Blues v Hurricanes

[Darwin]

Could be another interesting game.

Hurricanes named:

Cory Jane, Julian Savea, Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Andre Taylor, Daniel Kirkpatrick, Chris Eaton, Victor Vito, Jack Lam, Faifili Levave, Jason Eaton, Jeremy Thrush, Neemia Tialata, Andrew Hore (captain), John Schwalger.
Reserves: Dane Coles, Anthony Perenise, James Broadhurst, Mark Reddish, Tyson Keats, Aaron Cruden, Jayden Hayward.

Some really interesting selections. Good to see Thrush back from injury, and Levave starting on the blindside flank. Likewise Nonu will certainly add something to the Canes backline as he will certainly be fired up for this match, having not played for almost a month! Dropping Cruden to the bench seems like a strange decision to me, though unlike many people in this forum I don't actually mind Kirkpatrick. Personally I wouldn't have started Chris Eaton either, as although he is much better with the ball in hand than Keats, his passing remains poor.

 

[Sneaki]

Very tough match to pick. On one hand the Blues will be looking to bounce back after a match they should have won last week, while the Hurricanes are still pretty fresh having only played two games in four weeks, and have Nonu coming back.

Having said that though I'm also not really sure I agree with Cruden and Keats being on the bench, neither seemed to be playing that badly as far as I could see. Also last week's win over the Chiefs was far from a perfect performance. They made several mistakes, almost lost it at the end and were heading that way early in the second half. Levave starting is good news though, I thought he was excellent in the ITM cup last year.

I think it might depend on what Lam does with his team this week. I'm not sure if it's been announced yet but if he keeps insisting on rotating out players like Ranger for no particular reason then the Canes might be in with a chance. Otherwise I'd say Blues 1-12 is my pick for this one.

 

[FlukeArtist]

Canes will win this one for a couple of reasons.

1. Lam has not given the team a chance to establish combinations (the useless prick)
2. Graham Henry, Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith have been working with the Hurricanes this week, so they will undoubtedly benefit from this (the Blues usually do)

Hate to say it, but Canes 1-12

 

[Shaggy]

Heard the Blues team named on NZ Radio Sport ... didn't get all of the changes but Brett's at 10, McAllister is at 12, Stanley moves to the wing to replace Rococoko

 

[Darwin]

Heard the Blues team named on NZ Radio Sport ... didn't get all of the changes but Brett's at 10, McAllister is at 12, Stanley moves to the wing to replace Rococoko

The Blues:
Isaia Toeava, Rene Ranger, Jared Payne, Luke McAlister, Benson Stanley, Stephen Brett, Alby Mathewson, Peter Saili, Luke Braid, Jerome Kaino, Kurtis Haiu, Anthony Boric, John Afoa, Keven Mealamu (captain), Tony Woodcock.
Reserves: Tom McCartney, Tevita Mailau, Filo Paulo, Matt Luamanu, Chris Smylie, Lachie Munro, Sherwin Stowers.

A few random selections. The forward pack looks at full strength (given both Dan Braid and Ali Williams are out injured). Interesting to see how Luamanu goes if he gets a chance from the bench, as he could cause a lot of damage in the last 20 mins. Strange to see MacAlister move to 12, as the Stanley/Payne midfield partnership looked very good in my opinion. Putting Stanley on the wing is weird as well - I would have thought that they would have been better to put Payne on the wing and move Stanley to centre (if they wanted to use this particular combination of players..). Playing Stanley on the wing could be a good ploy though, as he should be able to contain Savea (as long as Savea doesn't get too much space, otherwise he will burn him with his speed...).

 

[Larksea]

Is Rok's injured? I dont get Stanly on the wing and Stowers on the bench, that doesn't look right. I guess maybe they want to keep stowers to be a late impact player but still.

 

[Darwin]

Is Rok's injured? I dont get Stanly on the wing and Stowers on the bench, that doesn't look right. I guess maybe they want to keep stowers to be a late impact player but still.

Doesn't sound like Rokocoko has been injured - I think it's just Pat Lam continuing his scheme of rotating players...

 

[FlukeArtist]

Lam somehow hasn't realised that this rotation plan of his didn't work last year.

He has got to stop rotating the team... its getting ridiculous.

Stanley on the wing is a waste. he would be better at containing Nonu than McAllistair.

 

[Sneaki]

Some bizarre changes there, I don't really like to quote myself, but...

I think it might depend on what Lam does with his team this week. I'm not sure if it's been announced yet but if he keeps insisting on rotating out players like Ranger for no particular reason then the Canes might be in with a chance. Otherwise I'd say Blues 1-12 is my pick for this one.

So Canes 1-12 it is then. I can almost understand putting Stanley on the wing to contain Savea, but trying a new centre combination against the reunited Nonu and Smith is just plain silly.

