Round 10: Blues - Rebels

[Darwin]

Important game for the Blues. It is a game they should win (and convincingly) but in recent season they haven't always won these sort of games.

BLUES: Isaia Toeava, Joe Rokocoko, Jared Payne, Benson Stanley, Rene Ranger, Stephen Brett, Alby Mathewson, Peter Saili, Luke Braid, Jerome Kaino, Ali Williams, Anthony Boric, John Afoa, Keven Mealamu (captain), Tony Woodcock. Reserves: Tom McCartney, Tevita Mailau, Filo Paulo, Chris Lowrey, Toby Morland, Luke McAlister, Lachie Munro.

REBELS: Julian Huxley, Lachlan Mitchell, Mark Gerrard, Stirling Mortlock (capt), Cooper Vuna, Danny Cipriani, Nick Phipps, Gareth Delve, Michael Lipman, Jarrod Saffy, Hugh Pyle, Alister Campbell, Greg Somerville, Ged Robinson, Rodney Blake. Res: Heath Tessmann, Laurie Weeks, Hoani Macdonald, Tim Davidson, Richard Kingi, James Hilgendorf, Luke Rooney.

A couple of changes for the Blues, with Woodcock and Ali Williams back from injury and Stanley given the start at 12 ahead of MacAlister. Ali Williams return from injury is timely, as Kurtis Haiu, who had been covering for Williams at lock, has been ruled out himself with an injury. Personally I would have liked to see MacAlister continue to start, but it sounds like they are rotating their midfield to give Stanley a run, with MacAlister likely to replace Brett with 20-30 mins to go (so he gets some more gametime at 10).

The Rebels welcome back Stirling Mortlock (at 12) and Julian Huxley (at 15), with Mortlocks inclusion sure to strengthen the midfield defense.

 

[FlukeArtist]

McAllistair might have been dumped after his announcement that he is leaving?
Better to give Stanley a chance to make the ABs for the RWC, than to play McAllistair who might (lets face it) be worried about hurting himself before the new lucrative contract?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Thought Stanley was off at the end of the season too?
To Connacht or something along those lines

 

[Darwin]

Thought Stanley was off at the end of the season too?
To Connacht or something along those lines

I haven't seen that confirmed yet, but that is the rumor. I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was true though.

I personally don't think MacAlister's signing overseas has anything to do with him starting on the bench this week. I think it's more to give Stanley some game time in case he is needed later in the season. In fact, I expect next week Brett will be rested, with MacAlister starting at 10.

 

[Larksea]

I think McAlister is just being rested against a low ranked team.

Blues need to put the 5 points in the bag but they struggled to do it against the force. But if the blues forwards produce that fast ball they did against the tahs the reb's should be easy pickings.

 

[Tadginator]

Luke mcalister much too good to be purposely not started they're just resting him . Luke mcalister for pope !!!!!!! Joke but he is the greatest player of all time

 

[Sam Owen]

I like the Rebels but GO THE BLUES!!!!

 

[Tadginator]

Rene ranger is on form and has an Afro what a beast. Definitely a candidate for a place On the Chinese Taipei rwc squad.

 

[Black Heart]

McAllistair might have been dumped after his announcement that he is leaving?
Better to give Stanley a chance to make the ABs for the RWC, than to play McAllistair who might (lets face it) be worried about hurting himself before the new lucrative contract?

I think McAlistair has a far better chance of making the WC squad than Stanley does. Though it's probably by default. At this stage McAlistair is the only real option as Carter's back-up. Stanley on the other hand is ranked too far down the centres' list.

 

[Black Heart]

I thought he cut it off?

 

[Gay-Guy]

Well that first try was quick

 

[Getofmeland]

Second Try came just as fast

 

[Getofmeland]

Cipriani Kicks a penalty for the Rebels and converts it!

Rebels 3 vs Blues 10

 

[Getofmeland]

22 Minutes gone 4 trys scored - 3 for Blues 1 for Rebels - Scoreline is Blues 17 - Rebels 10

 

[Charles]

Nice try by the Rebs, very good hands by Mitchell and Delve.

GG are you still rooting for the Saders?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Got up early (well, for a bank holiday) to go the gym, only to find it's closed until Wednesday
Didn't realise this match was on though, so all is not lost for the morning

 

[ranger]

Can't help but feel sorry for Joe Rokocoko, just looks like he has no confidence. A couple times now he catches it, thinks about passing, thinks about running, thinks about passing.. Decides to run and then decides against it passes a limp cut before the line. Just make a decision and give it 100% son.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Delve having a cracking game

 

[TRF_RC]

I've never been a fan of Danny Cipriani, he's the Ronan O'Gara in the Southern Hemisphere and he showed why he doesn't like to go into contact tonight. He literally handed a try to the blues by attempting a crash ball move.
But all in all it felt like a very sporadic game. The blues had a wonderful start, but once again let the opposition come back into the game.
Last week against the Waratahs had the game gone on for another 10, 15 minutes that would have been very uncomfortable for the Blues and this week again, they let the Rebels constantly nip at their heels posing a potential threat.
There were some stand out players, but at the end of the day if they get a bonus point win and are disappointed with their performance then you can't be too unhappy.

 

[Darwin]

Blues will be happy with the 5 points, if not their performance. They really seem to lack the ruthless streak that the Crusaders possess to put away a team; despite dominating for much of the game, with 10 minutes to go they still could easily have lost the game.

There were a few standout Rebels players for me. Hugh Pyle continue to impress at lock ,while Gareth Delve again looked good with ball in hand. Phipps looks quite promising at halfback, and Cipriani had a mixed game again. He created some nice space with the ball in hand and his flawless goal-kicking kept the Rebels in the game, but he often rushed up on defense leaving huge holes which the Blues exploited, and his poor ball security lead directly to Stanleys try.

It was good to see Ali Williams get through 60-odd mins for the Blues, but his was largely outshone by Anthony Boric, who has a strong game both at lineout time and with the ball in hand. Jerome Kaino also had one of his strongest games of the year, with some powerful runs and tackles. I've been really impressed with Luke Braid in recent weeks as well; despite his seemingly small frame he so strong with the ball in hand, frequently breaking the first tackle and setting up good go-forward ball. When his brother Daniel gets back to full fitness in a few weeks he will be hard pressed to supplant Luke in the starting lineup.

Mathewson was good, and Steven Brett had a reasonable game around the field (though his gaol-kicking was horrendous), though it was noticable the improvement that was made to the Blues when MacAlister came on at first-five. I'd expect MacAlister will start at first-five alongside Stanley (who also had a very good game) next week. The more I see Payne play, the more disappointed I am that he is going overseas, as he looks like a genuine All Black centre. Ranger was a mixed bag again, incredibly strong with the ball in hand, but his handling and defense let him down on more than one occasion. Toeava had probably his worst game this year, making a few errors, though he always looked dangerous with the ball in hand.