2014 Super Rugby: Highlanders v Hurricanes (Round 6)

[Sam Owen]

What about TJ? He's been terrible Justin Marshall could of jumped on at half time with his walking stick and been better.

That pass was good though. A Barrett already in overdrive made it a beaut. Mean try!

 

[austingtir]

Jeez the HL came close to loosing that... crazy.

 

[Chikwa]

Jeez the HL came close to loosing that... crazy.

True but a win is a win and a much needed one. This is not pay per view boxing where you have to win in style!

 

[Sam Owen]

The Highlanders just seem to stop playing rugby once they get a decent lead. We just have to hold on for 3 more minutes.

Yeah I think thats what it is too. I dont think its a case of the Canes finally playing like they should at the end, Im thinking the HLs got a bit complacent. But hey its good for the Canes to close out like they did. Yes thats how they were playing last week but that doesnt mean they saved it too late. Like I said before, I think the HLs just dropped off a bit.

 

[sigesige00]

What do you think about Japan's international SH Tanaka Humiaki (Highlanders)?

 

[ABs2011]

Blame lies squarely with the coach.His inability to fire up his troops from the first minute.

You obviously havent been a Hurricanes fan over the last 20 years. Hammett needs to go, I agree, but the problems with the Canes run far deeper than 1 coach.

 

[ABs2011]

What do you think about Japan's international SH Tanaka Humiaki (Highlanders)?

I really rate him. If he were at the Canes he would be starting (largely cause TJ has been utter garbage). That aside Tanaka is a very good player, he is getting game time at the top level of NZ rugby (well as far as he can go anyway). He is a real talent, and I hope Japan can develop more of his talent!

 

[Shaggy]

You obviously havent been a Hurricanes fan over the last 20 years. Hammett needs to go, I agree, but the problems with the Canes run far deeper than 1 coach.

That's true that you can't blame the failures of any team solely on the coach, but your comment about watching/being a fan of the Canes since their inception (it's not 20 years yet, but I get your point), prompted me to respond with something that I've been thinking about for a while (it's a little off topic, but it's relevant to the Canes situation I think), and that is that the conference system, while it's good for TV viewership etc, by ensuring that each nation provides at least one team at the semifinal stage, also almost guarantees that at least one team will be very close to the bottom of the table.

When everyone played everyone else once, it was possible to be the least successful team in your country, but still finish just below the middle of the table. While this isn't a result that you'd necessarily want to accept, year in, year out, it's certainly not the coach killer that finishing last in your conference is now.

I guess to summarise what I'm saying is that the conference system can make your coach/team look a lot worse (or better) than the previous round robin system, and that the current system will always put at least one coach from each conference in the cross hairs every year

 

[William18]

That's true that you can't blame the failures of any team solely on the coach, but your comment about watching/being a fan of the Canes since their inception (it's not 20 years yet, but I get your point), prompted me to respond with something that I've been thinking about for a while (it's a little off topic, but it's relevant to the Canes situation I think), and that is that the conference system, while it's good for TV viewership etc, by ensuring that each nation provides at least one team at the semifinal stage, also almost guarantees that at least one team will be very close to the bottom of the table.

When everyone played everyone else once, it was possible to be the least successful team in your country, but still finish just below the middle of the table. While this isn't a result that you'd necessarily want to accept, year in, year out, it's certainly not the coach killer that finishing last in your conference is now.

I guess to summarise what I'm saying is that the conference system can make your coach/team look a lot worse (or better) than the previous round robin system, and that the current system will always put at least one coach from each conference in the cross hairs every year

I think you make a good point in general but the Hurricanes have lost to both South African and Australian teams this year.

 

[Darwin]

What do you think about Japan's international SH Tanaka Humiaki (Highlanders)?

Fumiaki Tanaka played well when he came on (as he did the previous week), but he does have a few limitations (due to his lack of size). He is fine behind a dominant forward pack, but if his pack doesn't give him good ball he can really struggle (much like Aaron Smith). He certainly suits the Highlanders current (fast-paced) style of play, and has been good value so far this season.

Back to the game itself. I'm very happy with the result, but I'm worried at the way we seem to completely stop playing once we get the lead and allow other sides to come back into the game. Even if we have a 20 point lead with 20 minutes to go we are far from safe.....

I was generally happy with the contribution of our front-row. Hames again impressed with his work-rate, and Coltman had a much better game than last week. Robinson and King made a phenomenal amount of tackles once the came on - they both missed a few, but all the Highlanders players seemed to be missing tackles in that last 15 minutes. I felt Brad Thorn made a big impact - I loved in massive linebreak. Wheeler worked hard again, while Hoeata got his first - but almost certainly not his last - yellow card of the season (though to be fair it was really a team yellow for persistent infringements). Dixon was ok at 6, but I would like to see Evans back starting, Manu had a strong game at 8, while Christie showed again what a tackling machine he is (scrum.com have him credited with 29 tackles!). Ioane played well once he came on too - he was mainly restricted to a defensive role, but did his job very well.

