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Round 10: Crusaders - Highlanders

Darwin

Darwin

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Second game of the season between these two teams; the Highlanders will want to play much better than they did during their first meeting (13-44 loss in round 5)

Haven't seen either team named yet, but sounds like the Highlanders team has a number of injury worries, so we will see a weakened team named. Colin Slade is obviously out, so it will be up to Robbie Robinson to run the side from first-five. His general play was pretty good against the Rebels, however his goal-kicking remains a major worry, as he only kicked 4/11 against the Rebels, and is only kicking at 48% for the season! Either Tony Brown or Lima Sopoaga will likely backup Robinson from the bench.

Second-five Shaun Treeby has also been ruled out with a strained medial ligament in his knee, which is also a big loss as he's been consistent all season. His replacement is unclear - Matt Saunders is probably the obvious backup option, but he hasn't played a minute of Super Rugby this season, while they may consider bring in Piutau from the wing, or Ben Smith from fullback. Hopefully they don't move Ben Smith, as he's been a brilliant at fullback. Kade Poki is also in doubt with knee injury (though he has been questionable most weeks with this injury), while openside Alando Soaki is also in doubt. If Soakai is ruled out hopefully they start Hardie at 7, rather than switching Thomson to 7 as they did last time Soakai was rested against the Crusaders.

Haven't heard much about the Crusdaers likely team. I assume Carter is still out, and I wouldn't be surprised if they rest Robbie Fruean and give Adam Whitelock a start at 13, as Fruean has looked increasing fatigued over recent weeks.


In Nelson the Crusaders take on the surprising Highlanders. The Crusaders got lucky against the Chiefs last week when a knock-on by McCaw, who returned for his first match in 2011, to give them a 4-try victory and get them the bonuspoint. Robbie Fruean also contributed with the first try scored in the first minutes of the game and Sean Maitland has shown he can even outrun Sivivatu and is a real contender for the nr. 14 jersey this september when the All Blacks host the World Cup.

The Otago side managed to score 6 tries against the Rebels in Melbourne and want to make up for the loss against the Saders in Dunedin earlier this season. Adam Thomson is the big man lately with a double against the Rebels and a total of 6 tries already this season. Kade Poki, who was representing the Crusaders for 2 years, is the man to watch this weekend. The winger can literally shake off opponents to score tries. Another dangerous man is Siale Piutau, who also scored 2 tries.

History shows that matches between the 2 sides can really show some surprises. The Highlanders won 6-0 2 years ago at Carisbrook but when the Crusaders play at home, they have shown to be able to crush the Otago side easily with 32-17 (2010), 39-15 (2006) and 46-29 (2004) as examples to show for it. The Highlanders managed to beat the Crusaders in Christchurch in 2008, winning 14-26.

 
I relly like Hoeata at 6 and Thompson at 7 for the Highlanders. There is nothing thompson does with a 6 on his back that he can't do with a 7 there. Important for the AB's too because he's more likely to be selected for his ability to cover 7 than as an all out blindside.

I hope treeby isn't out for long he's a key player.

The highlanders have been really good but if they get a few key injuries they could struggle.
 
Crusaders named:
1. Wyatt Crockett, 2. Quentin MacDonald, 3. Owen Franks, 4. Brad Thorn, 5. Chris Jack, 6. George Whitelock, 7. Matt Todd, 8. Joe Wheeler, 9. Andy Ellis (capt), 10. Matt Berquist, 11. Zac Guildford, 12. Adam Whitelock, 13. Robbie Fruean, 14. Tom Marshall, 15. Israel Dagg. Reserves: Corey Flynn, Ben Franks, Luke Romano, Jonathan Poff, Kahn Fotuali'i, Sonny Bill Williams, Sean Maitland

Big changes for the Crusaders, with Corey Flynn, SBW, Sean Maitland, and Keiran Read all rested, and McCaw ruled out with a bruised foot. Big chance for Quentin MacDonald, Joe Wheeler, and Tom Marshall to show what the have got at this level - I'm a big fan of all three. Surprised Fruean wasn't rested given he's looked fatigued over recent weeks. I wouldn't be surprised to see SBW come on for him at half-time.

