Super Rugby: Blues vs. Hurricanes in Auckland (13/04/2013)

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Eden Park, Auckland

Referee: Jaco Peyper

Other matches this weekend:

http://www.therugbyforum.com/forum/...ghlanders-vs-Brumbies-in-Dunedin-(12-04-2013)

http://www.therugbyforum.com/forum/...Rugby-Chiefs-vs-Reds-in-Hamilton-(13-04-2013)

http://www.therugbyforum.com/forum/...gby-Rebels-vs-Kings-in-Melbourne-(13-04-2013)

http://www.therugbyforum.com/forum/...ugby-Force-vs-Crusaders-in-Perth-(13-04-2013)

http://www.therugbyforum.com/forum/...-Stormers-vs-Sharks-in-Cape-Town-(13-04-2013)

http://www.therugbyforum.com/forum/...by-Bulls-vs-Cheetahs-in-Pretoria-(13-04-2013)

BYE

 

[Larksea]

tough call, I think canes on form and Blues if they can play to their potential - basically play the game they showed in the first two weeks.

Ranger vs. Conrad Smith - both will be wanting to make a massive point. You couldn't get two more contrasting centers. massive straight running islander with x-factor to burn vs Sneaky running Skinny white boy lawyer who's all about high accuracy.

Perenara vs. weepu alone worth the entry price.

 

[admartian]

Dropping Barrett to fullback is perhaps to isolate him from the big Blues backs. And Ranger at wing is to possibly try and neutralise the speeding train that is Julian Savea.

 

[Darwin]

Hurricanes: Beauden Barrett, Alapati Leiua, Conrad Smith (c), Tim Bateman, Julian Savea, Tusi Pisi, TJ Perenara; Faifili Levave, Ardie Savea, Brad Shields, Jason Eaton, Mark Reddish, Ben May, Motu Matu'u, Ben Franks/Reg Goodes.
Reserves: Dane Coles/Ash Dixon, Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, James Broadhurst, Jack Lam, Chris Smylie, Reynold Lee-Lo, Andre Taylor.

Blues: Charles Piutau, Frank Halai, Francis Saili, Jackson Willison, Rene Ranger, Chris Noakes, Piri Weepu; Peter Saili, Luke Braid, Steven Luatua, Ali Williams (c), Culum Retallick, Angus Ta'avao, James Parsons, Tom McCartney.
Reserves: Keven Mealamu, Ofa Tu'ungafasi, Anthony Boric, Brendon O'Connor, Jamison Gibson-Park, Baden Kerr, Albert Nikoro.

 

[Amobokoboko]

I'm backing up the Blues for this one.

 

[Larksea]

I don't like Barrett Dropping to 15, I think it blunts the attack a bit. He will do well there bit I just think the Canes just have more potential with him at 10.

Managed to get some tickets for this game, should be a good one.

 

[FlukeArtist]

Based on my recent ability to pick winners, i'm not going to curse either team by stating that they will win.

This is a damn hard game to call really.
Blues will need to be a lot more accurate if they want to win this one.
The amount of dropped ball they have is ridiculous.
And they need a bit more planning on attack. Too often they look they are playing off the cuff - and that's all well and good - but you need to have attacking strategies as well.
On the plus side for the Blues, the defence is still pretty good.

Toss the coin on this one

 

[William18]

I don't like Barrett Dropping to 15, I think it blunts the attack a bit. He will do well there bit I just think the Canes just have more potential with him at 10.

Managed to get some tickets for this game, should be a good one.

Barrett was put to 15 because they are worried about the attack not the defence.

 

[Darwin]

Barrett was put to 15 because they are worried about the attack not the defence.

That is what the coaches are saying, but I don't buy it. The Hurricanes attack is fine with Barrett at 10 (it is the Canes defense which is the major issue this season) - I think they will be far less effective with Pisi running the show..

 

[Larksea]

That is what the coaches are saying, but I don't buy it. The Hurricanes attack is fine with Barrett at 10 (it is the Canes defense which is the major issue this season) - I think they will be far less effective in at with Pisi running the show..

+1

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

From my personal point of view, the Blues will win this one. My formula says otherwise Be interesting to see how it goes...

 

[admartian]

That is what the coaches are saying, but I don't buy it. The Hurricanes attack is fine with Barrett at 10 (it is the Canes defense which is the major issue this season) - I think they will be far less effective in at with Pisi running the show..

Agreed.

 

[nickdnz]

That is what the coaches are saying, but I don't buy it. The Hurricanes attack is fine with Barrett at 10 (it is the Canes defense which is the major issue this season) - I think they will be far less effective with Pisi running the show..

