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Super 15: Blues vs Crusaders. Eden Park, Auckland (24/2/2012, 06:35 GMT)

They were talking about this on radioSport the other day. Apparently since the RWC finished, Weepu has tweeted heaps about fast food!
 
Looking at the two teams named I'm finding it very hard to pick a winner!

I think the Crusaders have the edge in the front-row due to their world class propping rotation (even if their best prop is on the bench). I've got a lot of time for McCartney, but he is better at hooker, and while Faumuina is a good ball running prop, he still has work to do at scrum time.The blues do have a clear edge at hooker, but this is not enough to overcome the Crusaders edge in the props in my opinion. Despite having the edge in the front-row I don't actually think the Crusaders will have much (if any) edge at scrum-time, as they really lack a tight-head lock (they will REALLY miss Brad Thorn here), while the Blues have a strong scrummaging tight-head lock in Boric, and Ali Williams is not bad at scrum-time either (probably better than either Donnelly or Whitelock in any case). I think the Blues have a slight edge in the locks, but only just.

Both teams seem to have pretty well balanced loose-forward trios, though I do think the Crusaders lack someone who can run the ball effectively close to the breakdown (ala Kaino). Read does a good job running a bit wider, but I think the Crusaders will have to rely heavily on there props to get them the go-forward ball they require (this is another major area where they will miss Thorn). It will be interesting to see how Kaino goes at 8 - he will need to have a strong match, as I see the Crusaders having a very slight edge in the loose-forward department.

The halves look evenly matched to me - Mathewson and Hobbs are the better ball runners, but Ellis and Bleyendaal play the tactical game better. Likewise the mid-field looks pretty evenly matched - there could be some big collisions between Fruean and Ranger! Some interesting matchups out wide too: I think Raikuna may have trouble containing Dagg, but Raikuna himself could cause some damage if he gets a bit of room to move.

In conclusion I have no idea who is going to win - I'm going to pick the Blues by 5, solely because they have the home advantage...
 
TRF_Darwin said:
Looking at the two teams named I'm finding it very hard to pick a winner!

I think the Crusaders have the edge in the front-row due to their world class propping rotation (even if their best prop is on the bench). I've got a lot of time for McCartney, but he is better at hooker, and while Faumuina is a good ball running prop, he still has work to do at scrum time.The blues do have a clear edge at hooker, but this is not enough to overcome the Crusaders edge in the props in my opinion. Despite having the edge in the front-row I don't actually think the Crusaders will have much (if any) edge at scrum-time, as they really lack a tight-head lock (they will REALLY miss Brad Thorn here), while the Blues have a strong scrummaging tight-head lock in Boric, and Ali Williams is not bad at scrum-time either (probably better than either Donnelly or Whitelock in any case). I think the Blues have a slight edge in the locks, but only just.

Both teams seem to have pretty well balanced loose-forward trios, though I do think the Crusaders lack someone who can run the ball effectively close to the breakdown (ala Kaino). Read does a good job running a bit wider, but I think the Crusaders will have to rely heavily on there props to get them the go-forward ball they require (this is another major area where they will miss Thorn). It will be interesting to see how Kaino goes at 8 - he will need to have a strong match, as I see the Crusaders having a very slight edge in the loose-forward department.

The halves look evenly matched to me - Mathewson and Hobbs are the better ball runners, but Ellis and Bleyendaal play the tactical game better. Likewise the mid-field looks pretty evenly matched - there could be some big collisions between Fruean and Ranger! Some interesting matchups out wide too: I think Raikuna may have trouble containing Dagg, but Raikuna himself could cause some damage if he gets a bit of room to move.

In conclusion I have no idea who is going to win - I'm going to pick the Blues by 5, solely because they have the home advantage...
Click to expand...


Feel the same, to close to call, Blues by 5 for home advantage
 
well as far asthe crusaders scrum goes it's going to be interestig to see how it is without Thorn. It's long been said that he is a big part of the scrums he is in and he never missed many games for the crusaders.
 
A great video here of the Blues best tries against the Crusaders. Some stunning individual tries (Ranger, Lomu, Caucau), but the most memorable for me is definitely Spencers try in the corner, after he started it inside his own goal-line with less than 1 minutes left on the clock. Why can't the season start already!
 
This weekend is gonna be great Super Rugby and 6n. Brilliant. Be hard to leave the TV.
 
Forecast: Showers + First game nerves + New combinations + Lots of High balls = Mistakes a plenty.

I'm glad Rene is away from the last line of defense, if it's an up and under he's usually shaky. Toeava's a mixed bag under the High ball - can't have more than 2 players having issues.

If this is anything like last years match, irrespective of who wins - it'll be a great start for the NZ Franchises.





Blues to win +7
 
UilamOsa said:
Forecast: Showers + First game nerves + New combinations + Lots of High balls = Mistakes a plenty.

I'm glad Rene is away from the last line of defense, if it's an up and under he's usually shaky. Toeava's a mixed bag under the High ball - can't have more than 2 players having issues.

If this is anything like last years match, irrespective of who wins - it'll be a great start for the NZ Franchises.





Blues to win +7
Click to expand...

Could very well be the case! Are you based in Auckland? If so, what has the weather been like this week? If it has been anything like we have has here in Dunedin they may be playing under water ;)

I agree it is good to get Ranger away from the high-balls, though I'm not sure whether Raikuna is any better in that situation (Wulf however should be fine). Toeava has been a bit erratic in the past under the high ball, but I thought he was generally very good last season in this department (before he was injured). I'm really hoping he continues to show last seasons form, rather than reverting to the slightly error-prone (but exceptionally gifted) player he had been in previous seasons.
 
Weather's gotten worse as the week's progressed - some torrential showers today. Hopefully it subsides a bit for tomorrow...
 
TRF_Darwin said:
Could very well be the case! Are you based in Auckland? If so, what has the weather been like this week? If it has been anything like we have has here in Dunedin they may be playing under water ;)

I agree it is good to get Ranger away from the high-balls, though I'm not sure whether Raikuna is any better in that situation (Wulf however should be fine). Toeava has been a bit erratic in the past under the high ball, but I thought he was generally very good last season in this department (before he was injured). I'm really hoping he continues to show last seasons form, rather than reverting to the slightly error-prone (but exceptionally gifted) player he had been in previous seasons.
Click to expand...

It's gone from gradual spitting to heavy showers in the space of a few days depending on where you are in Auckland. It's intermittent, so I'm hoping it clears up for at least 120 mins (40 mins before the game) at Eden park.
Then clear up for the Warriors Game next week. :cool:

Agreed with Raikuna, but at least he seems to be a faster thinker when cleaning up messes. The disdain Ranger has with clearing up some of his mistakes has a whiff of Rupeni sometimes.
 
Sky decided to skip the early matches. The matches played in New Zealand are usually starting before people even get up in the morning in England. It sucks, but makes sense
 
Considering that they show cricket matches at the same or worse times, then the sense is thrown out the window.

Same with preseason football matches in far away lands.

Meh.
 
Invictus said:
Weather's gotten worse as the week's progressed - some torrential showers today. Hopefully it subsides a bit for tomorrow...
Click to expand...

It actually hasn't rained at all today.

Has been threatening light showers but it's been rather Sunny.

25,000 crowd expected including Walkup prior to wet forecast. Could hit the 30,000+ mark.

Fingers crossed for a clear night. And a great game.
 

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