Super Rugby: Crusaders v Blues

[Gena_ZA]

I have no idea how to call this match
What do you think will happen?

 

[FlukeArtist]

As a Blues fan I have to back them
Though my head says that the Crusaders will be tough to roll at home. Plus they will be wanting revenge, it's Andy Ellis' 100th game, and also Keiren Read returning from injury won't hinder their cause either.

Head says Crusaders 1-12, but I'm going with the heart and saying Blues by a whisker

 

[Larksea]

tough game, but one has to think the crusader may have started to get back to their best bearing the brumbies in Aussie. Probably the most significant win from a NZ side this year.

problem being teams seem to generally under perform after a bye, makes it harder to pick.

 

[Mehrtsisagod]

Well I'm a Crusaders fan through & through.

We will be wanting revenge for the thrashing we got the first time plus having Read back will give our scrum a bit more oomph.

So I say 1-12 because even though we probably want a bonus point the majority of our matches have been close.

 

[Gena_ZA]

<article> The Crusaders have named captain Kieran Read in their team to play the Blues this weekend at AMI Stadium in Christchurch.
There are just two changes to the team that beat the Brumbies two weeks ago but the most notable is the return from injury of Kieran Read.
Read has been out with a toe injury for 7 weeks returns to the number eight jersey moving Luke Whitelock to the bench.
The game will be a special occasion for Andy Ellis as he mark's his 100th Super Rugby cap.
Ellis started his Super Rugby career in 2006 and has since clocked up 8 seasons with the Crusaders, 26 All Blacks test caps, 2 Super Rugby ***les, 3 ITM Cup ***les and a World Cup.
Crusaders
1. Wyatt Crockett ,2. Corey Flynn ,3. Owen Franks ,4. Luke Romano ,5. Sam Whitelock,6. George Whitelock ,7. Matt Todd,8. Kieran Read (c) ,9. Andy Ellis ,10. Dan Carter ,11. Zac Guildford ,12. Ryan Crotty ,13. Robbie Fruean ,14. Tom Marshall ,15. Tom Taylor
Replacements : 16. Ben Funnell ,17. Joe Moody, 18. Dominic Bird ,19. Luke Whitelock, 20. Willi Heinz, 21. Adam Whitelock, 22. Israel Dagg
</article>

 

[Gena_ZA]

Oroginal souce - http://www.superxv.com/news/super15_rugby_news.asp?id=39019

Sideshow news:


"

George Moala has been charged with assaulting two men

"Blues Super Rugby winger George Moala has been charged with assaulting two men last year in December.
<article> The twenty-two-year-old winger appeared at the Auckland District Court on Tuesday morning and no application to keep his name a secret was made.
George Moala was charged, alongside his brother Siua Moala, 23, with attacking Damian Matokea and Daniel Leota during an incident on Karangahape Road in Auckland about 4.20am on December 30.
Both men were charged with assault with intent to injure after first appearing in court on April the 23rd which is also when they were granted interim name suppression.
The duo have been remanded on bail without plea to a Mt Wellington address according to Fairfax Media.
In April Moala was dropped from the Blues starting line up after he broke team protocols when they played the Reds in Brisbane.
However Moala has worked his way back into the team and played against the Melbourne Rebels on Saturday.
The New Zealand Rugby Union have confirmed that they have initiated misconduct proceedings with Moala.
NZRU General Manager Professional Rugby Neil Sorensen confirmed that the misconduct process would be put on hold until the conclusion of Moala's court case.
"When a player finds himself facing charges of this nature we treat it seriously but it's important that we do not pre-judge his right to a fair judicial process," Sorenson told Fairfax.
"It is a complex matter which is in the hands of George's lawyers and we are not able to comment further at this stage."
Blues chief executive Andy Dalton said, "We will work with New Zealand Rugby and George's representatives on the misconduct process following the conclusion of the court case.

"Within our own environment, George broke internal team protocol when he failed to inform the team and management of the incident at the time."
"That issue was dealt with three weeks ago by the team," explained Dalton.
"He is now expected to turn up to work and fulfil his obligations as any other member of the squad." "

</article>

 

[admartian]

Crusaders by 4.
But really hoping this is a statement game for the Blues.

