[2016 Super Rugby] Lions vs. Crusaders (QF) 23/07/2016

[Nubiwan]

If Ackermann hadn't thrown away the number one seed I think they'd have been favourites - they were great and altitude is a huge bonus. Tactics better in second half to just boom long kicks and make Dagg respond from his own 22.

They have to hope Hurricanes lose next week to regain chance of home final i guess?. Rensburg and Jantjies both outstanding and the team quite youthful. Hard to think why Springboks have been struggling recently as on this evidence they'll be a top three team minimum for a few years yet.

No way the lions are 20 points better than the crusaders when you factor out the altitude and travel. Crusaders are not the team they have been all the same.

there should be a couple of weeks between the last match and quarter finals, considering the potential advantage. If you are going to play conferences, then give the away side a breather for the travel.

 

[nickdnz]

I apologize for sounding bitter - but so ends the least successful reign of a Crusaders couch in the history of the franchise. It's only sad that another relatively inexperienced and under-qualified coach takes over now. I like Scott Robertson but the old-boys club that has formed at the Crusaders has really killed the most successful franchise in Super Rugby. At least Blackadder is done. Never achieved anything as a coach to get the position he did.

 

[smartcooky]

I apologize for sounding bitter - but so ends the least successful reign of a Crusaders couch in the history of the franchise. It's only sad that another relatively inexperienced and under-qualified coach takes over now. I like Scott Robertson but the old-boys club that has formed at the Crusaders has really killed the most successful franchise in Super Rugby. At least Blackadder is done. Never achieved anything as a coach to get the position he did.

100% agree, although they should have won in 2014 but for a major mistake by referee Joubert (and one to which he has admitted) that handed the Waratahs the ***le at the death.

Blackadder has been worse than useless. Good riddance, but he should have been given the sack a few years ago. He has taken them from being a team of Champs to being a team of chumps. I'm not sure Scott Robertson will be able to fix this. I can't see the Crusaders challenging for a another ***le any time soon, particularly now that the competition is weighted in favour of South African and Australian teams.

 

[austingtir]

Wasnt expecting the HL to draw the Lions.... Bugger. That is going to be tough. Not only have they just been to SA, Argentina and Australia now they are going back to SA again. Thats horrible luck for a team that should of atleast been seeded 3rd. + the fact that the travel maybe already started to show against the Brumbies.

I was fairly confident in the HL again taking the comp out but in all likely hood even they get through they are facing the Canes who have been siting pretty at home for for the last 5 out of 7 games and only went to Australia for those two away games!!!!

 

[die_mole]

I forgot that when a New Zealand rugby team loses it is never actually their fault

 

[willin1]

Stupid comment Mole!

After Joubert's howler costing the sanders the final in 2014 I had a bad feeling about this.

His binning of Crockett, followed by allowing a try from a clear knock on, then ignoring the Lions blatant and frequent off side
ruined the game for me. This was a very poor game from him and Jonker.

 

[austingtir]

Stupid comment Mole!

After Joubert's howler costing the sanders the final in 2014 I had a bad feeling about this.

His binning of Crockett, followed by allowing a try from a clear knock on, then ignoring the Lions blatant and frequent off side
ruined the game for me. This was a very poor game from him and Jonker.

Lets be real tea here while I agree with you on alot of that and Joubert is without doubt a crap reff. The Lions did not knock that ball on.


To blame the reff when the Saders were essentially totally dismantled is a bit of a joke TBH. I thought the Lions were the better team by a bloody substantial margin in this game even though at times the scoreline didnt entirely reflect that.

You should be bitter at Blackadder for being a crap coach. Without Nadolo to make the advantage line every play the saders have 0 direction in that backline and it seems without moody they now cant scrum for crap either.

 

[nickdnz]

I forgot that when a New Zealand rugby team loses it is never actually their fault

Want to quote a post that your idiotic post is based off, or are you content sounding like a prat? Most of the posts from NZ posters seem to happily admit the Crusaders weren't good enough - so maybe you're the one with a chip on your shoulder.

 

[die_mole]

No way the lions are 20 points better than the crusaders when you factor out the altitude and travel. Crusaders are not the team they have been all the same.

there should be a couple of weeks between the last match and quarter finals, considering the potential advantage. If you are going to play conferences, then give the away side a breather for the travel.

This one

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100% agree, although they should have won in 2014 but for a major mistake by referee Joubert (and one to which he has admitted) that handed the Waratahs the ***le at the death.

