Geekzone Rugby (Union) Discussion Thread

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#2504639 14-Jun-2020 19:31

The other one I'd love to see stopped is the "wing" the forwards make immediately preceding a box kick.

It'd lower the percentage effectiveness of the box kick and make it more of a contest.

GV27

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#2504732 15-Jun-2020 06:58

Handle9:

The other one I'd love to see stopped is the "wing" the forwards make immediately preceding a box kick.

It'd lower the percentage effectiveness of the box kick and make it more of a contest.

But what you're proposing would require the halfbacks to actually do something quickly instead of just standing there for about 30 seconds and pointing at other players or with their hands an inch away from the ball trying to goad the defenders into an offside position! Can't have that now, can we?

Even yesterday the halfbacks were still holding it for 5 seconds past the 'use it' calls.

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#2504734 15-Jun-2020 07:05

Do you propose an electric wire attached to the half back's bum that activates after the ref says use it?

GV27

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#2504740 15-Jun-2020 08:21

Batman: Do you propose an electric wire attached to the half back's bum that activates after the ref says use it?

I mean I was going to suggest just penalising them if they don't actually 'use it' but I appreciate that not float some people's boat as much. Nipple electrodes may also have a similar outcome.

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#2504827 15-Jun-2020 10:46

I was away for the weekend, but I can't tell you how much I enjoyed the restart of Rugby on the whole. Blatant Pre-game propaganda aside!

Whilst I understand it's better for the game in the longer term, the whistling drove me insane though and ruined some of it for me.

One thing I didn't miss was during the break was TJP and Aaron Smith (not as bad but still annoying) yapping away at the referee, I very much enjoyed Mike Fraser putting him in his place. Was interesting to see him playing 10 though.

Good for the Blues and Highlanders to get winning starts, I thought Otere Black was very good for the Blues and it was good to see Reiko moving around and getting involved again.

I enjoyed the Hurricanes celebrations including BB, and good to see him being good-natured about it! I'd love to see Coles back to his old speedy self.

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#2505082 15-Jun-2020 14:49

I am also unsure if the Crusaders are in a better or worse situation for having not played in the weekend. Another week to get themselves ready for the more fiercy policed rules or less actual real world game play to test themselves against said rules.. Another week of conditioning, less weeks of actual match play...

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#2505280 15-Jun-2020 17:30

Crusaders will win everything anyway.
I rarely watch them anymore.
I want a contest
They are a very good team but unless something changes, I'd rather watch other teams play.

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#2505285 15-Jun-2020 17:49

afe66: Crusaders will win everything anyway.
I rarely watch them anymore.
I want a contest
They are a very good team but unless something changes, I'd rather watch other teams play.

You could watch a rerun of the round 2 match (pre-covid) between the Crusaders and the Chiefs? I think the final score was 25-15 (and not to the Crusaders).

“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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#2509457 22-Jun-2020 09:19

I enjoyed the Rugby in the weekend, a lot.

Blues getting up over the Chiefs was great for the game I think, they actually look the real deal! A fair bit of consistency in their results this year, and some hard work being done. I really hope Akira Ioane has what it takes to become a world-class 6. I don't see a lot of players in the traditional mould.

One thing that was cool about that game, was that the Blues really didn't look like losing it at any point, other than the lingering doubts that have accumulated over a long period about the Blues ability to win games overall.

The Crusaders looked cohesive on the whole, fit and ready to fire, that was cool to see for me. I could scarely believe the 'canes tied it up after half time, but I wasn't really that worried at most points in the game.

I really don't get the refereeing now. I am struggling to see when a penalty occurs, what it is for. Prior to the break, I could almost (except for scrums) call a penalty before it was blown, but now, I feel like I am learning the game from scratch almost.

In the first game of SR:A they penalized the snot out of both teams for additional movements after the tackle, but subsequent games I haven't seen it at all. Not once that I can recall. It seems unlikely it magically got fixed like that.

I probably just need to rewatch the games and the penalties in slow mo to try and catch what is happening.

Have I mentioned how sick of TJP's mouth I am?

