Super 15 2012 - Round 18 NZ Teams

2012 TESTS First Matches

Test Match Fever! Here we go ... a revised version of the graphic I did last week, now showing the (expected) walk on teams for all three of this weekend’s top tier Test matches: New Zealand v Ireland, Australia v Wales, and South Africa v England.

Each game has the starting XV lined up in their positions, and each player has their number of Test caps indicated so you can see just who is out of their depth (I’m looking at you Bradley Barritt!). Mind you, Sean ‘The Tullow Tank’ O’Brien is also up against Our Richie.

Check it out. Wallabies looking better than the team that lost to Scotland, but they better front, because this Welsh team is tight. Will teh Boks have enough class to take out a rebuilding and ever-confident England?

Predictions: I hate this bit, but ... NZ by 20 points, Wales by 7, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Boks by 15.

Jinx!

Super 15 2012 - NZ Teams Round 15

Super 15 2012 - Round 14 NZ Teams

Super 15 2012 - Round 13 NZ Teams

Super Rugby 2012 - Round 12 NZ Teams

Super 12 2012 - NZ Teams Round 10

Super 15 2012 NZ Teams - Round 9

2012 Super 15 - Round 8 NZ Teams

 

UPDATE: Back from holiday, and those stats for Round 8’s games have appeared, so I have updated things ... Cheetahs v Chiefs and Crusaders v Stormers now done.

Remember, what we try to do here is graphically represent the quick numbers; to do it visually so you can see basic game results, timeline, scoring and stats instantly. There are some pretty awesome sources for much meatier game stats out there ... and the very best, with our strongest possible endorsement, remains the epic ruckingoodstats.com

Slugso

2012 Super 15 - Round 7 NZ Teams

Heinken Cup Quarter Finalists Squad Composition

The ERC’s Heineken Cup is the true pinnacle of international rugby professionalism we are told constantly. Where our very best players have been lured by (previously) favourable exchange rates and the new experience of ‘real knockout rugby’ ... yes, this was constantly held up before last year as an Achilles Heel-type problem the Southern Hemisphere teams faced.

Not so much lately: the Pound is no longer King, the Euro is basically knackered .. and oh,  look, the Rugby World Cup is safe in New Zealand for FOUR MORE YEARS!

But I digress. I did a graphical representation a while back of where the players in our NZ Super 15 teams came from, and I also wondered how this sort of thing might look when applied to the top teams in England, France, Ireland and Wales. There’s no real surprises that each team takes the bulk of its players from their own domestic pool, but what is interesting is how rainbow-like some teams are (Sarries and Clermont) and how others blend only players from 2, 3 or 4 countries (Munster & Leinster).

Don't know if anyone has any thoughts on whether this means owners have deep pockets or good shopping talents ... its clear the ‘home grown’ players in these squads are also heavily represented in their respective nations’ Test Squads.

So, waddaya reckon? Please note there is some rough accounting and rounding here, and I left poor Gavin Henson in.

2012 Super 15 - Round 6 NZ Teams

2012 Super 15 - Round 5 NZ Teams

Never doubted them ;-)

2012 Six Nations - England v Ireland

2012 Six Nations - Italy v Scotland

2012 Super 15 - Round 3 NZ Teams

2012 Six Nations - France v Ireland

Quarter Final 4: New Zealand v Argentina

That was edge of the seat stuff for a bit last night - not only did the Pumas stop us scoring, then score themselves ... but they had the lead on us and created some very nervous moments for All Black fans last night. Were we going to be knocked out again?!

The people who did not panic were the 15 very composed blokes on the park in black polyester, and that now gives me great confidence going forward. Players were dropping like flies with injuries at times, but we never got rattled, and simply kept plugging away, safe in the knowledge that we'd end up with more points after the 80 minutes, even if they all had to come from Piri Weepu’s laser-guided boot.

Great team performance, right across the park. And Brad Thorn a try! He deserves one.

That was my buzz word from the win: composure. It manifested itself stoically last night at Eden Park, where four years ago in Cardiff it slunk off into the shadows like Kwade Kupa facing a try-saving tackle on Ma’a Nonu.

At 7-6 to the Pumas I was a nervous wreck, and when Kaino threw that no-look pass in the second half, down towards Argentina’s line, it hung in the night sky for what felt like an eternity as the Pumas player reached for what looked to be a dead set intercept. Four more years? Not today.

Our forwards had to battle through set after set of multiple phases to gain any ground for the first 40, as Argentina’s defence threw everything at us. They are a very good team, and after a few seasons settling in to the newly expanded Tri-Nations, just may well have that X factor to go to the last four again in 2015. Its cliché to bang on about the passion of the players and their fans ... but it there for all to see, its tangible. When they exit RWC, and the tournament loses something.

I hope Slade and Mils are okay. Colin Slade again started nervously, maybe this is just his schtick? He does grow into things though, but his injury bought Aaron Cruden on, Manawatu’s stellar No. 10, fresh from the travel agents where he had to cancel his Fijian holiday to save our World Cup campaign!

The kid has confidence to burn, he has had everything to prove and nothing to lose this year since being dropped from the All Blacks ... after taking the can for a poor forwards performance. He has a love for hitting the line and popping passes that make SBW look on in wonder. I think he showed enough to warrant a start even if Slade is okay.

I think we saw that these games are going to be very tight - no way is Nonu going to carve easily through Australia, it will be a pressure cooker game, that chances taken will win (or mistakes made will lose). I think we can do it, but we have to be prepared that we don’t.

I feel for all the Bok fans out there, having had their champion team knocked out in the quarters. If it is any consolation ... All Black fans completely understand how it feels because of 2007. It hurts, it does not seem fair, but in four years time (a lifetime away it may seem now) ... the optimism and fever of the next World Cup will completely heal the scar. After older players exit behind P Divvy ... you’ll look to your depth in Currie Cup and Super, and you have the makings of a hell of a team for the next few seasons.

I was not impressed with the way Sky TV cut away from Mils Muliaina’s 100th Test Cap presentation - we missed both Jock Hobbs’ introduction and Mils’ response. That was an embarrassing mistake - Mils not worthy Sky? I think it was a bit insulting.

Not the prettiest game, but we rolled on, completed all our set pieces, got good ball, and converte chances. For four years English fans have been telling us ‘that’s all you have to do to win RWC’.

Well, we did it ... and where are yous?

Time to cast this Eden Park Hoodoo over the Wallabies in concrete ... in gold! pass it to Cooper!

Quarter Final 3: South Africa v Australia