Blackadder has been worse than useless. Good riddance, but he should have been given the sack a few years ago. He has taken them from being a team of Champs to being a team of chumps. I'm not sure Scott Robertson will be able to fix this. I can't see the Crusaders challenging for a another ***le any time soon, particularly now that the competition is weighted in favour of South African and Australian teams.

second

 

[die_mole]

From Chiefs-Lions earlier this season (NZ teams didn't lose much outside of their division lol)

back2back has now been banned
The Lions coach should be Spring Bok coach and Warren Whitely should be a regular, fantastic player along with Crombrinck.

EDIT: The Lions were lucky with a lot of their penalties, the ref allowed them away with murder in the breakdown and scrum. They were lying all over the ball, didn't release tackled players, playing the ball off their feet and not releasing themselves, the ref really wasn't great.

TRF Mr Fish
Absolutely atrocious refereeing today. Two sets of rules for the two teams, complete embarrassment.

Brumbies Highlanders

austingtir
Jeez must of forgot his yellow cards tonight.

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Im struggling to remember a NZ side getting this shafted in a while... well maybe the Highlanders last year but it wasnt anything like this!! This is men against boys stuff.

Lions Highlanders 2015

Kiwi_ banned
Disgraceful reffing. Move on, let's win the next game.

and remember, i have no horse in this race and i couldn't care less who wins these games... unless blues or highlanders are playing, i love their alternate uniforms

also i'm way too apathetic towards about almost everything to seriously dislike someone, take every jab i make with a grain of salt
and when you insult me in the future can you please skip the idea of saying that's stupid or something along the lines and come up with a joke or something... smiles make the world go round

 

[nickdnz]

Not sure in any of the posts on this match where an NZ poster had said the Lions didn't deserve to win, or that it wasn't the Crusaders fault they lost.

The first post you selected contested the margin of difference by the Crusaders losing to the Lions which was influenced by travel.

The second post you highlighted by Smartcookie - was in agreement that the Crusaders coach was terribly qualified and will continue to be so. He pointed out the current system is weighted in South African teams favor - not exactly an excuse considering they have two conferences which are guaranteed playoff spots each regardless of points. S.A posters will admit it's a bizarre system..

The third post you referenced is from a banned poster in a thread months ago. The post by Kiwi is also the same banned user.

Really just makes you look like you have an even bigger chip on your shoulder. You can say you have no horse in the race, but when you make uneducated generalization about the attitudes of people from another nation - you open yourself to criticism. I wouldn't assume your comments represent the view of all Americans, just as the below comment represents the view of one atypical New Zealander..

 

[austingtir]

themole25.... LOL I can hardly even remember that post. Was it not from the Canes vs Brumbies match??? Where the Canes got killed in the first match of the season..... Just LOL. Pfff... like an american would know jack about rugby anyway.

 

[die_mole]

Not sure in any of the posts on this match where an NZ poster had said the Lions didn't deserve to win, or that it wasn't the Crusaders fault they lost.

The first post you selected contested the margin of difference by the Crusaders losing to the Lions which was influenced by travel.

The second post you highlighted by Smartcookie - was in agreement that the Crusaders coach was terribly qualified and will continue to be so. He pointed out the current system is weighted in South African teams favor - not exactly an excuse considering they have two conferences which are guaranteed playoff spots each regardless of points. S.A posters will admit it's a bizarre system..

The third post you referenced is from a banned poster in a thread months ago. The post by Kiwi is also the same banned user.

Really just makes you look like you have an even bigger chip on your shoulder. You can say you have no horse in the race, but when you make uneducated generalization about the attitudes of people from another nation - you open yourself to criticism. I wouldn't assume your comments represent the view of all Americans, just as the below comment represents the view of one atypical New Zealander..

they still blamed something other than the team for their poor performance, in a game that saders lost

i highlighted part of SC's post for a reason, cause the first half of it didn't mean anything... i don't get how this system favors South Africa at all (the Australasian teams make up 55.5% of the league yet are guaranteed 62.5% of the playoffs spots) let me guess... you are gonna say something about how it's not fair to NZ since a team can get in with less points than a NZ team? Well that's how conference systems work, because you can't compare points from teams in different conferences (even different divisions are stretching it) since they don't play the same schedule

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themole25.... LOL I can hardly even remember that post. Was it not from the Canes vs Brumbies match??? Where the Canes got killed in the first match of the season..... Just LOL. Pfff... like an american would know jack about rugby anyway.

which is one of two times the canes lost to a non-New Zealand team all season so that means your batting .500 (idk what that is in rugby terms probably a scrum or something) and please tell me how the fact that you can't remember something means that it doesn't count

 

[welshglory]

Another howler from Joubert. Giving a yellow card to a Crusader that hadn't even touched the ball. It had come off a Lions leg. Has yet again decided game with his incompetence. Hopefully he doesn't run off the pitch like a coward again!