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#2509473 22-Jun-2020 09:54

Probably about as annoying as justin Marshall.

When I could I used to choose the non nz commentary for super rugby

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#2509491 22-Jun-2020 10:29

It was interesting to see a change in mindset in both the Chiefs and Hurricanes from ‘pre-virus’. Both teams regularly eschewed penalty goal attempts for kicking to the corners. Now it’s all about “staying in touch”. Is it a sign that they have less faith in their driving mails (a manoeuvre I hate by the way) or more a case of so many breakdown penalties being awarded you may as well make hay while the sun shines?

I still believe the Chiefs are largely leaderless without Cane on the field, evidenced by them continuing to try and play dry-weather rugby in the pouring rain. Further evidence of the lack of experience was the Chiefs centre racing out of the defensive line for a low percentage intercept and leaving a massive hole for the Blues backs to exploit for their final try. Their lack of experienced locks really hurts their lineout. I wish Retallick had taken the same option as Whitelock and played in the Aotearoa competition.

When I watched the Crusaders Hurricanes game I thought the die was cast within the first minute. And then the game settled into the pattern of the previous night. One team exploiting errors and scoring tries. The other staying in touch with penalties. None more emblematic than the Hurricanes converting a penalty then turning over the ball from the kickoff (albeit from a contested aerial challenge) and the Crusaders scoring under the posts almost immediately. You can’t keep alternating between getting 3 points and conceding 7 and expect to win the game.

After only 2 weeks I believe the competition may be decided by the final round 8 match between the Blues and Crusaders, with positions 3, 4 and 5 scrapped out by the others, and possibly determined by points differential.

My money is on the Crusaders, as much as anything because of the team culture.

“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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#2509560 22-Jun-2020 11:20

I think that's a really good assessment.

I agree that Cane is a big part of their leadership mentality. Is he injured now?

I was really surprised to see the 'canes lack of attacking intent. It doesn't help they are down some attacking weapons (both Barretts) and that largely the Crusaders have worked out how to stop their usual other weapons like Laumape. Chase Tiatia looks good, but like so many of the Hurricanes backs, he is inconsistent and prone to brain explosions. Mercurial is the term I heard thrown around a bit.

For the Crusaders and Blues it looked more like business as usual after the break. For some reason I worry more about the Chiefs than any other NZ team for the Crusaders. They seem to have a way of getting under their skin, and they are going to be super keen to get the win after a couple of average rounds.

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#2509628 22-Jun-2020 11:50

I went to yesterdays game. It was cold but dry and warm the few times the sun did get to shine.
Stadium had quite a few in it, but was a bit surprised to see it not packed more. Guess the novelty of being able to watch a game has worn off really quickly since Auckland packed out Eden park.

The craft beer was a nice surprise, but the chips were thin like fat french fries.

Grunta47

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#2509704 22-Jun-2020 12:59

afe66: Probably about as annoying as justin Marshall.

When is Justin Marshall actually going to read the rulebook. You would think being a commentator they should do some home work, but no he doesn't which is totally lazy.

He carried on about a player (cant remember who) jumping from outside of playing area, catching the ball and then landing inside play area....the same as before lockdown when Jordie Barrett done this and he carried on about it. The rule has been here for over 2 seasons now so just do some homework.

If he did read yhe rules then he would find all sorts of interesting things, such as

- you can knock the back back into play with your hand or foot (not a knock forward with the hand though) if you're outside as long as the ball hasn't passed the plane of touch (much like football)

- you can score a try being outside the touchline as long as you just push the ball down and dont try to gather it (ball kicked through, you run around the defender but go out...reach in and push the ball down).

Who said rugby was a technical game with too many rules :-)

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#2509709 22-Jun-2020 13:05

Grunta47:

- you can score a try being outside the touchline as long as you just push the ball down and dont try to gather it (ball kicked through, you run around the defender but go out...reach in and push the ball down).

What?!

Surely you can't be outside the playing area when you push the ball down? Do you mean you can exit the field of play, re-enter and THEN push the ball down?

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