Tag Archives: All Blacks

1956 Springboks versus New Zealand Maori

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25 August 1956 – Eden Park, Auckland

It was the Springboks best performance of the tour. A real confidence booster after the shock defeat against the University side but at the same time a game that had a negative impact in more than one way. It showed New Zealand the danger of allowing the Springboks space to play the Craven-linking pattern. Not that New Zealand was unaware of the Springbok style but it re-affirmed the necessity of keeping the Springboks on the back foot. On the Springbok management side this comprehensive victory left them with the belief that the Craven-linking pattern is the master-pattern; the way to beat the All Blacks. Howe’s sterling performance left the impression that he was the key to unlock the pattern and that earned him a place as flyhalf for the 4th test side.   Continue reading →

’56 Springboks versus New Zealand Universities

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22 August 1956 – Athletic Park, Wellington 

Springboks 15 / New Zealand Juniors 22 

Noticeably, conversation about the 1956 tour always detour to the match against the New Zealand Universities. Historically, it was the first time a New Zealand University team played against an international touring side but this match is synonymous with the 1956 tour for other reasons. The fact that the Universities team won is also not really the main reason why Kiwi’s still rate this match as the best match of the tour. It was the manner in which the Universities team won that delighted the New Zealand rugby fraternity. All the good football came from the home side. The backs demonstrated opportunism, sensible anticipation and application while the pack totally dominated proceedings. The game is nevertheless mostly remembered as the game of the great Ron Jardon ‘try-that-wasn’t’. A great howl went up in protest when Jardon was called back after a spectacular 65 meter run through almost the entire Springbok team (listen to Winston McCarthy highlights of the match here) and old-timers almost without exception still mention the Jardon try to this day whenever the 1956 tour are under discussion. Continue reading →

Third test 1956

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18 August 1956 – Third Test; Lancaster Park, Christchurch

New Zealand 17 / South Africa 10

Skinner:   “From what I’ve read over the years you’d have thought the fighting in that third test lasted the entire game, but that simply wasn’t true. There were only two punches –one that floored Koch and the one that stopped Bekker.” 

Don Clarke:  “Kevin Skinner is quite a modest man but I saw his knuckles after the match.”  Continue reading →

’56 Springbok tour – second test

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 4 August 1956 – Athletic park Wellington 

South Africa 8 / New Zealand 3 

The second test was an intense affair. One of the fiercest test matches ever between these two nations and not without its incidents and controversies. Spiro Zavos writes: “On a day when the wind was as direct and strong as a right-arm jab, the Springboks broke the All Blacks in the forwards into the wind, then, in the second half, smashed around the short side of the lineout twice to score the tries that won the game. This was the hardest game of rugby I’d ever seen. Players indulged in fist fights from the first scrum. In one memorable set-to, Dixon and Johnstone had a personal duel, oblivious to the play that carried on further down the paddock. That was the tone of the game and the series; nasty, hard and vicious.”  Continue reading →

1956 springbok tour – first test

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14 July 1956 – Carisbrook; Dunedin 

First test; All Blacks 10 / South Africa 6 

Test matches are won by taking your changes.  The prevailing thought after this test match was that New Zealand deserved to win mostly because they took their chances while South Africa made it easy for them by employing the wrong game tactics; with poor decision making on attack; and annoying ball handling errors. Reg Sweet writes in his book ‘Springbok and Silverfern’: “New Zealand had three chances throughout the match. New Zealand took them; and so New Zealand won. It was as straight forward as that.” 

The Springbok forwards surprised everyone and were without a doubt the better team in the scrum pushing the All Blacks on repeated occasion’s meters back in the scrum. New Zealand worked out some strategies to counter Claassen in the lineout as the game progressed -making it a bit more of an even contest in the latter stages of the match- but South Africa still won the lineout contest comprehensively 28-35. South Africa won the scrum count 12-21. Reg Sweet wrote: “New Zealand’s pack, astonishing sight, was attempting to heel at times while obviously on the back pedal.” Continue reading →

When class merge with proper preparation

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The concept of the X-factor actually comes from racehorses, specifically from a horse called Eclipse. An extremely large heart is a trait that occasionally occurs in Thoroughbreds, linked to a genetic condition passed down via the dam line, known as the “x-factor”. The x-factor can be traced to the historic racehorse Eclipse, which was necropsied after his death in 1789. Because Eclipse’s heart appeared to be much larger than other horses, it was weighed, and found to be 14 pounds (6.4 kg), almost twice the normal weight. Eclipse is believed to have passed the trait on via his daughters, and pedigree research verified that arguable the best racehorse ever namely Secretariat can trace in his dam line to a daughter of Eclipse. In the 20th century, the heart of Phar Lap was weighed and also documented to be 6.35 kilograms (14.0 lb), or essentially the same size as that of Eclipse.