He's one of the better refs out there. He had a consistent game for me and the game flowed nicely.

 

[austingtir]

they still blamed something other than the team for their poor performance, in a game that saders lost

i highlighted part of SC's post for a reason, cause the first half of it didn't mean anything... i don't get how this system favors South Africa at all (the Australasian teams make up 55.5% of the league yet are guaranteed 62.5% of the playoffs spots) let me guess... you are gonna say something about how it's not fair to NZ since a team can get in with less points than a NZ team? Well that's how conference systems work, because you can't compare points from teams in different conferences (even different divisions are stretching it) since they don't play the same schedule

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which is one of two times the canes lost to a non-New Zealand team all season so that means your batting .500 (idk what that is in rugby terms probably a scrum or something) and please tell me how the fact that you can't remember something means that it doesn't count

Where to even start on this? Nope cant be bothered....

 

[JH1315]

I don't see why crusaders fans are blaming the ref, they just weren't good enough. The yellow card was harsh, but they should've got one on the previous play when they slowed the ball down for days on their own line after a massive break from the lions... I don't know if it can get more sinnical than that. As for the second try, yes it was suspicious but so was the crusaders first- of course crusaders fans won't focus on that though.

 

[smartcooky]

The referee had nothing to do with us losing. We were not good enough... its that simple.

Like others here, I place the blame squarely on Blackadder. Happy he's going - Razor can't do any worse.

Bring back Robbie Deans!!!

 

[welshglory]

They've been quite stodgy apart from 2011 where they were magnificent.

What's most damning is the fact that the Chiefs, Highlanders and to a lesser extent Hurricanes (who've always had a large AB backline contingent) have built their squads up whilst the Crusaders have had a nucleus of veteran Allblacks and haven't flourished. Coaching definitely had to be the problem there.

In all fairness though post 2008 we saw the Bulls and Springboks in their generational prime and the Crusaders won it in 2011 in most peoples hearts with their incredible travel schedule. Post 2011 though is where Blackadder has really failed, the other Kiwi sides have improved not only in results but in performance and squad depth, they've shown up Blackadder and his staff in many ways. Good rugby porn to think what they could have done with Vern Cotter for example at the helm.

 

[die_mole]

All you have done is called me stupid... You actually haven't offered anything up other than that's ridiculous you must not have a brain, do you have any other means of discussion or are you just not capable?

 

[Larksea]

I haven't seen the game and don't think I will watch it, I'm surprised the Lions won.

IMO for a time before the June break the Crusaders looked like THE form team. But for some reason the Crusaders have come back from the June break and played like crap... All The other NZ teams have got better where the crusaders have been noticeably worse to the point where the blues ended the season a better team than the Crusaders.

I don't have any theory as to why other than were the crusaders All Blacks Managed badly during this period? Was the time used badly?

I fully expected the Crusaders to beat the chiefs in Suva after the June break. The chiefs won easily and the crusaders never recovered...

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final note on the crusaders and Blackadder.

To be fair on blackadder he had to carry McCaw and Carter during the twilight of their carriers in NZ. Though they would never admit it Its fair to say that McCaw & Carters main focus had been the All Blacks for a good few years. The amount of game time they had diminished, more injury breaks and they were less effective when they were on the field. Of course when test season came along they were still brilliant... Just not when it mattered if you were the crusaders coach.

And yes its fair to say that Blackadder & the crusaders were totally robbed of the ***le in 2014, though he will never have any silverware to show for it he should at least have credit from the armchair section. There may never have been a more clear example of a bad refereeing decision as the final play of the game changing the result, all he has is a public apology from the referee.

That said, the crusaders still need a new coach... A whole new team in fact.

Its kinda of a shame Rob Penny isn't the man to take over... Did really well with Canterbury and while hes been involved with the region he wasn't really to my knowledge part of the "old boys" group that is often spoken of. Where Blackadder and Razor are... Along with Mauger & Matson