I thought Aaron Smith had another good game (barring a 3 minute period where he missed 3 tackles!). His box-kicking was accurate, and I really liked how he was putting pressure on TJ Perenara at times. Sopoaga was pretty good overall, but I still think he is a liability on defense - Parker looked far more comfortable on defense when he was on (despite the Highlanders being under a huge amount of pressure). I was very happy with the way Sopoaga continued to nail his kicks at goal though! Burleigh had some nice touches, and made some intelligent kicks. He still can't tackle to save himself though, and I think he is a liability defensively at this level (Treeby needs to start next week IMO). Fekitoa continues to build on his strong start to the season - I could feel that hit on Conrad Smith from Brisbane! Osbourne adds another dimension to the Highlanders attack with his powerful running and offloading ability, while Buckman had another solid game on the wing. Ben Smith had by far his best game of the season, and wad man of the match for me. His break to setup Burleigh try was brilliant, he dominated in the air, and I was really impressed with his defense (mainly up in the line) this week. I think the Highlanders have to work out how they can get him more involved in contesting the ball in the air, as he almost invariably wins these contests. One option would be to have his standing on the blindside wing position from lineouts, allowing him to run on to Aaron Smith's box-kicks.

 

[ABs2011]

That's true that you can't blame the failures of any team solely on the coach, but your comment about watching/being a fan of the Canes since their inception (it's not 20 years yet, but I get your point), prompted me to respond with something that I've been thinking about for a while (it's a little off topic, but it's relevant to the Canes situation I think), and that is that the conference system, while it's good for TV viewership etc, by ensuring that each nation provides at least one team at the semifinal stage, also almost guarantees that at least one team will be very close to the bottom of the table.

When everyone played everyone else once, it was possible to be the least successful team in your country, but still finish just below the middle of the table. While this isn't a result that you'd necessarily want to accept, year in, year out, it's certainly not the coach killer that finishing last in your conference is now.

I guess to summarise what I'm saying is that the conference system can make your coach/team look a lot worse (or better) than the previous round robin system, and that the current system will always put at least one coach from each conference in the cross hairs every year

I agree with you to the point that the conference system will always mean that one team from each country will end up at either end of the table. Maybe to a point that means Hammett is looking worse now than he would if the Canes played each team once... but I doubt it is very significant.

The Canes are simply a bad team and are a poorly run franchise. They have been for some time now and nothing they have done has made any improvement. In terms of Hammett, this week was the last straw for me; 5 games into the season (and 3 years into his coaching contract) and the Canes still put together 60 min of complete garbage rugby, the sort of rugby an uncoached group of guys playing together for the first time ever would even be disappointed with. He needs to go for sure, but the Canes also need to start over from the back office too.It is a disaster and heads (plural) need to roll! Sad Sad days.....

 

[Shaggy]

I agree with you to the point that the conference system will always mean that one team from each country will end up at either end of the table. Maybe to a point that means Hammett is looking worse now than he would if the Canes played each team once... but I doubt it is very significant.

The Canes are simply a bad team and are a poorly run franchise. They have been for some time now and nothing they have done has made any improvement. In terms of Hammett, this week was the last straw for me; 5 games into the season (and 3 years into his coaching contract) and the Canes still put together 60 min of complete garbage rugby, the sort of rugby an uncoached group of guys playing together for the first time ever would even be disappointed with. He needs to go for sure, but the Canes also need to start over from the back office too.It is a disaster and heads (plural) need to roll! Sad Sad days.....

Yes, I guess in Canes case, it's probably fair comment, but it does make me wonder about some of the other coaches, such as Todd Blackadder. There was a lot of talk about him getting the sack over the last few seasons, if he doesn't win the comp ... Anyway, that's
A topic for another thread

 

[Icemn]

where did Barrett get his pace all of a sudden :O

 

[Kiwiwomble]

he's always been very quick, several of the tries for the AB's he just out paced everyone

 

[Darwin]

he's always been very quick, several of the tries for the AB's he just out paced everyone

Yep, Barrett has always been very quick. It is difficult to get any official training times, but it wouldn't surprise me if he was close to the quickest player in the AB's. He would certainly be the quickest 10 in NZ rugby, if not world rugby...

 

[Kiwiwomble]

just looking at those highlights he bounces out of tackles and breaks the line really well....i wondering if we shouldnt see him at 12 for the AB's

 

[Darwin]

just looking at those highlights he bounces out of tackles and breaks the line really well....i wondering if we shouldnt see him at 12 for the AB's

The biggest issue with Barrett at 12 would be his defense. I think his tackling has improved over the last year or so, but he is still a weak link on defense. 12's at international level need to be rock solid in defense - unless Barrett can make massive improvements in this area I can't see him playing 12 anytime soon....

 

[Kiwiwomble]

we carried Nonu for years before he picked up his D