Super 15: Chiefs - Stormers in Hamilton (14-05-2011)

[Amobokoboko]

Agree and a well deserved win. Only one remark on Kahui he did give away a very stupid penalty, something you don't do when you face the Stormers.

 

[Darwin]

very entertaining game to watch. DICKinson was fricken annoying though refed the game equally bad for both teams.

I wasn't too unhappy about the chiefs first half. Despite the scoreline they seemed to have the edge in some areas of the game so I was pretty confident they could come back and put some pressure on the stormers. The one major problems was discipline where Romana Graham, Fritz Lee and tuifua showed their lack of experience at times. And to the stormers credit they really took advantage of the field position those silly errors gave them.

thought the penalty try and card were spot on. Aplon clearly pulled on kahui's jumper, pushed at him with his hips and only actually had a play at the ball with his feet once he had totally taken kahui out... and even that looked like his feet were aimed at kahui.

Key players for the chiefs.

First two are pretty much the same every week.

Messam - Huge game. Can't seem to do wrong. Huge work rate with almost no errors. leads by example. Scored the try that sealed the game, big hits on defense or attack and this week did it all wearing the #7 on his back.

Leonard - Solid as ever but this week his box kick was the winner and gave the chiefs some great momentum to work with. I'd like to hear from the guys who still only rate him maybe the 5th halfback in NZ. IMO he's clearly an All Black contender.

Donald - kicked very well. One restart that went too far but everything else was great. Red the play very well on attack kicking and passing to the space or running at the gaps when they were presented. His bombs were coming down with ice on them. Still doesn't look 100% injury free though both he and mills showing signs that they aren't fully recovered from their back injuries. and picked a groin injury with 10 to go. Perfect kicking for goal - Which was needed in the face of Grant and his great record.

Sivivatu - Well all of a sudden he looks back to his best. Maybe still has some work to do but when he's so deadly on attack Henry and co will be forced to consider him again. easily evading wannabe tacklers from the back and turned nothing into something a few times which is what made him such a threat in test footy.

Kahui - Everyone knows his class on defense but the last couple of weeks we're being reminded just how good he is on attack when he gets the chance. Still think he goes to waste with Sweany inside him and we're only getting to sight him on attack when the ball skips sweany.

Hika Elliot - Chiefs lineout is looking good lately and Hika is making a good impact around the park as well.

Whole forward pack on the whole was pretty impressive. Scrum was good but the The pick 'n go - Mostly led by Messam but executed well by all was the key to getting into the game holding and protecting the ball even when going back and the end result was the time and space that Leonard and Donald used well to win the match.

Unfortunately didn't see the game, so can't comment on Leonard's performance. As I've said before, Leonard has been good this season, but hasn't really stood out to me. Though I still think he's only the fifth best halfback in the country, I wouldn't say he is that far away from the AB's, as he is not far away from the other top NZ halfbacks. I would be interested to know which of the top NZ halfbacks you rate below him. Weepu was in great form last year before injury, so is probably still ranked amongst the top halfbacks in the country. Cowan is the incumbent starting All Blacks halfback, has been very impressive this season, and had the best game I've seen from any halfback all year against the Hurricanes in the weekend. Andy Ellis was easily the form NZ halfback before injury (arguably the form halfback of the whole competition), while Mathewson has also been in strong form for the (almost) table-topping Blues (as he was all last season as well). I believe the AB's selectors will have the halfbacks ranked 1. Cowan 2. Weepu (though he could arguably be number 1) 3. Ellis 4. Mathewson 5. Leonard 6. ?????????. Personally I would have a similar list, but would change the positions of Mathewson and Ellis.

Great to hear Messem had another dominant game. Because of all the injuries in the loose-forwards he hasn't had a rest this year, but seems to be getting even better as the season goes on. I wonder whether he will eventually be given a rest, or will start every game of the season for the Chiefs, which will be very impressive for a loose-forward.

From the highlights and game reports it looked/sounds like Sivivatu is getting back near his best form. He seems to have lost a lot of the weight that he was carrying at the start of the season, and it seems his fitness/speed are returning as well. If he continues to improve I have no doubt he will make it back into the AB's this year, as he is (rightly so) held in very high regard by the AB's selectors. His form is bad news for the likes of Rokocoko and Hosea Gear, as the AB's will likely only take two specialist wings to the RWC (and potentially may only take 1).

 

[Larksea]

I think we have a great stock of 9's in NZ and they have different strengths and weaknesses. Rather than Ranking them 1-5 it's better to rank different parts of their game compared to each other then assess from there.

Like rate them in terms of
Defence
Passing
Speed of clearance
play making ability
Running Threat
kicking/box kick
Ability under pressure/with poor service
Dicipline

people may rate 9's differently depending on what traits they think are most important. For example I haven't been happy with Elis or Cowan's test performances most over the last couple years because their clearance speed has been very poor and IMO that is critical as it affects the space and time players have on attack. Most evedent when Weepu has come off the bench and the whole team seems to have more time and space. Mathewson is better in this area but I dont believe he is very good with poor service and His defence & kicking isn't game as strong as others.

 

[Darwin]

I think we have a great stock of 9's in NZ and they have different strengths and weaknesses. Rather than Ranking them 1-5 it's better to rank different parts of their game compared to each other then assess from there.

Like rate them in terms of
Defence
Passing
Speed of clearance
play making ability
Running Threat
kicking/box kick
Ability under pressure/with poor service
Dicipline

people may rate 9's differently depending on what traits they think are most important. For example I haven't been happy with Elis or Cowan's test performances most over the last couple years because their clearance speed has been very poor and IMO that is critical as it affects the space and time players have on attack. Most evedent when Weepu has come off the bench and the whole team seems to have more time and space. Mathewson is better in this area but I dont believe he is very good with poor service and His defence & kicking game as strong as others.

I have no doubt the AB's selectors go through the same sort of process, but in the end they will end up with a list of halfbacks rated from 1 to whatever. Taking everything into account, who would be the three halfbacks you would pick for the AB's this year (and who do you think the AB's selectors will take)? I agree that the clearance speed of Ellis/Cowan hasn't been great at times for the AB's, however I don't particularly rate Leonards' clearance - while it may be slightly faster than that of Cowans/Ellis, it can at times be very inaccurate.

I personally think Mathewson's defense is very good. His cover defense is good (but not at the level of Cowan's), and I think he is the best defensive halfback in the country around the base of the breakdown. Mathewson's only glaring fault is his lack of the accurate box-kicking game (something that all the other contenders possess). An accurate kicking game can be crucial is wet conditions, and I feel his lack of kicking game will be the reason the AB's selectors pick Andy Ellis ahead of him for the RWC. Leonard's defense is ok; his cover defense is a strength, but I've seen him miss quite a few tackles this year. The player I don't rate on defense is Andy Ellis, as he seems to miss quite a lot of tackles around the base of the breakdown. At times he just waves his arms at players rather than committing to the tackle, which really frustrates me!

 

[Cassie]

I wanted the Stormers to win this match as they look like the best team for a while in the SA conference this year. Sharks are also a great team but the Stormers did beat them twice, and they beat the Bulls at home. The Bulls is slowly but surely finding their rhythm and the possibility of one more slip up can cost them big time as they won’t be able to defend the ***le. <O</O
<O</O

Hope the Stormers can get back on track, as they face a stern challenge against a really focused and fired up Blues team. <O</O