Super 15: Blues - Chiefs in Albany (02/06/2012)

[Darwin]

Good try again by the Chiefs...

Worst box kick ever by Kerr-Barlow...

EDIT: Now a BRILLIANT chiefs try!!!! Hat-trick for Tikirotimu...

 

[Sneaki]

Probably should have been yellow for both of them there.

Nice try for Wulf.

 

[Darwin]

Did Ranger drop that? if not great try by him! 34 all, with 14mins to go.


Great kick by Cruden

TRY TIKIROTIMU... absolutely destroyed Wulf for pace!

EDIT: Final score 41-34 Chiefs. Thoroughly entertaining game.

 

[McTallshort]

Ok the white card........wtf?

 

[smartcooky]

Probably should have been yellow for both of them there.

Nice try for Wulf.

Absolutely, both Black 4 and Blue 19 should have gone top the bin.

Chris Pollock hasn't had the best of nights tonight....too many times allowing offside pillars at the ruck to scrag the half-back. He doesn't seem to get that when the ball comes out it does not make everyone automatically onside. If the pillar is ahead of the hindmost foot when the ball is out, he's not allowed to tackle the halfback immediately he picks up the ball.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

Leonard copped a lot of that.

Weepu didn't even get on the field tonight. Interesting.

 

[Aedaphon]

Absolutely cracking game- was hoping the Blues might sneak a draw out of it at the end but valiant effort nonetheless.

It's good to see signs of life in the Blues setup- Ranger, Wulf and Saili all had great moments and Mathewson has showed Weepu up for this week at least...

 

[Amobokoboko]

Ok, I missed the last 75 min due to a shopping activity ( bloody new house) I followed the score by dropping in every Mac store in town. Blues seemed to play the game they did last week and show the world they cans till play footie or was it a crappy Chiefs defense? Will watch the game tonight.

Good to see Tikoirotuma score 4 tries. A decent competitor to Nainai williams and Masaga.

Very happy with the result

 

[Larksea]

very intense game, very physical - very much like finals intensity with the desperate state the Blues are in.

The blues juggernaught was going to wake up at some stage and they looked really good tonight and it shows just how good the chiefs are that they were able to react to the blues finally finding form and still beat them.

Very impressive effort from the chiefs regular top players like Messam, Cruden, Retalick and SBW who was superb marking Nonu. Afeaki was great at times as well though his dicapline could have been better. Robbie was really good too Tiko obviously stole the show with 4 tries but all the work was done for him and he just added his pace really to finish them off and great work from the likes of SBW, Cruden and Messam and others in the buildups.

Fitzgerald I thought was going ok and making up for some sloppy work he's done this year when be blew up and got sent off in a move that could have lost the game for the chiefs. Honestly I hope he gets rested for the rest of the season. Throwing punches because some guys holding your jersey? Honestly I've not seen anything that stupid since I watched club rugby with Mongrel Mob Members playing.

Bench played an important role, Leonard, Waldrum and Graham I thought all made a good impact which was critical in getting that last try that sealed the game.

The killer blow for the blues is that the lions managed to come through in their Giant killing hunt this weekend so now they sit last on the table again. Would have thought the two points they got would have been good enough to help save them from the wooden spoon.

Now the blues will be even more desperate. The brumbies in particular will be interested in this game they play the blues in the last round and should be worried. Dropping that game could allow the reds to sneak in.

Wonder if Weepu will make the AB's when he can't even get off the bench for the blues? you wouldn't have wanted him on Mathewson was one of the keys the the improved effort from the blues

 

[Darwin]

Ok, I missed the last 75 min due to a shopping activity ( bloody new house) I followed the score by dropping in every Mac store in town. Blues seemed to play the game they did last week and show the world they cans till play footie or was it a crappy Chiefs defense? Will watch the game tonight.

Good to see Tikoirotuma score 4 tries. A decent competitor to Nainai williams and Masaga.

Very happy with the result

It was a combination of both I believe - the Chiefs defense was a bit weaker than usual, however the Blues attack was much better than it has been for most of the season.

