that was the most frustrating end to a frustrating game I have watched for a while.
skip straight to the end of the game all the chiefs had to do was hit it up a few times then give it to the backs and its almost a guaranteed try, all you would need is one person to draw and pass then they would have like a 3 on 1. yet the forwards when for a pushover which was stupid.
in the forwards it was 8vs8 in the backs it would have been 5 on 3, and as soon as the 10 draws and passes or the 12 runs on decoy there is a 3 on 1. I thought Cruden needed to step up there and really orchestrate that last few minutes. He didn't really do that.
Conditions played a role and the sunwolves deserve some credit, the have really improved a lot during the season. Their effort on defense was fantastic.
But the chiefs are off their game, things aren't quite clicking in the forwards and its trickling through the rest of the side.
Cane did an OK job at 8 but it's clearly not his position.
Karpik hasn't really impressed me this season, while when Boshier has been given chances he has been quite good.
Dominic Bird has been off his game the last few weeks. He was brilliant at the start of the season. maybe he is carrying a ****le, who knows but the chiefs need hm back on his game. When he and Retalick are on their game they are the best locking combo in the competition but its not quite on song right now.
Generally I think the pack will be a lot better with Retalick & Lietch back, Messam at 6 and Cane back to 7. But they still need to get back on beat.
I dont think the problems we had in the scrum are all about the front row. I think its more to do with the other 5 guys being fairly makeshift, I think it improved during the game which suggests that was the case.
In the backs, while Taumateine did an OK job they did miss TKB. His presence alone would have secured a bonus point IMO.
While Cruden has been ok, he too isn't really performing as well as he was earlier in the season.
Donald IMO he is actually doing his Job, he is leading the defence in the midfield and he provided a few critical decoy runs during the game. Took on the line when needed too and he has had a very low error rate. made some dominant tackles that resulted in turnovers.
ALB is struggling, I think it is fair to say now that he well and truly has sophomore year blues after his breakout year last year. Was interesting to finally see him get a linebreak then he panicked and threw a very low percentage pass. he is defending well, but missing that yard of gass he was using last year to find those holes on a regular basis.
Damien Mckenzie stands alone again, easily the man of the match. You would think the chiefs wouldn't need McKenzie to beat the SW's but they very much needed him to have a big game and he delivered. Again I will keep on saying it, its not just his attacking brilliance. His overall game is right on point.
skip straight to the end of the game all the chiefs had to do was hit it up a few times then give it to the backs and its almost a guaranteed try, all you would need is one person to draw and pass then they would have like a 3 on 1. yet the forwards when for a pushover which was stupid.
in the forwards it was 8vs8 in the backs it would have been 5 on 3, and as soon as the 10 draws and passes or the 12 runs on decoy there is a 3 on 1. I thought Cruden needed to step up there and really orchestrate that last few minutes. He didn't really do that.
Conditions played a role and the sunwolves deserve some credit, the have really improved a lot during the season. Their effort on defense was fantastic.
But the chiefs are off their game, things aren't quite clicking in the forwards and its trickling through the rest of the side.
Cane did an OK job at 8 but it's clearly not his position.
Karpik hasn't really impressed me this season, while when Boshier has been given chances he has been quite good.
Dominic Bird has been off his game the last few weeks. He was brilliant at the start of the season. maybe he is carrying a ****le, who knows but the chiefs need hm back on his game. When he and Retalick are on their game they are the best locking combo in the competition but its not quite on song right now.
Generally I think the pack will be a lot better with Retalick & Lietch back, Messam at 6 and Cane back to 7. But they still need to get back on beat.
I dont think the problems we had in the scrum are all about the front row. I think its more to do with the other 5 guys being fairly makeshift, I think it improved during the game which suggests that was the case.
In the backs, while Taumateine did an OK job they did miss TKB. His presence alone would have secured a bonus point IMO.
While Cruden has been ok, he too isn't really performing as well as he was earlier in the season.
Donald IMO he is actually doing his Job, he is leading the defence in the midfield and he provided a few critical decoy runs during the game. Took on the line when needed too and he has had a very low error rate. made some dominant tackles that resulted in turnovers.
ALB is struggling, I think it is fair to say now that he well and truly has sophomore year blues after his breakout year last year. Was interesting to finally see him get a linebreak then he panicked and threw a very low percentage pass. he is defending well, but missing that yard of gass he was using last year to find those holes on a regular basis.
Damien Mckenzie stands alone again, easily the man of the match. You would think the chiefs wouldn't need McKenzie to beat the SW's but they very much needed him to have a big game and he delivered. Again I will keep on saying it, its not just his attacking brilliance. His overall game is right on point.
