BetCrimes1984
CTG Big Brother
The Wallabies
Extremely unlucky to lose to a superior Bok team than the one the ABs scraped past last week, and thats even after they went down 3-10 early. Two words sum up that performance, great defense after a slow start.
The All Blacks
My take on the AB's at present is they're still in 2nd or 3rd gear. Part of the reason is the numerous minor & major injuries important players are suffering from. For instance, Conrad Smith would easily be the 1st choice centre, but for this Test regular fullback Mils Muliaina starts there (which is reaching for a 4th choice on the prefered lineup). South Africa should have beaten them last week but the yellow card they got in the 2nd half set them up to be worn out come that game's final 10 minutes, and if the Boks hadnt been missing numerous players due to injury, I've little doubt they would have won.
With the news that the Boks are sending a substandard side on the road for the rest of the Tri-Nations, this game suddenly becomes Australia's biggest prior to the World Cup. This game alone will be the prism through which they get judged/viewed/pressured by, since any decent win over the Boks will be written off as fully expected. Similarly, what Australia do in their test in New Zealand will have the road venue excuse tied to it.
My take on this game is the enormity it carries for Australia, tied with how each of these teams performed respectively against significantly different Bok teams (and even Bok performances - Percy Montgomery saves his worst rugby for playing New Zealand, the guy is a shocker) and with how the ABs are still only slowly building up their momentum for the only thing that matters to them this season (the WC), means that I believe Australia can win this game, and I fully expect them to be at least in with a chance to win it come the final 10 minutes. Which means getting nearly 2 tries ATS is something that cannot be ignored. While the ABs will naturally be up for this game, I simply do not see them bringing any more to it than what the Wallabies will - they'll want to have it, but Australia has to have it.
Australia +12.5
Extremely unlucky to lose to a superior Bok team than the one the ABs scraped past last week, and thats even after they went down 3-10 early. Two words sum up that performance, great defense after a slow start.
The All Blacks
My take on the AB's at present is they're still in 2nd or 3rd gear. Part of the reason is the numerous minor & major injuries important players are suffering from. For instance, Conrad Smith would easily be the 1st choice centre, but for this Test regular fullback Mils Muliaina starts there (which is reaching for a 4th choice on the prefered lineup). South Africa should have beaten them last week but the yellow card they got in the 2nd half set them up to be worn out come that game's final 10 minutes, and if the Boks hadnt been missing numerous players due to injury, I've little doubt they would have won.
With the news that the Boks are sending a substandard side on the road for the rest of the Tri-Nations, this game suddenly becomes Australia's biggest prior to the World Cup. This game alone will be the prism through which they get judged/viewed/pressured by, since any decent win over the Boks will be written off as fully expected. Similarly, what Australia do in their test in New Zealand will have the road venue excuse tied to it.
My take on this game is the enormity it carries for Australia, tied with how each of these teams performed respectively against significantly different Bok teams (and even Bok performances - Percy Montgomery saves his worst rugby for playing New Zealand, the guy is a shocker) and with how the ABs are still only slowly building up their momentum for the only thing that matters to them this season (the WC), means that I believe Australia can win this game, and I fully expect them to be at least in with a chance to win it come the final 10 minutes. Which means getting nearly 2 tries ATS is something that cannot be ignored. While the ABs will naturally be up for this game, I simply do not see them bringing any more to it than what the Wallabies will - they'll want to have it, but Australia has to have it.
Australia +12.5
off it.
