[2017 Super Rugby] Round 10: Brumbies vs. Blues (30/04/2017)

[TRF_heineken]

Venue: GIO Stadium
Time: 08:05 CAT (SA, GMT+2)​

 

[nik]

Blues announced.

1 Pauliasi Manu, 2 James Parsons (C), 3 Charlie Faumuina, 4 Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, 5 Scott Scrafton, 6 Steven Luatua, 7 Blake Gibson, 8 Akira Ioane; 9 Augustine Pulu, 10 Piers Francis, 11 Rieko Ioane, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 13. George Moala, 14 Matt Duffie, 15 Michael Collins.
Replacements: 16 Matt Moulds, 17 Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 18 Sione Mafileo, 19 Leighton Price, 20 Murphy Taramai, 21 Billy Guyton, 22 Bryn Gatland, 23 Melani Nanai.

Kaino is big loss - out for 6 weeks it seems. Good opportunity for Akira Ioane to step up.
Another tinker in the backline with Moala pushing out Reiko Ioane to the wing and that pushes out Nanai.

Interesting battle this match. They both are sitting equal with points - however opposite ends at their respective conferences. NZ super rugby 100% record over Aus sides will be threatened for sure. Brumbies are difficult to breakdown - its took the highlanders almost 80mins in pouring weather.

The Blues need to cut down on errors and keep discipline in check. If they can - they have enough fire power to win away from home.

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

Blues announced.

1 Pauliasi Manu, 2 James Parsons (C), 3 Charlie Faumuina, 4 Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, 5 Scott Scrafton, 6 Steven Luatua, 7 Blake Gibson, 8 Akira Ioane; 9 Augustine Pulu, 10 Piers Francis, 11 Rieko Ioane, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 13. George Moala, 14 Matt Duffie, 15 Michael Collins.
Replacements: 16 Matt Moulds, 17 Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 18 Sione Mafileo, 19 Leighton Price, 20 Murphy Taramai, 21 Billy Guyton, 22 Bryn Gatland, 23 Melani Nanai.

Kaino is big loss - out for 6 weeks it seems. Good opportunity for Akira Ioane to step up.
Another tinker in the backline with Moala pushing out Reiko Ioane to the wing and that pushes out Nanai.

I'm happy to finally see the SBW/Moala midfield combo, I think that this is the Blues' best combo and even a good option for the ABs, so I'm excited to see how it goes... I'm also glad to see Rieko on the wing, I think that's where he belongs in this Blues team atm.

BUT, why the hell does Umaga insist on starting Collins at 15?!? Especially when it means benching one of the form players of the comp who has been getting better week in week out and offers so much more!
I just don't get it... surely you'd move either Nanai or Duffy to 15, they're both more than capable of playing there and are clearly better players than Collins, who is solid and consistent, but not of the same caliber as the others.

It's frustrating..... but anyway, I'm excited by this lineup nevertheless, and am looking forward to this match, it should be a good one. Really sucks to see Kaino out, he too was coming into some great form. Huge loss.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

The best of the Oz conference at home to the worst of the NZ conference. If there is going to be a single victory for the Oz conference in these matchups this has to be the one. I kind of hope the Brumbies mess it up to keep the race in both conferences more close and unpredictable. The Brumbies look really unpredictable from what I've seen this year, and I'll give the Blues the edge by 6.

 

[galumay]

I would have expected an easy win for the Bloos over the Bush Ponies before hearing the news about Kaino, he will be sorely missed. I still think the Bloos will have too much firepower for the Ponies and will take a win.

 

[nero]

Ok, this isn't a diss, I'm not trying to be an arse -- BUT why is SBW so lauded?
He's not a bad player by any means. I don't care about his politics etc, in fact good on him seems to be working for him. So this isn't a personal dislike.
But why is he an automatic shoo-in as the ab's 12?
He's really been average at best. Can someone enlighten me?

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

Ok, this isn't a diss, I'm not trying to be an arse -- BUT why is SBW so lauded?
He's not a bad player by any means. I don't care about his politics etc, in fact good on him seems to be working for him. So this isn't a personal dislike.
But why is he an automatic shoo-in as the ab's 12?
He's really been average at best. Can someone enlighten me?

Because he IS an awesome player. Hard to say he's been average at best when he's only just come back from a long term injury and hasn't played 15s since 2015. Naturally it'll take a while for him to get back up to speed, but he's classy enough to have the right to the ABs 12 jersey, assuming his form doesn't go to sht.
His offloading is incredibly dangerous and offers something that literally no one else can offer. He is a skillfull player and a very good defender. He's also a very good straight up ball runner, so he's really just an all round weapon at 12. He can set people up, be used as a battering ram, be relied on in defense and has good game sense. Not to mention the value of his experience and professionalism...
Just remember the player he was in 2012 before he went back to League, and then again the impact he had in the 2015 WC. He has proven on numerous occasions that he is an awesome performer.


That's why he's so lauded...

 

[The Jones Boy]

He's on his way back, he's a RWC winner, you can't knock his experience and when he feels like his leg is 100% he'll be lifting to another gear.
Also, he doesn't kack his pants in stressful situations.

 

[galumay]

I tend to agree, SBW is a high quality player, he does have a bit of the QC's about him - can create tries for both sides!! I think in his case though he creates more for his team than for the opposition. As mentioned his off loading in contact is at the highest level.

I am not sure he is an "automatic shoe in" at 12 - part of what makes the AB's special is no one 'owns' a position, but he will be in the top 2 or 3 choices for the position I imagine.

