[2019 Super Rugby] The Final (6 July 2019)

[Carlito]

Why the final was so dull...IMHO the Jaguares main strength is defence....not balanced with a good attacking game can make for unexciting rugby. Defence does win games though but attacking rugby largely is what people want to see
...if the Jaguares could run a few more dummy runners , add a few cut out passes with the angled running and interference to their repetoire they would be a much more exciting team to watch....and far more dangerous to boot.. So nothing a good backline coach could'nt fix.
Will also be interesting to see what the addition of Sanchez does to improve their kicking game at the RWC. He is a class player the Jaguares missed this year...could have been the difference..

 

[TRF_heineken]

And so another season of Super Rugby has ended. Congrats to the Crusaders, again showing us their pedigree, and how knockout/playoffs rugby should be played.

One of the better seasons in the past few years IMHO. Lots of upsets, draws and close games going down to the wire. The rivalries between teams have again ignited the passion of fans returning to stadiums when it seemed like the stadiums would again be getting more empty as the season progressed.

Overall rugby was played with great quality, skill and tenacity.

 

[smartcooky]

Why the final was so dull....

I didn't find it dull, I found it tension-packed, a real arm wrestle between two well matched teams.

The Jags had two clear try-scoring opportunities, but couldn't take either of them - the Crusaders also had two clear try-scoring opportunities, and were able to take one of them.

The conditions didn't really allow for a lot of running rugby. Despite the fact that it looked fine on the night, it had been raining in Christchurch on and off for the previous two days, and only cleared up around 4pm on Saturday afternoon. There was a heavy coating of dew on the ground - that was the reason why there were so many ball-handling errors early on when the teams did try to run it.

 

[TRF_heineken]

I didn't find it dull, I found it tension-packed, a real arm wrestle between two well matched teams.

The Jags had two clear try-scoring opportunities, but couldn't take either of them - the Crusaders also had two clear try-scoring opportunities, and were able to take one of them.

The conditions didn't really allow for a lot of running rugby. Despite the fact that it looked fine on the night, it had been raining in Christchurch on and off for the previous two days, and only cleared up around 4pm on Saturday afternoon. There was a heavy coating of dew on the ground - that was the reason why there were so many ball-handling errors early on when the teams did try to run it.

Just 2? It felt more like 5 for me.

But the Crusaders' scramble defence close to their goal line was just a thing of beauty.

 

[Dai Perk]

In a tight game you can't afford to give away scrum penalties

I'm sure you'll be unsurprised to hear that I couldn't spot a scrum penalty if my life depended on it. Every time there's a scrum, all I think is, "Please, no whistle."

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

I though the first one was more Moroni's fault than the defender's merit. He had the inertia, all he had to to was pick a side, drop the centre of gravity and let momentum do the rest. I dont think he was angry/upset because he got caught. I think he was angry/upset because he had everything in his power to prevent that from happening.
The problem was, precisely, that he didnt pick a side, he stayed kinda in the middle and that allowed the defender to keep him up a split second during which another crusader came and forced the knock on.

I believe this particular instance was very important as both teams have a strong defense, so whoever is leading (we would have had that try been scored) forces the other team to take risks. Especially given it's a final, ball was slippery, etc. It was a must-win battle, we had the upper hand and lost it.

The second chance i can understand. Required some fine tune coordination and passing at full speed involving several players and several defenders. 50/50 at best. Maybe more 40/60 given their scramble defense.

I know it's speculation, didn't happen, and i've got to deal with it. All true.
I just couldn't help remembering the 20-3 final from 2016 (Canes vs Lions) which i thought was very, very one-sided and boring as ****.
This one didnt look that one sided to me, and the stats kinda support this (more possesion, more territory, more defenders beaten, more clean breaks). We just weren't clinical enough.

I very much doubt the crusaders ended the first half and thought: "we've got this in the bag".

IMHO the Jaguares main strength is defence....not balanced with a good attacking game can make for unexciting rugby.

