Super Rugby: Crusaders vs. Bulls in Christchurch (16/03/2013)

[Darwin]

AMI Stadium, Christchurch

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Game of the round? It's either this one or the Sharks vs Brumbies match purely because you have ***le contenders matching up. Crusaders have started slow (as per usual) but I find it difficult not to back the home team when two quality sides match up. Will wait for details and a weather forecast before making a call.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

The one I look forward to the most is the Highlanders Hurricanes, but this will be a close second (well, third, as the Chiefs match is obviously the one I want to see most ). The Highlanders are still contenders, but will have to win this week or it will be too difficult to catch up. While the Sharks Brumbies game is important, the Sharks tend to adapt a game similar to whoever there opposition are at the time - I can see the match being a very dull affair, but hopefully I'm proven wrong!

This will be a very interesting match, however. The Bulls are 3-0 and the Crusaders are 0-2, but I wouldn't be prepared to bet either way! That being said, I think the Crusaders showed enough signs of promise this past weekend to be slight favourites, being at home and all.

 

[cyclone101]

The Bulls tend to play better when they are 5 points behind at half time, so I hope that the Saders bring a tough game to the Bulls, but being the Saders, I wouldn't expect anything less. They might have lost a few, but you can always bet on them to find form a few games into the season.

This game is going to be a VERY tough one for me to call. 1) The Bulls always struggle with their second game on tour, so I would not be surprised if Ludeke picks a quite different team than the one that played the Blues to try and offset fatigue. 2) The Saders will never be a team you walk over, but the Bulls would have gained much confidence from the past games and it seems that no matter who they pick, all the combinations work well.

The Spies/Steg/Botha combo has been the best the Bulls have seen in a while, but with Dewald fit, and more omportantly, fresh, Ludeke might put him at 7. I'm not sure how I feel about that, I rate both Arno and Dewald, but the latter might be a bit rusty after his injury.
Houghaard would most likely be on the bench again due to his ankle, but it has been heavily strapped for 2 games now, they should rest him completely imo.

Tough game but if the Saders bleed penalties like they did to the Canes, I would go with Bulls by 6.

 

[Darwin]

Massive game for the Crusaders - if they lose this they will be 0-3, which will difficult to fight back from. There seems to be a lot of people writing off the Crusaders this season, but I don't think they are actually that far away from clicking. I don't expect too see many changes for the Crusaders. I would possibly look at replacing Tom Marshall on the wing (who had a shocker defensively against the Canes), but there aren't any obvious replacement (Whitelock is not a wing, Baker is injured, Veainu is only in the WTG so unlikely to be called up...). Marshall doesn't have to mark Savea this week though, so he may be fine! I would really like to see Jordan Taufua in he matchday 22 too. His ability to create go-forward ball is exactly what the Crusaders need - I don't think it is going to happen though (as they love their Whitelocks in Christchurch).

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Teams named:

Crusaders: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Tom Marshall, 13 Robbie Fruean, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Johnny McNicholl, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Matt Todd, 6 George Whitelock, 5 Dominic Bird, 4 Sam Whitelock, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements: 16 Ben Funnell, 17 Joe Moody, 18 Tom Donnelly, 19 Luke Whitelock, 20 Willi Heinz, 21 Tyler Bleyendaal, 22 Adam Whitelock.


Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Jurgen Visser, 10 Mornè Steyn, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Pierre Spies (c), 7 Arno Botha, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Juandrè Kruger, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Frik Kirsten, 2 Willie Wepener, 1 Mornè Mellett.
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Werner Kruger, 18 Grant Hattingh, 19 Jacques Potgieter, 20 Francois Hougaard, 21 Louis Fouché, 22 Jan Serfontein.


Still a good Bulls side despite losing Basson, Venter and Mapoe. What is most impressive is that bench though; 4 current Bokke and 1 future Bok. Hattingh is a handy lock to have on your bench as well. Crusaders also opting for continuity in selection which is a good thing coming off a close loss IMO.

