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Sun 2 Nov 2014 | 02:38
Record crowd witnesses All Blacks in full flight as they crush USA

24
Comments

A record crowd were on hand to watch a thrilling display of running rugby from the World Champion All Blacks, as they defeated the USA Eagles 74-6 in Chicago. As expected, it was one-way traffic, but great exposure for rugby in the the United States.

There was plenty of hype and fanfare before of the match, which was ultimately a marketing exercise and a gentle warm-up for New Zealand ahead of their tour of the UK.

While the Eagles looked good with ball in hand early on, once the All Blacks asserted their dominance up front, the missed tackles and lack of organisation showed, as the visitors ran riot. Twelve tries were scored in total as fans watched on in both horror and delight at what unfolded.

The NBC commentary team were amusing, and full of praise for the 'dreamteam', who despite what they said about there being no such thing as an All Blacks second team, fielded an experimental starting fifteen that was a mixture of youth and experience.

Sonny Bill Williams made his Test rugby return and scored two tries, while Dan Carter came off the bench in the second half. He threw a forward pass with his first touch, but then got into the swing of things and had a good thirty minutes, helping his side to a comfortable, one-sided victory.

''When the boys were dominating up front like they were, it was awesome to just run off the back of that,'' said Williams, who limped off with a hip injury but should recover for the rest of the tour.

''I've come back a bit raw but I'm just trying to improve each week.''

Ultimately the game was a success despite the result. Over 61 500 fans packed Soldier Field, in what was a capacity crowd and the largest ever attendance for rugby in the USA. Those fans would have been disappointed to see their side rolled over so easily, but they knew what they were in for, and it will have been a great experience to watch the AB's in such dominant mood.

You can watch a full match replay (certain territories) via the same live feed link. Details here

What are your thoughts on the occasion, the USA side and the All Blacks combinations? Let us know in the comments below

Posted By: Grant Constable

24 Comments

  • straightenup
    5:39 AM 05/11/2014

    Firstly, I don't accept your premise that "Joubert is in awe of the ABs". Your assertion that he has shown it "time and time again" is an opinion and of course you're entitled to it.
    As for this game: At one point near the end a USA player collected the ball and headed off downfield. But Joubert had already called advantage to NZ at the ruck and brought them back. A player must have said something and Joubert said "I'm trying to let the game flow but I'd already called advantage", or words to that effect. So it's clear that the ref was trying to let things go as this test was also something of an exhibition game, and was being up-front about it. Although to my mind it wasn't refereed nearly as loosely as the Barbarians game, and I have no problem with that match either.
    But to me, this wasn't what made the ABs dominant, it was simply because they were so dominant that the style of reffing seemed to favour them more. Both sides had the opportunity to take advantage of the spirit of the officiating, the All Blacks did it much more skilfully and effectively.
    The defences of all sides creep up at the breakdown in every single match I see, and I watch plenty of non-NZ games. Different refs react differently, and it's part of being a good side to judge how the ref's working and adapt to it. I'm often astonished at the unpenalised shenanigans (to my eyes) of 6N props, but they seem to know what they can get away with and play accordingly. That's how it works. Apologies for the long post.

  • jimmy23
    5:28 PM 04/11/2014

    ...alright then

  • hellraiser_rob
    3:33 PM 04/11/2014

    Good stuff!

  • danknapp
    10:23 AM 04/11/2014

    Glad you enjoyed the game DB. Get yourself to a few more if possible! I have never been to a sporting event which beats live rugby for a great atmosphere.

  • marty
    8:24 PM 03/11/2014

    lol

  • 7:21 PM 03/11/2014

    Shoulda been in Canada

  • 7:16 PM 03/11/2014

    Scully is a stud. But I think Clever is beyond it

  • 7:15 PM 03/11/2014

    The NFL, and football in general, beats the individual decision making out of players. Good luck changing players ability to read the game in their early twenties after years of being told what to do, how to do it and even how to move to do it at a micro-movement level.

  • rugby08
    2:57 PM 03/11/2014

    Nothing wrong with the commentary or anthems.

    Bloody bunch of whingers the lot of you

  • liquidnick
    1:20 PM 03/11/2014

    poach players or commentators from the NFL? my guess is both.

  • hellraiser_rob
    11:42 AM 03/11/2014

    Yeah good point, the All Black forwards definitely have the ball skills to link in the back line to convert opportunities that a lot of nationalities would butcher.

    How many times have we seen kieran read on the wing offloading to a support runner for a try.

  • jimmy23
    10:23 AM 03/11/2014

    It dropped out slightly at the start for me but was alright for the rest of it.

    Well it seemed that every English player that has gotten injured recently is one that's in contention for a spot in the national squad! Our depth is being really tested which is guess is a good thing but we're in for a tough few weeks. Hopefully the lads can pull through.

  • straightenup
    9:24 AM 03/11/2014

    It's also worth adding that this NZ side is especially effective in working the narrow strip between touch and the 15m marks, sometimes called the tramlines. When they decide to go wide, not only do they do it quickly but there are often very mobile forwards like Read and Coles already out there to make the extra man. The ability of these extra men to make ground and offload has lead to some important tries for the ABs in recent games. Increasingly I notice sides like Sth Africa and England setting up in this way and doing it very effectively.