 

Now you might ask what this has got to do with the All Blacks and the RWC final.

 

I recently saw a movie about the above mentioned famous racehorse Secretariat who became only the ninth horse in history to win the Triple Crown.

 

In the United States, the three races that compose the Triple Crown are:

  1. Kentucky Derby, run over 1-1/4 miles (2.01 km) dirt track at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky;
  2. Preakness Stakes, run over 1-3/16 miles (1.91 km) dirt track at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland;
  3. Belmont Stakes, run over 1-1/2 miles (2.41 km), the longest dirt track in thoroughbred racing, at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.

 

No horse has won the U.S. Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978.

 

A summary of Triple Crown winners since 1919 can be seen in the table below:

 

Year

Winner

1919

Sir Barton

1930

Gallant Fox

1935

Omaha

1937

War Admiral

1941

Whirlaway

1943

Count Fleet

1946

Assault

1948

Citation

1973

Secretariat

1978

Affirmed

 

 

Secretariat at the Blemont Stakes in 1973. Notice the distance between him and the other horses.

 

What makes the Triple Crown such a hard assignment is the fact that the three races are run over three different distances with the Belmont Stakes considerably longer than the other two races.

 

The story of Secretariat is a fascinating tale of struggling against the odds by a woman with the name of Penny Chenery (Penny Tweedy) who inherited the horse before its birth from her father,

 

Secretariat’s sire was a sprinter and although Secretariat was named horse of the year as a two year old there was serious doubt whether he will succeed as a three year old because the races of the 3 year olds are ran over longer distances.

 

The fact that he lost one of his early races as a three year old when he had (unknown to the trainer) a tooth abbess didn’t help to the get the tag all-speed-no-stay of his back.

 

So even after Secretariat went on and won the first two races of the Triple Crown (over 2 and 1.9 km respectively) in 1973 there was still serious doubt as to whether he had enough speed endurance to last the distance in the Belmont Stakes ran over 2.4 km.  

 

Only four horses competed against Secretariat for the June 9, 1973, running of the Belmont Stakes, including Sham, which had finished second in both the Derby and Preakness which is of course the two other races of the Triple Crown.

 

Secretariat was renowned as a slow starter who only moved to the front late in the race so the tactic by Shams owners going into the race was to try and pull Secretariat to the front and tire him out.

 

One race day before a crowd of 67,605, Secretariat and Sham set a fast early pace, opening ten lengths on the rest of the field. Everyone was thinking what the hell is the Jockey doing but Secretariat was such a dominating personality that the instruction to his Jockeys was always along the lines of ‘let him run his own race’. After the six-furlong (1.2 km) mark, Sham began to tire, ultimately finishing last. Secretariat astonished spectators by continuing the fast pace and opening up a larger and larger margin on the field. (See video clip below).

 

In the stretch, Secretariat opened a 1/16 mile lead on the rest of the field. At the finish, he won by 31 lengths (breaking the margin-of-victory record set by Triple Crown winner Count Fleet in 1943, which won by 25 lengths), and ran the fastest 1½ miles on dirt in history, 2:24 flat, which broke the stakes’ record by more than two seconds. This works out to a speed of 37.5 mph for his entire performance. Secretariat’s world record still stands, and in fact, no other horse has ever broken 2:25 for 1½ miles on dirt.

 

Secretariat became the ninth Triple Crown winner in history, and the first in 25 years since 1948.

 

Watching the movie the sheer class of Secretariat brought tears to my eyes. I watched that movie three times and cried each time due to the class and astounding brilliance of that magnificent animal.

 

After his death in 1989 a necropsy revealed his heart was significantly larger than that of an ordinary horse.

 

Now the interesting thing about Secretariat was that he was not totally invincible and in a career of 21 races he won 16 (76.1%). The devastating form revealed on June 9, 1973 at the Belmont Stakes had much to do with his trainer Lucien Laurin getting it right on that particular day. Laurin sensed after the Preakness Stakes that the horse had more to give and contrary to common practice which was to taper the horse in the weeks prior to the Belmont Laurin pushed the horse harder.

