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2014 Super Rugby: Round 13 Reds V Crusaders

Shaggy

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Should be an interesting match ... The Crusaders have found some form in recent weeks, but have a number of players out with injury ... Kieran Read will miss this match as he is still having concussion issues http://www.superxv.com/news/super15_rugby_news.asp?id=42444#.U2llUSgXJPc , form openside flanker, Matt Todd and Centre Kieran Fonotia, are both out for a month, and utility back, Tom Taylor is also in doubt, due to injuries sustained in last week's match against the Brumbies http://www.espnscrum.com/super-rugby-2014/rugby/story/224123.html. This will probably mean that Luke Whitelock will retain the Number 8 starting spot, Jordan Taufua will start at Blindside Flanker, and that new guy (what's his name), who started on the Blindside, but moved to open last week ... oh yeah ... Richie McCaw :), will start at Openside Flanker.

The injuries at Centre may see that little winger Nemani Nadolo, start at Centre, where he spent some time last week, and as played for Fiji before.

It's fair to say that the Reds haven't had the season up to the standards they have set in recent seasons, and they have injury concerns of their own with Chris Feauai-Sautia (gone for the season/six months), Liam Gill (5 weeks), and Ed Quirk (2 weeks) http://www1.skysports.com/rugby-union/news/12567/9299064/super-15-queensland-reds-lose-trio-injury.

They also have prop James Slipper serving a two match suspension for a dangerous tackle he made in the match against the Blues. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-05/reds-lose-slipper-for-two-matches/5431622

Despite the loss of key personnel on both sides, I know the Reds are a much better side at home, so I'm predicting a close match (and hoping for a Crusaders win).

Crusaders named (www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,3824_9300552,00.html):

Crusaders: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Johnny McNicholl, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Ryan Crotty (c), 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Colin Slade, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Luke Whitelock, 7 Richie McCaw, 6 Jordan Taufua, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements: 16 Ben Funnell, 17 Tim Perry, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Jimmy Tupou, 20 George Whitelock, 21 Willi Heinz, 22 Tyler Bleyendaal, 23 Nafi Tuitavake.

Rey Lee-Lo gets the nod at Centre over Nadolo (Tom Taylor ruled out due to the head knock last week), Taufua starts on the Blindside Flank, Luke Romano starts in place of Bird, who I see isn't even on the bench ... is he injured?

Reds team named http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,3824_9300552,00.html

Reds: 15 Mike Harris, 14 Dom Shipperley, 13 Ben Tapuai, 12 Anthony Fainga'a, 11 Jamie-Jerry Taulagi, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Jake Schatz, 7 Beau Robinson, 6 Curtis Browning, 5 James Horwill (c), 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Greg Holmes, 2 James Hanson, 1 Ben Daley.
Replacements: 16 Saia Fainga'a, 17 Albert Anae, 18 Jono Owen, 19 Ed O'Donoghue, 20 Dave McDuling, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Ben Lucas, 23 Rod Davies.

... I don't know anything about Curtis Browning named on the Blindside Flank - I had read that they were talking about shifting Rob Simmons to Six, but they've obviosly shelved that idea
 
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Not sure whether I should post in this thread... Shaggy seems to be having a grand time in here by himself so I don't want to ruin it for him ;)

Anyways.... pretty strong looking Crusaders lineup. Great to see Taufua at 6 again - was almost certain we would see George Whitelock back at 6 this week. I thought Luke Whitelock showed some good signs last week too. He was running a lot wider (ala Read) so we got to see a lot more of his ball handling skills. I still don't think he should be anywhere near the AB's, but we are starting to see a few indications as to why the AB's selectors rate him so highly.

Overall you would think the Crusaders should win this match pretty comfortably. I'm picking them by 10-15 points.
 
Not sure whether I should post in this thread... Shaggy seems to be having a grand time in here by himself so I don't want to ruin it for him ;)

Anyways.... pretty strong looking Crusaders lineup. Great to see Taufua at 6 again - was almost certain we would see George Whitelock back at 6 this week. I thought Luke Whitelock showed some good signs last week too. He was running a lot wider (ala Read) so we got to see a lot more of his ball handling skills. I still don't think he should be anywhere near the AB's, but we are starting to see a few indications as to why the AB's selectors rate him so highly.

Overall you would think the Crusaders should win this match pretty comfortably. I'm picking them by 10-15 points.

Hehe ... yes, it's lot's of fun talking to yourself ... thanks for posting Darwin ... I can now make my second post in this thread, without feeling bad about not editing my first post (yet again)

... I'd like to contradict at least one of your points for the sake of stimulating a discussion ... lets see ... Taufua should start at 6 (agree) ... didn't really think they'd start George W, but I'm pleased he's in the reserves given the number of injuries, Luke W did play better last week (agree) ... shouldn't be anywhere near the ABs (agree), but he's not likely to feature, as they need to make room for Kaino, and Luatua is probably ahead of Luke in the pecking order anyway.