I was really impressed with McNicholl; wouldn't have guessed that was his first SR game and he came across, made some good tackles around the ankles; I actually thought at one point that they should move the rookie over to cover Savea who was making a mockery of the Crusaders' defense. He even helped at the ruck if it looked like they were under pressure at the break down. Didnt get too many opportunities with the ball but looked very capable the few time he got it (with no space sadly).

I'm hoping Serfontein gets some time. He got a few minutes earlier in the season but tried to do too much with the little time he had IMO. With more time hopefully he'll settle down and show his stuff. Its a long season so I'm sure he'll get his shot before long.

 

[Gena_ZA]

Mapoe is out and Visser replaced him

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Mapoe is out and Visser replaced him

They said so in the article, yeah. I just copied and pasted. Corrected the error, thanks for checking. Visser is an elusive runner. I hope we see him run some of Carter's kicks back up and find those half gaps in traffic like we saw in the Currie Cup. I suspect he will have been told to keep it tight though.

 

[Aedaphon]

Just realised how much less threat that Crusaders backline looks compare to recent years.

9. Ellis/Fotuali'i
10. Carter
11. Guildford
12. SBW
13. Fruean
14. Maitland
15. Dagg

^ That is probably the most brutally effective backline I have ever seen at club level (and one which most international sides wouldn't complain about either). While the Saders have some great players left, it just doesn't look as clinical as the side that took the Sharks to pieces at Twickenham.

My prediction is the Bulls to overpower the Saders (sadly). Expecting a 7-14 point win.

 

[cyclone101]

The team that played the blues was good bud we got pi ged in the scrums more than we should, I hoped that they work on that. Visser is good, but I have no idea how he will hold up on wing with defence.

I hope they have the legs to beat the saders but im not sure. Bulls by 3?

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[TRF_stormer2010]

Just realised how much less threat that Crusaders backline looks compare to recent years.

9. Ellis/Fotuali'i
10. Carter
11. Guildford
12. SBW
13. Fruean
14. Maitland
15. Dagg

^ That is probably the most brutally effective backline I have ever seen at club level (and one which most international sides wouldn't complain about either). While the Saders have some great players left, it just doesn't look as clinical as the side that took the Sharks to pieces at Twickenham.

My prediction is the Bulls to overpower the Saders (sadly). Expecting a 7-14 point win.

Yeah that is a serious backline. In the forwards too they are missing McCaw, Thorn and Ben Franks (handy to allow for rotation). They have very good players there like Todd but McCaw and Thorn are all-time world XV candidates.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

TBF the Bulls have lost some great players from their glory days as well in Guthro Steenkamp, Botha, Matfield, Habana and FdP but seem to have come out firing this year after last year's rebuilding phase where they did manage to make the play-offs at least (same as the Crusaders). So these teams are probably on the same page.

 

[Darwin]

Teams named:

Crusaders: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Tom Marshall, 13 Robbie Fruean, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Johnny McNicholl, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Matt Todd, 6 George Whitelock, 5 Dominic Bird, 4 Sam Whitelock, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements: 16 Ben Funnell, 17 Joe Moody, 18 Tom Donnelly, 19 Luke Whitelock, 20 Willi Heinz, 21 Tyler Bleyendaal, 22 Adam Whitelock.


Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Jurgen Visser, 10 Mornè Steyn, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Pierre Spies (c), 7 Arno Botha, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Juandrè Kruger, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Frik Kirsten, 2 Willie Wepener, 1 Mornè Mellett.
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Werner Kruger, 18 Grant Hattingh, 19 Jacques Potgieter, 20 Francois Hougaard, 21 Louis Fouché, 22 Jan Serfontein.


Still a good Bulls side despite losing Basson, Venter and Mapoe. What is most impressive is that bench though; 4 current Bokke and 1 future Bok. Hattingh is a handy lock to have on your bench as well. Crusaders also opting for continuity in selection which is a good thing coming off a close loss IMO.

