Super 14

[aussie1st]

Well I hope you do SA proud and beat those Crusaders!
I hope Rogers fixes up his defence cause if the Tahs make it to the final the Crusaders will be running at him all night. He hasn't been at his attacking best either.

Oh yea Reds scrum was alright, Rodzilla definitely deserves a spot. The loosehead spot could be either filled by Holmes or Robinson.

 

[IloveGilly]

Bummer, didn't expect much of a fight with the tabs at $1.30 and $6.00. Waratahs can consider there match as a practice match.

Wish Force could have won too. Would have made it an interesting battle for the wooden spoon... but I guess the Sharks just snuck into the 4!

The Bulls however will need to beat the Stormers by more than 32 points with the bonus point. Last year the Bulls beat the Stormers 75-14 at Loftus so it is possible that the table might change in the last match of the regular season.

Rough road ahead of them, but I think they can do it.

 

[aussie1st]

The useless Force deserve the spoon! Dam those guys not saving the Brumbies
I don't think the Bulls have any hope of making the final this time round. The Stormers are the only team to beat the Crusaders so it would be dam hard to post a 32 point thrashing.

 

[IloveGilly]

What a blow for the Waratahs, Sailor being proven "positve" to drugs just hours before the match.

If he is proven positive in a more in-depth search then he may be out of the International game for a while.

19-7 down at the moment (half-time) too.

 

[aussie1st]

Dam it what on earth is going on with the Aussie teams. Tahs choked as always and thats Whits last game at home. The choker tag won't be going away anytime soon.

Rogers has a shocker at 5/8, when he ran he had nothing and decision making wasn't great. Time to shift him back to fullback. Daniel did well when he moved to 5/8 and Brene don't play again!

 

[IloveGilly]

Absolute shocker. 2/4 losses in 2 weeks.

 

[James219]

Terrible. Possibly complacency- actually, it reminds me of another certain NSW sporting team...
Yep, Rogers isn't himself at 5/8, he's much more comfortable at fullback as he can at least concentrate on controlling his own game there.

What a blow for the Waratahs, Sailor being proven "positve" to drugs just hours before the match.

If he is proven positive in a more in-depth search then he may be out of the International game for a while.

Oh well, that's not really too much of a loss with regards to the int'l game....

 

[aussie1st]

Terrible. Possibly complacency- actually, it reminds me of another certain NSW sporting team...
Yep, Rogers isn't himself at 5/8, he's much more comfortable at fullback as he can at least concentrate on controlling his own game there.



Oh well, that's not really too much of a loss with regards to the int'l game....

Choking is what is used and you will see that in the headlines in the papers tommorow morning!

The problem was their gameplan, way too defensive, kicking the ball away for no reason at all and not counter attacking. Thats what makes a great side like the Crusaders, Brumbies and it seems the Canes. They can counter attack. Real worry was the Tahs couldn't score when the Canes only had 14 men.

Robinson and TPN spilt the ball at critical stages when a try was on and then Sheenan did the same. That was another factor that cost them. Break downs was another problem but I expected as much from the Tahs as they just don't have the break downs sorted like some of the other teams.

 

[IloveGilly]

He's a class winger and look what happens when we don't have him!?

 

[aussie1st]

He's a class winger and look what happens when we don't have him!?

Had him last week

The backline listed was much better than the one that ran onto the field but I don't think there would have been any difference. Sailor's kicking game ain't great and thats what the Tahs were doing for the 1st half. The 2nd half they definitely needed Sailor's power running as Turini is no Mortlock. Infact he was dam quiet as usual apart from one good pass.

But Sailor wouldn't have made the Wallabies, way too many guys ahead of him like Gerrard, Hewat (assuming Latham is at fullback) and Mitchell. Also the Force have some good backs that could play if needed.

 

[Helpman]

Well, the Bulls have managed to get into the semis by beating the stormers. Oh well at least there will be one SA team in the semis!

 

[aussie1st]

What on earth happened there. Stormers are much better than that especially at home. I wonder if they hate the Sharks or something.
Anyway it looks like it will be a all Kiwi affair in the final unless the Tahs improve. Can't see the Bulls coming all the way from SA to beat the Crusaders.

 

[Greenidge]

What a great weekend of footy. First the Crusaders knock the Brumbies out of the semis and then the Canes produce the defensive effort of the year and earn themselves a home semi. Great effort from the Canes. They looked far hungrier than the Waratahs who must be really worried about their woeful attack. Everytime they had a lineout on the Canes line they got driven backwards. They never tried to change the point of attack and were so predictable that the Canes seemed happy for them to have the ball because they were confident they could hold them out.
Have to agree with previous posts. Rogers will never be a first five. His kicking and defense just aren't good enough. The Waratahs mid field defense in general was poor and Nonu was able to run through them at will.
Good stuff from the Bulls to get the fourth spot. I must admit I didn't think they had any chance of beating the Stormers by that much.
Hopefully the Hurricanes can produce the goods again next weekend and the Crusaders do what they always do. A Crusaders v Hurricanes final would be great to watch.

 

[aussie1st]

The problem was Brene he ain't the best and really shouldn't have started. Norton Knight should have stayed at 12 as hes been that good. You can't change your inside centre as that is a massive change if you haven't trained with the combo plus the fact Brene ain't the best.

Definitely agree on Rogers defence, last week he basically said go past me I'm too scared to tackle you. Given Sailor is out the decision has been made much easier. Rogers back to fullback and Hewat to the wing.
Basically like:

9. Whitaker
10. Halangahu
11. Tuqiri
12. Norton-Knight
13. Turinui
14. Hewat
15. Rogers

I was very impressed with Halangahu when he came on his running game was awesome, almost setup a try. Much more effective than Rogers and him running straight into the best loosie trio in the comp.

 

[Greenidge]

Halangahu did look good. They looked more likely once he came on. Waratahs fans must be concerned that their team were out enthused though. Two weeks in a row now they have looked below their best. Have they peaked to early or was last nights performance partly to do with the Sailor drama? It definetly looked like the Canes wanted the home semi more than the Waratahs did.