2014 Super Rugby: Hurricanes vs Blues (Round 10)

[Darwin]

I do not like Moto Matu'u.

Did you have money on Jane to score the last try?

 

[goodNumber10]

that was a very poor game.

 

[Darwin]

that was a very poor game.

The quality of rugby wasn't great, but I actually quite enjoyed the game. It was a certainly a bit scrappy in patches (the 10 mins after half-time in particular), and there was some poor defense by the Blues at times. There was some exciting attacking play by both sides though, which I felt somewhat compensated for the unforced errors both sides were making.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

Did you have money on Jane to score the last try?

Haha no!

I can excuse stupid play, like Bateman's chip kick inside the Blues' 22. Selfish play, on the other hand, is absolutely inexcusable.

 

[goodNumber10]

The quality of rugby wasn't great, but I actually quite enjoyed the game. It was a certainly a bit scrappy in patches (the 10 mins after half-time in particular), and there was some poor defense by the Blues at times. There was some exciting attacking play by both sides though, which I felt somewhat compensated for the unforced errors both sides were making.

Yeah that's fair.

 

[Darwin]

Overall I felt the Hurricanes tactically outplayed the Blues last night. The commentators seemed to be under the impression that the Blues were kicking away too much ball and they should run it more like the Canes, but that wasn't the problem. The fact was that the Canes kicked the ball far more than the Blues (41 kicks to 25), the difference was the type of kicks the Canes were doing, and the how well they executed these kicks. The Blues kicking was largely aimless - kick the ball down the middle of the field and hope the Canes make a mistake, or do a chip kick in the mid-field that the fullback/sweeping halfback can cover up. In contrast the Canes spread the ball wide before kicking in behind the Blues wings (which were forced to come up), and given Piutau doesn't have a noted kicking game they were able to force the Blues back even if the didn't regain the ball.

For the Canes:
- James Broadhurst continued his strong form. He has always been a good ball-runner with excellent ball handling skills (e.g. that offload to Coles!), but I was impressed with how he got stuck into the tight work, and he did some excellent work on defense.
- Levave impressed with his physical play - he just lacks a bit of accuracy at times. I felt Vito had the opposite issue - he was pretty accurate - but lacked physicality. Ardie Savea made a good impact when he came on.
- Perenara was average yet again. He looks a shadow of the player he was in previous seasons. His passing was a bit erratic, and he made a number of handling errors. To me he just looks like he is trying far too hard - he just needs to relax a little out there!
- I felt Barrett controlled the game well, but the highlight of the whole match for me was Barrett's defense. What the hell got into him this match? It looked like he suddenly realized that he is actually quite a big guy, and discovered how fun it is to smash opposition players. It was fantastic to see, and I hope he keeps it up.
- Leiua was excellent yet again. Bateman will struggle to get that 12 jersey back. Smith showed why he is still the best 13 in the world. He just makes the right decision every time whether on attack or defense.
- Savea is still in beast mode. The only way opposition teams will stop him at the moment is not letting him get the ball. Jane was solid on the other wing, while Taylor looked threatening at fullback (though was a bit error prone again).

For the Blues:
- Mealamu had a solid 60 minutes.
- Tuipolotu showed his promise yet again. He started the game poorly, missing 2 tackles in the first 15 minutes, but after that he was the pick of the Blues tight-forwards. He is still a bit raw, but he could go a long way with his size and athleticism.
- Luatua was quiet but by playing a tighter game allowed Kaino to roam. Luke Braid played like he does every week. He just doesn't stop. Kaino showed some excellent signs for me. He pulled off some big hits and seemed to thrive in the extra space he got in the number 8 role. If he continues to build on this performance he will be in Black by June.
- Bryn Hall played well again. Hopefully he continues to start even when Weepu return.
- Benji Marshall still looks completely lost at this level. He didn't make that many glaring errors, but he had no real idea how to control the game from 10.
- Willison lacks physicality at 12. Saili needs to stop chip-kicking the ball, and he always seems to struggle defensively at 13. The Blues really missed Nonu.
- Moala has probably his worst game of the season, but Visinia had some nice touches on the other wing. Given the conditions the Blues would have been better off with Visinia at fullback (with his stronger kicking game) and Piutau on the wing. Piutau was dangerous, but tried too much at times.

