Geekzone Rugby (Union) Discussion Thread

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#3495983 27-May-2026 19:24

Penney looked seriously pissed on the news tonight. Obviously some back room delas going on. Not sure Scott Hansen is worth it. He failed as head coach of the AB's so will be interesting to see if he can get his mojo as a head coach in Super Rugby. A lot of those Crusaders players for next year won't have worked with him in the past. He strikes me as just trying too hard with all of cliches.

Scott Barrett out for the year. Thankfully the AB's won't miss him now with our embarrassment of riches at lock. Couldn't have said that a year ago.

Will Jordan out for what will likely be a decent amount of time. Once you have recurruing calf injuries it can be game over. Hopefully not but it doesn't augur well having just come back from that injury to be out again without a fuill game under his belt.

Fainga'anuku out this weekend as well. Crusaders will hopefully come to regret that. I'm sure they will be resting him as they will be super confident with the Canes likely to send down a B team for this match. I hope the Canes roll them regardless. Would be great to take any possibility of home advantage away from the Crusaders. I'm sick of hearing about the new stadium, the horses, the meanness of banning cowbells etc.

Go the Canes and the Chiefs.

Read an article where the Reds captain was quoted as genuinely thinking they have a chance of winning the whole competition. Only a day or so after they needed a last minute score to beat Moana Pasifika. Whatever he's having for breakfast is seriously hallucinogenic.

JPNZ

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#3496030 28-May-2026 08:03

Penney's contract was only till the end of this year, he signed a one year extension in December. I think he was pissed (and rightly so) that stuff broke the news early. The media could have waited till after finals in 3 weeks.

Hanson will be great, Crusaders with Mo'unga back will be back to the top next year. Have to remember Hanson was assistant for 3 championship years and would have been head coach had Razor not taken him to the AB's. Its just back to business really..

Crusaders are massive favs against the Canes, should be a great game under the roof.

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#3496031 28-May-2026 08:29

JPNZ:

Penney's ... was pissed (and rightly so) that stuff broke the news early. The media could have waited till after finals in 3 weeks.

It was the Auckland Herald that broke the story, not Stuff.
Stuff & RNZ didn't carry the story at all on Tuesday afternoon & evening, and the TVNZ News Sports story said "the Herald reports that ...".

It wasn't until Wednesday that it was confirmed and the other MSM carried it

Earbanean

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#3496041 28-May-2026 09:09

tukapa1:

I hope the Canes roll them regardless. Would be great to take any possibility of home advantage away from the Crusaders.

I think a lot of people would like to see the Saders have to travel to Auckland for the last 6 playoff, but we need to be careful what we wish for. The Saders can finish anywhere from 3rd to 6th. If they lose this weekend, they will quite likely come 5th or 6th, rather than 4th. That means the Canes or the Chiefies would get them in the last 6 playoff next week.

The best result for the Canes and Chiefs would be the Blues and Saders both winning this weekend and then having to play each other in Auckland next week. However, that would mean the Canes and the Chiefs going into the playoffs off the back of a loss, which isn't great momentum.

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#3496273 28-May-2026 17:57

tukapa1:

Yep - Jamie Joseph can't coach.

Two marquee players out (Pledger and Holland) and beat a stacked Crusaders.

Joseph will go fine in charge of the AB's.

This aged like Milk. He couldn't even get the Highlanders into a cohesive state and they failed to make the playoffs (again!).

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#3496275 28-May-2026 18:06

@tukapa1

Since you are clearly in a miserable and sour frame of mind, perhaps you'd feel cheered up to hear that Christchurch has a brand new stadium, and it's been sold out for every rugby event they have held there since.

That's 25,000 happy rugby fans!

On top of that, it's Sevu Reeces 100th match this week. He holds the record for the MOST tries scored in SUPER RUGBY HISTORY!!!

There will be a lot of fanfare for the guy and great news, the HORSES are back and will be galloping around much to the delight of the majority of the fans (did I mention it was sold out AGAIN?!)

As an example of what it's like to NOT be miserable and sour all the time, if the Crusaders can't win the competition, I hope the Hurricanes do. They have been playing some really nice rugby.

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tukapa1

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#3496342 28-May-2026 21:23

I agree the Canes have been playing great footy. Not typical finals footy which tends to turn dour and stodgy, and I'm not sure they can play that style if they need to, but it's been a fun ride.

Let's all celebrate 100 games for a wife beater.

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#3498964 31-May-2026 12:38

That was some performance by the Crusaders against the Canes. Lots of excuses from Canes supporters around the place sadly. We can only play the team the Hurricanes *chose* to field and it wasn't like the Crusaders had a fully stacked team either. There are a *lot* of injuries.

Sevu Reece played out of his skin on his 100th, and that kick was awesome. @tukapa1 Reece is leaving for overseas, so hopefully you won't continue to be triggered and you can stop him living in your head rent free. His then girlfriend now wife has moved on, they have a lovely family together and he has many fine acheievements to his name including being an active but quiet supporter of child cancer. He has an unhealthy relationship with alcohol, which is unfortunate, but seems to be trying to be better.

