All Blacks triumphant
Having watched a distinctly dull performance by the Aussies in the Test match on Friday, I decided a change of sport was in order yesterday so I watched the Bledisloe Cup between Australia and New Zealand which the All Blacks won comfortably 38-7.
Like an outstanding boxer they could absorb pressure and punishment as they were trailing 7-5 in the first half but came out swinging.
Aussie coach Eddie Jones has now lost 4 out of 4 and if France overcome them will go into the World Cup with a dreadful record.
Their only player who impressed me was fly half Cordon who was quick to the breakdown but was stringy and lacked physicality.
It was business as usual for the All Blacks with the three Barretts, Brodie Retallick, Mwanga and Aaron Smith excelling. Jones more or less admitted his errors in selection by introducing 2 substitutes with 200 caps at half time.
The ABs have won the Bledisloe Cup these past 21 years but are in the tough section of the World Cup with France, Ireland and South Africa. I thought at first that Eddie Jones who can produce one off World Cup wins might get revenge over England but now I’m not so sure.
Before the match there was a ‘Statement of Nationality ‘ and dance sequence by a troupe of Aborigines. Australia has treated its indigenous people badly a lot worse than the New Zealand and the Maoris.
Nonetheless I found this an unwelcome intrusion.
I was and am unbelievably impressed that a country like New Zealand whose population is less than 5m have a rugby team that consistently dominates; cricketers Martin Crowe, Sir Richard Hadlee, Glenn Turner and Kane Williamson; and athletes like Peter Snell who achieved two golds in the Tokyo Olympiad of 1964.
Going back to rugby I guess a rural farmer carrying a sheep under each arm playing as an AB forward worries less about his face than his English counterpart with a city job.
