😀

The Springboks defence wasn’t up to their usual standard, which was the biggest problem I think. They missed dozens of tackles, and you can’t do that with the All Blacks. A good half-back does make a big difference too, as you say. You can see the difference in the All Blacks when Aaron Smith is on, and when he isn’t.

It was a good performance by the All Blacks too, with just about everyone wanting to prove they were better than the previous week, and that made it harder for the Boks too.

One big thing about the ABs, which you alluded to, is they know how to score. Often they have less time in the opposition 22, but when they’re there, they score more often than not.

I mean, the Boks dominated for about 20 minutes, but could not convert that in points on the scoreboard. Against a team like the All Blacks that is unforgivable. At half-time, the score was 31-0. The match was basically over by then. You do not recover from that, not against a team lke the All Blacks, even a red card would not have done the trick, I’d think.
I agree that that try you showed is one of the greatest I’ve ever seen.
There great problems with the Boks. I think Etzebeth is not the best captain, in fact his Stormers teammate Xolisi is his captain there, and a better one. Of course Whiteley is out of action.
Hougaard is not what one would want in a scrumhalf, way to slow in his decisions, not international standard, immo. And
that is just two of several.
Their defense was lousy, you do not just wait until your opponents come, you go in. etc. etc.
The All Blacks were close to flawless in their relentlessness.

There’s a lot of peer pressure put on people to think of the damage that would be done to the Church by going public. (It’s not just the Catholic Church either.) It used to be, and probably still is in some places in other professions too like medicine, police etc. It’s supposedly all about public confidence.

I remember a priest in Northern Ireland who was an IRA killer in the 1970s. When it was discovered he was quietly moved to a parish in south-west Ireland to live out his days. It wasn’t discovered what he’d done until after he died. The Church had enough of a grip on enough people including police, journalists etc that they were able to keep it quiet “for the greater good of the Church.” Disgusting.

Cheers “Jenny”!

When I went to bed, Argentina was leading in their game against Australia 12-10. They looked a lot better too. I was hoping I would wake up the next day to a Pumas victory. Sadly, it was not the case. 🙁

Regarding the report on sexual assault in the latter, we see the same “old boys'” mutual protection that exists in the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy. Must we therefore conclude that there are not enough good-willing officers and priests worrying about their own reputation?