[2018 Super Rugby] Round 2: Crusaders vs. Chiefs (24/02/2018)

[TRF_heineken]

Venue: AMI Stadium
Time: 08:35 CAT (SA, GMT+2)
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Teams

Crusaders: 15 David Havili, 14 Seta Tamanivalu, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 George Bridge, 10 Richie Mo'unga, 9 Bryn Hall, 8 Jordan Taufua, 7 Matt Todd, 6 Pete Samu, 5 Sam Whitelock (captain), 4 Luke Romano, 3 Michael Alaalatoa, 2 Codie Taylor, Wyatt Crockett

Substitutes: 16 Ben Funnell, 17 Chris King, 18 Oliver Jager, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Billy Harmon, 21 Mitchell Drummond, 22 Mitchell Hunt, 23 Manasa Mataele

Chiefs: 15 Charlie Ngatai (co-captain), 14 Shaun Stevenson, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Johnny Fa'auli, 11 Solomon Alaimalo, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Brad Weber, 8 Taleni Seu, 7 Sam Cane (co-captain), 6 Mitchell Brown, 5 Dominic Bird, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Nathan Harris, 1 Aidan Ross

Substitutes: 16 Liam Polwart, 17 Atu Moli, 18 Angus Ta'avo, 19 Liam Messam, 20 Lachlan Boshier, 21 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22 Marty McKenzie, 23 Sean Wainui

 

[Zero]

Chiefs lost a lot of talent and didn't replace it sufficiently, anyone got a feeling they will finish bottom of the NZ conference this season?

 

[SomeOke]

I reckon the Chiefs will be just fine.
They have lose Cruden/TKB/James Lowe who are all quality players but Webber is more than worthy to replace TKB, you could make the argument he's better in fact.
Stevenson and Alaimano have big shoes to fill, but it's not beyond the realm of possibility that the Cheifs are just as good as last year. There biggest loss is their coach IMO.

 

[Zero]

They also lost Michael Leitch and Messam is a year older. I was interested to see they have signed a Canadian, Tyler Ardon.

If Ngatai can stay fit they might be OK, but I still think they will likely be bottom of the NZ conference.

 

[SomeOke]

I don't necessarily think the Highlanders have more quality on paper than the Chiefs, and the Blues always seem tactically nowhere.
Anyway all the Kiwi sides will be above average at worst. Hurricanes and Crusaders should be favourites.

 

[Zero]

I think with the Highlanders they have the best players that are not All Blacks spread over their squad, the guts of the Tasman side and some of the Hawkes Bay boys like Richard Buckman, with a sprinkling of really quality All Blacks (Smith & Smith, Squire etc). They seem to be firing pre-season too.

 

[Larksea]

chiefs are a bit of an unknown quantity. How will cooper go as coach? McKenzie at 10?
As already mentioned Stevenson and Alaimano are huge talents and both potential future All Blacks how are they going to be at center stage this season without Lowe there?
IMO - Liam Messam is looking in very good shape, he should be a big bonus for the Chiefs.
McKenzie will win games for the chiefs they would lose otherwise, he is such an influential player.
I also think Webber is in for a big season and I think he along with McKenzie are central to the chiefs success. And he was the chiefs #1 halfback ahead of TKB before he was injured.

 

[unrated]

Is Tim Nanai Williams injured or simply not picked for the Chiefs?

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

Is Tim Nanai Williams injured or simply not picked for the Chiefs?

He picked up an injury and is out for an indefinite period of time.

I think the Chiefs have a good top lineup and some good depth in the forwards - the backs I'm a little concerned about. More pressing is Cooper's selection, which from the get go I'm questioning. I can almost understand Ngatai at fullback, but Fa'auli was a liability last year and shouldn't be anywhere near the starting team.

I'm not holding out a lot of hope that they will do well this year (at least in terms of the NZ teams).

All the above being said, I think they could definitely win this game. I'd say Crusaders are slight favourites.

 

[SomeOke]

Line up confuses me a bit, Johnny Fa'auli looked pretty awful last year frankly, why not play Ngatai at 12, and then Toni Pulu or Sam McNicol on the wing, seems like a stronger team.
Is Ngatai at FB a way of protecting him from contact a bit?

Anyway I have a soft spot for the Chiefs and dislike the Crusaders, couldn't tell you why.
Also their team looks ridiculously strong, although the Chiefs pack looks a lot more solid with Harris and Nepo back.
Go Chiefs!

 

[Radsy]

Ngatai's move to fullback is a permanent move according to the Chiefs.

Toni Pulu must be struggling with something (probably the patellar tear he picked up last year), he was supposed to play in the Brisbane Tens but was nowhere to be found. McNichol isn't cleared for contact yet.

Watch for Aidan Ross to hold his own in his first start. Future All Black in my eyes.

Hopes rest on Seu and Fa'auli against a complete Crusaders side- scary thought.

 

[Zero]

I think Ross is Australian?

 

[Larksea]

Fa'auli is a guy with some potential but he didn't really fit in very well last year. Hopefully he will improve, the chiefs don't have Donald to fall back on this time around. Beaver was surprisingly good last year, his defense was rock solid and towards the end of the season his offence picked up too...
McNichol is very good as well but has has constant concussion issues. Sad fact but its really hard to really rely on players in those situations. What are the chances of Ngatai lasting the season as well. I hope he does but....

 

[Radsy]

I think Ross is Australian?

Australian born, yes. Played for New Zealand U20s

 

[Radsy]

What's this I'm reading about the Chiefs not having their All Blacks for the South Africa tour because of AB camp in Auckland? Just so happens that the Crusaders are playing in Auckland that week too I see.

 

[dasNdanger]

Anyone watching? I've got a lot of catching up to do! So glad Justin Marshall is still around...

das

 

[hjklhjkl]

Anyone watching? I've got a lot of catching up to do! So glad Justin Marshall is still around...

das

Welcome back. Should be a good game.

You're probably one of the few that's glad Marshall is still around lol

 

[dasNdanger]

Welcome back. Should be a good game.

You're probably one of the few that's glad Marshall is still around lol

LOL...poor Marshie. I don't understand the hate - I find him quite funny, and informative. And he's still kinda cute...for an ol' man.

That Chiefs' try was pretty spectacular. I was just contemplating calling it a night (it's after 2 am here), and I can watch the rest of the match on replay, but now maybe I'll stick around.

das

 

[dasNdanger]

Aw...come on! Yellow and a penalty try? That just feels like cheating.

das

EDIT: And that just broke the Chiefs' spirit. Game over, as they say. Well, with just a few moments left, I think I'll call it a night. Still good to hear Marshall again, though.

das

 

[smartcooky]

Aw...come on! Yellow and a penalty try? That just feels like cheating.

das

EDIT: And that just broke the Chiefs' spirit. Game over, as they say. Well, with just a few moments left, I think I'll call it a night. Still good to hear Marshall again, though.

das

In terms of the Laws of the Game, it was absolutely the correct decision, An act of foul play that prevents a probable try being scored = penalty try against the team and a yellow card issued to the offender.

As to whether the Laws should be like that, well that is a discussion that is above my pay grade, but I will say this. If you don't have a penalty try in that situation, then you open the door for players to deliberately commit foul play to prevent a try being scored. This is something you see in RL quite often and I would not like to see it in our game