Yep. Not a fan of Pisi as a playmaker. I'd still prefer Barrett at 10 - but his defence may be a worry.

 

[Darwin]

Yep. Not a fan of Pisi as a playmaker. I'd still prefer Barrett at 10 - but his defence may be a worry.

I haven't seen a lot of Pisi in recent years, but when he has come onto the field for the Canes this season he has been very direct with ball in hand. He has basically been a 'crash-ball' first-five (ala Stephen Donald). I don't think this will help the Canes backline as a whole, but he may be able to run straight through Chris Noakes (who is a poor defender...).

Anyways...I think this should be a good match. I like the look of the Canes side (apart from Pisi at 10) - though I'm not a fan of Reddish he did actually play quite well last weekend. If Ben Franks is fit I expect the Canes to put some pressure on the Blues scrum, as Ta'avao really struggled last weekend against the Highlanders. The loose-forward battle will be a highlight for me. Shields and Luatua are the two most promising 6's in he country (by some margin) - both are big physical players too, and could well be competing for one spot in the All Blacks squad. At the moment I would say Luatua is ahead, but Shields has impressed over recent weeks. Savea vs Braid should be an interesting battle at 7. Savea is freakishly athletic and had a superb debut last weekend, but Luke Braid has developed into a very handy player over the last couple of seasons, and can be quite a handful with ball in hand. Saili and Levave are both talented 8's but have never consistently delivered on their potential.

Perenara vs Weepu is an interesting battle. Both have been in great form over recent weeks, though their passing has still been a bit erratic at times. I'm slightly surprised Noakes has again been handed the Blues 10 jersey - he has been impressive at times this season, but his defense remains a major issue. He may be able to cope with Bateman and Smith (as neither are overly physical players), but Pisi and Savea in particular could run straight through him. I like the Canes midfield, but am not convinced with the make-up of the Blues midfield - personally I would have keep Ranger at 13 as he has really thrived there this season. Personally I would have gone with Saili and 12 and Willison at 13 (if I had to pair these two in the midfield). Savea versus Halai should produce some big collisons, while I expect Ranger to cause Leiua some issues on the other wing (especially if Leiua continues to run out of the line looking for intercepts...).

Personally I see the Canes having a slight edge in this match. I think they need to kick over the Blues wings, which has been pretty successful for teams in recent weeks, though they will need a strong chasing line (as Piutau can be dangerous when he inevitability runs it back). Hurricanes by 5-10.

 

[Gena_ZA]

Braid - stable and ever improving
Savea - bit of a freak - only match 2 for him but this young man might go all the way (memories of IceMan comes up when I see him play)

Shields and Luata both great players, Shield should stay at 6 and Messam at 8 for the Chiefs, not the other way round

Noakes tackles like Jantjies I must say, Pisi should run the first 4-5 balls straight at and over him and/or Shields should make him his ***** early on

Ranger vs older Savea - mouth watering stuff
Piutau needs to spark again, he has huge potential

This is going to be a cracking match and the best game of the weekend from the spectator point of view
Canes to have their strongest challenge for the ***le yet this year is my gut feel

 

[TRF_heineken]

Based on my recent ability to pick winners, i'm not going to curse either team by stating that they will win.

This is a damn hard game to call really.
Blues will need to be a lot more accurate if they want to win this one.
The amount of dropped ball they have is ridiculous.
And they need a bit more planning on attack. Too often they look they are playing off the cuff - and that's all well and good - but you need to have attacking strategies as well.
On the plus side for the Blues, the defence is still pretty good.

Toss the coin on this one

Bwhahahahahahahahahaha!!!

 

[William18]

That is what the coaches are saying, but I don't buy it. The Hurricanes attack is fine with Barrett at 10 (it is the Canes defense which is the major issue this season) - I think they will be far less effective with Pisi running the show..

Sorry, my post was meant to read the opposite. Yeah, Barrett has gone to 15 because of his poor defence which was exposed versus the Blues in the first game. It's a shame because he does everything else so well. I'm really impressed with how Barrett controls the game.

 

[admartian]

I don't care who wins really. Going for a fluid, minimal errors and a good game from Julian Savea.

 

[Muzzy]

Aw man why won't they start Baden-Kerr. Don't know who is gonna win this one, my gut tells me Hurricanes by my heart is hoping for the Blues. I'm glad they're giving Pisi a start for a change, has he even had any game time for them this year? I know last year he was lucky to be on the bench, he's a better player than that.

 

[admartian]

I'm going to predict it now; there's gonna be a million knock ons if NZ teams this year are anything to go by.