No, we haven't turned all simian like kindred blogger Lee C at Monkey With Typewriter. Rather, we are referring to the 105-year-old monkey on the back of the Irish rugby team. That's right; the rivalry between New Zealand and Ireland dates back to The Originals' 1905 tour, and only one team has ever won matches between the old rivals - the All Blacks.
The Irish have come close to an upset on many occasions, but they've never managed to nail home the killer blow, and the longer the drought goes on, the tougher it will be for the men from the Emerald Isle. And we have to say; we don't think that the Irish will win tonight; not unless Wayne Barnes has another one of "those" performances!
The conditions tonight are not forecast to be particularly flash, and that could play into the All Blacks' hands. Ireland comes here with a number of losses through injury, and their tight five is particularly affected. It is there that test matches are won and lost. We reckon that the All Blacks will have a decided advantage in the loose, and the McCaw/Kaino/Reid combination looks to be our best loose trio for several seasons.
In the backs, much will depend on the respective first-fives, Dan Carter and Ronan O'Gara. O'Gara has toured New Zealand a number of times, but has looked to be a shadow of the player he is in home conditions. On the other hand, Dan Carter has had a most un-Dan Carter-like Super 14, but we know that he is a big match player, and when he is in form, he is far and away the best #10 in international rugby. And if he can get the ball wide, and conditions permit, there is pace and skill to burn at the back.
We'll stick our collective neck out, and predict a comfortable win to the All Blacks. We r5eckon that the Irish will still be piggybacking the monkey when the final whistle blows at Yarrow Stadium tonight.
And to get us all in the mood, here's one of the most memorable moments in that 105 year rivalry; Lansdowne Road, 1989 ...
5 comments:
Don't underestimate the Irish INV2 - they are not a bad unit and had Paul O'Connell been there they would have been a big chance based on last year and the 6 nations.
I say AB's 12 and under.
10-nil to the AB's after 15 minutes, and Ireland down to 14 men with the #8 Jamie Heaslip sent off for kneeing McCaw in the head at a ruck.
The All Blacks are looking sharp though.
Half-time: 38-7 to the All Blacks; five tries to one. Probably the most dominant start to a season since Henry's first test in 2004 against England.
Final score 66-28 to New Zealand. Not a bad first-up performance, and I suspect that Welsh won't be relishing what lies ahead over the next two weeks. Great debuts from Dagg, Stanley and Franks, and Sam Whitelock played 30 minutes off the bench scoring two tries on debut.
It is hard to get a line on the All Blacks who played 14 men for most of the game and only 13 for ten minutes in the first half.
I only saw the first half and they looked slick. The question of course is would they have looked that slick against 15 especially as the fool Heaslip is a very good player.
The report I received on the second half at the Walkabout pub on Victoria Embankment from an Aucklander I had never seen before was that the AB's were disappointing against 14 men letting in either 3 or 4 tries.
Sout Africa out played and out muscled France to a comprehensive win. They scored some good tries and dominated field position without much kicking. Still not at full strength with no du Preez, Broussow, de Villiers, who was on the bench and played about 15 minutes on the wing, or Bekker/Bakkies Botha.
The French were without a few as well and especially missed Hardin..... at 8. However even though soundly beaten I thought France produced the man of the match with their winger Rougere (sp). Even though on the wing his work rate was McCaw like.
Once again Bryce Lawrence was an embarrassment with his refereeing. I think he is getting worse.
Finally I don't think Wales are as good as Ireland, their backs, Stephen Jones apart are not flash and they lack quality loose forwards. However watch their lock Brenden Daviis for a huge work rate.
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