I can't help wondering where were you and your invaluable insights when we scored 28 points agains the canes in wellington and 51 points against the sharks in durban. Didnt see you commenting about our defensive style in the semi final.
I also fail to grasp how being the second highest scoring team in the regular season places you on the defensive end of the spectrum.

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

I'm sure you'll be unsurprised to hear that I couldn't spot a scrum penalty if my life depended on it

You are not alone. I've heard/heard comments along the same lines. Brian Mujati comes to mind. This is not some random pundit who never played but a top tier front rower who's played everywhere (SR, Pro14, Top14, Premiership and the Springboks). His words to describe (some of ) those penalties were "an absolute guess".

 

[Dai Perk]

His words to describe (some of ) those penalties were "an absolute guess"

In these forums, I've frequently mentioned my complete inability to discern what's happening in a scrum, and the universal response has been, "Yeah, get used to it, even the players don't know what's a penalty."

 

[bushytop]

In these forums, I've frequently mentioned my complete inability to discern what's happening in a scrum, and the universal response has been, "Yeah, get used to it, even the players don't know what's a penalty."

More importantly... the refs don't know either

 

[Dai Perk]

More importantly... the refs don't know either

That, I have also heard with great regularity.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

More importantly... the refs don't know either

I was just about to say that

 

[bushytop]

I was just about to say that

Great minds Tana.

 

[FNS]

Why the final was so dull...IMHO the Jaguares main strength is defence....not balanced with a good attacking game can make for unexciting rugby. Defence does win games though but attacking rugby largely is what people want to see
...if the Jaguares could run a few more dummy runners , add a few cut out passes with the angled running and interference to their repetoire they would be a much more exciting team to watch....and far more dangerous to boot.. So nothing a good backline coach could'nt fix.
Will also be interesting to see what the addition of Sanchez does to improve their kicking game at the RWC. He is a class player the Jaguares missed this year...could have been the difference..

Watch match did you looked at? Jags attacking game got them almost 2/3 tries....we missed the last 5 meters but Crusaders was presured hard(props to their scramble). The rest of the season we allways scored by many means.

 

[Bean]

I think this is very telling about the impending RWC. Jaguares, basically the Pumas, couldn't even manage Try against a the AllBlacks-lite.

 

[hbijbjon]

I think this is very telling about the impending RWC. Jaguares, basically the Pumas, couldn't even manage Try against a the AllBlacks-lite.

Looks like I've found the Kiwi version of Phil Kearns

 

[Horacito]

Well, the crusaders are simply better than us. Congratulations to them!

But the final game sould not be played in their home turf after three seasons of straight victories. It should be played in a neutral location.

Great year for argentinian rugby, at any rate.

 

[Dai Perk]

It should be played in a neutral location.

Obviously, that's the way it is with the Super Bowl, cities actually bid to host it each year, so it's a possibility that a team might get a home field advantage if their city happened to win the bid for that year, but most of the time, the host city isn't even an NFL city. I see the value of this neutral field, but on the other hand, for things like the NBA Finals, if you've been a loyal fan all year, you might get to watch them win a ***le right there in your home town, which is absolutely priceless, so...

The other danger is, something like 75% of the people at the Super Bowl aren't really fans of either team, they're just there for the spectacle. As an event made to appeal to the widest possible audience, I get it, but it's still less personal for the die-hard fans.

 

[Horacito]

Yeah, I had the Supabowl in mind when I wrote that, also Champions League, whatever... in a perfect world, a series like MLB or NBA would be the thing, but kinda impossible with the logistcs involved.

I do think the saders woulda defeated us under any condition though.

 

[petite]

although the jags totally shut down the saders attack, did have some advantage on the stats, and produced good attack plays (Moroni loosing it a meter away, that lost pass to Orlando. and that final kick from miotti to Moroni. ( less a real chance more an attempt ) it never looked like we where going to win.
what could have been doesn't matter. cos it didn't happen.

 

[WaterboySA]

The first successful year for the Jags and they reached the final. Think the Argies can be proud of their team. Any supporter of any country who write them off could be surprised.....They looked EXCELLENT this year. I hope this nonsense of kicking them out of Super rugby stops now.