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Allianz Stadium, Sydney Referee: Bryce Lawrence Assistant Ref 1: Julian Pritchard Assistant Ref 2: Ed Martin TMO: Matt Goddard Waratahs Hurricanes 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Unsurprisingly the Hurricanes has named an unchanged lineup from last weekend. The Waratahs have a very strong scrum, so I would have been tempted to start Goodes at loosehead, with Ben May starting at tighthead (Toomaga-Allen dropping to the bench), as Goodes is a better scrummager than Toomaga-Allen (who may be in a lot of trouble this match).
This is a pretty massive game for the Canes. Given that the Highlanders have a very tough game against the Crusaders on Friday, this could be their big chance to gain some ground in the NZ conference.
Yep. This is pretty much a must win if the Canes want to make the playoffs. They need the Highlanders, Reds and Sharks to lose as well.
Originally Posted by TRF_nickdnz Yep. This is pretty much a must win if the Canes want to make the playoffs. They need the Highlanders, Reds and Sharks to lose as well. 1/1 thus far.... Waratahs lineup: Bernard Foley, Tom Kingston, Rob Horne, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Drew Mitchell, Berrick Barnes, Sarel Pretorius, Wycliff Palu, Jono Jenkins, Dave Dennis, Kane Douglas, Sitaleki Timani, Sekope Kepu, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Benn Robinson (capt). Reserves: John Ulugia, Jeremy Tilse, Richard Stanford, Lopeti Timani, Brendan McKibbon, Daniel Halangahu, Tom Carter. Not sure who to pick for this match - the Hurricanes played very well last week, while the Waratahs are on a big losing streak, however the Waratahs are at home and have a forward pack that could cause the Canes a lot of trouble. I see the Waratahs having a huge edge up front, particularly at scrum time - I feel Toomaga-Allen will be really tested. Timani and Douglas are a good locking combination for the Waratahs, and I see them at least matching the Hurricanes combination of Eaton and Thrush. The loose-forward battle looks pretty evenly matched to me: Lam probably has and edge over Jenkins (the Waratahs 3rd choice 7), but I'd take the consistent Dennis over Levave, and I think Vito and Palu are pretty evenly matched (though I may give Vito a slight edge). Looking through the Waratahs backline you would think they may have an edge their too, but based on this seasons performances the Canes should have an edge in the backs. Pretorius has been ok at 9 for the Waratahs, but Perenara has been exceptional for the Canes - as others have mentioned in another thread he has probably been the form 9 of the competition, despite the fact he has only turned 20 this year! Barnes has some talent, but again on this seasons form Barrett has looked the better player. Ashley-Cooper and Horne form an all Wallaby midfield, and their battle with Bateman and Smith will be good to watch. The Canes again have the edge out-wide in my opinion. Though I'd normally pick Mitchell to destroy Leiua, the fact Mitchell is only just back from a long lay-off mean he probably only has a slight edge in this battle. On the other wing Savea will cause Kingston all sorts of problems, while at fullback Taylor again has the edge over Foley (though Foley has had a good season). I see the Canes having a massive advantage on the bench in the forwards, with Matu'u, Goodes, Broadhurst, and Shields all capable of making a big impact when they come on, while in contrast I see the Waratahs having the better back reserves. I'm picking the Canes by 5, but that is probably more because I want them to win!
This wet weather will suit the Waratahs a bit more I think.
Well in stark contrast to the previous game this one is shocking! When did the Waratahs become such a pants team?
Good use of the posts again by Barrett
Timani has the worst hands in rugby history.
Well taken try Savea..and a great conversion by Barrett
Nice try Savea, beautiful conversion by Barrett too. Canes should be able to win this if they stop the silly kicks, Waratahs haven't looked too flash on defense.
When Berrick Barnes would stop kicking every single ball he doesn't know what to do with?
Some of the skills on display have been poor. Sarel Pretorius service has been shambolic.
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This game is really starting to slow down now.
Some good execution by the Hurricanes but more just a poor show by the Waratahs outfit. You can't win a match if you spill that much attacking possession.
"You've got to get your first tackle in early, even if it's late." Ray Graved
As a Hurricanes fan, I'm still ganna say Bryce Laurence had a disgusting match. Waratahs constantly entered from the sides, were off their feet or holding back support runners (and because they weren't getting penalised, good on them), and Bryce did jack all. There were some bad calls the other way too, but I think that the Hurricanes really did very well to win convincingly with Bryce "It's all good" Laurence in charge. In terms of the Hurricanes, I thought their defense was superb and their attack and handling was pretty damn good in very wet conditions. The Waratahs on the other hand, just didn't look to have the handling skills to really reap the benefits of constant forward phase play, and their back were far too uncreative.
Berrick Barnes seemed a ghost, Pretorius had a shocker, Timani still overrated (just big, he tries to lift his workrate, but he uses his weight awfully)... It's strange because there were some positives, but Waratahs' lacks of good execution and, more important, a solid leadership, someone who steers the ship. Agree about Lawrence @ bd, but missed also 2 or 3 penalty against 'Canes loosehead going around the corner... Funny he reset few scrums where 'Canes frontrowers position were perfect and 'Tahs collapsed immediatly, then after 2 reset he penalised Robinson for collapsing, but it was the Hurricanes pushing early. Really bad ref.
Last edited by madflyhalf; 02-06-12 at 11:41 AM.
That bonus point could turn out to be hugely important for the Canes. Now hopefully the Lions can knock off the Sharks too .
Important win for the Canes. I thought Vito was immense - you would think he would have the AB's 6 jersey sewn-up, but I'm not sure whether I have faith in this selection panel....
impressive game from the canes I thought. The Tahs though really didn't threaten on attack and the canes just held till they made a mistake. on the flip side when ever the canes had the ball they streatched the tahs defense and when the chances came to score they finished them. Massive win
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o.../kakahitsm.jpg "The laughing bear, drives a motorcycle" - Israel Dagg, Sep - 2011 Cometh the hour, cometh the Don!
