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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Darwin" data-source="post: 411882" data-attributes="member: 24910">I agree with you that Munro should not be there; not only is his defense poor, but he is painfully slow.  However he was quite valuable for the Blues in this match, as it wasn't really a day for running rugby, hence he wasn't really tested much on defense.  His goal-kicking was very impressive (7/9 in very difficult conditions), and I thought McAlister actually played better this week without the pressure of goal-kicking (which has been poor for him recently).  If the weather was good I definitely wouldn't have Munro there, however if it is wet his goal-kicking can be valuable.  In understand Rudi Wulf has joined the squad as cover for Rene Ranger; if they can get him up to speed quickly I'd be more than happy to have him starting on the left wing.On the match itself: A well deserved win for the Blues, I'm sure they will be happy to get back into winning ways before the playoffs next week.  It was an ok match despite the conditions, and I think the final score was probably a fair reflection of the game.  I can't understand at all why the Blues refused to go for the bonus point when the match was sewn up. It is probably unlikely to affect the final standings, but if the Stormers get two points from their match against the Cheetahs (from a draw, or 4 tries and a losing bonus point) they would go ahead of he Blues on the table.Charlie Faumuina again impressed for the Blues, both in the set pieces and with the ball in hand.  Mealamu looked good with the ball in hand (but had a couple on wonky lineout throws), and I thought both Boric and Williams looked strong.  Likewise I was impressed with the Blues loose-trio, Kaino was strong in both attack and defence (and got a couple of charge downs), Luke Braid had a huge work-rate (a possibly AB's bolter?), and Saili looked good with the ball in hand.  I think I've basically mentioned that the whole forward pack had good games, which is probably the reason the Blues dominated the game!Smylie had a pretty good game for someone who hasn't played much rugby this year, though he made a couple of basic errors (and seemed to get away with at least two knock-ons at the base of the ruck that the ref missed..).  Brett and McAlister both had solid games; both seem to play better without the pressure of kicking.  I thought Rokocoko was the pick of the outside backs from either team.  He didn't make any huge breaks, but he was strong with the ball in hand (he even brought out his trademark spin!), and rock solid in defence.Jason Rutledge had a solid match for the Highlanders, but I thought Mo Schwalger made a huge impact when he came on at hooker with his strong running.  The Highlanders locks were ok, but again were probably outshone by their counterparts.  Nasi Manu was the pick of the loosies again for me; I've be really impressed with the way he has matured as the season has progressed.Cowan had a mixed game; he made some good tackles in cover defense, and made some great kicks into space, but his passing was poor at times, he gave away a couple of silly penalties, and lost the plot a couple of times (including kneeing Luke Braid at one stage).  The rest of the Highlanders backs were reasonably solid, Siale Piutau probably the most threatening.  Matt Saunders had a pretty good game on the wing (apart from the first kick he did), taking his two try scoring opportunities very well.  There seemed to be a lot of confusion at the back though when the Blues put up high kicks, with no-one getting close on several occasions.  It was probably Ben Smith's quietest game of the year, and it was bit worrying to see some many of the Blues kicks bounce. Finally, I was a bit disappointed with Telusa Veainu's lack of pace when he got the intercept near the end of the match.  Veainu is an intercept specialist, but he was caught quite easily by Jarred Payne, though a lot of credit also needs to go to Rokocoko who also chased back and cut off Veainu's ability to head for the corner.</blockquote>

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