Rebels v Hurricanes

[Darwin]

Super lol...

A question about the Rebels, have all their good performances been at home? Disregard the performance against the Waratahs

Yep, the three good performances (two wins and a very close loss) the Rebels have had have been at home.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

And boy does their crowd get behind them when winning.

 

[Shaggy]

Well done Rebels ... they seem to run hot then cold, which is only to be expected in their first season - they definitely shouldn't be under estimated on their home ground

I can think of a few ways to describe the Hurricanes at the moment, and none of them are polite ... I thought, despite losing last week against the Blues, that they were at least starting to look like they were playing as a team ... at this rate, they'll finish bottom of the NZ conference, no question about it

 

[lance2010]

The Canes are just diabolical. It must be painful to watch for a Canes fan.

I see some Wellington midfielders who, if they are not careful, will play themselves out of an All Black jersey. Nonu and Jane have been awful

Nonu was alright ...Jane's the problem swap him with Taylor he plays better on the wing,The Canes should of grab Fa'atonu fili he can run a backline.

 

[Darwin]

Just caught a replay of the game... It wasn't pretty if you were a Canes supporter!

Great win for the Rebels though. Some strong performances up front, with both Greg Sommerville and Ged Robinson particularly impressive. I thought the loose-forward trio worked well as a combination - I was quite impressed with Saffy, who I've never seen play before. Some strong performers all through the backs as well, particularly from Mortlock - I thought we would never see him again in a Wallabies jersey (which made me very happy as an AB supporter), but in his current form he would be very hard to leave out! Vuna looked dangerous on the wing, as did Kingi from fullback, and even Luke Rooney had a strong game.

Most of the Canes players will be disappointed in the way they played. Hore was probably the pick of the tight-forwards, but was just a shadow of the dominant player he was less than two years ago. I'm hoping age (and the wear and tear of the physical game he plays) hasn't caught up with him, as he is still an important player in the AB's setup. Victor Vito was the only other forward to have a strong game for the Canes, but the poor display by the Canes tight-five is certainly not giving him the best platform to display his skills.

Conrad Smith was again the standout in the Canes backline, dangerous in attack and solid in defense - I actually felt quite sorry for him. Chris Eaton was actually ok at halfback - not a big fan, but his defense saved he Canes from even more embarrassment. Kirkpatrick also had a reasonable game at 10 as well - it was good to see him display his running game early in the game as well. Taylor again had a good game on the wing, but the other two outside backs (Jane and Savea) were poor. Jane has not had a strong start to the season - I wonder whether the contract he apparently signed recently is playing on his mind? Savea's poor ball handling and complete incompetence in defense was again exposed (as it was even at ITM Cup level) - I can't even recall him making a tackle the whole game, but do remember him missing 4-5! Even if Gear is not fit for next week they will surely have to replace him with someone that can catch/tackle (maybe Alapati Leiua). Nonu was again disappointing to me... the more I watch Nonu play, the more I am convinced that a SBW/Smith backline is the way to go for the AB's...

 

[lance2010]

Savea missed 5 tackles.Well watching the game Nonu didn't do much wrong he create Vito's try and played a big part in kirkpatrick try.Ma'a didn't get much support from his backline so to place the blame on him is unfair.Dane Coles played awesome when he got on,Hore hasn't been doing much.The Canes have so many players injured its not funny Lowe,So'oialo,Leiua,Gear,Weepu.

 

[TRF_RC]

What's the deal with the Rebels?! They're like a faulty car, sputtering, running smooth, stalling. But, like it was mentioned previously, it is only their first season. Sky Sports didn't show the game here which is a shame, but i'm hoping to catch the highlights somewhere online. I did expect more from the hurricanes this season though, i'm surprised such a high score was put on them, especially by the newbies.
How did the Rebels fair with no recognised full back? By the looks of the score line, it doesn't seem to have harmed them that much to lose Gerrard.
Just goes to show you can't underestimate the rebels.

 

[HenryChinaski]

i'm hoping to catch the highlights somewhere online.

Go to http://www.superxv.com/results/, and if you scroll down to week 6, next to each game it says 'video report' which is highlights.

On the Rebels being unpredictable, maybe its deliberately guaged to fit in with their 'rebel' image. Deliberately play bad one week so they surprise people the week after. xWe're so rebellious we might decide to play badly...

 

[donmcdazzle]

Nonu was alright ...Jane's the problem swap him with Taylor he plays better on the wing,The Canes should of grab Fa'atonu fili he can run a backline.

I hope you're taking the mickey, fili couldn't run a p*ss up in a brewery. Cruden needs to be in the team it's crazy that he isn't being picked. People are talking about form etc, the guy hasn't had a string of games in a row since before he made the All Blacks last year how is he meant to be in form. Although to be fair the forwards got so absolutely outplayed it probably wouldn't have mattered anyway. I think the 'canes have the softest tight 5 in the competition.

