Geekzone Rugby (Union) Discussion Thread

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#1602863 2-Aug-2016 13:00

joker97: The team at the time didn't fully comprehend the bonus point? Need to go back to kindergarten!

It never seemed to be a hard rule to understand, but commentators seemed to struggle at times, esp. Marshall - not surprising :)

I think the win by 3 'clear' tries was maybe what threw some people, where they could have said 'score 3 more tries than the opposition'

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#1603873 3-Aug-2016 21:57

It's amazing to me the fuss being made of the Chiefs hiring a stripper! I do understand the derogatory comments made toward homosexuals was pretty poor, but strippers? I mean I've never been to a strip club, nor was one present at my stag do (no interest), but I just don't really see the harm really.

As best I can tell it wasn't an "official" party so basically a group of Rugby players who hired a stripper. OMG!

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#1605553 6-Aug-2016 17:18

Christian Lealilifano of the Brumbies and Wallabies has been diagnosed with leukemia. I hope he comes out the other side of this, it's a horrible disease.

http://m.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11688469

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#1605569 6-Aug-2016 17:56

My God that is horrifying news! At least he is fortunate enough to be able to get access to the best possible care.

Let's all just hope for the best possible outcome.

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#1605684 6-Aug-2016 22:41

Fantastic effort by the Hurricanes, congratulations and to the fans who have patiently waited 20 years.

Quite an achievement with 8 wins in a row, and no tries scored in 3 successive games, especially during finals.

Great way to see Victor Vito and (probably) Cory Jane off.

I am sure there would have been a lot of very happy Ex Canes players watching all over the world with a great deal of Pride.

Hurricanes 2016 - Best Super Rugby team in New Zealand. A fitting result.

I wonder what happens with our #10's now. If BB gets a starting position, where does that leave Cruden? Our third choice (Injury cover)? He isn't a bench player since he has no utility value, so I am thinking potentially Sopoaga goes on the pine. Bit tough on Cruden as I think he had a pretty good

season with the Chiefs.

MikeB4

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#1605686 6-Aug-2016 22:45

Excellent Hurricanes, at last

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

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Hammerer

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#1605688 6-Aug-2016 22:47

Hooray, Hurricanes!

Relaxed euphoria is much better than being savaged by disappointment. I can't imagine that I'll miss traversing the massive highs and monstrous lows that have been our lot as Hurricanes supporters.

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#1605689 6-Aug-2016 22:47

MikeB4:

Excellent Hurricanes, at last

I think even if it had been a Crusaders v Hurricanes final, so long as it wasn't contentious I would have been pretty happy for the 'Canes to win. It was their time.

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#1605702 6-Aug-2016 23:19

TJP's passing tonight was a bit of a problem. I've been harping about the passing techniques of half backs in NZ being a problem preventing better quality attacks. The number of times I see a nice backline advancing with the ball, moving forward, and a pass too high, too low or not in front of the player, stopping them from punching onto the ball, is many per game.

I know it's not always the half back to blame, but I do think it's an area NZ teams could SIGNIFICANTLY improve upon.

The other is not passing deep enough when defending teams employ a rush defense. I don't think teams adjusted well to it in game.

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#1605756 7-Aug-2016 10:27

The way teams have countered a rushing defence in the past was to chip the ball behind the defence. However, with players the calibre of Barrett, Jane and Marshall sweeping in behind, all the chip does is achieve a world of hurt when they counterattack.
Ardie Savea and Victor Vito were the standouts to me. Barrett wasn't quite the game breaker he was the week before, saving his magic until the final 15 minutes, appearing from nowhere to force the ball for the second try. Don't get me wrong, he didn't have a bad game at all, just no wow moments (imo) until then. In fact from 1 to 15 (23) they all played their part in a complete team performance, not just this week, but in the last two months. Oh how the Lions must rue their decision to send a B team to Argentina.

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#1606374 8-Aug-2016 14:50

networkn:

I wonder what happens with our #10's now. If BB gets a starting position, where does that leave Cruden? Our third choice (Injury cover)? He isn't a bench player since he has no utility value, so I am thinking potentially Sopoaga goes on the pine. Bit tough on Cruden as I think he had a pretty good

season with the Chiefs.