... I agree with the Crusaders winning too, but probably by not as much as you suggested
 
Hehe ... yes, it's lot's of fun talking to yourself ... thanks for posting Darwin ... I can now make my second post in this thread, without feeling bad about not editing my first post (yet again)

... I'd like to contradict at least one of your points for the sake of stimulating a discussion ... lets see ... Taufua should start at 6 (agree) ... didn't really think they'd start George W, but I'm pleased he's in the reserves given the number of injuries, Luke W did play better last week (agree) ... shouldn't be anywhere near the ABs (agree), but he's not likely to feature, as they need to make room for Kaino, and Luatua is probably ahead of Luke in the pecking order anyway.

... I agree with the Crusaders winning too, but probably by not as much as you suggested

I believe there is some sort of conspiracy to keep your post count from getting too high......

Hard to disagree with your agreements. It will be interesting to see how Browning goes for the Reds. He is very highly rated over here (he was the Australian U20 player of the year for the last two years) - I'm surprised we haven't seen him feature a bit more earlier in the season.
 
I believe there is some sort of conspiracy to keep your post count from getting too high......

Hard to disagree with your agreements. It will be interesting to see how Browning goes for the Reds. He is very highly rated over here (he was the Australian U20 player of the year for the last two years) - I'm surprised we haven't seen him feature a bit more earlier in the season.

Conspiracy you say ... does it involve a second gunman on a grassy knoll, alien abduction, the Knight Templar, the Illuminati, or the free masons ... or better still, all of them :)

... I actually found an article on Browning after I posted that comment, and saw his U20 achievements, so I'm looking forward to seeing him in action.

What's the scoop on what will happen to Richard Graham, should the Reds misfortune continue ... will he be replaced, or will they give him at least another season as coach?
 
Conspiracy you say ... does it involve a second gunman on a grassy knoll, alien abduction, the Knight Templar, the Illuminati, or the free masons ... or better still, all of them :)

... I actually found an article on Browning after I posted that comment, and saw his U20 achievements, so I'm looking forward to seeing him in action.

What's the scoop on what will happen to Richard Graham, should the Reds misfortune continue ... will he be replaced, or will they give him at least another season as coach?

I haven't heard a lot about this, but I would be surprised if was replaced. He seems to be held in pretty high regard (despite his failings at the Force and the Reds), and to be honest there aren't many other good options available!
 
I haven't heard a lot about this, but I would be surprised if was replaced. He seems to be held in pretty high regard (despite his failings at the Force and the Reds), and to be honest there aren't many other good options available!

Yeah, all I've read is "he's under pressure" etc ... I've also read that he has the support of the players (mind you, I've heard that before in Australian Rugby before a coach has been shown the door) ... I'm not really a fan of dropping coaches for poor performances in their first year anyway - they deserve at least two to prove themselves/get the team to adjust to their style
 
Jeepers. First Reds game I've watched this season; they aren't really keen on tackling and chasing kicks are they! No wonder the Blues beat them ;)

Fun game to watch though!! Currently 47 - 22 to Crusaders and still 15 min to go!
 
Big win for the Crusaders. They are probably the form team in Super Rugby at the moment. A few quick thoughts:

- Luke Whitelock showed again why he is rated to highly by the AB's selectors.... he looked like Kieran Read at times! I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the AB's training squad (again).
- I thought McCaw looked surprisingly sharp.
- Slade's goal-kicking has improved immensely this year.
- McNicholl is finally starting to show his attacking talents. His tackle attempt on Davies was pretty pathetic though.
 
Big win for the Crusaders. They are probably the form team in Super Rugby at the moment. A few quick thoughts:

- Luke Whitelock showed again why he is rated to highly by the AB's selectors.... he looked like Kieran Read at times! I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the AB's training squad (again).
- I thought McCaw looked surprisingly sharp.
- Slade's goal-kicking has improved immensely this year.
- McNicholl is finally starting to show his attacking talents. His tackle attempt on Davies was pretty pathetic though.


I'd go further than that. I'd say his whole all-round game has improved, both on attack and defence. That "round the corner pass" to Luke Whitelock (?) which put McNicholl away for the first try was an absolute gem. and then his avoidance tactics when fielding kicks under pressure later in the game weren't half bad either.
 
I'd go further than that. I'd say his whole all-round game has improved, both on attack and defence. That "round the corner pass" to Luke Whitelock (?) which put McNicholl away for the first try was an absolute gem. and then his avoidance tactics when fielding kicks under pressure later in the game weren't half bad either.

Slade was outstanding again. The form 10 in NZ at the minute. What are the crusaders going to do when DCs back? Stick Slade at full back with Dagg on the wing or put Carter at 12 and move Crotty to 13?
 
I'd go further than that. I'd say his whole all-round game has improved, both on attack and defence. That "round the corner pass" to Luke Whitelock (?) which put McNicholl away for the first try was an absolute gem. and then his avoidance tactics when fielding kicks under pressure later in the game weren't half bad either.

To be honest Slade's form doesn't surprise me that much. He's always been very talented, the problem has always been his ability to stay on the park. Prior to this season he had played very little rugby for 4-5 years - I think he could be excused for being a bit 'rusty'! He's only shown glimpses of these talents the last few seasons, but he's always had the potential IMO.

