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Eden Park

Rugby

Rugby News, All Blacks’ dominance in the 2nd half sums up their winning Bledisloe Cup run & Wallabies long running losing hoodoo in Game 2 at Eden Park

by Sports Benches

Really exceptional play in the first 40 from the All Blacks who demonstrated so much patience and support play that got them well ahead on the scoresheet, while the Wallabies benefitted from some winning penalties & used the resets well to stay in contention but needs time to execute better if they are to keep the Bledisloe Cup series alive.

HALF-TIME: All Blacks 21-15 Wallabies

Unfortunately, Wallabies didn’t change/learn much after the break especially with the passage of play being too wide that sums up their poor processing, while the All Blacks have taken advantage when given the ball & they bossed the game in return.

You see the forwards and backline working together alongside the quick & narrow passes before the home side racked up a few big scores that is too easy for them to win games.

FULL-TIME: All Blacks 57-22 Wallabies

Such an entertainment of attacking football to watch from the Men in Black who retained the Bledisloe Cup for the 19th consecutive season as the Wallabies turn their attention to the Rugby Championship now for a fresh start & go from there.

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Rugby

Australian Rugby News, Wallabies consolation turnaround not enough to dent All Blacks’ dominant 2nd half performance at Eden Park on 2021 Bledisloe Cup I

by Sports Benches

Such a close first half from the All Blacks and Wallabies at Eden Park in Auckland, having seen both teams make up an early sequence of tight defense & three-point penalty goals.

But it’s the All Blacks who lead 16-8 at the break where they were patient on all fronts, while Wallabies did find a way past the opposition thanks to Hunter Paisami on the midfield who helped Andrew Kellaway score a debut TRY.

It’s just the slow starts and their lack of execution so far held the Wallabies back as they need to stop the All Blacks from scoring before looking to be patient when given the ball.

Although, the Wallabies did score a couple of consolation scores thanks to a Tom Banks double & Jordan Uelese brace towards the final siren.

Unfortunately, they didn’t improve much despite creating chances & winning penalties that led to more limited time against the ball, as the All Blacks cap off a brilliant start to the 2021 Bledisloe Cup Series 1-0 by 8 points (33-25).

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Rugby

Rugby Union News, Top 3 players from 2021 Bledisloe Cup Game 1 at Eden Park, All Blacks v Wallabies

by Sports Benches

Richie Mo’unga has to be the first men in black player that helped distance themselves away from the Wallabies tonight at No.10/first five-eighth.

His kicking has been superb in contrast to Noah Lolesio whose long kicks into the goal didn’t work out while creating plenty of chances going forward.

And Mo’unga was able to turn this magic around into a series of complete executions in front of the Wallabies danger zone, there’s credit coming from their poor communication before cashing themselves in alongside the support runners that made the All Blacks so dominant in attack mightily after half-time.

Ardie Savea also played well in the All Blacks back three at Number 8, having read & tackled the Wallabies poor attacking executions/patience.

It helped protect his side’s defense that made the All Blacks a whole lot easier to dominate when given the turnover/intercept/winning penalties, especially for the majority after half-time.

Throw in Ardie and his other fowards who can give a helping hand with the backline being patient through the channels, which is excellent tactics that the Wallabies couldn’t catch up in terms of attacking football.

And Tate McDermott puts in a great shift at half-back for the Wallabies who possess so much passing & physicality all game long combined with pace.

The build up momentum is there for a start in the defense that helped his side win the ball through winning penalties, it’s something how the Wallabies remained close to the All Blacks in the first 30-35 mins.

Although, McDermott created chances along the way just like the start of a attacking production line when given the ball but the decoy runners around him let him down due to a lack of finishing mightily, even though the late consolation turnaround alone wasn’t enough to upset on their home turf.

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Rugby

Rugby News Australia, 2021 Super Rugby Trans-Tasman Final: Blues v Highlanders

by Sports Benches

Such a competitive first 40 from both teams in the Blues & Highlanders. Blues were very patient when it comes to the attack. A number of winning penalties provided those opportunities needed to get ahead. Before Mark Talea managed to touch down the big score first. Thanks to a fantastic cross kick from Otere Black.

Highlanders also doing well with plenty of involvement in the Blues zone at the start. The early three-point penalty goal reflected the build up base built defensively. But they need to sort out their lost penalties through the ill-discipline.

As the Highlanders were messy with the poor throw-ins & attacking chances. The yellow card of Ash Dixon gave the Blues some fightback. Although, the away team are not of the race just yet ahead of half-time. They just added another three-point penalty goal in the 35th minute. The score going into the 2nd half is 13-6 to Blues.

Blues may have not had the chance to extend their lead for a while. So nothing much changed when the Highlanders began to catch up at one point. Despite the fact they have scored a series of correct penalty goals against them.

But the home side did not waste any time catching up immediately. Especially when Harry Plummer’s kick from the difficult angle sinked in. Before Hoskins Sotutu found a way to turnover a scrambled Highlanders gate. That is how he got away where he assisted Blake Gibson with the finish. As Blues managed to shut them down after the full 80, 23-15 at Eden Park.

The 18 year drought is finally over for the Blues on home soil in Auckland. They deserve this moment after finishing 2nd in the 2020 Super Rugby Aotearoa. It might not have been the same in the same NZ-only comp before the Trans-Tasman began. But The Blues came in clean with picking up as many victories + points possible. And they ended up as victors tonight thanks to their patient attacking shape. That is how The Blues took advantage of the Hurricanes errors.

Such as the ill-discipline and lack of executions despite the penalty goals. It puts so much pressure to their defensive end that was so hard to hold off. Thanks to Hoskins Sotutu who handed Blake Gibson the Blues winning moment. Now we are looking at the International Test season starting next month. It is a three-match tour between Australia v France.

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