  • hellraiser_rob
    8:03 AM 03/11/2014

    I don't know if It was just for sky customers here in the UK< but the Haka audio also seemed to go in and out, same for you?

    Yes, looking forward to next week, I remain pessimistic, but we won't get blown away. The main thing is I hope the weather isn't wet, and the crowd gets a good game.

  • hellraiser_rob
    7:56 AM 03/11/2014

    I personally thought the American commentary team was fantastic, and it's just great to have our game played in such a big emerging market. I hope the fans weren't too put off by the score line, I guess if you are new to rugby it might be hard to fathom why a tiny nation is the best in the world.

    I saw a few comments of favorable US punter reaction which was great:
    http://www.foxsports.com.au/what-the-fox/us-public-react-hilariously-to-nuts-and-intense-all-blacks-rugby-test/story-fnn4peyo-1227109897415?nk=39184ab83ae710c5a85826c26a1f3281

  • hellraiser_rob
    7:53 AM 03/11/2014

    A lot of the times the wingers (on either end of the defensive line) will drop back to cover any tactical kicking through from the opposition into the corners. Then, when the balls is passed along the attacking line, they should "come up" to join the defending line.

    However I think in the USA's case, the All Blacks were creating mismatches of attackers vs defenders, this can be done by hammering "through the middle", which sucks in the defense, and then the attacking team spreads it wide quickly and takes advantage of the "overlap".

    You may also hear the phrase "earn the right to go wide". If a defense is prepared, and the attacking team tries to go wide too early, they usually end up just going laterally all the way to the winger who is isolated. So you have to go "up the guts" of a team first and contract the defending line.

    That's my understanding anyway, i'm sure there are other reasons, would love to hear others thoughts.

    Are you American? Hope you enjoyed the game



    Rob

  • jeri
    6:52 AM 03/11/2014

    I wonder if someone with more rugby knowledge can explain this:
    Does it appear that the USA defense is always lagging behind at the touchlines?

    Many times in this match I can see the ABs relay the ball wide, and the wing (or whoever) ends up with lots of room to accelerate, and the poor Eagles backs have to play catch-up. This is something I don't see them get when they play the Wallabies or the Springboks.

    Is it simply because the Eagles players are slower? Or are their defensive lines simply lacking in organisation?

  • desertcolt07
    2:55 AM 03/11/2014

    i thought the commentary was refreshing given we've had to put up with murry mexted and justin marshall for far too long.

  • 10stonenumber10
    2:01 AM 03/11/2014

    The commentary went silent over that quick line out throw... followed by "flag is raised..." - football for a penalty infraction, rather than knowing the line out was legal.

    Rumble was used far too frequently... i muted the commentary and put on some music. Not really necessary in a game like that. Nz have the ball, Nz score a ridiculously clinical try. Even the USA commentators picked up the lost cause. End of message.

  • mattyj
    11:13 PM 02/11/2014

    Great show of the AB's skill. commentating was jokes, all 'hits' and 'channels' followed by statistics of players weights and heights! That's the only way you'll draw in the American football fans so of course it won't be the same as commentating as we know it!

  • 10:52 PM 02/11/2014

    Commentary was more embarrassing than the scoreline.

    A few moments of pride to take away from the Eagles' performance. Thought Scully played his heart out. The whole team played as best they thought they could...

    Room for improvement obviously...support running and offloads, defensive cover tackles, scrums. I mean, some things will never happen unless the US starts taking rugby seriously. But some...I mean, what happened to the defensive effort that was there against Ireland last RWC? I think the USA made over 100 (close to 130?) tackles that game?

    Sure "they were playing the ABs" is valid, but an excuse is still only an excuse.

    Come on, England!

  • ronan
    10:19 PM 02/11/2014

    I think the commentary was on par with the eagles performance.
    Hope they can build from it and maybee poach some players from the nfl..

  • number11
    10:13 PM 02/11/2014

    They need to have a optional alternative commentary for matches played in the US, that was painful to listen to.

  • jimmy23
    6:07 PM 02/11/2014

    Not that I'm suggesting the USA would have had a chance but when you've only got 4 pros in your team and been together in Chicago for less time than the All Blacks, that scoreline was the only outcome really. To their credit I thought they actually looked alright in attack at times, but their defence was just torn apart.
    I thought the commentators were fine. Bearing in mind it was being shown on national television and probably a lot of first time watchers, so the 'rugby for dummies' commentary would have helped. Also helped put into perspective what the US were up against, and their constant mentioning of 'Rugby IQ' gave me laugh.
    Was good to see the crowd not being negative about the game, very minimal booing and it seemed like everyone stayed throughout the whole game and just enjoyed the rugby on display. Despite the result it'll hopefully do quite a bit for the game there.

    The anthems were atrocious though.

    Looking forward to the England game next week, if Cruden plays hopefully he kicks like he did in this game :P

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