The Blues forwards look decent, but I think their re-jigged backs will struggle. Especially if Nonu gets the chance to run at the likes of Brett/McAlister consistently.

I'm only really a partial Blues fan now that I live in Wellington, but even so some of these changes are pretty frustrating from Lam. Is this his last season as coach? The way he's running things at the moment I hope so for the sake of all the Blues fans out there.

 

[ranger]

Very odd indeed. Stanley doesn't have much pace, a kicking game or any attacking flair to speak of, so the wing seems silly.

Even having him on the wing to contain Savea is a flawed decision. He has great defensive positioning at 12 but defending on the wing is a different game all together. It wont matter how perfect his tackling technique is if hes standing in the wrong place..

Any chance of a typo and its really Winston Stanley getting the call up?

 

[Seaton]

Entertaining game so far...

The 'Canes have done very well in the second half, both sides playing some good rugby


Blues winning 20-17, 62 minute


Final scoreline was pretty unjust, was hoping for a Hurricanes win, and actually started to doze off when the contest was over

 

[Sneaki]

I think the scoreline flattered the Blues in the end, the Canes were in with a real chance of winning that match for a while. But after Munro scored that try they just seemed to lose interest somewhat, it was a bit sad seeing Hore on the sideline after that, having to watch your team lose as captain while you're in the bin would be heartbreaking.

I think one of the turning points would have to be when Nonu was subbed off for Hayward. Honestly I can not comprehend the stupidity of this decision, it defies belief that they would sub their main attacking threat who was looking in decent form. Hayward's still pretty inexperienced, and he was just thrown in the deep end here against a very dangerous backline.

As far as standouts for the Canes I thought Jane, Nonu, Smith, Savea, Taylor (effectively the entire backline) all looked dangerous in patches. Vito was impressive as usual and Lam/Levave both played pretty well too. As for the Blues Ranger, Payne, Kaino and Mathewson all looked good, though I may have missed some because I wasn't really paying them as much attention.

The Canes are off to Melbourne next week to take on the Rebels. On paper it looks like a relatively easy away game but the Rebels have been playing fairly well at home compared to their trips to Queensland and NSW.

 

[Larksea]

Close game till hore went off. tough call against the canes.

strange call to take Nonu off he would have been the most likely guy to win the game in the last 10 but he wasn't there?

my head was in my hands when Boric was injured, he is critical not just for the blues but the AB's as well. But he ended up playing the full 80 and had a very impressive game.

Toeava was the pick of the blues backs. Said it many times in the past - fullback is his best position IMO, then wing.

 

[FlukeArtist]

Toeava looked good.
Payne is an excellent player as well.

But if I was picking the ABs wingers; i'd have Ranger in there without a doubt, The guy is a constant threat.

 

[woodward]

I don't think Ranger has the speed and handling to be an All Blacks winger.

Toeava showed why he's the top fullback in the country and the Blues are still contenders

 

[Larksea]

Rangers defence worrys me a bit, seen a couple of times this year when he's has to scramble on defence and just got right out of place to the point where he's almost ran into/tripped up his teammates.

He does have some good touches though, like that one play where nonu lost the ball and payne picked it up and popped it in the are and Ranger steamed onto it at full speed it's typicol of what he does week in and week out, almost like he knew it was going to happen. Great instinct on attack and a very good combination with Jared Payne.

IMO Ranger is one of those players where if you them the ball out wide with some space between them and both their defender and the sideline they are almost guaranteed to make something happen. Another that comes to mind is Masanga.

 

[nickdnz]

Rangers defence worrys me a bit, seen a couple of times this year when he's has to scramble on defence and just got right out of place to the point where he's almost ran into/tripped up his teammates.

He does have some good touches though, like that one play where nonu lost the ball and payne picked it up and popped it in the are and Ranger steamed onto it at full speed it's typicol of what he does week in and week out, almost like he knew it was going to happen. Great instinct on attack and a very good combination with Jared Payne.

IMO Ranger is one of those players where if you them the ball out wide with some space between them and both their defender and the sideline they are almost guaranteed to make something happen. Another that comes to mind is Masanga.

I agree with woodward, that Ranger doesn't have the pace to be a great winger. Centre is where he would be at his best, albeit with a lot of competition for a spot. I also agree on Lelia Masaga, since 2008 he has been one of the most dangerous and under rated wingers in NZ. He should by now have more than 1 test cap...That being said, Hosea Gear is still better.

 

[tgd]

Am hoping for this result soon lol:

Hurricanes tries; Thrush 4, Hore, Jane 2, Savea

 

[Larksea]

I also thought McAlister had a strong game he does look in very good form right now. Missed a couple kicks he should have got but the rest of his game was impressive.