Australia Italy match thread

[Taylorman]

First topic message reminder :

WHEN: 11 September 2011 - 3:30:00 PM local time (about 15 mins from now)
WHERE- North Harbour Stadium, Auckland
OFICIALS: REF: Alain Rolland. Touch judges: Jonathan Kaplan, South Africa, Chris Pollock: New Zealand.

Odd day so far in NZ with a bit more shaking going on down in Christchurch and a tornado hitting West Auckland today.

Not sure if theres a thread yet. Should be an interesting game. Battle up front perhaps. I'm not too familiar with Italian rugby but sure am looking forward to it.

[Gatts]

Keep taking whatever it is you are taking, just double the dose

[Gibson]

England wont meet OZ. Scotland will win that group handy enough... England to beat NZ and get them out the way for us.

[Biltong]

GREat stuff, my predictions are starting to work.

I said Oz by 25.

[Gatts]

England wont meet OZ. Scotland will win that group handy enough... England to beat NZ and get them out the way for us.

Clearly you are toking far too much in Amsterdam!!

[Gatts]

Good luck against the Boks, Gatts.

Thank you Breaker....i think you will play us in the quarters but the way things are going it could just as easily be Namibia

[Gibson]

Yeah Breaker ye will need that luck against de Bokke all roysh. We will be busy beating Samoa in the QF's .

[Gibson]

Well done Oz. Didnt even hit 3rd gear. Didnt need to.

Ye DO have 5 gears yeah?

[Pal Joey]

Go ye good things Ireland! Emerald Blitz!

Sitting on the sidelines for SA - Wales. Should be worth the wait too.

[Pal Joey]

Well done Oz. Didnt even hit 3rd gear. Didnt need to.

Ye DO have 5 gears yeah?

Yeah, only 2nd or 3rd except for those downhill bits in overdrive. Is that a gear?

[Gibson]

Ha!

[Full Credit]

Not too much to be surprised by there. Tight early on with slippery ball and a few promising moves broken down but Aus were always going to run away with it towards the end. Good game to get out of the way.

Alain "look at me" Rolland once again swallowed his whistle early on and game just couldn't get going but I think he passed it at half time and the game got some continuity.

Aus scrum was good at times but was a bit under the pump towards the end with some second-stringers coming on. The precision wasn't quite right in the first half but they finished strongly.

[Rob B]

A very comfortable win in the end, looked very good. Don't think they played any better in the second half really. For me it is just that Allain Rolland permitted them to play some rugby in the second half. He certainly did not allow them to play in the first half. It's my pet hate really - referees from NH who insist on imposing their ego on the game - 12 penalties in 19 minutes most against W - they were simply denied momentum. Not surprisingly only produced 6 points in the first half. Italy always going to be hard in first 40mins with their good defense and passion. They beat France last 6N and should have beaten Wales and Ireland so they are a good side.

Rolland pulled his head in at half time and last we saw something resembling rugby. With a bit of ball without the penalties 4 unanswered tries was the result.

Commeriserations to all the Kiwi supporters on another Wallabies win.

[Taylorman]

Commeriserations to all the Kiwi supporters on another Wallabies win.

thanks rob (but well done anyway)

[aucklandlaurie]

Rob b
I've just got in from the game, i dont know if the tv coverage mentioned it but there was a dog of blowing across the field,The Australian backs will not put down that many high balls again. Australia were always going to win that game and win it easy it was just a matter of time.
I agree with you I'm starting to lose ptience with these irish referees.

[Rob B]

Laurie - no didn't realise that, but that explains a few dropped balls by AAC. Cooper threw some bad balls early as well but he ha decent game overall. . They settled into their work eventually. Ioane was awesome i thought.

[Taylorman]

Foxy mentioned the wind in a way that you could tell kicking would be difficult

[emack2]

I have just watched Australia versus Italy,a few observations the ref was very strict.Weather conditions especially first half poor,Italy like many tier 2[for want of a better word].had a game Plan to keep the score down to respectable levels.Had Italy a more respectable goal kicker,maybe instead of kicking for touch[or in one case a cross kick].At penalty time in the First half.Peppered the Posts,Italy maybe going in say 15 or 18-6 points up.
They would have tried taking points in the second half,maybe even scraped a surprise win.
Yes ,I know all if`s and maybes,everyone knows Australia can hurt you if you let them play .
For Australia a well earned win eventuallly,but if I was Deans. I would be worried at the Penalty Count and Discipline.Forwards throwing punches in the first line out,and again later,some Refs use cards for that early.
Rolland was strict on both sides,so it evened itself out.
A First half performance like that versus stronger teams could mean another 4 years.
Italy within there limitations played well,if they had the backs to be expansive could have pushed OZ close.
Deans would probably give it 6/10 at least he lets his players think on there feet.Unlike some overcoached Robots,who need a diagram to point out the obvious.

[Guest]

whats the score guys?

[Full Credit]

Early on in the game I thought Rolland was ready to break out into mime when he was explaining something to the Italian captain. He seems to get into a routine of penalties, Aus were penalised a couple of times for going in off their feet and sealing it off. Then Vickerman comes in, still supporting his own weight, and is penalised for the same thing (and is marched a very generous 10 metres for complaining about it.) Obviously I'm being selective here but it stuck in my mind. I thought Italy were hard done by a couple of times too so, as you say, it evens out.

I don't know what the thought process was behind the Italian cross-field penalty kick, he must have been staring into the sun and not seen the 10 wallabies standing there waiting to catch it.

[Full Credit]

whats the score guys?

Final score was 32-6 to Australia.

[boomeranga]

I don't think strict refereeing in the first games is a bad move. It will be easier, and less controversial to loosen the noose than to try and reign the teams back in after being lenient from the outset. Was that a theme of the other games as well?