 

So it was very much a case where class (genetic potential/x-factor) fused with the right preparation to produce something spectacular.

 

The All Blacks are probably the team with the most x-factor players in the entire rugby world. Combine that with 24 years of simmering frustration and 3 coaches with a burning desire and relentless commitment over 4 years to rectify a mistake you have the same mix as on June 9, 1973 during the Belmont Stakes; x-factor coalescing with proper preparation.

 

So my gut feeling is that NZ is going to pull a Secretariat on France this weekend and I predict the pure class; the desire and preparedness of this All Black team are going to produce something out of this world on Sunday night.

 

We all love to see the underdog defy the odds.

 

There is nothing as exhilarating as to see the human spirit triumph against all odds and that is probably one of the reasons why the French team is always everyone’s favourite second team. They -more than any other nation on earth- have the uncanny ability to defy the odd; to produce upsets that leaves behind a sense of everything are possible.

 

The other side of the coin which also leave us with and an enduring sense of reverence is when class merge with preparedness and produce something that stuns the world into awed silence. It will be one of those moments, I believe, where in the midst of it we will realize we are witnessing something incomparable to anything we’ve seen before.

Outstanding All Blacks

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An All Black team looking pretty serious and a lot less cocky than 4 years ago demonstrated last night that they’ve matured into a team that can play tournament rugby.

They came out with the right tactics and put on a clinical display in accordance to a well thought-out script by a team of coaches who worked 8 years overall at it. The last 4 years with meticulous care to recify/prevent mistakes made on the first attempt.

The game plan for this match was clearly to take Pocock out of the match by keeping it close and by rucking with aggression, power and numbers whenever the ball goes wide. The other tactic was to force Pocock to make the tackles and then ruck over him with numbers. Pocock looked flustered and apart from maybe one or two steals he was essentially no factor in this match.

The fact that he was targeted or that a whole game plan was developed around him probably a compliment to his ability at the tackle ball. The New Zealand team obviously decided that every individual are going to contribute to make sure that Pocock is no factor. The aggression, intensity and commitment at the ruck were something to behold. Everyone pitched in and you could see how they geared into super boost every time the ball went to ground. It was almost like they’ve made a pact that Aussie will not win one single ruck.

Gone was the obsessiveness with razzle and dazzle running rugby. The focus on defence and not on attack. The focus when running with the ball also more defensively orientated namely to keep the ball; to force penalties and to keep the scoreboard ticking. Cruden even got a partisan elaborate cheer for a dropgoal from a crowd well renowned to boo dropgoals.

The referee was outstanding and we saw both Aussie and NZ players getting pinned quickly and decisively for infringements at the breakdowns.

Aussie was totally outplayed at the collisions, the scrums and the line-outs by a New Zealand side playing smart rugby like a well-oiled machine.

It was interesting to note how the New Zealand rugby commentators and media people are lately also starting to use the word ‘fetcher’ when refering to the likes of Pocock and Brussow. New Zealand has a slightly different approach with regard to loose forwards. They consider them as an attacking and defensive combination and not as three individuals with different skill sets and tasks namely one being a ball carrier, the other being a ‘fetcher’ and the No8 having a roaming role. Maybe Kimbo would so kind as to give us a bit more information on the New Zeland views regarding the loose trio.

The breakdown is so intervowen or intergated in the New Zealand pattern/style of play that competting at the breakdown and creating frontfoot momentum at the tackle is considered an ‘every player’ task/skill like tackling. It was this collective energy and comitment (‘bees to the honey comb’ they like to call it) at the collisions and ground ball that was, in my mind, the foundation for this oustanding All Black performance. They did not rely on the referee to sort Pocock (and he did on one or two occations) but took responsibilty as a team to own the breakdowns.

Lastly in terms of my previous post on the red card of Warburton. Check-out this tackle by Kahui on Cooper.

 If Cooper took his hand of the ground and put that hand on the ball we would have seen his head lower than his legs and that would have mean it’s a spear tackle. Circumstances (quick reactions) prevented this from being ‘classed’ as dangerous.

This is how blurred the lines between a red card and no card can be.

How long before the players start to manipulate circumstances like this to milk red cards in important matches? A Judo-like hand slab on the ground followed by a sharp twist so that his shoulder went into the ground first could have been used by Cooper in this situation to milk a red card.

