stuff enjoyed the freneticism of the test match and commended Johnny Sexton’s captaincy and the defensive effort of the All Blacks.

“This wasn’t flawless rugby, far from it, but it overflowed with controversy, confusion, entertainment and sheer blood-and-guts action.

“Now the All Blacks and Ireland, who were superbly captained by the cool-headed Johnny Sexton, head to Wellington to decide the winner of the three-test series.

“The All Blacks’ defensive work in the final minutes of the first stanza was remarkable.”

Stuff’s Aaron Goile added to this assessment by pointing out the ramifications of the deceive loss.

“When the world rankings are officially updated on Monday, the All Blacks will drop to fourth. That is New Zealand’s lowest-ever position on the chart, since they were introduced in 2003.”

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2 Comments
S
Strini 865 days ago

Abs need some muscle in the forwards to Deal with the Irish. Abs lacking intensity and aggression.

G
Gray 866 days ago

Scott Robonson your obvious and ready made proven solution - why don't you choose him ?

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Bull Shark 48 minutes ago
David Campese names his Springbok world player of the year winner

Why is Joe Schmidt the best option for Australia? (LONG READ)


An essay for @OJohn with love from South Africa.


OJohn keeps banging on about kiwis and Saffers and everyone else seeking to undermine and bring down Australian rugby… Blah, Blah, Blah. It’s boring and not worth responding too 99 days out of 100.


He misses the point completely that Australians either are or are not the masters of their own destiny. So to blame anyone else but themselves for what the state of Australian rugby is in - is hypocritical.


But recently, Australia has shown signs of life. Personally, I always believed they would be back at some point. At the beginning of this year I predicted that the wallabies would bounce back this year. I predicted that they would overtake England in the world rankings. I am predicting that they could finish second in the RC, could win the Lions series and could make it to a RWC final at home.


I tend to get ahead of myself when I’m excited... Ask my wife. But forgive me for getting excited about the Wallabies looking good! Is it so bad?


Like OJohn, I believe that Australia’s lands abound with natures gifts, including athletic specimens across any sporting code the Aussies compete in. It’s one of the reasons most of us don’t like Aussies. They win sh1t. Regularly. And look smug when they do...


But back to OJohn. And his banging on about the need for Australia to have an Australian coach. Here are a few highlights of his argument:


Several times I've given a list of half a dozen Australian coaches who would be more Australian than Schmidt and just as successful.

Tell me which Australian coaches would be acceptable to coach the All Blacks ......?

Because South Africans and Kiwis and Welshmen and Scotsman are all s.... scared that if an immensely talented and athletic team like Australia is ever able to harness nationalistic Australian passion with an Australian coach, you'll all be s.c.r.e.w.e.d.


And then finally – the list of 6:


Ewen McKenzie, Less Kiss, Stephen Larkham, Jim McKay, David Nucifora, Scott Wisenthal, Ben Mowen, Rod Kafer, Mick Byrne, John Manetti, Jason Gilmore, Dan McKellar.

Plus, a special request:


Keep in mind Rod MacQueen never won a Super Rugby title before he was appointed Wallaby coach but he ended up the greatest rugby coach the world has ever seen. Better than Erasmus even. Who is probably the next best.

Right. I don’t care about the tinfoil hat theories. I want to assess OJohn’s list and determine whether any of them fit the mold of a Rod Macqueen.

 

Like Rod Macqueen the following world cup winning coaches never won a Super Rugby Title:


·       David Kirk, 1987 (17 appearances for New Zealand)

·       Kitch Kristie, 1995

·       Rod Macqueen, 1999

·       Clive Woodward, 2003 (21 Appearance for England)

·       Jake White, 2007 (School Teacher)

·       Graham Henry, 2011 (School Teacher)

·       Steve Hansen, 2015 (Policeman)

·       Rassie Erasmus, 2019 (36 Appearances for South Africa)

·       Jacques Nienaber, 2023 (Physiotherapist).


I couldn't find out what Rod or Kitch did other than coach.


The only coach who has won a Super title and a World Cup?

·       Bob Dwyer, 1991 (A Tahs man wouldn’t you know!)


In fact coaches that have won super rugby titles have not won world cups. Robbie Deans. Heyneke Meyer to name just two.


I know I’m being childish, but I needed to bring this list in somehow because it’s quite obvious that whatever these coaches did before they became international level coaches is largely immaterial. Or is it?


Interestingly Ewan McKenzie (A Tah Man!) has won a Super title. And despite being a Tah Man made it into OJohn’s list. That’s two strikes for Ewan Mckenzie based on OJohn’s criteria so far. Not to mention his 50% win rate as head coach of the Wallabies between 2013 and 2014 (and the laundry list of off the field fcuk ups that swirled around the team at the time).


So Ewan is out.


I find it interesting that, as we speak, eight out of the ten top ranked men’s teams are coached by former international players:

1.      South Africa, Rassie Erasmus (36 appearances for South Africa)

2.      Ireland, Andy Farrell (8 appearances for England)

3.      New Zealand, Scott Robertson (23 appearances for New Zealan)

4.      France, Fabien Galthie (64 appearances for France)

5.      Argentina, Felipe Contemponi (87 appearances for Argentina)

6.      Scotland, Gregor Townsend (82 appearances for Scotland)

7.      England, Steve Borthwick (57 appearances for England)

8.      Australia, Joe Schmidt (School Teacher)

9.      Fiji, Michael Byrne (Aussie Rules Player)

10.  Italy, Gonzalo Quesada (38 appearances for Argentina).


It would appear as though we have entered an era where successful international coaches, largely, have played rugby at international level in the professional era. Or are ex school teachers. Much like Jake White and Graham Henry! Or a policeman.

 

Back to OJohn’s List. That leaves us with:


·       Less Kiss, (I like the look of)

·       Stephen Larkham, (I like the look of)

·       Jim McKay, (Very little to write home about)

·       David Nucifora, (Too old)

·       Scott Wisenthal, (I literally can’t find anything on him on the Google).

·       Ben Mowen, (Too young, no coaching experience)

·       Rod Kafer, (No coaching experience)

·       Mick Byrne, (He’s coaching the Fijians, Aussie rules!)

·       John Manetti, (Can’t find him on the google)

·       Jason Gilmore, (Seems to be working through the ranks, coaching Wallabies A)

·       Dan McKellar, (Not much to write home about, but could be an option).


Applying some logic, I would say the following are viable options based on age, experience in coaching AND the fact that they have played rugby for Australia in the professional era:

·       Less Kiss, (I like the look of)

·       Stephen Larkham, (I like the look of)

·       Jason Gilmore, (Seems to be working through the ranks, coaching Wallabies A)


After having done all this research, I think it’s fair to say that none of these three have the same pedigree as Joe Schmidt, the teacher. Who took a sh1tty Ireland team to no.1. Won a few 6 Nations and helped get the All Blacks to a world cup final in 2023.


Joe’s the best option for now. But if Kiss, Larkham and Gilmore are the business for the future for Australia get them in now as assistants to Joe and stop moaning!!


Errors and Ommissions accepted. Mispelling of names is OJohn's fault.

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