Quinn Tupaea makes surprise positional shift for Chiefs clash against Waratahs

Foster’s win rate was 63% when rescued somewhat by Jase Ryan & Joe Scmidt in August 2022. At that stage, the ABs were in the toilet & a laughing stock which forced Rugby NZ to intervene. Thank goodness they did.

I wouldn’t say that going as far as NZ in style etc, but definitely more rounded and able to change from game to game.

That might be the simple concepts were seeing (which I think your indicating are new last yer) of instead of saying ‘wingers are chasing kicks’, theres also now a lot of ‘kickers chasing wings’. As in kicks are looking for where their wingers are going to be and putting the ball there for them to try and attack with, rather than kicking to space or where the wingers can chase to then put the opponent under the most pressure on the next phase.

Instead that didn’t do anything of note to counter them, much like how they were impotent against Ireland in test two or three (only getting by on brute power like with Akira solo try).

Those SA matches perhaps show how hard it is really going to be. They started by running and finding space but then got ground down only to see SA grind their way back into the lead, and most importantly here, then how NZ attack hardly even tried to fire a shot in return.

Guys with Fire and Brimstone attitude like Brodie Retallick (I’m not firing a shot at the current locks here) just seem to have a little bit more flair for backing themselves too. You enjoy moments where theyre going to risk throwing a dummy and step (could get nailed backwards) or stay up straight an pump the legs to break through rather than just worrying about recycling the ball every damn time. Then theres a bit of in your face hows your father and the two sides go at it.

Yep I think you’ve got it right on that last game too. That team was 15 and 2, with 1 draw from 18 games leading into that Final match. It was wasn’t a long enough stretch. Moments like Jordie looking to pass but not being confident enough to yet and getting smoked typified much of the play in the game. If they’re keeping at it they will improve and that match would be relayed quite differently.

Again, that answers obviously different for everyone, but as you can no doubt gather I’m first of all of the belief that one will flow into the other. That even if it’s not the winning solution for one off Finals, having a connected group of players consistently (trying) to put on points would at least restore a winning legacy. I say this because they other teams aren’t their yet, only France has that in patches, whims. Ireland had it in a formular and got really far with a very average team, but now it’s been ruined by Leinsters desire to get over the line against much better (staffed) French teams. I’m not sure they know enough about their winning formular, and obviously defences like NZs improved their shape to counter a lot of it’s strengths, but I reckon if they or other int sides could evolve it NZ will be on the back foot playing numbers wise, to having enough talent to pull it off.

But if we just say for argument sake that it’s either one or the other, and in a world where were playing well enough to look good, pulling off tries from halfway etc, just not enough to win, then that’s what I’d enjoy. I’d like how we play, I would be invested in how we play, and enjoy talking about the little things like who might be better or fundamentals that let them down a bit too much etc. I’m not really indicative I don’t think though, I can watch a game and team losing lineouts and scrums, and multiple parts of the ‘contest’, but if theyre moving the ball around the park by hand and foot and scoring more tries (like NZ used to do every game with 30or 40% possession) I’d think theyre the better team.

But I’m indebted to the game. So what I want wouldn’t come first in how I’d act. I’d do what’s right for rugby to thrive in NZ, so if that is one of these hypothetical situations where the laws of rugby dictate we need to do things like play 10 man rugby then so be it. So you’re talking finding whatever way they can to win in order to keep that All Black profile of dominance and it’s place in the marketing world, if money is what it came down to as being most important.