…by a mere 11 points.
First test of the season & all, but lift your game, fellas. Very messy effort.
Well played, Ireland. Had the game in hand for a while, but then…
…the Magnificent All Blacks, etc, etc…
Well, it seems the Assies are the only ones who can bleat after the weekends performances. AB’s sound like they were lucky to get out of jail so Henry’s love affair with the public continues for another week, just think of what a different story that could have been. The Saffies seemed to play well too, looks like the Tri Nationas should be another beautie this year. Anyone know what the deal is with getting games on espnstar this International season?
[quote=“Infidel”]…by a mere 11 points.
First test of the season & all, but lift your game, fellas. Very messy effort.
Well played, Ireland. Had the game in hand for a while, but then…
…the Magnificent All Blacks, etc, etc…[/quote]
I blame the jet lag…and the soft penalties! 
But seriously: after winning Triple Crowns and Heineken Cups we tend to get a bit jaded… 
The second match will be great. :bravo:
Well, the ABs won the second test to take the series. Not an attractive match, but the weather (torrential rain) didn’t help.
Ireland played a very smart game. Made the most of their strengths - good positional kicking and frequently disrupted the ABs’ continuity. BOD not as influential as in the first test. Could have been that nasty knock to the gonads early on.
I’d say Ted & Co have plenty of food for thought.
Next up: Argentina in Buenos Aires. Can’t wait!
…winless against the All-Blacks for 100 years? 
If it were any other side then I’d be embarrassed!
It was a miserable day in Auckland…but that must have seemed like a soft Irish day to the lads, so no excuses! 
BTW: where is Grant Batty these days? I posted something about him but it was deleted, probably due to some images which I had included…I saw him play in Cork, Ireland,(at the Mardyke) many years ago when I was just a schoolboy, and was impressed by his play, (and the fact that I was almost taller than him at that age!)
[quote=“serious_fun”]…winless against the All-Blacks for 100 years? If it were any other side then I’d be embarrassed!
It was a miserable day in Auckland…but that must have seemed like a soft Irish day to the lads, so no excuses!
BTW: where is Grant Batty these days? I posted something about him but it was deleted, probably due to some images which I had included…I saw him play in Cork, Ireland,(at the Mardyke) many years ago when I was just a schoolboy, and was impressed by his play, (and the fact that I was almost taller than him at that age!)[/quote]
Grant Batty - there’s a blast from the past. No idea what he’s up to now, but he almost drowned in his Brisbane swimming pool in the '80s (I think).
He was a great All Blacks wing, and always punched well above his weight.
I fondly remember this try against the '77 Lions:
[quote]The first test against the 1977 Lions was to be Batty’s 15th and last. He won the game for the All Blacks with his 50 metre run following an intercept of a Trevor Evans pass. MSP supporters in the crowd that day joined other Wellingtonians in giving Batty a standing ovation for that try. The test winning try provided the battling little man with a fitting platform upon which to retire from international rugby.[/quote] (AllBlacks.com)
More info on his career here, but nothing up to date.
Well, last year it looked like we were streaking ahead of everyone else and we won’t know if thats still the case till after the Tri Nations if the Irish are an indication of the top level sides coming out of Europe. We lost the RWC in 2003 because of Umaga’s injury and now it looks like we still don’t have a top class 13, three years later and not much time left to develop one…might be easier to convince Umaga to come out of retirement.