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Super 15

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Loving seeing the Highlanders do so well. Always had a soft spot for them and thought in the offseason that they'd be big smokies for the finals and boy are they giving it a good shake for the race for the title atm. I love seeing new teams at the top of the comp rather than the Crusaders, Bulls, Sharks, Blues always filling the top spots.

Really strong squad they've assembled in Dunedin. Colin Slade going down is a big loss though.
 
This Cheetahs vs Hurricanes match is hilarious.

32 all at half time. 4 tries each. Both teams haven't defended very well obviously but the attack has been great to watch. Cheetahs with very well structured attack and ball in hand play vs some fantastic Hurricanes counter attack.

Cheetahs scored 3 tries in 7 minutes just before half time...looked like the Hurricanes were going to destroy them before that. No idea how this one's going to finish.
 
Also the two fly halves in this match are excellent. There's a lot of very good young 10's in NZ but I think Barrett looks the most exciting. And I'm starting to think Goosen should be the South African 10 this year. Great running and passing game, excellent goal kicker. South Africa would be a much more dangerous attacking team with him controlling the game. In fact the entire Cheetahs team is very comfortable with ball in hand. If they could defend they'd be a finals team.
 

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Well the Cheetahs should have beaten the Brumbies and then got pretty close to the Crusaders. They just scored the first try of the 2nd half after bombing one. Have had all the ball and made all the play in the first 15 mins of the 2nd half. In fact, they made all the play in the first half too, the Hurricanes just kept scoring run away tries from counter attacks. If they lose this one it'll be another tragic loss for them. I hope they win, they're the best team to watch in the competition and it'd be nice to see them get some reward.
 
2nd half didn't live up to the first, but Cheetahs with a deserved win 47-38. 2-2 on the road for them, pretty good tour...should have been 3-1. Were very lucky to be awarded their last try though.

Hopefully the Waratahs can continue on from last week and play well against the Chiefs. Going to be a tough one.
 
Happy for the Cheetahs. Looks as if they're turning the corner as a team as well.

Tahs putting up a good fight against the Chiefs so far. In fact that is not doing their play justice so far. They really have dominated but haven't got their just rewards. Had 2 or 3 unsuccessful ventures into the opposition 22 that have come away without points. Dominating the scrum, lineout and winning a constant flow of ball.
 
Waratahs lack of creativity in attack was exposed in that match I thought. Should have been leading comfortably at half time. Chiefs are a good team though. They and the Highlanders looking good in the NZ conference at the moment. Wouldn't surprise me if only one Australian team makes the finals this year so decent chance one of the other NZ teams could make the finals as well. You'd think the Crusaders will come good at some stage.
 
YEAH FORCE! great win, good to see it all come together. Great to see ex-Aquinian Kyle Godwin make his debut. I still remember him running out as captain of the 1st XV.

The Reds have some problems.
 
Australian conference is mighty congested right now. Brumbies on top with Reds, Tahs, Force and Rebels all within 3 points of each other.

Reds must be very keen for the bye to roll around in a couple of weeks. They need some time to get that huge injury list in check. They really need Quade back. Genia looks about 1/4 the player he is normally with Dallan Murphy outside him. Not all his fault of course but teams are clearly focusing on stopping Genia from doing anything from the base of the ruck right now and forcing him to get it out to Murphy and the rest of a relatively inexperienced back line. Essentially like the coaches are saying "if someone is going to beat us, it's not going to Genia" which reduces the odds of the Reds beating most teams atm really.
 
I still wouldn't be surprised if the reds win the Australian conference. They're rubbish now but I expect they'll get back to their old form once they have a few of their key players back. I can see the reds winning more inter conference games than the other Australian teams. But it is wide open which is nice to see and so all of the teams have a chance. Would be great to see a team like the Force make a good run. Just saw the highlights, and they scored some great tries last night.
 

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Highlanders are definitely good enough to make a run at the title. It's them, Stormers, Chiefs and Bulls RIGHT NOW but with the Cruaders just getting Carter and McCaw back soon, they cannot be discounted as being able to make a run at finals.

If the Bulls and Stormers can get home finals, then they will be mighty hard to topple.
 
Mint Condition said:
Waratahs lack of creativity in attack was exposed in that match I thought. Should have been leading comfortably at half time. Chiefs are a good team though. They and the Highlanders looking good in the NZ conference at the moment. Wouldn't surprise me if only one Australian team makes the finals this year so decent chance one of the other NZ teams could make the finals as well. You'd think the Crusaders will come good at some stage.
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There are massive problems with the Waratahs:

1. Their pack- not the first time they were smashed...and this is where the team has supposed dominance

2. No pure no7, Alcock whilst a good player is more of a no6.

3. Backs, McKibbon whilst he was good against the Sharks, was putrid against the Chiefs with poor service.

As for the conference, the Brumbies are the most likely to take it out, but any of the Tahs, Reds, Waratahs will be cannon fodder for the Bulls, Highlanders, Stormers, Chiefs in the finals.
 