The reason I mention his goal-kicking is that he has never been a consistent goal-kicker, even before his injuries. He always used to just 'chip' at the ball and didn't possess either accuracy nor distance. He's made some obvious changes in his technique this year. He looks to be following through more, which seems to have granted him more accuracy and distance.

He's obviously still firmly behind Carter, Cruden, and Barrett in terms of ABs selection, but he looks to have overtaken Taylor as 4th choice, and will likely be in the training squad named today...
 
Cracking match was this. It made up for the Brumbies/Sharks match.

The Crusaders are staring to motor now and will take some stopping if they keep up this form.
 
Bad year for my dear Reds.

:mellow:

Yes indeed. Can you explain to me Conrad, why the Reds don't seem to want to tackle or chase kicks? In those respects their play is just simply awful. On paper they should be a much better team than that. Is it coaching? Is it bad attitudes? What is going on? From the outside looking in something looks very wrong with the team.....
 
Yes indeed. Can you explain to me Conrad, why the Reds don't seem to want to tackle or chase kicks? In those respects their play is just simply awful. On paper they should be a much better team than that. Is it coaching? Is it bad attitudes? What is going on? From the outside looking in something looks very wrong with the team.....

I think it's the lack of attitude, the team is defeated and feels psychologically weaker than the rivals. We don't have a top class player on our backline who can break down the rivals' defenses. Between Ben Tapuai, Shipperley, Fainga'a, Taulagi and Mike Harris we don't have a player who can make differences like Feauai-Sautia, he was our most dangerous man and we lost him. We don't have many options right now. I think the Reds Status is very similar than The Pumas Status, mental weakness and lack of players in important positions. So I agree with the hiring of James O'Connor. He isn't a 100% guarantee and also their history of behavior aren't the best, but is certainly the kind of player we need, someone different.

Hard to disagree with your agreements. It will be interesting to see how Browning goes for the Reds. He is very highly rated over here (he was the Australian U20 player of the year for the last two years) - I'm surprised we haven't seen him feature a bit more earlier in the season.

In this situation a young player can't show their best. In difficult times it's best to play with experienced players, but that's something Reds don't have at the moment.
 
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I think it's the lack of attitude, the team is defeated and feels psychologically weaker than the rivals. We don't have a top class player on our backline who can break down the rivals' defenses. Between Ben Tapuai, Shipperley, Fainga'a, Taulagi and Mike Harris we don't have a player who can make differences like Feauai-Sautia, he was our most dangerous man and we lost him. We don't have many options right now. I think the Reds Status is very similar than The Pumas Status, mental weakness and lack of players in important positions. So I agree with the hiring of James O'Connor. He isn't a 100% guarantee and also their history of behavior aren't the best, but is certainly the kind of player we need, someone different.

To be honest I thought their attack was pretty good. They put on 29 which should be enough to win a game if you decide to tackle and put in the effort around the park when you don't have the ball. Maybe you are right, maybe an attitude thing?? Coaching as well maybe?? Looks like a team in need of some desperate changes anyway! My opinion after watching the Crusaders game (and most of the Blues and Hurricanes games) is they simply looked lazy on D and around the park, particularly chasing kicks and positional play. Sometimes during that Crusaders game they were an embarrassment. Not sure exactly what needs to change, but something does, that's for sure!
 
To be honest I thought their attack was pretty good. They put on 29 which should be enough to win a game if you decide to tackle and put in the effort around the park when you don't have the ball. Maybe you are right, maybe an attitude thing?? Coaching as well maybe?? Looks like a team in need of some desperate changes anyway! My opinion after watching the Crusaders game (and most of the Blues and Hurricanes games) is they simply looked lazy on D and around the park, particularly chasing kicks and positional play. Sometimes during that Crusaders game they were an embarrassment. Not sure exactly what needs to change, but something does, that's for sure!

I think you're impressed by the last game against Saders when Reds made 4 tries but Reds' average doesn't exceed 2 tries per game. Whatever, I think the main problem is the lack of attitude, that's the reason why the Reds' defense is so poor.
 
I think you're impressed by the last game against Saders when Reds made 4 tries but Reds' average doesn't exceed 2 tries per game. Whatever, I think the main problem is the lack of attitude, that's the reason why the Reds' defense is so poor.

Don't get me wrong, I'm far from impressed by them. My point was simply they scored enough points to win that game - it wasn't their offence which was the issue, rather their attitude without ball in hand; positional play, chasing kicks, and tackling.....

So riddle me this, if it's attitude which is the problem, why on earth would you want to recruit James O'Connor? The guy is toxic.
 
Crusaders finally got a bonus point - and what a way to do it! Just got around to watching this one - it ended up being quite a game. A bit one-sided for the most part, but still a good second half. The Reds really have to decide what game they're going to play - if they're playing a kicking game then they better start kicking strategically, and not all willy-nilly with no interest in finishing the play. They had a couple moments of brilliance (loved that 'league' cross field kick the lead to a try), but it didn't make up for their...what would you call it? Disorganization?


das
 

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