 

[Gena_ZA]

<article> Original sourse - http://www.superxv.com/news/super15_rugby_news.asp?id=39045

"The Blues have named their team to face the Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday with captain Keven Mealamu returning to the starting line up.
As well as Mealamu who has overcome a calf strain to start at hooker, Culum Retallick and Luke Braid also return to bolster a powerful forward pack.
"Kevvie's great, he got through training and he's the best we've seen him so he's in good shape," Blues head coach Sir John Kirwan said.
"I think Luke is really on top of his game. He was in a situation where we needed to give him some time out of the game last week and it was the same with Culum. They've both come back in and I think they've been having defining seasons and deserve to be back out there."
Despite being named in the All Blacks Wider Training Squad earlier this week, second five-eighths Francis Saili makes way for Jackson Willison who is back to full fitness after suffering an ankle sprain against the Queensland Reds in round 11.
"Jacko gives us a little bit more voice and experience out there, and then we can bring Ces (Francis) on late in the game and really break it up," Kirwan said.
"It's difficult for him because he played well in attack last week but we think Jackson just provides a bit of steadiness in the midfield."
Prop Sam Prattley, called into the squad midway through the season to replace the injured Charlie Faumuina, will have the chance to make his Blues debut after being named on the bench in place of Ofa Tu'ungafasi.
James Parsons has failed to shrug off a neck injury and will sit this week out as Quentin MacDonald is named as the reserve hooker.
It has been nine years since the Blues last defeated the Crusaders in Christchurch, and Kirwan said it was time to put an end to that disappointing record.
"They deserve everything they've had," Kirwan said of the Crusaders.
"They've been a fantastic franchise and have led the way for many of us and now it's time for us to get down there and earn some respect back and to do that we need to play for 80 minutes and be in a real battle.
"For me it's a Test match and that's how it should be. I can't wait, I'm really excited and the players are excited too. We're underdogs, going down there with everything against us - it doesn't get any better than that."
Blues
15. Charles Piutau,14. Frank Halai,13. Rene Ranger,12. Jackson Willison,11. George Moala,10. Chris Noakes,9. Piri Weepu,8. Peter Saili,7. Luke Braid,6. Steven Luatua,5. Ali Williams (C),4. Culum Retallick,3. Angus Ta'avao,2. Keven Mealamu,1. Tim Perry
Replacements : 16. Quentin MacDonald,17. Sam Prattley,18. Anthony Boric,19. Brendon O'Connor,20. Jamison Gibson-Park,21. Baden Kerr,22. Francis Saili"

</article>

 

[nickdnz]

Gena_ZA - remember if you're copying and pasting the content of articles - to include a link of the original source. Also putting it in

tags helps. It's just one of them legal issues. Most of the time it leads to nothing, but occasionally sites take exception to that sort of stuff and it causes headaches.

 

[Gena_ZA]

Hi, duly noted nickdnz,

Let me correct those posted in the last while

 

[austingtir]

Jeez Ali Williams is a noddy. The last couple of weeks he's been a shocker. Its a wonder they arent dragging him before halftime imo.

EDIT: i make that three tries off Noddy's mistakes in two weeks thats just ridiculous!

 

[tenpm]

Man, I hope the rain goes away for next week - both the NZ derby games this round have been pretty scrappy.

 

[cyclone101]

This is the most illegal playing I have seen in a while. Crawling, offside, hands in ruck, playing players without the ball, tacklers not releasing. I wanted the saders to win this one but after seeing their tactics I'm for the blues. Why can't they just play within the rules. /rant

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

This is the most illegal playing I have seen in a while. Crawling, offside, hands in ruck, playing players without the ball, tacklers not releasing. I wanted the saders to win this one but after seeing their tactics I'm for the blues. Why can't they just play within the rules. /rant

I agree, actually. A lot of dirty tactics from the Crusaders. I don't know how many times I saw a Crusaders player walk past the ruck and pull a Blues player away from it.

 

[smartcooky]

This is the most illegal playing I have seen in a while. Crawling, offside, hands in ruck, playing players without the ball, tacklers not releasing. I wanted the saders to win this one but after seeing their tactics I'm for the blues. Why can't they just play within the rules. /rant

Targeting the Crusaders with your comments is grossly unfair. Name me a rugby team anywhere on the planet that plays within the Laws of the game.

