I did see this live, but passed on it for Amberlamps. But due to a distinct lack of noteworthy hits, and this entry's ability to conclusively define the term 'hospital pass', it's in.

Everyone's talking about Dan Carter's tackle on Martin Roberts from the weekend. Was it high? Was it too aggresive? Should he be banned? It's a non-issue to me.

As a winger I hate cheap shots. Spear tackles are enough to have me screaming at the telly and there were some very, very terse words thrown the way of Sitiveni Sivivatu last week. But Dan Carter's tackle on Martin Roberts on the weekend was not as incredible as the Welsh media has been made out. There're a few things to consider here;

1. Carter's original hit was around the shoulder. As the arm wrapped around Roberts, he did connect with the head, yes. But a side-on tackle is impossible to make precisely.
2. There was no malicious intent from Carter.
3. Aside from the potential of danger, this was a fucking incredible tackle. The fact that Carter had the prescence of mind to hit Roberts around the chest so he couldn't get an offload was fantastic, but the force he hit with was outstanding.
4. Roberts failed to protect himself. If he'd been looking around instead of suffering white-line fever he would have been able to brace for the hit. The only reason it looks as bad as it does is because he wasn't expecting it, and he milked it after he landed, I think.
5. Context. Had this been in a Tri-Nations match, or had it been that tackle but 50m back up the field or the teams reversed, would the outcry have been the same? Hell, what if it had been Roberts on Ma'a Nonu? [I did see a couple of neck-shots on Nonu through the match]

And it wasn't as bad as either of these [from a 'non contact' sport] anyhoo.

Speaking of white-line fever, the reason this is getting so much attention in Wales, I reckon, is as a smokescreen because the Welsh team sucked arse in that game. They were as good as the Blacks in turning over the ball in the ruck, but couldn't do anything with it. That one forward who looked like he belonged in Nirvana was awesome with ball in hand [and out of it] but the rest of the team looked like they were just there to make up the numbers. They constantly kicked the ball away [and oh my word, wasn't Zac Guildford amazing? I swear, he was great at doing exactly the same thing that Joe Rokocoko and Sitiveni Siviavtu have been doing for the last three seasons. Fielding kicks, tackling and getting back on defence, playing as a third centre and chasing kicks. Lets all rave on and on and on about him, because he's brought so much to the team!] and didn't look like having the away team worried - except on the interception, which has somehow not gotten much attention [maybe if it had been thrown by L.McAlister it would have] despite the fact anyone could have forseen that wrap-m2 pass coming. Even a lock.

Conversely the All Blacks had the opposite problem. On two occasions they missed out on scoring a try because the team stopped playing as a team and everyone was desperate to score a try. Nonu's decision to straighten up and go for the line, ignoring a two-man overlap, was slightly forgiveable as it's an attacking play the Blacks use often, but the final push for the line in the game was an absolute farce.

Wales have gone backwards from last year. Does that mean that the game against Australia will feature two teams in decline?

Players who had pearlers though were Conrad Smith, Cory Jane, Jerome Kaino, Dan Carter [of course] and Jason Eaton, who I was surprised about. I would like to see Jane at fullback and Mils rested against Italy though, with Smith and Guildford on the wings, just to get a glimpse at what can happen. Because while Mils did have a couple of runs in that game, they never really went anywhere.

On another note I want to talk about the Air New Zealand Cup final and my love-him/hate-him player, Colin Slade. Slade had a brilliant first half, but was really inconsistent overall and that is symptomatic of his season, I think. I'd rather see you on the wing, really. And sucky, Wellington. Though at least we get more people to watch our finals.

Needless to say, this:

does not end well for Force winger Dane Haylett-Petty. and it might not end well for Tialata either.

As mentioned in the, soon to be released, latest podcast, the Dropkicks have created a vast database of statistics from all the pool matches so far.

For example we can tell you that 10 games were won by the team with the least amount possession and that only 1 game was won by a team trailing at the 60minute mark (Romania over Portugal). But what is a big pile of stats worth if you can’t use it to beat your opponent?

So here is the first in a series of stats that we will call: The Art of War - Tactics with the Dropkicks.

Pass it or Kick it? The eternal question. Well according to our database this is what you should do against each team.
 

I’ve used the percentage of successful tackles against the percentage of successful lineouts here (hence “run” rather than “pass” and "kick" means kick for territory rather than chip or bomb). It’s a very crude measure but suffices for a quick onfield thought process.

But we do have a large amount of data so if you'd like any team based information please email and ask and we'll see what we can do.