Geekzone Rugby (Union) Discussion Thread

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#2875720 27-Feb-2022 13:05

Yea, great match last night. I am a Canes supporter but, yes, the Blues were tremendous as well. But that announcer - I thought there must have been about 10 Rogers out there. I started yelling go Roger Savea at times!!

Definitely a surprise squeeking in ahead but a very entertaining game.

Was it my imagination but I didn't think there was nearly as much time wasting as previous games.

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#2875721 27-Feb-2022 13:09

linw:

Was it my imagination but I didn't think there was nearly as much time wasting as previous games.

The referees have been told the game needs to be sped up and more ball in play time. Less TMO Referrals, less scrum resets, no stoppages unless it's going to severely impact the game. IE if a winger is getting attention, lineout will still form and be played. Obviously not if a hooker is getting attention and a scrum is required type thing. I like it a lot.

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#2875810 27-Feb-2022 16:29

My son (our resident Blues supporter in a family of Crusaders supporters) was absolutely inconsolable after last nights result. It's about the 10th time he has seen the Blues lose after a healthy lead. I did try to gently warn him the life of a Blues supporter can be fraught with more than it's fair shares of highs and lows, but he is born and bred Aucklander and wants to support his province. We genuinely don't mind who he supports, but it's tough to watch him go from jubilation to despair in the space of 15 minutes!

He did think it was a fantastic game though, I am glad I didn't have any skin in it.

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#2875858 27-Feb-2022 19:14

Sorry about your son but tell him Canes supporters have their ups and downs as well😀

JPNZ

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#2875945 28-Feb-2022 07:59

networkn:

The referees have been told the game needs to be sped up and more ball in play time. Less TMO Referrals, less scrum resets, no stoppages unless it's going to severely impact the game. IE if a winger is getting attention, lineout will still form and be played. Obviously not if a hooker is getting attention and a scrum is required type thing. I like it a lot.

Its a brilliant change to the game, much needed especially in test matches. There is nothing worse than wasting 6-8 mins of play whilst resetting a scrum 5 times.

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#2879884 6-Mar-2022 17:15

Man, what a dour weekend of NZ Super Rugby.

The Blues sure do make winning look like hard work. Given their dominance at times, they are still not a cohesive unit for large parts of games. Their forwards look the goods. For the second week in a row, Rieko Ioane's awful distribution skills and poor decision making butchered a sure try. Why go for the no-look pass when a normal pass would have gotten the job done properly? It's unforgivable at this level and has been a consistent issue for him for at least 3 seasons. He needs to get his basics right before he tries more fancy moves.

For all the brilliant set moves that Tony Brown is said to be able to create, he would be much better served to focus on his teams ability to handle basic skills like passing and catching. The number of opportunities they absolutely butchered by failing to even handle a ball at first XV levels of competence cost them the match against the Hurricanes. It's been a problem for the Highlanders for a couple of seasons now on and off. Having said that, their roster looks strong if they can get some combinations working well. They have two massive midfielders who when they fired looked very good.

The Crusaders B looked very ordinary too.

The number of kicks that didn't go out this weekend was shocking.

It's early in the season still, but I hope things improve a lot over the next few weeks.

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#2880192 7-Mar-2022 13:16

Where do people think Damien MacKenzie sits in the pecking order at the AB's right now after last season?

It's pretty obvious Barrett is the first choice full-back right now, but I feel DM's stock has dropped after not playing that well in SR or at test level the past season and a half, and with Jordie playing well and our backline stacked, it's going to be interesting to see what happens with him in the next few weeks as he is off contract with NZR.

I suspect his inconsistency is probably playing against him. He isn't as erratic as he once was, but I also think that teams have learned to shut him down. I don't think his move to 10 really did him any favours. I understand why the AB's wanted to see him there, and the Chiefs too, but he isn't a 10 in my opinion, he needs more time and space than that.

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#2880910 8-Mar-2022 09:36

networkn:

Where do people think Damien MacKenzie sits in the pecking order at the AB's right now after last season?

It's pretty obvious Barrett is the first choice full-back right now, but I feel DM's stock has dropped after not playing that well in SR or at test level the past season and a half, and with Jordie playing well and our backline stacked, it's going to be interesting to see what happens with him in the next few weeks as he is off contract with NZR.

