The Muster- Elliot Smith: Cardiff Awaits

Elliot Smith of Newstalk ZB looks at the All Blacks' last hurrah for 2025 against Wales after the loss to England.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
Welcome back to the muster on Hakanui. Elliott Smith is
the voice of New Zealand RAGB. You can hear his
commentaries on this tour of Europe on News Talk ZB
as well as gold Sport. Elliott, good afternoon, Well, good morning.
The case may be were you are. It is a
case of twenty four hours on from the Twickenham loss.
What are your initial thoughts as you look back on

(00:31):
the game?

Speaker 2 (00:32):
Well, Andy, I think you look at it and go
will we surprised by the defeats? Probably not. The All
Blacks went into the game. I thought it was probably
close to a fifty to fifty game and they didn't
play well enough to win. So it's hard to be
too ankst riddled about you know that the lost necessary.
You can be ansor riddle about the performance. But the

(00:53):
All Blacks didn't deserve to win and we're outplayed by
a very good English team. And that was what it
was painted as before the game. It was a pervoctive
game for both teams. For England it was a sense
of are we on the right track? Have we got
where we want to beat? With his team and this
crop of players, well they provided the answer yes to

(01:14):
that question, whereas the All Blacks was we're asking a
similar question where they're back on track after the lost
to South Africa. Had they turned a corner, you know,
Graham Slam would have gone into the summer with a
very very nice feeling about this team, indeed two years
out from a World Cup, but not to be and
then England a well deserving of that victory, and you know,

(01:34):
to them go the Spoils and you go, they're a
team that's on the rise. And for the All Blacks, well,
we don't know where they are at at the moment.

Speaker 1 (01:42):
Was it the manner of the loss that saying the
most disturbing thing about the game? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (01:47):
I think so. From twelve to milo up. The lack
of game management I thought was poor from the All Blacks.
They did some really silly things at times, some Cardinals sins.
You are missing touch twice from penalties in the first spell.
Now you know you may not have scored from them necessarily,
but you don't have the opportunity. You can't find out.

(02:08):
So they're at twelve nil, twelve five whatever it might
have been. When those opportunities presented themselves with the penalties,
they didn't drive home that advantage and make it, you know,
a ten point game again, or a fifteen point game,
whatever it might have been. Keep that scoreboard pressure checking
over and it's a very different game if you're England

(02:28):
and chasing the game from that sort of deficit versus
what was a seven point deficit that they wiped up
to one with a couple of handy drop goals from
George Fordham. And to me, that was game management at
its finals. They were playing from behind at that stage,
but they just went down the field, worked it into position,
banged over a couple of drop goals that's not in
the New Zealand DNA, so they missed some opportunities and

(02:50):
I think that's the game management is the most frustrating
thing is that previous All Blacks teams at twelve mil
up would have just known the way it's not back
to the try line, back to the posts and just
build that lead and make England chase the game and
with that force of them into a few more eras
as well. So the lack of game management and probably

(03:11):
the lack of game plan would be the one for me.
I didn't see enough of the game plan after the
first twenty minutes. Anyway, with the All Blacks when they
scored a couple of nice well taken tries through Lestifying
Nuku and Cody Taylor, we didn't see enough threats on attack.
I didn't think throughout the last hour of the game.
So yep, you take a step back and go game plan.

(03:32):
Game management needs a lot of work to convince that
the All Blacks are on the right track.

Speaker 1 (03:37):
It looks as though Scott Barrett has been burdened by
having the captaincy on his shoulders.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
Yeah, I think it's a fair thing to say. Look,
it doesn't sit easy with everyone leadership and when you're
in a losing side, it's obviously going to only increase
the scrutiny. And you know, look, he is probably still
learning the way of dealing with international referees and the
different personalities that come through from referees where English isn't

(04:07):
their first language, and dealing with them in a manner.
But you know, I think I don't know that leadership
is the sole focus in this team. But I think,
you know, you look around the team and the senior
players and I don't think they stood up yesterday. Cody Taylor,
you know, was yellow carded for a questionable yellow card,
but a yellow card nonetheless. You know he's played more

(04:28):
than one hundred tests Bote and Barrett didn't find touch
mad a few other eras and obviously had that quad
injury as well. He's played nearly one hundred and fifty
tests for the All Blacks, So there are senior players
in that team that they didn't step up in that game.
So I think leadership is certainly one, but I think
there's a number of players that can be a bit
better in that regard to.

Speaker 1 (04:50):
I suppose a positive from yesterday's loss was Josh Lord
coming into the last moment and helping give us a
dominant line out.

Speaker 2 (04:58):
Absolutely, And I think that's a interesting point because you
look at those locks now and remembering that two po
Vai is back home in New Zealand, so to Patrick Dewey,
but lot too. Fabian Holland didn't play yesterday with illness.
Josh Lord has been the big move on this tour
by some distance, and then you've got Scott Barrett in
the mix, and when you look at the second row,

(05:19):
that's a lot of depth that the All Blacks are
developing there, and I think there is some promising signs there.
He went to Twickenham and was feasting on that opposition Borland.
You know, a lot of people and including myself, a questioning,
you know, when are we going to see Josh Lord,
you know, play some rugby and give us a sense
of what two consecutive All Blacks regimes have seen from him. Well,

(05:43):
we've seen over the last couple of weeks him really
grow at Test level. So I think with Locks there's
a lot of depths there. As you look towards the
twenty twenty seven World Cup, they're probably missing a piece
or two in the loose forwards, but you've got Wallace
to Titi there as well, Peter Lackeye ad save probably
just need a couple more pieces in the right places there.

(06:03):
Front rows looking pretty good by and large, so I
think there are issues in the back line, but you're
starting to build some depth here in this team. It's
just you know, winning those big moments and big Test
matches and playing the right way that is the issue
for this team.

Speaker 1 (06:19):
Just finally, Wale's the last game for the season this week.
Can we expect wholesale changes like to Ruben Love for example, Yeah, I.

Speaker 2 (06:28):
Think we can just been chatting with Scott Robertson earlier
in the evening here, and while he didn't give away
that the wholesale changes, I think the sensors that players
that haven't had a lot of game time on this
tour will get opportunities this week and play. As you
mentioned there, Rubin Love, I should get an opportunity this week.
Rico Yowani, you would suspect to be there as well.

(06:49):
Haven't seen him for the three weeks of this tour.
Players like George Ball Courtesratam are likely to come in,
so it could be a very very different looking All
Blacks team. They'll want to finish this year on a high.
Wales in a bit of a funk or a severe
funk at the moment, but they did beat Japan yesterday,
so look, I think you can expect a number of

(07:09):
changes to the All Black side for this week and
fair to say they are hurting after yesterday. Is obviously
the country back home, so they need to put in
a performance that warrants that herd and sends the All
Blacks into summer on a positive note rather than the
negative one that we've just been talking about.

Speaker 1 (07:29):
Ellieah Smith, we can hear your commentaries on newstig Zibbian
goalsport against Wales this weekend. We always appreciate your time,
am I just say, this connection is ridiculously clear when
I can't even talk five meters away in New Zealand
and have a clear line like this. So you enjoy
this communications over there?

Speaker 2 (07:45):
Well, yes, tribute to the Wales telecommunications business. I think
that's a connection we're on, so yeah, good on them.
Appreciated Andy laugh out loud with ad proud because life
on the land can be a laughing matter.

Speaker 1 (08:02):
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(08:23):
you've been listening to the muster on HOKINNIWI thinks to
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