Geekzone Rugby (Union) Discussion Thread

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#1067948 17-Jun-2014 22:15

networkn: England vs Crusaders only one word to describe it, farcical.

No Crusaders team I have ever watched has played like that

All the good players are in the all blacks atm..

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#1067952 17-Jun-2014 22:22

Yabanize:
networkn: England vs Crusaders only one word to describe it, farcical.

No Crusaders team I have ever watched has played like that

All the good players are in the all blacks atm..

Give me a break, there were PLENTY of excellent players there (A number of All Blacks, a number of ITM Cup Finalists etc etc. Some inexperience sure. That team wasn't playing to win. The one try they got, was obtained despite their best efforts to not score it, and at least 2 tries went begging inexplicably. Reffing was also extremely dubious.

Yabanize

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#1067953 17-Jun-2014 22:25

networkn:
Yabanize:
networkn: England vs Crusaders only one word to describe it, farcical.

No Crusaders team I have ever watched has played like that

All the good players are in the all blacks atm..

Give me a break, there were PLENTY of excellent players there (A number of All Blacks, a number of ITM Cup Finalists etc etc. Some inexperience sure. That team wasn't playing to win. The one try they got, was obtained despite their best efforts to not score it, and at least 2 tries went begging inexplicably. Reffing was also extremely dubious.

Very true :)

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#1072265 22-Jun-2014 22:49

It was a much less stressful 80 minutes than the prior two tests, though I think last week with 2 tries the English shouldn't have been awarded, the All Blacks put on a better performance than the scoreline indicated.

Boy this week the defence from the English in the first half was pretty shoddy, if we hadn't of passed that pass forward, we would have scored a second for sure with almost the identical move as 5 minutes earlier.

The second I don't think was a bad performance by the AB's as most commentators seem to indicate, I think the English woke up and a real test match begun. That try after the siren showed a great AB's mental fortitude and a clear desire to do better, it wasn't good enough not to score on the English in the first half and they weren't going home
without a final bootprint on the English faces. Good for them.

CJ had a BLINDER of a game, hard to believe it would be the same player from last week and Cruden seemed better (Though I don't think as good as people indicated). I think BB could have done the same. I agree Cruden is a starting 10.

The Aussie/French game was discouraging. How is it they show so badly now, but in a WC Final show a different team. The Wallabies went through them like a hot knife through butter, and it made the Australians look better than they were. Having said that, Will Skelton at 140KG looks very scary, with Wycliff Palu at 8, and Israel Falou at Full Back they do have some good players.

Still a SHOCKING number of dropped balls, and other handling errors, hard to believe these guys are on over 100K a year and can't catch or throw a ball consistently. It's been a big problem going back as far as Robbie Deans.

By Comparison in the damp of Hamilton the AB's (finally) showed good hands.

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#1072277 22-Jun-2014 23:48

Do you really think France played well in the RWC? They got far but they barely made it through the pool matches after being beaten by Tonga. In fact they were just extremely lucky that Canada beat the Tongans, had it been the other way round France would have been out.

As for the All Blacks game it was definitely the sort of playing I was used to, quick passes, few drops and always going forward. Basically not giving them the ball which I always believe is a great way to win matches.

**Whoops just noticed you said WC final not just the RWC in general. My bad.**

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#1072281 22-Jun-2014 23:51

Hobchild: Do you really think France played well in the RWC? They got far but they barely made it through the pool matches after being beaten by Tonga. In fact they were just extremely lucky that Canada beat the Tongans, had it been the other way round France would have been out.

As for the All Blacks game it was definitely the sort of playing I was used to, quick passes, few drops and always going forward. Basically not giving them the ball which I always believe is a great way to win matches.

I meant the final. They nearly beat the AB's in that Final. It was a different team that played that game vs the rest of the time they play.

Kingy

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#1072378 23-Jun-2014 09:31

Whoever plays in the RWC final will show up on the day. Add to that the pressure on each team will always mean it'll be a tight encounter so I think it's unfair to compare the two teams. Not to mention it was almost 3 years ago.

As for the ABs it was a performance that most of us expect from them. I think BB coming on for Cruden slowed our game a bit as Barrett was kicking it more. Not to mention the english decided to wake up in the second half. Was a great first half though.

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#1073151 24-Jun-2014 09:50

Good Grief. Is there any injury our AB's captain can't play through? Apparently he sustained a broken rib and played anyway.

Most people would be curled up in a blanket asking for their mummy :)

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#1092223 19-Jul-2014 23:44

I can't say I am sorry to see the Chief out, they shouldn't have been allowed that third try, because there was a player out cold in backplay and game should have been stopped, however the Brumbies played a lot better, they look lethal I have to say. I am looking forward to the Highlanders Sharks game but almost hope the Sharks win so they have to travel to Christchurch to play the Crusaders.

The second try the Chiefs scored, they took a defender out and the ref was standing in front of another defender (Nic White I believe).

The Chiefs did show some serious resolve, it was a close game, but the right result was had in the end.

