Super Rugby: Brumbies vs. Crusaders in Canberra (05/05/2013)

[Darwin]

Betting against the Stormers, brave...

I don't know if it is that brave..... you would have won 50% of the time if you had been betting against them every match this season

EDIT: Crusaders side named.

Crusaders: Tom Taylor, Tom Marshall, Robbie Fruean, Ryan Crotty, Zac Guildford, Dan Carter, Andy Ellis, Luke Whitelock, Matt Todd, George Whitelock, Sam Whitelock, Luke Romano, Owen Franks, Corey Flynn, Wyatt Crockett.
Reserves: Ben Funnell, Joe Moody, Dominic Bird, Jordan Taufua, Willi Heinz, Adam Whitelock, Israel Dagg.

Carter is back starting, while Dagg drops to the bench. Unfortunately Read is not back yet - if he was back I probably would have put my money with the Crusaders, but at the moment I'm not sure which way to go.

Dropping Dagg to the bench is not a bad decision, as he has been poor this season. If the Crusaders has some decent wing options I would have liked to see Tom Marshall back at fullback (as he is more dangerous back there), but the other Crusaders wing options (Adam Whitelock) are hardly great. Guildford did show some signs of life last weekend, and will have really up his game this weekend as he will likely be marking one of the form wings in the competition (Henry Speight). Fruean needs a big game too, while I'm sure Crotty will be better this week back in the 12 jersey (with Carter on his inside).

I'm not really sure how Luke Whitelock continues to warrant starts in the 8 jersey. He has been ok, but Taufua has shown far more in his brief cameo appearances than Luke Whitelock has ever shown. Apart from him the rest of the forward pack looks strong - they just need to get a bit fired up and really take it to the Brumbies pack. The Crusaders scrum started to show signs of life late last week (once Crockett came on), but they will need to step up even further if they want to put pressure on what is a pretty good Brumbies scrum.

 

[easy2288]

I think Brumbies will win because they are hungrier to win the match and they know the pain they suffered last year losing steam in the last few rounds. I dont think they will repeated the mistake again. For Crusaders, well they come out without some excuses again if they lose the match. They have been doing this for many years. I hope I am wrong...

 

[Darwin]

Brumbies: 1. Ben Alexander, 2. Stephen Moore, 3. Dan Palmer, 4. Peter Kimlin, 5. Sam Carter, 6. Ben Mowen, 7. George Smith, 8. Fotu Auelua, 9. Nic White, 10. Matt Toomua, 11. Joseph Tomane, 12. Christian Lealiifano, 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 14. Henry Speight, 15. Jesse Mogg.
Reserves: 16. Siliva Silia, 17. Scott Sio, 18. Leon Power, 19. Colby Faingaa, 20. Ian Prior, 21. Pat McCabe, 22. Robbie Coleman.

Exactly the starting side I would have predicted.

Really looking forward to this game. The scrum battle should be interesting - the Crusaders have been good in this department in recent weeks, but I feel the Brumbies have the best front-row of any Australian franchise (indeed if was Robbie Deans that would be my starting front-row against the Lions....). Lineouts likewise look like an even battle, while the Brumbies may have a slight edge in the loose with George Smith at 7. It would have been great if Taufua had started at 8, as I would have loved to see him go head-to-head with Auelua!

The one area the Crusaders have a clear advantage is in the halves, though White and Toomua have been playing well this season. The midfields are similar in terms of style, with a more creative player at 12 and a big ball runner at centre. Outwide is an area I see the Brumbies having a big edge. Guildford looks to be coming back into some sort of form, but Speight has been on fire for the Brumbies, while on the other wing I'm worried that Tom Marshall will struggle to contain big Joe Tomane. Mogg will be a massive threat again at fullback, and I'm sure Tom Taylor's positioning will be tested at fullback, as the Brumbies are very efficient at putting grubbers in behind the defense.

Overall I find this a hard game to pick. I feel the Crusaders will be really up for it this week, but the Brumbies are a quality side. I'm going to pick the Crusaders by 5, though that may be influenced by who I want to win...

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

What you're forgetting, Darwin, is that Luke Whitelock is a Whitelock.

 

[Darwin]

What you're forgetting, Darwin, is that Luke Whitelock is a Whitelock.

Ah, my mistake. It all makes sense now

 

[dasNdanger]

Wow...great try, Crusaders!

I just woke up at the 65 minute mark (hey, it's 3:30 am here...had to pee ), and decided to check the game. Looks like the Crusaders have this one in the bag. Have they found their form?

Wow...great try, Brumbies!

Maybe I better shut up and wait for the game to end before saying anything more.


das

 

[Darwin]

Reports of the Crusaders death are greatly exaggerated....

 

[dasNdanger]

Reports of the Crusaders death are greatly exaggerated....

The fat lady still has time to sing...


das

 

[dasNdanger]

AND...she sings... a sweet song for the Crusaders. Glad they didn't risk going for the bonus point - I think it may have bitten them on the arse if they had.


das

 

[Darwin]

A good performance by the Crusaders - Carter made a big impact.

 

[austingtir]

Nah i disagree they should of pick and drived and atleast attempted to draw a penalty if not score a try for the bonus point. One point could make an enormous difference for them come finals time.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

Bugger that the Brumbies got a BP, but ah well, would've been ok with that outcome at the start of the game!

Now if the Chiefs get 5 next week against the Force in Hamilton they'll go top...

 

[dasNdanger]

Nah i disagree they should of pick and drived and atleast attempted to draw a penalty if not score a try for the bonus point. One point could make an enormous difference for them come finals time.

I would agree, if the Brumbies had not scored that penalty. Had the ball been turned over and the Brumbies given a chance to score, the outcome could have been much different. I don't think it was worth the risk of a draw when they already had won the game.


das

 

[austingtir]

Man its going to be intresting to see who makes the finals. The cheetahs suprisingly are still hanging in there in the SA conference and the Waratahs are obviously picking their game up in a major way. Going to be tight as.

 

[admartian]

A good performance by the Crusaders - Carter made a big impact.

Yep - he sure did.

Was hoping for them to go for it on that last lineout. But good to get the result.

 

[easy2288]

Reports of the Crusaders death are greatly exaggerated....

The "REAL" Crusaders finally appears ...But I stayed with my earlier comments ... "Looks like they always over-confident when they played with weaker teams". The results show.

 

[Darwin]

I would agree, if the Brumbies had not scored that penalty. Had the ball been turned over and the Brumbies given a chance to score, the outcome could have been much different. I don't think it was worth the risk of a draw when they already had won the game.


das

I agree entirely. While it would have been good to get a bonus point (and deny the Brumbies a bonus point) going for the try wasn't worth the risk in my opinion. The Brumbies were looking very dangerous with ball in hand over those last 10 minutes...

 

[Larksea]

beating the brumbies away is a massive result, vintage performance from dan carter, just enough to remind everyone he's the best 10 in the world.

Tight 5 + George whitelock were really good close in and Todd came up with some good turnovers in the loose, front row in particular. I have flynn but he's been very solid though the crusaders lineout was shabby.

the clearing kicks from Carter and Taylor in particular with a couple from Elis when they were on defense in their 22 were a big part in the result I think. The fact that these guys mostly cleared near, too and beyond half way when they were under pressure rather than inside or to the 22 I think was the difference in the end. In general Carter had massive length on his kicks.