I didn't get to see the Blues Chiefs game, but what the hell happened to the Blues?! Is that the highest number of points put on a Blues team ?

Bonus for us is a home game next weekend. I suspect 2 out of the three matches away is a road too far for this years Crusaders, but if there is a team who can do it, it's the them.

Earbanean

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#3499040 1-Jun-2026 11:17

Definitely a few surprises this weekend. With Chiefs and Canes resting key players, I was way more surprised that the Chiefs beat the Blues, than I was that the Saders beat the Canes. Best result of the weekend was Moana beating Brumbies in classic match with classic finish. I was really pissed off that Sky cut away from the scenes after the end of that match to go to the buildup of the Chiefies game (even as a Chiefs supporter).

This all rolls on as expected from about a month ago. Canes likely to play Blues in one semi and win fairly easily. Chiefs v Saders in the other semi which I previously said was too close to call - and I still go with that. Home advantage and injury count might be enough to shift it slightly in the Chiefs favour, but it will be "small moments". Still a bit of water to go under the bridge and the Aussie teams are more than banana skins if they play to the potential of their squads.

If the Saders did go on to beat the Chiefs and win the final in Welly, then this would have to rank as one of the very best of their many titles. Possibly the best.

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#3499279 2-Jun-2026 08:12

Earbanean:

If the Saders did go on to beat the Chiefs and win the final in Welly, then this would have to rank as one of the very best of their many titles. Possibly the best.

As a Crusaders fan its not very likely to happen. The best not even close IMHO, the 2002 perfect season a close 2nd to the best ever win the 2017 final at altitude in SA with 62,000 fans screaming for the Lions. No team has ever crossed the Indian ocean and won a final apart from the Crusaders.

Getting back to this week, what a dudded final series. If it follows the form then the Blues get a 2nd chance vs the Canes even though they would have lost 4 games in a row. I really hope next year is top 4 and done with it meaningless games in the "finals" are ridiculous. I mean look at these odds already

Hurricanes $1.07 v Brumbies $7.50

Crusaders $1.30 vs Blues $3.30

Chiefs $1.11 vs Reds $6.00

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#3499554 2-Jun-2026 16:51

How awesome is it that Christchurch has this new stadium (has anyone heard about it?!), and that we sold out our quarterfinal in 20 minutes! Better still, our horses will be on the field prior to the game to get the crowd g'd up !! :)

I wish I could be there.

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lachlanw

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#3499675 2-Jun-2026 23:00

I'm glad Chch has a stadium. It is another step on a long (ongoing) road to recovery.

Watched the games in the weekend and keep coming back to how the two "b" teams responded after the first 15 minute blitz from the Blues and Crusaders.

Chiefs hung tough and slowly worked themselves back into the game. Canes seemed to roll over. I know players missing etc but it just doesn't seem to auger well for the playoff chances of the Canes. Probably reading too much into it, but I can't think of a Crusaders team ever rolling over like that, and love them or loath them that club is the benchmark for super rugby performance.

Earbanean

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#3499747 3-Jun-2026 08:51

lachlanw:

I'm glad Chch has a stadium. It is another step on a long (ongoing) road to recovery.

Watched the games in the weekend and keep coming back to how the two "b" teams responded after the first 15 minute blitz from the Blues and Crusaders.

Chiefs hung tough and slowly worked themselves back into the game. Canes seemed to roll over. I know players missing etc but it just doesn't seem to auger well for the playoff chances of the Canes. Probably reading too much into it, but I can't think of a Crusaders team ever rolling over like that, and love them or loath them that club is the benchmark for super rugby performance.

Well, sans eye patch, most people would probably say the Saders getting smoked by the Brumbies in Round 2, conceding 50 points at home, was exactly "rolling over like that". Hate it when scoreboards undermine little rants.

tukapa1

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#3499762 3-Jun-2026 09:30

I agree with everything above.

The competition is now the Crusaders to lose.

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#3499798 3-Jun-2026 11:05

tukapa1:

I agree with everything above.

The competition is now the Crusaders to lose.

Wow, that's a take. I'd say in terms of team strength, seasonal performance and finals history, I'd have said it was the Chiefs as favourites, the Canes based on whole season form, impacted by what I percieve as difficulty they have struggled with come finals time, and the Crusaders, based on their pedegree in finals, impacted by key people missing, season form, and the fact they have to travel for their 2 finals matches. 1 - Chiefs, 2 - Canes 3 - Crusaders

I'd like to think Crusaders should be able to find a way to get over the Blues. We have home advantage, they have lost 4 in a row and we are a better finals team. It's not impossible for them to win of course, and never write a desperate team off, but I feel them making it to the Semis would be an overstatement of their season, just as I did feel their SR title recently was probably a bit flattering).

The Canes would be foolish to bring anything less than their absolute best to the Brumbies game. The Brumbies could easily topple them, and if they do a good job on defence, it could easily happen. Line speed on defence will be absolutely everything in my opinion.

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