I find it disgusting that refs aren't stopping games for serious injuries.

blair003

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#1092235 20-Jul-2014 00:10

networkn: I can't say I am sorry to see the Chief out, they shouldn't have been allowed that third try, because there was a player out cold in backplay and game should have been stopped, however the Brumbies played a lot better, they look lethal I have to say. I am looking forward to the Highlanders Sharks game but almost hope the Sharks win so they have to travel to Christchurch to play the Crusaders.

The second try the Chiefs scored, they took a defender out and the ref was standing in front of another defender (Nic White I believe).

The Chiefs did show some serious resolve, it was a close game, but the right result was had in the end.

I find it disgusting that refs aren't stopping games for serious injuries.

As a Chiefs fan, I'm also glad they didn't win - I wouldn't want to watch them bumble their way through another 80 minutes of rugby next week as they have mostly done in the second half of this season.

But you realise on the second try that the ref was playing penalty advantage, because the "defender" you refer to was playing the chiefs halfback. So the clean out was on a player who was doing something illegal which he had been penalised for.

Also I think your argument saying the third try should have been disallowed is pretty weak.

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#1092236 20-Jul-2014 00:16

blair003:
networkn: I can't say I am sorry to see the Chief out, they shouldn't have been allowed that third try, because there was a player out cold in backplay and game should have been stopped, however the Brumbies played a lot better, they look lethal I have to say. I am looking forward to the Highlanders Sharks game but almost hope the Sharks win so they have to travel to Christchurch to play the Crusaders.

The second try the Chiefs scored, they took a defender out and the ref was standing in front of another defender (Nic White I believe).

The Chiefs did show some serious resolve, it was a close game, but the right result was had in the end.

I find it disgusting that refs aren't stopping games for serious injuries.

As a Chiefs fan, I'm also glad they didn't win - I wouldn't want to watch them bumble their way through another 80 minutes of rugby next week as they have mostly done in the second half of this season.

But you realise on the second try that the ref was playing penalty advantage, because the "defender" you refer to was playing the chiefs halfback. So the clean out was on a player who was doing something illegal which he had been penalised for.

Also I think your argument saying the third try should have been disallowed is pretty weak.

Second try, penalty still trumps try and ref was still in the way.

Well let's say I believe the third try may not have been scored had game play stopped as it should have been.

Regardless the Chiefs did well to get back into the game after only scoring 3 points in the first half.

Chiefs have missed Craig Clarke this season, I don't think they missed Cruden as much as has been suggested. Tamiafuna is a disgrace as well. He should have been carded more than he was (which is more than any other player in the competition).

blair003

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#1092251 20-Jul-2014 00:23

At worst it would have gone back to a chiefs penalty, and then there was an argument for a yellow card for that player illegally playing the halfback when the chiefs were so hot on attack 1m out.

And had play been stopped due to the injury, it would have been restarted with a scrum and the chiefs may well have scored anyway. Who knows.

In both cases it doesn't really matter - they would have won if they were good enough.

I don't give the highlanders much of a chance but hopefully they prove me wrong. I'm sure the crusaders will play some decent rugby next week no matter who they play.

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#1092307 20-Jul-2014 09:07

Like blair003, I am a long term Chiefs supporter, and proud of it. I believe last night's game pretty much encapsulated their season. They played like crap for 25 minutes, then great for 50 minutes and then just when it appeared they may snatch it, a couple of brainless decisions removed that last chance.
Tameafuna's offside that put the Brumbies in position for their rolling maul try was the straw that broke the camel's back in my view. Pulu's crawl was almost forgivable when you look at the replay (I did several times), I have definitely seen players get away with worse this season.
I also agree, that when you take the season into account, the Chief's campaign is over when it should be. But when I look at the fragility of the Brumbies, I don't believe they are a champion side either.
As for the Highlanders, I see this morning that they came close to beating the Sharks but were undone by two late penalties. I haven't watched the replay ( probably will later) but that is a heartbreak. I had hoped the might have done the fairy tale bit and gone through to win it all.
So now it's down to the Crusaders to carry the hopes of an NZ title. At home against the Sharks, who have traveled from S.Africa, they should be able to do it. Then a likely final in Sydney. Maybe they can get their mojo back after having another franchise claim their crown for a couple of seasons. Hope Steve Walsh isn't the ref though.

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blair003

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#1092350 20-Jul-2014 10:32

Highlanders were playing better rugby. Their forwards were up for it and every time they had the ball they looked dangerous. But their scrum couldn't compete and they lost the game as a result. They will be disappointed because they'll feel they could/should have won.

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#1096488 27-Jul-2014 09:37

Wow, what a difference having McCaw, Reid and Carter back makes to the Crusaders. It's a bit of a shame the Sharks didn't turn up. It almost would have been better if the Highlanders had prevailed the week before.

The 'Tahs eclipsed the brittle Brumbies to set up what should be a great final, between the two sides that most deserve to be there.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

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