Larksea said:
I relly like Hoeata at 6 and Thompson at 7 for the Highlanders. There is nothing thompson does with a 6 on his back that he can't do with a 7 there. Important for the AB's too because he's more likely to be selected for his ability to cover 7 than as an all out blindside.

I hope treeby isn't out for long he's a key player.

The highlanders have been really good but if they get a few key injuries they could struggle.
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Can't agree on Thomson - he has never played that well with 7 on his back for the Highlanders or Otago (or the All Blacks). He was quite anonymous against the Crusaders. The problem is, without a specialist 7, Thomson has to play a much tighter game to compensate, which is not really his strength. Though people think he plays like a 7, I don't think he really does. He is great at turning over the ball at the breakdown, but he doesn't really hit that many breakdowns like a traditional 7 - his strength is making the correct decision as when to hit a breakdown and when not to. On attack, Thomson often stands quite wide to run with the ball rather than being at every breakdown as a good 7 does. Not saying he's not an adequate 7, but it always seems a waste when playing there.
 
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This will probably be another repeat of the last game for the Crusaders, an ugly win by 10+.
 
Highlanders: Robbie Robinson, James Paterson, Kendrick Lynn, Ben Smith, Siale Piutau, Tony Brown, Aaron Smith, Nasi Manu, John Hardie, Jarrad Hoeata, Josh Bekhuis, Tom Donnelly, Chris King, Mo Schwalger, Jamie Mackintosh (c). Reserves: Jason Rutledge, David Te Moana, Nick Crosswell, Tim Boys, Sean Romans, Matt Saunders, Telusa Veainu

Huge changes to the Highlanders squad, with Poki, Treeby, Slade, Thomson, and Soakai all out with injury. The injuries to Poki, Thomson, and Soakai are not thought to be serious though, and they seemed to be rested more as a precaution.

Up front Mo Schwalger replaces Rutledge at hooker, while Donnelly gets a start at lock, with Hoeata switching to 6, while Hardie gets his first start of the season at 7. Thomson is a huge loss for the Highlanders, and with Hoeata at 6 it points to the Highlanders playing a tighter game.

The backline is almost completely rearranged, with Tony Brown replacing Slade at 10, Ben Smith switching from fullback to second-five to replace Treeby, Paterson replacing Poki on the wing, and Robinson replacing Smith at fullback.... geez that was a mouthful! I'm disappointed that they moved Smith from fullback, as he has been class there - hopefully he can continue this form at 12. The positive of moving Smith is that Robbie Robinson gets a chance to start in his best position of fullback, and Tony Brown can start at first-five, so at least we have semi-competent goal-kicker on the field. Aaron Smith again starts at halfback, with Jimmy Cowan not even on the reserves bench, which suggest that Cowan may be injured as well!

Not confident going into this game as a Highlanders supporter.... if we lose by less than 20 I think we will be doing well...
 
OUch, change my prediction to Crusaders by 20+. Feels like this a game both franchises are using almost as a bye week, and prepare for the upcoming big games.
 
McCaw & Carter miss Highlanders due to injury

Article Published: Wednesday 20 April 2011

The Crusaders have named their team to face the Highlanders this weekend with Richie McCaw and Dan Carter both missing the match due to injury.

Carter has not played since the Sixth Round clash against the Sharks in London while Richie McCaw, who played 29 minutes from the substitutes' bench against the Chiefs at Mt Maunganui last weekend, has been ruled out with a bruised foot.

McCaw trained on Monday and suffered soreness in his right foot overnight.

It is the same foot in which a screw was inserted following his stress fracture pre-season, but scans have ruled out any new bone damage.

Aside from McCaw Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder has made several changes to the team that played last week for this week's clash against the Highlanders at Trafalgar Park in Nelson.

Crusaders Head Coach Todd Blackadder said: "The right thing to do is to rest Richie at this stage. It's not a serious problem."

"A week away from playing will do him good and we'll monitor him next week."

Other changes come in the front row, where Wyatt Crockett replaces Ben Franks at loosehead prop and Quentin MacDonald comes in for Corey Flynn at hooker.

Joe Wheeler, the Tasman player, gets his first game time of the season following a shoulder reconstruction last year. He will start at Number 8, replacing Kieran Read.