 

[nero]

I tend to agree, SBW is a high quality player, he does have a bit of the QC's about him - can create tries for both sides!! I think in his case though he creates more for his team than for the opposition. As mentioned his off loading in contact is at the highest level.

I am not sure he is an "automatic shoe in" at 12 - part of what makes the AB's special is no one 'owns' a position, but he will be in the top 2 or 3 choices for the position I imagine.

Back in the day before any other players were offloading like him there was certainly that element of surprise. But he seems to fumble the ball or throw intercepted passes more often than he makes clean breaks and has been like this for a while now.
I definitely respect him as a natural athlete and he seems like a good bloke too. I want him to be a shoo-in for the centres because he IS so athletic and focused! But he just hasn't shown that standard. And yes I realise he has been injured, but there are numerous other players who have had bad injuries and come back looking hungrier than ever.

I guess this is one of those 'opinion' things, and I do respect the opinions of the people on this site. This is one time where I would be happy to eat my words in the future!

 

[galumay]

Bloos got there in the end, a lot of stoic defence by the Bush Ponies slowed the flow of points, but they never really looked like scoriing tries. Another dire performance from a non-NZ side, which seems to the order of the day this year.

 

[Brigantine]

The Brumbies were kicking their penalties, the Blues weren't - leading to the interesting outcome where both sides got bonus points.

I was expecting the Blues to make a lot more mistakes than they did. Instead they were able to keep possession for long stretches of time. It's a nice change, I hope they keep it up. It makes such a difference - it almost felt like the ref was being harsh on the Brumbies.

 

[smartcooky]

Can Australian rugby fall further, with the bottom team in the NZ conference beating the top team in the Australian conference by 3 tries to zip?

Currently, if the table was based on Merit instead of protecting the conference leaders, no Australian teams would be in the top eight...

 

[Brigantine]

Only 4 teams have so far managed to take points from NZ.

The Stormers took 4 from the Chiefs
The Sunwolves also just took 1 from the Chiefs on tour
The Reds took 1 from the Crusaders...

And then the Brumbies now have 3 - from the Crusaders, Highlanders, and now the Blues.

Though to be fair, the Lions, Sharks, Jaguares and Kings don't even get a chance this season. And looking at your table there, it really shows. Kings ahead of the Bulls!


I'm not going to say that Australian rugby doesn't have major problems, but also that table shows things worse than they really are. A better measure would be to use the points the Lions/Sharks/Jaguares/Kings had after round 10 2016...

NZ Crusaders 41
NZ Chiefs 37
NZ Hurricanes 33
NZ Highlanders 28
SA Lions 27
SA Stormers 26
NZ Blues 22 PD+39
SA Sharks 22 PD+18
AU Brumbies 18
SA Bulls 14
AU Warratahs 13
AR Jaguares 12
AU Reds 11
SA Cheetahs 10
AU Force 9
AU Rebels 7
JP Sunwolves 6
SA Kings 4

Ok, nevermind, your point still holds 100%

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

I like how you did all that work Brigantine and then conclude, "oh yeah, the Aussie clubs are awful!". It's hard to say how big the gap is, but the weakest SA side just humiliated the weakest Aussie side.

Glad the Brumbies lost as it keeps more interest in both conferences. The only club in Oz & NZ that looks out of playoff contention are the Rebels. This is important as the SA conferences already look concluded.

 

[galumay]

Its certainly a sobering proposition. I think because of the ridiculous conference system the SA teams are somewhat flattered in the table. The gap between them and the NZ teams is also significant.

There is no doubt all the Oz teams have been awful this year, and clearly none of them deseve to make the finals. Just how equally bad they are is reinforced by the fact that all the Oz franchises are potentially able to make the finals!! The bottom team, the Rebels, having won only 1 game, has only lost one more than the Brumbies!!

 

[The Jones Boy]

Losing one franchise will help the Aussie teams to compete more effectively.
The saffers losing two will make their remaining teams rock hard.
Great to see the Blues showing some results for all the work and faith that Tana has been pouring into them.
Missing Kaino was a big hurdle but they did the business and this is the kind of result that shows the Blues are trying to turn the corner.
Proud of the boys and Tana. Now they have to keep it up and keep winning on the road and at home, and then somehow look to take a kiwi scalp or two.
But I fear it's going to be a 'next year' formula for the Blues to get back in the frame for play offs.
They desperately need a classy first five eighth.

 

[Brigantine]

a lot of stoic defence by the Bush Ponies slowed the flow of points, but they never really looked like scoriing tries.

I should point out that, had that Brumbies try not been disallowed for a knock on 3 phases earlier, depending on the conversion, the Brumbies would have won that game.

It was the right call by the ref and TMO, but "3 tries to zip" is a misleading summary of that game.

 

[The Jones Boy]

I should point out that, had that Brumbies try not been disallowed for a knock on 3 phases earlier, depending on the conversion, the Brumbies would have won that game.

It was the right call by the ref and TMO, but "3 tries to zip" is a misleading summary of that game.

Fair call.
The Brumbies are not a bad side and at home they're even tougher. The Blues can't kick their own backside off the tee at the moment and that may come back to haunt them, a solid first five is critical for the Blues next year.
The Brumbies will pick up points yet and not only will they likely top the Aussie group, they may well end up with more points than the Blues.
Still, looking at the points values in the conferences, its a mess to think that the Blues might end up with more points than any team in the Aussie conference and and ahead of 5 of the teams in the two RSA conferences, and not be allowed a wild card.
Thats weird.