Can NZ win the RWC without Carter?

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Jeremy Paul the ex-Aussie hooker made an interesting comment after the NZ/Canada game namely that on the evidence of the Canada game NZ would not be able to win the RWC.

Weepu was not convincing on 10 neither was Slade. The rest of the NZ game was, in my, appreciation pretty good. They lost some form in the second half -which is understandable considering the scoreboard at that stage- which is a concern because they’ll have less time and space against quality opposition.

Paul obviously has the NZ/Aus Brisbane game in mind where the Wallabies secured a win by cutting down the space of the NZ halfbacks.

Putting the NZ halfbacks under pressure and winning (or at least squaring) the breakdown battle is the only way to beat NZ. Both SA and Aussie can do that with the likes of Poccock and Brussow in the respective teams.

Cowan had an average game against Canada as did Weepu and Slade. Aussies problem is that I don’t think their set piece is strong enough while they also struggle with some injuries in the back line which is their main strike force.

The NZ back three is lethal independent who play but their effectiveness depend too a large extend on the halfbacks having front foot ball and space.

Paul has a point, I think. The way to beat NZ in this RWC would be (now even more than before) to put the NZ halfbacks under pressure.

Dominating or being competitive against NZ in the set piece would be key to accomplish that and there is one team that can do that (competing against NZ at set piece and putting their half backs under sufficient pressure) and that is SA.

SA will however need to sort out their ineffectiveness/problems in controlling the ball at the rucks.

The backline also need to take a serious look at running angles like the Samoans did when running with the ball. Off-loads –like against Fiji- before we go into contact is also key to beating the All Blacks.

SA’s tactical kicking and defence would be crucial but even more important would be our ability to hang onto the ball. If the Springboks can’t sort that (ability to hang on to the ball) we’ll not beat the AB because the box kicks will not work with the current NZ back three.

Forcing play into the corners and avoiding going to ground by using off-load as we hit contact as well as angled running in the backline is in my mind key to SA winning this RWC.

We have a sniff now with Carter injured but SA coaches have to take a serious look at how Samoa ran the ball at us (the angled runners with the outside players coming in against the traffic) and we need to work on our support coming from depth (as opposed being lateral) when we take the ball up so we can utilize off-loads at contact to create space and take Poccock and McCaw out of the game.

In summary; I think the injury to Carter made NZ more vulnerable but it will still require a special team and monstrous effort to beat this NZ team. 

NZ rugby in trouble?

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NZRU boss Steve Tew yesterday warned the International Rugby Board that the All Blacks may not be involved in the 2015 World Cup if the current finance structure isn’t addressed.

 

Tew believes the future of the World Cup will come under threat unless there is fundamental change to ensure leading nations do not lose millions in revenue at the 2015 tournament in England.

 

He said competing at the World Cup has cost the NZRU more than $NZ13m, and at a time when player costs were rising and the world economy was struggling.

 

Tew’s views have been supported by Australian rugby boss John O’Neill.

 

The problem for New Zealand is of course smaller population and economy which essentially means that the big broadcasting corporation have them at the balls.

 

Tew went as far to say that NZ will withdrew from the 2015 RWC if the current finance structured is not addressed.

 

Personally I am almost at a point where I wouldn’t mind if the whole thing collapse and we get back to medium size tours.

 

Everyone was raving about the quality of the rugby after the first week of this year’s RWC. I was not as impressed and expressed my views in some other posts. Interestingly enough the raving has stopped and we’re back at cricket scores.

 

In accordance to this Chris Rattue came out with an article today stating that ‘The World Cup is a façade’ and that ’NZ rugby is in trouble’.

 

He wrote:

 

The day has finally arrived when the 13-a-side code will not only share the limelight with union, but overshadow the national obsession.

 

After 16 rollercoaster years, the Grand Final Warriors are close to delivering on their huge potential. Shaun Johnson and Kevin Locke will fill billboards and become household names, the way the imports did in season dot. Glen Fisiiahi, Sam “Super Size” Lousi plus ex-rugby players Konrad Hurrell and Omar Slaimankhel await.

 

More will come. This time, the buzz will last. Rugby’s blazer brigade hasn’t got a clue what they are in for as action-packed league takes hold.

 

The All Blacks have a special and exalted place in New Zealand life, but below them rugby is struggling for public appeal. The World Cup is a facade. Rugby is in trouble, especially in Auckland.