Andy Ellis comes back in at halfback, replacing Kahn Fotuali'i while Matt Berquist retains his spot ahead of Dan Carter, who is recovering from a hamstring problem.

Adam Whitelock replaces Sonny Bill Williams at second-five and Tom Marshall comes on the right wing ahead of Sean Maitland.

Blackadder added: "The guys being rested have had a tough workload already this season and we have a lot of faith in the players coming in. It's a great opportunity for them."

Read, who has captained the team in every game this season, is left out of the match-day 22 due to his workload.

Crusaders :

1. Wyatt Crockett,2. Quentin MacDonald,3. Owen Franks,4. Brad Thorn,5. Chris Jack (vc),6. George Whitelock,7. Matt Todd,8. Joe Wheeler,9. Andy Ellis (c),10. Matt Berquist,11. Zac Guildford,12. Adam Whitelock,13. Robbie Fruean,14. Tom Marshall,15. Israel Dagg

Replacements :16. Corey Flynn,17. Ben Franks,18. Luke Romano,19. Jonathan Poff,20. Kahn Fotuali'i,21. Sonny Bill Williams,22. Sean Maitland
Click to expand...

Source: superxv.com
 
Oh, goodness. Seems like I'm likely to suffer the same fate as the Highlanders and get a drubbing in fantasy rugby with SBW, Thomson and Poki out o_O
 
Doesn't sound like the weather has been very good in Nelson, the wet conditions may keep the game a bit closer.

There are going to be a few interesting match ups, despite a number of top players not playing. Jamie MackIntosh will certainly be tested facing Owen Franks at scrum-time, and if he gets demolished (which I expect he might) it will certainly dent his AB aspirations this year. The battle between the locks should be good, with Donnelly and Jack fighting (possibly along with Ali Williams) for one spot in the RWC squad. Particularly looking forward to seeing how Joe Wheeler goes at 8 for the Crusaders, as he was brilliant for Tasman there last year.

I was looking forward to Ben Smith teaching Israel Dagg a thing or two about how to play fullback, but since Smith has moved to 12 I suppose I will have to settle for watching him teach Adam Whitelock (and possibly SBW later on) how to play 12 (despite the fact Ben Smith has never played 12 at Super Rugby level...). I get the feeling that Zac Guildford is due to score a pile of tries soon as he's looked very dangerous since he has been back, I just hope this is not the game he does it....
 
darwin_23 said:
Doesn't sound like the weather has been very good in Nelson, the wet conditions may keep the game a bit closer.

There are going to be a few interesting match ups, despite a number of top players not playing. Jamie MackIntosh will certainly be tested facing Owen Franks at scrum-time, and if he gets demolished (which I expect he might) it will certainly dent his AB aspirations this year. The battle between the locks should be good, with Donnelly and Jack fighting (possibly along with Ali Williams) for one spot in the RWC squad. Particularly looking forward to seeing how Joe Wheeler goes at 8 for the Crusaders, as he was brilliant for Tasman there last year.

I was looking forward to Ben Smith teaching Israel Dagg a thing or two about how to play fullback, but since Smith has moved to 12 I suppose I will have to settle for watching him teach Adam Whitelock (and possibly SBW later on) how to play 12 (despite the fact Ben Smith has never played 12 at Super Rugby level...). I get the feeling that Zac Guildford is due to score a pile of tries soon as he's looked very dangerous since he has been back, I just hope this is not the game he does it....
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My spies told me the weather isn't going to be too good either ... but I didn't believe it ... we always get good weather in Sunny Nelson :D

I'm looking forward to seeing how these guys go too, with some of the big names missing ... go Tom Marshall
 
Crusaders are losing players like there's no tomorrow.

Ellis and now Thorn off in the first 30 mins
 
:bana::bana::bana:

Wonderful win for the Highlanders! They really deserved the win, as they dominated at the breakdown, and their defense was brilliant. They also looked dangerous with the ball in hand at times on attack; overall a complete performance by the Highlanders.

Hoeata was probably the standout Highlanders forward for me... if he can continue this sort of form he could really push for a spot in the AB's as a lock/6. Nasi Manu was also good, providing a lot of go forward ball.