 

[donmcdazzle]

Well, anyone see this coming?

REB 42 - 20 HUR after 70 minutes.

I'd hardly say that, on the points you listed domcdazzle, that Cruden is much better than Kirkpatrick. He doesn't kicks for field position particularly well, is a pretty erratic goalkicker, offers little on defence. Only strong point is his attack, which the Hurricanes already have plenty of...

And what part of Kirkpatrick's goalkicking made you think he is anything more than erratic too? The game against the chiefs he was 100%, but so was Cruden. His long kicks down the middle aren't exactly the stuff of tactical genius either. He can kick it further than Cruden is about all I'll give him, and is noticeably worse at steering the ship.

 

[Larksea]

Canes were pretty woeful.

Like they obviously came out firing then decided to go into autopilot but forgot to take the controls again when the reb's cooked up a storm.

Vito's effort summed up the canes game. Looked brilliant at the start but when he came under pressure he folded then by the end of the game he was just a passenger.

Nonu can be very bad in situations like that when things go against his team he gets frustrated and messy.

Despite that Conrad Smith was the pick of the backs. And kirkpatrik did well when he got clean ball.

Savea and Jane were pretty bad. Jane is such a great player but I do worry about his defence close to the line and he seems to get shown up defending against bigger players in the red zone.

hore was given the hook early then Dane Coles was one of the few canes that looked good in the 2nd half.

Credit to the Rebels though, the halfback was brilliant. Greg Summerville was superb so was the whole front row in fact. For the most part the dominance started with the Rebels being able to just plain bully the canes forward pack who just weren't working well as a unit.

Cipriani's kicking for goal was laughable but his kicking around the field was superb as he got the ball on a plate from his forwards.

Not a good start to the season for the canes, they are the worst NZ team currently. Forwards need to tune their game and I hope Hosea Gear is not far away. Taylor has been one of their better backs but they are missing Gear's impact and x-factor because Jane & Savea haven't really been able to deliver it.

 

[Shaggy]

Canes were pretty woeful.

Like they obviously came out firing then decided to go into autopilot but forgot to take the controls again when the reb's cooked up a storm.

Vito's effort summed up the canes game. Looked brilliant at the start but when he came under pressure he folded then by the end of the game he was just a passenger.

Nonu can be very bad in situations like that when things go against his team he gets frustrated and messy.

Despite that Conrad Smith was the pick of the backs. And kirkpatrik did well when he got clean ball.

Savea and Jane were pretty bad. Jane is such a great player but I do worry about his defence close to the line and he seems to get shown up defending against bigger players in the red zone.

hore was given the hook early then Dane Coles was one of the few canes that looked good in the 2nd half.

Credit to the Rebels though, the halfback was brilliant. Greg Summerville was superb so was the whole front row in fact. For the most part the dominance started with the Rebels being able to just plain bully the canes forward pack who just weren't working well as a unit.

Cipriani's kicking for goal was laughable but his kicking around the field was superb as he got the ball on a plate from his forwards.

Not a good start to the season for the canes, they are the worst NZ team currently. Forwards need to tune their game and I hope Hosea Gear is not far away. Taylor has been one of their better backs but they are missing Gear's impact and x-factor because Jane & Savea haven't really been able to deliver it.

Yep, Gear will give them a boost, but I think they really need Weepu back more ... the problem seems to be in the forwards, and they seem to play as individuals, which is the way you might expect the Rebels to play, being a new team/combination.

 

[donmcdazzle]

Forget about getting Weepu or Gear back what can they do if the forward pack keeps getting smashed? The tight 5 is the problem as players like Vito and Levave are only effective if they'going forward, which the 'canes aren't doing with any consistency.

 

[Larksea]

Where is Bryn Evans? Canes could really use him right now. he injured too? Very under rated player IMO. He's a big guy that does the basics well and when he arrives at rucks and mauls he makes a big difference. More so than Eaton or thrush.

yes weepu would be good you would almost stick him straight in at 10 though I still think me may be some weeks away. Saw him in a vid a couple weeks back and he still wasn't able to kick and looked out of shape. I really hope he is back on track soon he's going to be critical for the AB's.

 

[donmcdazzle]

Where is Bryn Evans? Canes could really use him right now. he injured too? Very under rated player IMO. He's a big guy that does the basics well and when he arrives at rucks and mauls he makes a big difference. More so than Eaton or thrush.

yes weepu would be good you would almost stick him straight in at 10 though I still think me may be some weeks away. Saw him in a vid a couple weeks back and he still wasn't able to kick and looked out of shape. I really hope he is back on track soon he's going to be critical for the AB's.

Agree wholeheartedly with the Evans comment, prefer himover those two any day. I know you don't like Cruden but Weepu would be better off at 9, Eaton and Keats aren't in his class there.