Former All Black captain defends Razor fielding four openside flankers

It was a cunning plan for a while and the French woke up to it first which is why the All Blacks always had trouble with them. They weren't playing the kiwi way, like they were supposed too !

Ireland and South Africa have also realised that if you don't gift the All Blacks the ball all the time and shut them down with rush defence, they get frustrated and will cheat incessantly if the pressure comes on and they look like losing at the back end of the game.

The kiwis problem is they don't have an innovative Australia they can copy. Instead they have destroyed us with their coaches.

So dumb but it serves them right.

I have asked him above.

If true, I think it more likely he was just told theres no money to get players back in camp this year, hold your horses.

Yep, all Gordon had to do was pass immediately and the whole situation becomes a positive about the good carry forward on exists.

Classic vide that! Love the Irerish crowd boeing two clear backward passes, a great example of what was to come over the next decade from the Emerald Isle! Awesome old comms quality hand to the ear "what was that?"!! That last sequence reminds of of how well the All Blacks attacked this weekend. It might be as far back as this game was played the last time we saw the AB build that sort of pressure on their own back without relying on any sort of opportunity from the opposition.

Argentina head honcho Felipe Contempomi cut his teeth as an attack coach in Stuart Lancaster’s innovative system at Leinster

Ahhh! That explains the great depth and sideways rugby they are playing!! Hve to disagree on your diagnosis you have to attack it, I think thats why Stuar and Contepomi want you to do. Best idea is Schmidt do what he did with the All Blacks, which seems to what they're trying, if not still without at least a few steps up. In saying that though, again this Springbok attack, I felt the All Blacks should hve kept pressure that first or second receiver after the first two steps up they take. They seemed ripe for the pick by contrast to Los Pumas.

If you look at Reece's side of the field, that would be a great oppostunity for NZ to perform blitzes on, Barrett, Rieko, and a thundering Reece doing his Feyi-Waboso impersonation would be the best blitz backline in the world. Clarke on the other wing too if playing. I think Dlyan Pietsch has the attitude and tackling technique to try and pull it off?

In fairness, I feel what you are seeing as passivity on defence as actually coming from a lack of intensity in general from Australia. I was thinking about that during this game. It might be New Zealands great battle with the Springboks that has enabled them to develop it as a weapon, but I can't ever remember it as being one of the Wallabies. Those clashes always seem to been about pure tempo. The ABs flicked a switch in game two versus Argentina and kept their physicality up through both South African games. Perhaps that is the "Australian Way" piece that Schmidt is missing? 'Tempo' is a much hard switch to find, especially in the dark.

Argentina are unbeatable in those sorts of conditions, had the game in their palm all day. At 20-3 it was just a fortunate 17 point swing that might explain the talk I've read about a lack of heart or team cohesion from the Wallabies? They were fortunate to be in front after a player crawled to the line for one try and then were lucky to have received a little obstruction when Argentina replied. I think that same play resulted in them advancing down field to get their own three pointer too.

Much of what Aussie did remained really good. They are obviously out classed by Argentina but they showed that rugby nouse advantage they should have in many areas. It was just a couple of howlers that let the game slip at like 54min when Gordan did his impersonation of Flapenara and 5 min later Tate is kicking out on the full. Gve away like three scores in that time I think. Time to also say thanks Marika, good luck with the future.

As I've been saying needs to happen, and the Argentine fans delevoured. Produce those sorts of displays on and off the paddock and they've have earnt the billing to be a top 4 rugby nation. Really hope some sort of team can return to Super Rugby.

The rest of the world has improved at a greater rate than the All Blacks which shouldn't be a surprise as their base was lower so they'd have a higher ceiling.

If it isn't already obvious now, the game in NZ is following the trends and the onus is on coaches to evolve and innovate more in all aspects of coaching.