Aaron Smith really impressed at halfback, providing great ball to the backline, and also putting in some quality box kicks. He really looked like a future All Black last night. Brown did a good job at 10 (though did look pitifully slow when racing for the loose ball against Guildford), while Ben Smith had a solid game at 12. He didn't have the space to make the breaks that he usually does at fullback, but defended and distributed well. It was great to see James Paterson have a strong game, his first try when he broke straight through Dagg was class. Robinson looked very good at fullback as well, injecting himself into the line well at times, and getting some huge distance on his punts.

:bana::bana::bana:
 
Now that was an epic battle.
Highlanders were coming into this game, not as favourites, but having won 6 matches this season, which is really impressive given their recent history. But i'm so glad that they played with the confidence of a team that were playing well this season. THey had 7 changes to the squad but still played well.
Crusaders showed that their wingers are as dangerous as ever, but at the end of the day it felt like Highlanders wanted this more.
They were committing more bodies to the cause and they played a much more attractive game than crusaders.
By the end of the game Highlanders were panicking a little because they were 8 points clear and could see the win just a few minutes away and couldn't compose themselves. Crusaders got themselves a penalty with a minute to go and at that point it was nigh on impossible to win the game, however, the arrogance of Crusaders was their downfall tonight. They should have sucked it up, accepted that they were going to lose and taken 3 points from the penalty and assured themselves a losing BP. But the arrogance forced them to tap and go and attempt to get that try (which even if converted would have left them losing the game with a bonus point.)
A BP for Crusaders wouldn't have bothered me if they went for the 3 points from the penalty, but i'm glad that they didn't score that try at the end of the match. Disrespectful to the performance Highlanders put in tonight.
 
TRF_RC said:
Now that was an epic battle.
Highlanders were coming into this game, not as favourites, but having won 6 matches this season, which is really impressive given their recent history. But i'm so glad that they played with the confidence of a team that were playing well this season. THey had 7 changes to the squad but still played well.
Crusaders showed that their wingers are as dangerous as ever, but at the end of the day it felt like Highlanders wanted this more.
They were committing more bodies to the cause and they played a much more attractive game than crusaders.
By the end of the game Highlanders were panicking a little because they were 8 points clear and could see the win just a few minutes away and couldn't compose themselves. Crusaders got themselves a penalty with a minute to go and at that point it was nigh on impossible to win the game, however, the arrogance of Crusaders was their downfall tonight. They should have sucked it up, accepted that they were going to lose and taken 3 points from the penalty and assured themselves a losing BP. But the arrogance forced them to tap and go and attempt to get that try (which even if converted would have left them losing the game with a bonus point.)
A BP for Crusaders wouldn't have bothered me if they went for the 3 points from the penalty, but i'm glad that they didn't score that try at the end of the match. Disrespectful to the performance Highlanders put in tonight.
Click to expand...

Yeah I was very surprised that the Crusaders didn't take the shot for goal with about a minute to go... to be fair though they win so often they probably don't even know that there are bonus points available even if you lose ;)
 
darwin_23 said:
Yeah I was very surprised that the Crusaders didn't take the shot for goal with about a minute to go... to be fair though they win so often they probably don't even know that there are bonus points available even if you lose ;)
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LOL! Serves 'em right then!
That did wind me up more than I expected it to. Just felt disrespectful to Highlanders.
I guess this Otago water is getting into my blood! :D
 
TRF_RC said:
LOL! Serves 'em right then!
That did wind me up more than I expected it to. Just felt disrespectful to Highlanders.
I guess this Otago water is getting into my blood! :D
Click to expand...
Otago water.... you mean Speights right?... it's always good to have a bit of that running through your bloodstream :D
 
Haha! Got a man-handle of Speights sitting infront of me as i type! Score! :)
 
Really good win the Highlanders, played superbly and thoroughly deserved the win
The way they played today makes me think that even if SBW and Maitland started, the result would have been the same

This throws open the race for top spot in the NZ conference, and the whole league table
 
TRF_RC said:
LOL! Serves 'em right then!
That did wind me up more than I expected it to. Just felt disrespectful to Highlanders.
I guess this Otago water is getting into my blood! :D
Click to expand...

I know what you mean, everyone in our room here was thinking "You fools! You've still time to go for a last minute try too". It was one of the Franks brothers I think who made the call. It was arrogance and a lack of foresight.
 

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