 

[jessta]

Overall I felt the Hurricanes tactically outplayed the Blues last night. The commentators seemed to be under the impression that the Blues were kicking away too much ball and they should run it more like the Canes, but that wasn't the problem. The fact was that the Canes kicked the ball far more than the Blues (41 kicks to 25), the difference was the type of kicks the Canes were doing, and the how well they executed these kicks. The Blues kicking was largely aimless - kick the ball down the middle of the field and hope the Canes make a mistake, or do a chip kick in the mid-field that the fullback/sweeping halfback can cover up. In contrast the Canes spread the ball wide before kicking in behind the Blues wings (which were forced to come up), and given Piutau doesn't have a noted kicking game they were able to force the Blues back even if the didn't regain the ball.

For the Canes:
- James Broadhurst continued his strong form. He has always been a good ball-runner with excellent ball handling skills (e.g. that offload to Coles!), but I was impressed with how he got stuck into the tight work, and he did some excellent work on defense.
- Levave impressed with his physical play - he just lacks a bit of accuracy at times. I felt Vito had the opposite issue - he was pretty accurate - but lacked physicality. Ardie Savea made a good impact when he came on.
- Perenara was average yet again. He looks a shadow of the player he was in previous seasons. His passing was a bit erratic, and he made a number of handling errors. To me he just looks like he is trying far too hard - he just needs to relax a little out there!
- I felt Barrett controlled the game well, but the highlight of the whole match for me was Barrett's defense. What the hell got into him this match? It looked like he suddenly realized that he is actually quite a big guy, and discovered how fun it is to smash opposition players. It was fantastic to see, and I hope he keeps it up.
- Leiua was excellent yet again. Bateman will struggle to get that 12 jersey back. Smith showed why he is still the best 13 in the world. He just makes the right decision every time whether on attack or defense.
- Savea is still in beast mode. The only way opposition teams will stop him at the moment is not letting him get the ball. Jane was solid on the other wing, while Taylor looked threatening at fullback (though was a bit error prone again).

For the Blues:
- Mealamu had a solid 60 minutes.
- Tuipolotu showed his promise yet again. He started the game poorly, missing 2 tackles in the first 15 minutes, but after that he was the pick of the Blues tight-forwards. He is still a bit raw, but he could go a long way with his size and athleticism.
- Luatua was quiet but by playing a tighter game allowed Kaino to roam. Luke Braid played like he does every week. He just doesn't stop. Kaino showed some excellent signs for me. He pulled off some big hits and seemed to thrive in the extra space he got in the number 8 role. If he continues to build on this performance he will be in Black by June.
- Bryn Hall played well again. Hopefully he continues to start even when Weepu return.
- Benji Marshall still looks completely lost at this level. He didn't make that many glaring errors, but he had no real idea how to control the game from 10.
- Willison lacks physicality at 12. Saili needs to stop chip-kicking the ball, and he always seems to struggle defensively at 13. The Blues really missed Nonu.
- Moala has probably his worst game of the season, but Visinia had some nice touches on the other wing. Given the conditions the Blues would have been better off with Visinia at fullback (with his stronger kicking game) and Piutau on the wing. Piutau was dangerous, but tried too much at times.

such a shame he will probs never wear black! absolute legend

 

[ABs2011]

The Blues second half performance was woeful. It was clear to me that the main problem was strategy; I cannot understand why a team with an extra man on the field would come out and kick the ball away, it was simply dumb rugby and they deserved to lose. I got my wish with Benji coming on early. I didnt think he played as bad as some media have reported, but he clearly was not good either (about what I expected to be honest). I do think that his play was made to look worse by the coaching strategy that the players were trying to employ. Why play Wilison at first receiver so much? Just let Bnji have a crack! The whole thing looked very disjointed and I fear JK must be close to losing his job.

Canes were pretty good and finally look promising for a playoffs run.

I actually enjoyed the game, just wish the Blues didnt kick away the ball so aimlessly!

 

[steblin]

Hurricanes deserved to win, been a few days since the game so no real particular comments, but blues were outplayed. Real problems this year, look so dysfunctional.

 

[ABs2011]

And if you hadn't heard, that looks to have been Benjis last performance in Union as he has asked and been granted a contract release! What a massive failure this has been!

 

[dasNdanger]

Just finished watching this one - that last try was a joy, just the smile on his face was worth catching up tonight.

Blues seem...disjointed. Maybe their morale is suffering a bit.


das