If you think the the Blues were lily white saints, just watch Ali Williams for ten minutes (...any ten minute period) and see how many blatant, dumb things he does. How many times did you see him trying to pull Ellis into the ruck? I saw him trying to do this at least half a dozen times, he succeeded once and got pinged for it.

I also saw players FROM BOTH SIDES entering from the side of the maul, pulling down the maul, running past the ruck and holding players away, holding players down in the ruck/tackle to prevent them rolling away, running across the back of the tackle zone to slow down the ball. BOTH Teams were doing things illegally, in equal measure. I thought both teams were very poor last night; both obviously went in with a negative, spoiling attitude to try to negate what they perceived as their opponent's strengths.

I thought Glenn Jackson was excellent in how he handled the game. He quickly determined that neither side seemed interested in playing within the Laws so he simply managed things within the limits set by that environment. That means letting both sides away with similar infringements, and only penalising those clear and obvious infringements that gave the infringer significant advantage. As a referee, you cannot MAKE the players comply with the Laws if they are determined to flout them. If just one side is doing it, then yes, you can ping them out of the game. But if both sides are doing it, and you try the same approach, you'll turn the game into a farce.

The handling of the Culum Retallick deliberate knock forward , yellow card and non-awarding of a penalty try by both Jackson and the TMO was a textbook-perfect example of how it should be done.

 

[Larksea]

Crusaders looked great, Game went as I thought it would as long as the Crusaders didn't have a bye hangover like many teams seem to suffer.

Chiefs and Crusaders look really good and now they have to play each other twice in three weeks!

 

[FlukeArtist]

Targeting the Crusaders with your comments is grossly unfair. Name me a rugby team anywhere on the planet that plays within the Laws of the game.

If you think the the Blues were lily white saints, just watch Ali Williams for ten minutes (...any ten minute period) and see how many blatant, dumb things he does. How many times did you see him trying to pull Ellis into the ruck? I saw him trying to do this at least half a dozen times, he succeeded once and got pinged for it.

I also saw players FROM BOTH SIDES entering from the side of the maul, pulling down the maul, running past the ruck and holding players away, holding players down in the ruck/tackle to prevent them rolling away, running across the back of the tackle zone to slow down the ball. BOTH Teams were doing things illegally, in equal measure. I thought both teams were very poor last night; both obviously went in with a negative, spoiling attitude to try to negate what they perceived as their opponent's strengths.

I thought Glenn Jackson was excellent in how he handled the game. He quickly determined that neither side seemed interested in playing within the Laws so he simply managed things within the limits set by that environment. That means letting both sides away with similar infringements, and only penalising those clear and obvious infringements that gave the infringer significant advantage. As a referee, you cannot MAKE the players comply with the Laws if they are determined to flout them. If just one side is doing it, then yes, you can ping them out of the game. But if both sides are doing it, and you try the same approach, you'll turn the game into a farce.

The handling of the Culum Retallick deliberate knock forward , yellow card and non-awarding of a penalty try by both Jackson and the TMO was a textbook-perfect example of how it should be done.

As a Blues fan, I can't complain too much about the Ref.
I do think the Crusaders got away with some cynical stuff at the breakdown though.
The difference between the Crusaders and Ali Williams is that Ali Williams gets pinged!

I don't agree the Crusaders were poor though. I think that perhaps that's wishful thinking on your part.
They played one of their best games in recent memory.

Good win for them, but as a Blues fan, I think there is better (and more) to come from these Blues - and not just in future seasons - I think the Blues might exceed my expectations for them this year and sneak into the play-offs.
The Brumbies game is a must-win for them though.

 

[FlukeArtist]

I forgot to add; I agree with what Graham Henry said about Crockett - the guy is a creampuff at scrum time (just like Jamie Mackintosh)

 

[nickdnz]

I rate Crockett as one of the best scrummaging loosehead props around. People claim he bores in - but if you look his body position is almost always lower than the opposition, and it results in the tighthead standing up. Of course in that instance they're going to pivot. As a looshead prop - disrupting the scrum in that regard is exactly what I want to do on opposition ball.

 

[FlukeArtist]

Nickdnz,

I implore you then to watch the game this thread is about.
Crockett was completely demolished at scrum time, and was often nose diving into the pitch.

I'm sorry, but as a front rower myself; I can see Crockett is an below average scrummager