 

The World Cup has given rugby a shot in the arm, but rugby shot itself in the foot with the poorly designed and oversized Eden Park, a monument to foolishness.

 

Rugby visitors to Auckland may struggle to understand this, but the locals who usually stay away don’t. And Auckland rugby can’t even produce its own stars any more.

 

In contrast, while the Warriors’ home at Mt Smart Stadium is also outdated and unfortunately parked in a used-muffler haven, it is perfectly sized for most NRL games and young stars are emerging from within the club.

 

Our financially ailing rugby, which is controlled by fiddling Wellington-based bureaucrats, isn’t set up to resist the Warriors’ rise in Auckland and this World Cup is no panacea.

 

I went to the Georgia / Romania game last night with my kids and they enjoyed the carnival atmosphere but the rugby match itself was killed by the referee.

 

Walking to the stadium I overheard a number of kids stating that this was their first attendance of a live rugby match ever. That’s right ‘New Zealand kids’ 12 years and older who have never been to a rugby match and who just don’t seem to care about rugby at all.

 

What a disappointment this Georgia / Romania game must have for them. Killed by Paddy O’Brein and his referee’s. I also attended the Scotland / Argentina match which was another match where the referee determined the outcome of the match by missing a blatant offside in the final minutes of the match.

 

This is ironic because the rules have been changed –giving in essence more power to referee’s- to make the game more attractive. What we see is the exact opposite, in my view. We see flap/flap phase rugby where referee help teams with no ability to score tries to hang onto the ball. We also see matches that’s blown into tatters because the new breakdown rule interpretations had led to that area becoming a hotspot for rugby criminal behaviour (cheating).

 

Chris Rattue continuous:

 

The public have lapped the tournament up, which is great. It has been a festival of humanity in a way so far, and the rugby tension will rise from the quarter-finals on. But with no apologies to the World Cup apologists, a lot of this tournament has been ridiculously lopsided and about as entertaining as mowing the lawns. My warm fuzzies haven’t survived watching Scotland plodding about, or witnessing Wales three million, Namibia nil. The tournament is loaded against smaller countries, including New Zealand, who host a final that will end in the vicinity of midnight.

 

Whatever the outcome, today’s kids will delight if they wish in the World Cup then skateboard off to play league, soccer, basketball, golf, computer games and whatever else takes their fancy. Street parades don’t last forever – just look at the America’s Cup.

The open-field running, offloading and one-on-one hits of league suit the physical and psychological makeup of the brilliant young Maori and Pacific Island prospects in New Zealand. The game thrives on television coverage, and has a knack of producing close-contest thrillers and off-field drama.

 

To those who disagree, tell us – please – why just 14,000 people turned up to watch the Blues and Waratahs in a Super 15 playoff match and compare that to the rising hysteria about the Warriors’ Grand Final appearance.

 

He is absolutely correct. Last weekend the France/AB game was big news here in New Zealand. I went to a friend’s house that had a big screen TV set-up with about 20 people invited. We arrived and everyone was having a great time not bothering to watch the England game that was screened just before the France/AB match. In fact nobody even knew what the final score of the England match was. To be honest I actually can’t remember against who England played (I’ll have to look it up).

 

The France match was only of interest due to the fact that it was a revenge match for the AB’s. However the NZ league team –the warriors- was playing in a semi-final match at almost the same time. They started 10 minutes or so before the end of the AB/France match and we had the bizarre situation that someone took control of the remote and started to jump between channels staying increasingly longer periods on the league match channel way before the All Balck/France match was over.

 

Now I like to listen to the interviews after the match and get the players and coaches’ perspectives but the moment the final whistle of the AB/France match went the channel was switched and the involvement of the New Zealanders around me changed from predominantly silent viewing to enthusiastic shouting and commentary about what was happening on the screen.

 

This was an eye opener to me as I don’t like league and don’t watch it but are clearly part of a dying breed here in New Zealand.

 

Cross-roads for NZ rugby

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Justin Marshall has some interesting thoughts in today’s Dominion Post.

He writes:

Should the All Blacks win the tournament the future of the game here will be secure for the next three or four generations. Kids will watch their new heroes in awe should Richie McCaw immortalise himself and turn the tide of recent history.  

Those kids will indoctrinate their kids and the cycle will continue in perpetuity, as will the game in this country, and that doesn’t even factor in the other more tangible flow-on effects such as the commercial opportunities on offer for the New Zealand Rugby Union. Continue reading →