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bombersno1 said:
There are massive problems with the Waratahs:

1. Their pack- not the first time they were smashed...and this is where the team has supposed dominance
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I don't think the pack was smashed at all. The Waratahs had 65% possession, better territory and a stronger scrum on most occasions (until TPN went off). If there's any problem with the Waratahs pack it's that they're a bit slow. They're also not used well in attack IMO. Too many flat one out hit ups one off the ruck, which often fail to get over the advantage line (or if they do, just barely) and result in slow ball because it's so predictable and so many defenders are there. It's rugby league style only without the 10 metres of automatic gain and often without even running onto the ball!

But the main role of the forwards is to win the ball, and they do that fine. The Waratahs biggest problem is an inability to break the line. With 65% possession against the Chiefs they broke the line 4 times compared to the Chiefs 7. They don't ask enough questions of the defence.
 
Mint Condition said:
I don't think the pack was smashed at all. The Waratahs had 65% possession, better territory and a stronger scrum on most occasions (until TPN went off). If there's any problem with the Waratahs pack it's that they're a bit slow. They're also not used well in attack IMO. Too many flat one out hit ups one off the ruck, which often fail to get over the advantage line (or if they do, just barely) and result in slow ball because it's so predictable and so many defenders are there. It's rugby league style only without the 10 metres of automatic gain and often without even running onto the ball!

But the main role of the forwards is to win the ball, and they do that fine. The Waratahs biggest problem is an inability to break the line. With 65% possession against the Chiefs they broke the line 4 times compared to the Chiefs 7. They don't ask enough questions of the defence.
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They were belted, I am sorry it was hardly dominant, they were VERY slow. Palu was good but he moves at the speed of a truck, ditto Dennis and Alcock..too slow and not mobile at all. Waratahs need to look for some speed in their pack for next season, would definately try and poach a Higginbotham-type, as that is what the Tahs are missing, not backs! The Tahs biggest problem is Dean Mumm who is frankly a plodder, he would be LUCKY to be in any of the other franchises starting packs, yet he is an automatic selection....
 
I think a couple of years ago they put a big focus on power while some other teams put a greater emphasis on speed and mobility. The teams that did the latter have turned out to be right. But it's still the way they attack that is the biggest problem.

The other thing is that, and I've said this before, the waratahs too often do nothing with turnover ball. A large percentage of tries this season have been scored from turnovers. The best teams tend to get a turnover and then fling it wide straight away where the space is. And they practice it. I remember when the waratahs played the highlanders the commentators said that the highlanders back 3 were practicing attacking from received kicks and turnovers before the game. I bet at the same time the waratahs back 3 were kicking it to each other. The tahs and other Australian teams make a turnover, scratch their heads for a bit and then kick it hoping for a nice territory gain...which they often get, but at the expense of taking advantage of great try scoring opportunities.
 
Well and I know this is going to sound as an excuse but having Halangahu at 10 and the injury of Mitchell was crippling, and I mean that, Mitchell is the biggest X Factor in teh entire Tahs side. I just feel the Tahs have a few issues, one issue is their heavy reliance on Barnes (not a good thing as he is under pressure all the time), and also the forwards, they are SLOW. The front row is fine but they have 4 locks in their pack- that is just stupid, coupled with Palu being overweight!

I have always said the Tahs need to BUY an NPC fly half from New Zealand or try to get a French Fly half and put Barnes at 12. Barnes is good but lets be honest here, he is not the saviour, and works best with another no10
 
bombersno1 said:
Why? He is a halfback, he is not a no10, why weaken one position badly to marginally improve your no10?
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Because we've got a half-decent scrumhalf in Nick Frisby. Dallan Murphy isn't up to Super Rugby. We've established that. It's time to blood some alternatives and at the moment it's looking like Sam Lane will play, a player that has never trained with the team. It's well worth playing Genia at 10 while Lucas, Harris and Cooper recover. We've effectively lost our starting flyhalf (Cooper), our back-up flyhalf (Harris), our 3rd string flyhalf (Lucas), 4th string flyhalf (Lance) and 5th string flyhalf (Faingaa).

bombersno1 said:
I have always said the Tahs need to BUY an NPC fly half from New Zealand or try to get a French Fly half and put Barnes at 12. Barnes is good but lets be honest here, he is not the saviour, and works best with another no10
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A French flyhalf? Really? The French play a totally different gamestyle. No French flyhalf will be successful playing in the Super 15. I mean Brock James looks like a superstar in the Top 14.

The Tahs have the strongest team in the Super 15, once the team clicks, they'll be pretty hard to beat. The Tahs real weakness lies in their fetcher. Alcock is very average and it's no wonder they went all out trying to poach Liam Gill in the off-season. The Waratahs should really look at acquiring Colby Faingaa next year with Hooper in front of him at the Brumbies.
 

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