Regarding the game, I though it was a decent performance in the second half and the Italians should be commended for the first 40. They were always at risk of being cut up by the outside backs, but played a good game to try and reduce that threat.

The only questions on team selection I have for this week is what they will do with centre as JOC appears certain to come back in; will they continue with Simmons, or bring Sharpe back; and will they stick with a 5:2 bench or maybe bring Barnes in for his kicking options.

I'm nervous about the Ireland game as while their form has not been ideal for what they would have liked, they certainly have the capability to beat us. Like us they would have been aware this game was the biggie of the group since the draw was made, so no doubt have a clear plan for what they would like to bring. A strong back row is the best way to attack us, and they have that. Should be a good week leading up to it and a good game.

[boomeranga]

Also ... Congratulations to Sam Stosur. She showed a lot of quality in the face of Serena's stupidity.

[Rob B]

With a 15-9 penalty count, I find it difficult to conclude the ref was being strict with both teams in equal measure - that's just rubbish. Certainly Vickerman, who secured the ball while on his feet, was wrongly penalised. He should not have reacted as it cost 3 points, but he knew it wads complete Love sacks - and I liked how Rolland's 10 metres march up the field was actually about 18 metres- the guy is a freakin egomanic. And after 65 minutes and the last 10 years of watching scrum halves feed the ball into the locks' feet, he gives a one off, arbitrary short arm against Burgess for doing same. And then subsequently both scrum halves proceeded to continue to feed the ball into the locks' feet without any penalty. Complete joke. And all his coaching lessons handed to the Italians along the way, I mean really. Like "you are not allowed to play the ball while off your feet, so please be careful" - after they did just that.

And as for the first half, Deans said he thought W played well and I agree they did. 6-6 yes but in trying conditions with a lunatic ref. I think he was quite happy with the whole effort. It was hard to really fault them in the firt half.

If Paddy O'Brien was doing his job he would have issued his "crackdown" instructions to the refs a year agao - not at the start of a World Cup where now all we will see is a competition among the refs of who can find the most infringements. It will be a blight on the game.

[boomeranga]

The scrum feed penalty was odd I agree, but sometimes you're on the wrong end of a penalty count simply because you offend more than opponent does. I dont know if that's the case here, but something that sh*ts me to tears is that no game passes without endless references to the we was cheated moments. It's sport FFS. Refereeing two people arguing over a donut is tough, let alone refereeing rugby where I'm yet to find anyone who definitively knows what the .... is going on. We had a good win. I think we should just enjoy it.

[Full Credit]

I liked how Rolland's 10 metres march up the field was actually about 18 metres

Maybe Vickerman got him a beautie and he intended to march us 2 lots of 10metres and we actually got a discount.

[Taylorman]

Thats true booma. Im tired of the ref this ref that. The games become so complex that either all refs are cheats or all teams are.
Ive yet to see a ref everyone likes? now why is that? Not only are refs finding it hard to get interpretations right it seems everyone is having problems deciding which refs are good or not.
Somethings gotta be done as not a game goes by where the ref doesnt cop it one way or anothe.

[Rob B]

The scrum feed penalty was odd I agree, but sometimes you're on the wrong end of a penalty count simply because you offend more than opponent does. I dont know if that's the case here, but something that sh*ts me to tears is that no game passes without endless references to the we was cheated moments. It's sport FFS. Refereeing two people arguing over a donut is tough, let alone refereeing rugby where I'm yet to find anyone who definitively knows what the .... is going on. We had a good win. I think we should just enjoy it.

I was responding to a comment by emack to the effect that both teams were dealt with harshly and even handedly and I made a comment that a 15-9 count does not support that proposition. The site is for comment on the game which includes the refereeing, unless there is some unwritten rule that bans comments on refereeing?

My point has nothing to do with a "we was cheated" argument. It is that when a ref dominated the game so much as Rolland dd in the first half in particular, it is not enjoyable to watch. You simply watch a guy blow his whistle every 120 seconds to stop the game. It is a blight on the game - it is why so many have switched off watching the game especially after the 2007 debacle. The game will face the same risks again if all the public sees is a continuing series of shots at goal. Simple.

[boomeranga]

Apologies Rob. I didn't have in mind to suggest you in particular spend your life complaining about refs, but can see that is pretty much what I have written. So sincerely - my apologies to you.

What are you thinking about the next game v the Green Menace? Form Lines suggests us, but on paper I think it could be tough. I'm looking forward to seeing SOB inparticular.

[Rob B]

No worries Boomer - understand - I guess my pet hate is the NH style of refs and the play that goes with it. Here I am now actually looking forward to Bryce Lawrence officiating W and that's a first!

The plucky Irish will probably save their best game for us and that is a worry notwithstanding past form. They will play the full 80; will look to play for field position and basically wait for penalties at the breakdown to kick them home. They have a great backrow and will be dangerous there. Their backline seems to have no creativity in attack and they will largely depend on a great forward performance. I expect it to be close and tense for first 60min with W prevailing in the final quarter when the game tends to open up a bit. Certainly a danger game.

[Biltong]

I liked how Rolland's 10 metres march up the field was actually about 18 metres

Maybe Vickerman got him a beautie and he intended to march us 2 lots of 10metres and we actually got a discount.

don't think referees deal in discount.

wouldn't it be great if a team scored a winning try against you in a match and the referee gives you discount of 2 points because he felt the execution wasn't worth 5 points.

[Pal Joey]

So long as he is fair and gives the Boks a discount of 3...

[Full Credit]

I can definitely see that being phased in over the next few years, especially for goal kicking... a sweetly struck conversion right between the sticks, 2pts. A wobbler that scrapes the upright, 1pt. Any old school toe poke that goes over, 3pts.

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