I suspect his inconsistency is probably playing against him. He isn't as erratic as he once was, but I also think that teams have learned to shut him down. I don't think his move to 10 really did him any favours. I understand why the AB's wanted to see him there, and the Chiefs too, but he isn't a 10 in my opinion, he needs more time and space than that.

He's a LONG way from the AB's IMO. I honestly don't think easy rugby over there is doing him any favours. Jordan/Barrett have the FB covered and he's an average 10 at best.

He would be better to keep making money in Japan or the NH rather than come back.

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#2880923 8-Mar-2022 10:02

JPNZ:

He's a LONG way from the AB's IMO. I honestly don't think easy rugby over there is doing him any favours. Jordan/Barrett have the FB covered and he's an average 10 at best.

He would be better to keep making money in Japan or the NH rather than come back.

If they ever change the way substitutes can be used then he would be an ideal player in that he could get you 1 more allowed forward substitution per game in fact he covers 10, 15 and 11 and 14 if needs be

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#2880926 8-Mar-2022 10:03

Jas777:

If they ever change the way substitutes can be used then he would be an ideal player in that he could get you 1 more allowed forward substitution per game in fact he covers 10, 15 and 11 and 14 if needs be

A long time ago I watched a match live where he played 9 and wasn't half bad :)

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#2881165 8-Mar-2022 13:19

The Drua Rebels game in the weekend was entertaining at least.

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#2885504 13-Mar-2022 09:12

That was a heart breaking loss to the Chiefs last night, but what a game it was.

Credit to the Chiefs who were both behind by a decent margin and under strength (When they seem to play their best rugby).

The Crusaders showed some incredibly defence throughout though, it was really something right up until the point it broke.

There will be some sore bodies today on both sides.

Bryn Halls pass is probably the second best in NZ right now, he has really worked at it, it's crisp and quick and accurate.

The new Half Back for the Chiefs on Debut last night was fantastic. He will be properly happy with that performance.

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#2885513 13-Mar-2022 10:10

It would seem home advantage isn’t much when the crowd isn’t there.

While it was heart breaking for you, it was heart warming for me! Considering the firepower in the Crusaders back line alone, I expected the young Chiefs side to be put to the sword. Sowakula had a monster of a game.

It was the defensive penalties in the last ten minutes that probably cost the Crusaders the game.

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#2885858 14-Mar-2022 10:33

Dingbatt:

It would seem home advantage isn’t much when the crowd isn’t there.

While it was heart breaking for you, it was heart warming for me! Considering the firepower in the Crusaders back line alone, I expected the young Chiefs side to be put to the sword. Sowakula had a monster of a game.

It was the defensive penalties in the last ten minutes that probably cost the Crusaders the game.

I felt we were a fraction lucky to get away with so many penalties but to be fair most of that 10 minutes we were without at least 1 guy in the defensive line as one or more of our guys was hobbling or down with cramp. Not complaining, it could have happened to either team that's just the way it is.

We really didn't take our chances on Saturday night, we blew 2-3 absolute tries which isn't like the Crusaders at all.

Having said all that, that doesn't take away from a massively spirited and gutsy performance by the Chiefs. They totally deserved the win, no question.

The Chiefs management deserve credit for retaining Clayton MacMillan as head coach after a good end to the 2021 season. It was a brave decision to 'demote' Gatland. At the core I think Gatland is probably a good coach, but I think the style that suits the Chiefs to play, doesn't mesh well with Gatlands style of desired play. To me the appointment seemed odd to start with, it felt very much like round hole square peg type scenario.

Because I am hard on Reiko for the balls he fumbles and whatnot, I think it's only fair if I see others doing the same thing to give them the beans too, and Braydon Ennors ball-handling skills probably cost us that match. He has been poor in that regard for quite a while. I recall a similar loss due to a fumbled catch last year I think against the Warratahs? He also did make a bunch of mistakes for the AB's. I hope he gets it to together shortly. He wouldn't be in the AB's on current form for me (though as described by Stu Wilson on the breakdown he would be in the conversation but wouldn't have a secured place). He's a class player, so perhaps with more game time things will improve.

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#2885859 14-Mar-2022 10:38

Does anyone know what the Crusaders final Tackle Count and Tackle completion stats were?

At 200 tackles they were at 90% which is absolutely phenomenal but I suspect it dropped the last 5-6 minutes.

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