[2017 Super Rugby] Round 8: Crusaders vs. Sunwolves (14/04/2017)

[TRF_heineken]

Venue: AMI Stadium
Time: 09:35 CAT (SA, GMT+2)​

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

Saders team named...

15. David Havili
14. Seta Tamanivalu
13. Jack Goodhue
12. Tim Bateman
11. Manasa Mataele
10. Richie Mo'unga
9. Mitchell Drummond
8. Kieran Read
7. Matt Todd
6. Pete Samu
5. Sam Whitelock (captain)
4. Luke Romano
3. Michael Alaalatoa
2. Ben Funnell
1. Wyatt Crockett

Reserves: Andrew Makalio, Joe Moody, Oliver Jager, Quinten Strange, Whetu Douglas, Leon Fukofuka, Marty McKenzie, George Bridge.

Expecting the Saders to let loose coming off the bye and with the Sunwolves playing their first ever game in NZ... having Read and Tamanivalu back is good to see and will help too. I'm also excited to see Mataele getting a run, he's very exciting... reminds me of Rockococo. I'm taking a punt and making him my fantasy captain.
Shout out too to Crockett, he becomes the most capped Super Rugby player ever.

 

[Manu_ARG_JPN]

Sunwolves: 15 Kotaro Matsushima, 14 Takaaki Nakazuru, 13 Timothy Lafaele, 12 Derek Carpenter, 11 Teruya Goto, 10 Yu Tamura, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Rahboni Warren-Vosayaco, 7 Shunsuke Nunomaki, 6 Ed Quirk, 5 Sam Wykes, 4 Liaki Moli, 3 Takuma Asahara, 2 Takeshi Kizu, 1 Keita Inagaki
Replacements: 16 Yusuke Niwai, 17 Koki Yamamoto, 18 Heiichiro Ito, 19 Shinya Makabe, 20 Yuhimaru Mimura, 21 Yuki Yatomi, 22 William Tupou, 23 Jamie-Jerry Taulagi

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

First time a team has scored 100 points?

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

First time a team has scored 100 points?

If it's gonna happen this year, this is the game.

Very highly doubt it though.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Cheetahs scored 92 against the Sunwolves last year. If the game goes loose enough it might happen.

 

[SomeOke]

That's a very strong Crusaders team, so we could indeed see a massive blow-out.
On the other hand other than the Canes in week 1 the Sunwolves have seemed pretty competitive this year, and have gotten better and better. Canes to win by a lot but I personally doubt we'll see more than a 35 point margin.

 

[Penne Rara]

Let's talk about game styles too.

Without going too much into details, the Canes' style is hugely based on an attack oriented approach with fast and elusive backs, while the Saders are more patient and build their attack phases by using their forwards' raw power. I suspect they'll win by a smaller margin but will concede much less points.

 

[SomeOke]

Let's talk about game styles too.

Without going too much into details, the Canes' style is hugely based on an attack oriented approach with fast and elusive backs, while the Saders are more patient and build their attack phases by using their forwards' raw power. I suspect they'll win by a smaller margin but will concede much less points.

I also heard it's pretty wet, so yes we could just see the Saders forward pack bully them all night.
On the other hand the Saders have played tight out of necessity due to injuries, and quite a few of their good backs are returning. Who knows?

Honestly the incredible thing is how well the Saders have started despite losing their three best backs in Mo'unga, Temanivalu and Dagg. Title contenders for sure!

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

I'm also excited to see Mataele getting a run, he's very exciting... reminds me of Rockococo. I'm taking a punt and making him my fantasy captain.

Not to toot my own horn, but was that a good call or what? lol