For the Blues I was really impressed with Steve Luatua (the yellow card aside). He was dominant in the lineout, ran well with the ball, and has a huge work-rate around the field. Both Braids impressed at times too. Mathewson had probably his best game of the season, though it was odd Weepu was not brought on. Francis Saili again impressed in the midfield - he's a big powerful man, but he does seem to have a very good skill-set. Ranger made a massive impact on the wing, being directly involved in a number of the Blues tries, and likewise Wulf added some solidity to the Blues backline, and is quite a powerful runner in attack. The player who impressed me most was possibly Lachie Munro. I've been very critical of him in the past as he is slow and can't tackle, but he had a great game last night. His goal-kicking was superb (as always), and when he shifted into 10 he controlled the game well for the Blues. He was originally a 10, but shifted to fullback a couple of seasons ago - I wonder whether now is time to shift back to 10 given he is a far more mature player now that he was back then.

For the Chiefs I was impressed by Brodie Retallick (as always), and Fitzgerald seemed to be having an improved game before he lost the plot and got deservedly yellow carded. Thomson and Cane had good games, but Messam was exceptional in my opinion - he defense was strong and he was putting his head down and making huge yards close to the ruck, which I'm sure is what the AB's selectors will want to see him doing. Kerr-Barlow was pretty good, but Leonard was poor when he came on - his passing was inaccurate, and he keep getting caught behind the ruck (though whether this was entirely legal has already been alluded to). Cruden didn't actually have a great game in general, but did enough, while SBW certainly got the best of Nonu. Willison had some nice tocuhes, as did Robinson at fullback. I thought Nemani was having a good game before he got yellow carded - he is incredibly powerful for a wing, while Tikirotimu certainly deserved his 4 tries, and displayed some exceptional pace at times.

Overall a good game to watch for the neutral.

 

[Larksea]

bit harsh on leonard , blues were running riot around the rucks and getting away with what they did and he did eventually produce some quick ball which was key to the last try. Hard to come on for 10min or so and make an impact he's really good enough for 20-30min. Pretty much agree with the rest. Willison if anything is a very impressive defender, while they miss Kahui at least they wont have to worry about leaks in that area did pretty well to come back from that late Nonu no arms charge, Nonu very lucky the refs missed that one. Messam was super impressive again as always and nice touch with some great lineout work, it's always been that way though when the chiefs lineout is working well he's not used but if they get under pressure he steps up and nails all his takes, so with Clarke out for this game he took some of the workload.

Blues have unearthed a few things they need to take into next year, some impressive players have come out of the woodwork over the last few weeks. Would also help if Munro lived up to his potential, he is obviously a pretty awesome kicker but he's never looked at home on the wing

 

[Darwin]

bit harsh on leonard , blues were running riot around the rucks and getting away with what they did and he did eventually produce some quick ball which was key to the last try. Hard to come on for 10min or so and make an impact he's really good enough for 20-30min. Pretty much agree with the rest. Willison if anything is a very impressive defender, while they miss Kahui at least they wont have to worry about leaks in that area did pretty well to come back from that late Nonu no arms charge, Nonu very lucky the refs missed that one. Messam was super impressive again as always and nice touch with some great lineout work, it's always been that way though when the chiefs lineout is working well he's not used but if they get under pressure he steps up and nails all his takes, so with Clarke out for this game he took some of the workload.

Blues have unearthed a few things they need to take into next year, some impressive players have come out of the woodwork over the last few weeks. Would also help if Munro lived up to his potential, he is obviously a pretty awesome kicker but he's never looked at home on the wing

Both teams were getting away with a lot at the back of the rucks: Kerr-Barlow and Mathewson dealt with this pretty well, Leonard did not. His passing to Cruden was also very inaccurate - Cruden always seemed to be getting the ball either at his feet or over his head once Leonard came on. Indeed with the 'quick ball' he produced for the final Chiefs try actually got to Cruden on the bounce - it was good luck rather than good management!

 

[Hairy Scot]

Ok the white card........wtf?

That yellow and white card was a cop out.

The chiefs player should have been given a red and should also be cited.