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Super 15

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Wow! Anyone else watching this game? The Highlanders were just in control of the ball with a 3 point lead and 3 minutes to go...but the clock in the stadium said 80 minutes and the crowd counted down! So they kicked it out thinking that was the game!!!

Now Crusaders with an attacking line out about 30m out, big driving maul...and the drop goal just missed! Best game of the season so far, easily. The atmosphere is probably the best I've heard at a super rugby game. Constant noise.
 
And about the 3rd time lucky, Highlanders win the match 27-24. Crusaders were much improved in the 2nd half, and the Highlanders didn't play as well. But geez it was a good game played at a great intensity.

If only the Australian derbies were ever as good as that! (or even just as good as a regular NZ derby)
 
Was out fishing for the first half unfortunately but the 2nd half was great. That stadium is a brilliant sight with the roof closed. Really wanted the Highlanders to win so happy they got up. As I said a few weeks ago, I really think they can be a dark horse this year. They've quietly put together a very good side.

What was up with the TV clock and stadium clock being out though? Highlanders thought time was up twice and booted the ball into touch only for the ref to play the lineout.
 

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The guy in charge of the scoreboard in the stadium (and the scoreboard clock) is obviously a crusaders fan.

Looks like it's wet in Brisbane. Hopefully it goes away and the teams don't play it completely conservatively. Saw a bit of the chiefs/blues game yesterday...that was a wet game too but both teams, particularly the chiefs threw it around.
 
not going to say the ref cost us the game, because there was no guarantees, but there was some awful refereeing in the last 10 mins of that one.
 
Yeh some pretty shoddy decisions going both ways. Better team won though the Force put in a very spirited display as they always seem to.

Reds doing as they ought to by beating the sides they should. Even without Quade they are one of the better sides in the comp still.
 
bombersno1 said:
Half the reason we lost to the Reds was AAK's uselessness at fullback, at full strength he should be on the bench, Mitchell to replace AAK. Foley scored a try last night that AAK would not have even got remotely close to scoring
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Only just saw that then. That is just not true. Brain fades from McKibbon, Halangahu providing little attack from 10 and giving away far too many penalties played much, much bigger part in the Tahs losing. You really aren't being objective about this.
 
The Force have a very good forward pack, particularly their back row but are pretty lacking in the backs. They did show a bit more ambition with the ball than last week and looked promising at times, but they don't have enough players with good attacking vision.

I think they should just study and copy the back line moves the All Blacks used to employ when Jonah Lomu was at his best, and get Nalaga the ball with some space to run. He'll beat players if he gets one on ones in some space, but it never happens. I also think Stannard is a better 9 than 10, but I guess they don't have many options. Will be another season of gutsy defeats for the Force I think, with the occasional tight win in games they get enough ball to win by 25+

Reds did enough to win, didn't play very well though IMO. Mike Harris is a freakish goal kicker...so while he's not as dangerous in attack as Quade, he's probably just as dangerous overall in terms of winning games. Had a few tough kicks tonight and never looked like missing. If he keeps this form up with the boot he'll be hard to drop from the 15 when Quade does come back. They'll have to play him at 12 or 15.
 
S120 said:
Only just saw that then. That is just not true. Brain fades from McKibbon, Halangahu providing little attack from 10 and giving away far too many penalties played much, much bigger part in the Tahs losing. You really aren't being objective about this.
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I was there, he was useless...and there were 2 or 3 opportunities where the ball hog AAK had his wingers outside and didn't pass! AAK is too slow for fullback, he is either a winger or an outside centre, Horne is a better centre so he plays wing or is on the bench. Halangahu was bad and he is an ordinary goalkicker despite what people proclaim, but he was hardly the main problem...he was passing the ball and it got to AAK and it just stopped! The wingers caught a cold that night from the lack of ball!
 
Mint Condition said:
The Force have a very good forward pack, particularly their back row but are pretty lacking in the backs. They did show a bit more ambition with the ball than last week and looked promising at times, but they don't have enough players with good attacking vision.

I think they should just study and copy the back line moves the All Blacks used to employ when Jonah Lomu was at his best, and get Nalaga the ball with some space to run. He'll beat players if he gets one on ones in some space, but it never happens. I also think Stannard is a better 9 than 10, but I guess they don't have many options. Will be another season of gutsy defeats for the Force I think, with the occasional tight win in games they get enough ball to win by 25+

Reds did enough to win, didn't play very well though IMO. Mike Harris is a freakish goal kicker...so while he's not as dangerous in attack as Quade, he's probably just as dangerous overall in terms of winning games. Had a few tough kicks tonight and never looked like missing. If he keeps this form up with the boot he'll be hard to drop from the 15 when Quade does come back. They'll have to play him at 12 or 15.
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Totally agree. There was some promising backline moves in the mix there, but it's difficult to do a lot against the reds. Stannard looked a lot more comfortable at 9, and bringing sheehan off was probably the best coaching decision of the game. The problem is, Stannard is right now the only solid choice at 10. Look for young fly-half Kyle Godwin to come into the mix later this year and into next year. He captained my school's first XV in 2009 and I got to see him play a couple of times, he's pretty damn good! And he probably would've been playing last year if a shoulder injury hadn't kept him out.
 

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Really happy with my Bulls putting in such a strong performance in their 51 - 19 win over the Cheetahs; particularly Morne Steyn converting all 6 of their tries, as well as scoring 2 penalty goals. Early days yet, but things are looking good from here for Season 2012.
 
The Chiefs also looked good against the Blues, and the Hurricanes won in South Africa. No easy beats among the NZ teams this year it seems.

In contrast it looks almost certain, even at this early stage, that the Reds and Waratahs will be the top 2 Australian teams again. And South Africa will come down to the usual 3.
 
Agreed on the Blues. Perennial underachievers.

Barnes back in for the Tahs this week in place of Carter. I would have dropped Halangahu and put Barnes at 10. Carter has more value as a straight-running 12 than Halangahu has as a play maker at 10 IMO. The back line has a 2nd playmaker in Foley at 15 anyway, 3 seems a bit unnecessary.
 

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Thought the waratahs were outplayed by the highlanders tonight. Lucky to get within a point.

The highlanders are very good at the breakdown and have a bit of flair in the backs. They play a good style now. Pretorious looked dangerous for the tahs but I got the feeling the whole game that the waratahs were reliant on highlanders mistakes. They need to improve their attack because the better teams are hard to beat with the waratahs strategy...which I would liken to trying to strangle teams. Counter attack and attack from turnovers are two areas where I think they could improve a lot. The NZ teams are just so much better at that.
 
I saw some of the replay of the force game. They play like the waratahs just not as well. They had all the ball in that game but don't have the ability in attack to score enough points. They're at least trying to run some more attacking plays now but they struggle to execute and because they're so structured they're very predictable. More importantly they struggle to go off plan when the time calls for it and take advantage of the opportunities that open up. Pretty disappointing to lose by so much to the hurricanes at home.
 

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