Comments on: Rokocoko saves All Blacks’ blushes

By: JimT

JimT — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 05:55:33 +0000

Have to agree that ref was somewhat lax with the rucks but as you said the ABs should have adjusted earlier eg Waldron. Yeah the pace was past throughout & the game was really enjoyable. Must have given the Irish national team some food for thought. I gather the Munster members of the national team actually attended the game, a reversal of their original plan to stay in Dublin. Maybe the Irish coach needs to rethink about Stringer’s omission from the national squad?

By: Tomsta

Tomsta — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:09:53 +0000

gotta make the comment that this game was played under vastly different rules at ruck time.
the ref allowed players to enter the ruck from pretty much anywhere, he allowed players to constantly go off their feet and contest for the ball, he allowed players to encroach the offsides line at ruck time. this imo allowed the munster players to put a lot of pressure on weepu and thus unsettle all phase ball that donald received.

kudos to them, as the ABs took a while to adapt to this loose reffing.
the munster subs allowed the ABs back into the game too. they should have kept their 10 at 1st 5, and let manning play outside him. warrick (10) controlled the game well and set his backs away brilliantly. that combination with stringer dissapeared when tupoki left and manning came on causing the shift.

the game was about as fast as a test match, it was excellent spectacle!

By: JimT

JimT — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:12:20 +0000

A great game to watch. As someone else pointed out better than any of the recent test matches. Munster played with a fury & kept up the pace. First time I’ve seen a NH team match the ABs in the rucks, thus they retained possession for long periods of time. Kudos to the crowd who showed great respect for the AB kicker with their absolute silence. Nice touch by the ABs when they applauded the crowd after the game. The atmosphere must have been terrific at the game. Thought that Munster were unlucky. No one could have complained if they won. Munster kept the pressure on & their defence was tough. Weepu was constantly harried at the base of the scrum & at the back of the rucks. I was surprised by Waldron who seemed to be a little lost at the rucks. Standing around, like a NH player, instead of cleaning people out & making things easier for Weepu. But a very enjoyable game, one the ABs will not forget, for the best of reasons. They attended a play earlier in the week based upon the famous game of 1978 against the ABs which as we know Munster won & received a 3 minute standing ovation from the audience, & that was before the game.

By: Nils

Nils — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:09:57 +0000

#45 JUSM: Strange. I'd think teams without character usually do not come from behind - they just stay behind till the end.

By: bokfan1

bokfan1 — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:42:04 +0000

#32 WindhoekBokkeFan: Dude, shut up now. You're making an @rse of yourself

By: bokfan1

bokfan1 — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:39:54 +0000

#14 Hurricane: Well said Hurricane! And also a good one on #15 LOL

By: JUSM

JUSM — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:32:40 +0000

#23 Nils: that would pretty much be my point yes.

By: bok4eva

bok4eva — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:19:40 +0000

Some provincial/club players made their names in these midweek games against touring test teams,I remember not knowing who Breyton Paulse was until I saw him give the AB,s a hard time when they played Boland(I think?) many years ago and not long after that he cracked a bok squad call up….Like someone said earlier its a sink or swim mentality when these youngsters have a go against the worlds best and every now and then someone swims like a fish!…

By: Nils

Nils — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:11:31 +0000

#32 WindhoekBokkeFan: what is your point? I was replying to a statement, that world champs cannot be beaten. Frankly, not only they can be beaten, but they get the lashings on pretty regular basis.

By: Nils

Nils — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:09:18 +0000

#36 Hurricane: Very good indeed. I think that currently full-strenght Munster team is stronger than any national team in Europe bar, perhaps, France.

By: BlackPanther

BlackPanther — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:46:15 +0000

#7 Kietzphat: I think youre being grossly flattering.

By: bok4eva

bok4eva — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:40:41 +0000

I watched the game and despite the low try count it was very entertaining.It goes to show what a team hopelessly outclassed but playing with pride,passion and crowd support can do when the opposition expects to show up and win….just like what happened to our 2nd stringers in the wc last year hey boys.

Having said that,Liam Messam must definately be on the verge of a starting spot in the A team,just needs to try and offload sooner instead of going to ground once he has broken 2 or 3 tackles…

Whoever decided against midweek games needs only to watch last nights game to see the value to the players and supporters….

By: Tony Moneo

Tony Moneo — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:36:58 +0000

#38 BlackPanther: Spot on BlackPanther.

By: BlackPanther

BlackPanther — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:29:28 +0000

#17 WindhoekBokkeFan: Some might think coming back from always trailling in a match, away from home, to the Heineken Cup Champions.....to winning in the last 2mins is not everyones idea of 'choking'. Others may not. #31 Tony Moneo: If this match was not an utterly compelling argument for the return of tours, then nothing will be. I was interested to speak to many people today who, not being able to find ANY tv-coverage on a UK channel (and I have about 10 dedicated sports channels), tuned in to Irish radio to listen to the broadcast via the net. It was heart-stopping and passionate and wonderful. Tours rock !

By: Tisme

Tisme — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:26:45 +0000

#32 WindhoekBokkeFan: oooh FFS, we won the WC in 2007…. this is 2008, we are nowhere near the 2007 team on performance under old Helium….. the Bokke cant even convincingly beat a second grade Scotland team

Its idiots like you that cant appreciate a good game of rugga ……and the sportsmanship at the end is why we love this game…. aargh fkt i give up

By: Hurricane

Hurricane — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:25:46 +0000

#29 Nils: I could see there A team playing a bit better but i thought this team Munster put out were very good and played above themselves,great stuff.

By: Hurricane

Hurricane — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:23:51 +0000

#33 paulynz: He hasnt got it yet,give him time

By: Tisme

Tisme — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:22:53 +0000

#29 Nils: Yeah quite impressive, if the Munster guys vere fitter they would have won, you always new in the end the experience of the bench would pull them through with all the Munster youngsters cramping up.... and boy, i've not seen a game played at that pace in a long time

By: paulynz

paulynz — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:22:41 +0000

#22 WindhoekBokkeFan: He said 19-0

By: WindhoekBokkeFan

WindhoekBokkeFan — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:21:25 +0000

#24 Nils: 20-18