Sapoaga - does he also have utility value? Sure, he moved out to 12 vs the Lions once Osborne went off, and I think he's played at FB once in a pinch, but he's just a straight number 10.

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#1606388 8-Aug-2016 15:40

Dingbatt: The way teams have countered a rushing defence in the past was to chip the ball behind the defence. However, with players the calibre of Barrett, Jane and Marshall sweeping in behind, all the chip does is achieve a world of hurt when they counterattack.
Ardie Savea and Victor Vito were the standouts to me. Barrett wasn't quite the game breaker he was the week before, saving his magic until the final 15 minutes, appearing from nowhere to force the ball for the second try. Don't get me wrong, he didn't have a bad game at all, just no wow moments (imo) until then. In fact from 1 to 15 (23) they all played their part in a complete team performance, not just this week, but in the last two months. Oh how the Lions must rue their decision to send a B team to Argentina.

The back three hardly lost a kicking battle all night. Barrett had at least one wow moment with the kick - either the one to Corey Jane or one of the deep territorial gains.

Handling errors at key moments released a lot of pressure on the Lions.

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#1606405 8-Aug-2016 16:06

JonnyCam:

networkn:

I wonder what happens with our #10's now. If BB gets a starting position, where does that leave Cruden? Our third choice (Injury cover)? He isn't a bench player since he has no utility value, so I am thinking potentially Sopoaga goes on the pine. Bit tough on Cruden as I think he had a pretty good

season with the Chiefs.

Sapoaga - does he also have utility value? Sure, he moved out to 12 vs the Lions once Osborne went off, and I think he's played at FB once in a pinch, but he's just a straight number 10.

Yeah I'd be inclined to agree actually, but are we going to put 2 dedicated 10's out of a job to make way for Barrett? (And realistically who would then be promoted?) There have been rumors that Barrett has said that if he earns a starting position (Which I think he has easily done this year) and doesn't get one, he is going to consider his overseas options, which it would be hard not to agree with. Having said that, the AB's are about team first, and Barrett's impact from the bench is undeniable. As good as the Hurricanes have been, I don't think they have had too many battles where they have really had to grind for 60+ minutes to get an opening in the last 10-20 minutes, and I don't really see Barrett in that grind role. Maybe that's wrong or unfair, but it's my impression.

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#1606425 8-Aug-2016 16:29

I'm so proud to be a Hurricanes supporter. After a poor start to the season (a 42 point away loss) they only lost three more games all season, and two of those were by a single point. And I was very impressed with the finals performance - 11 tries scored and none conceded. It was almost a "soccer" game plan - solid defence and score on the counter attack.

JonnyCam

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#1606429 8-Aug-2016 16:42

networkn:

JonnyCam:

networkn:

I wonder what happens with our #10's now. If BB gets a starting position, where does that leave Cruden? Our third choice (Injury cover)? He isn't a bench player since he has no utility value, so I am thinking potentially Sopoaga goes on the pine. Bit tough on Cruden as I think he had a pretty good

season with the Chiefs.

Sapoaga - does he also have utility value? Sure, he moved out to 12 vs the Lions once Osborne went off, and I think he's played at FB once in a pinch, but he's just a straight number 10.

Yeah I'd be inclined to agree actually, but are we going to put 2 dedicated 10's out of a job to make way for Barrett? (And realistically who would then be promoted?) There have been rumors that Barrett has said that if he earns a starting position (Which I think he has easily done this year) and doesn't get one, he is going to consider his overseas options, which it would be hard not to agree with. Having said that, the AB's are about team first, and Barrett's impact from the bench is undeniable. As good as the Hurricanes have been, I don't think they have had too many battles where they have really had to grind for 60+ minutes to get an opening in the last 10-20 minutes, and I don't really see Barrett in that grind role. Maybe that's wrong or unfair, but it's my impression.

Yeah, the grind is essentially the Cane vs Savea argument. Cane does a lot less of the running stuff, but gets stuck in to tackling / hitting rucks etc (not that Ardie doesn't)

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