I was really impressed with McNicholl; wouldn't have guessed that was his first SR game and he came across, made some good tackles around the ankles; I actually thought at one point that they should move the rookie over to cover Savea who was making a mockery of the Crusaders' defense. He even helped at the ruck if it looked like they were under pressure at the break down. Didnt get too many opportunities with the ball but looked very capable the few time he got it (with no space sadly).

I'm hoping Serfontein gets some time. He got a few minutes earlier in the season but tried to do too much with the little time he had IMO. With more time hopefully he'll settle down and show his stuff. Its a long season so I'm sure he'll get his shot before long.

Two pretty good looking sides - it should be a cracker of a game!

Slightly surprised to see Tom Taylor drop out of the Crusaders 22 - I wonder whether he is injured? I have a bit of time for Tyler Bleyendaal, but he doesn't offer the same versatility from the bench that Taylor provides.

Glad to see we have another recruit to the Johnny McNicholl fan-club He is someone I think could go a long way - as you say he didn't look like someone who was playing his first Super Rugby match! He does the basics right, has a massive work-rate, is equally comfortable at fullback, and always seems to have so much time when he gets the ball. He is very dangerous with ball in hand too - he has a good fend, is deceptively quick, and has an outside swerve that catches a lot of defenders off guard. It sounds like Guildford could be back playing for the Crusaders before long, and I think a Guildford/McNicholl/Dagg back-three will be pretty handy!

 

[donmcdazzle]

Glad to see we have another recruit to the Johnny McNicholl fan-club He is someone I think could go a long way - as you say he didn't look like someone who was playing his first Super Rugby match! He does the basics right, has a massive work-rate, is equally comfortable at fullback, and always seems to have so much time when he gets the ball. He is very dangerous with ball in hand too - he has a good fend, is deceptively quick, and has an outside swerve that catches a lot of defenders off guard. It sounds like Guildford could be back playing for the Crusaders before long, and I think a Guildford/McNicholl/Dagg back-three will be pretty handy!

He is good, if a little small. Will be interesting to see how he handles the bomb and chase this weekend. If anyone can test out a winger's positioning and high ball ability it is the bulls - as Halai and Naholo found out last weekend.

 

[Darwin]

He is good, if a little small. Will be interesting to see how he handles the bomb and chase this weekend. If anyone can test out a winger's positioning and high ball ability it is the bulls - as Halai and Naholo found out last weekend.

He isn't Julian Savea or Hosea Gear, but I wouldn't exactly call him small. He is listed at 1.85m and 96kg (which I think is pretty accurate), which would probably make him average in terms of Super Rugby wings.

It will be interesting to see how he goes against the Bulls this weekend. Personally I think he will be fine, as he seems to handle pressure pretty well - I am a bit worried about Tom Marshall though...

 

[donmcdazzle]

He isn't Julian Savea or Hosea Gear, but I wouldn't exactly call him small. He is listed at 1.85m and 96kg (which I think is pretty accurate), which would probably make him average in terms of Super Rugby wings.

It will be interesting to see how he goes against the Bulls this weekend. Personally I think he will be fine, as he seems to handle pressure pretty well - I am a bit worried about Tom Marshall though...

Those listings are about as accurate as a Chinese watch in general but I can't exactly prove otherwise. Maybe he hunches over when he runs or something which gave me the impression he was smaller than he is.

 

[Darwin]

Those listings are about as accurate as a Chinese watch in general but I can't exactly prove otherwise. Maybe he hunches over when he runs or something which gave me the impression he was smaller than he is.

I don't have a lot of faith in these stats either, but I think it this case they look pretty accurate - if anything I would suggest that McNicholl is taller than the 1.86m he is listed at! If you look at a replay of Crotty's try last weekend (at about 4:07 in the video below) you see Crotty, Ellis and McNicholl celebrating - McNicholl is clearly 2-3 inches taller than Ellis and Crotty (who are both around 1.80m... assuming we trust those listings....).

 

[cyclone101]

Anyone brave enough to make a prediction?

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[TRF_heineken]

Anyone brave enough to make a prediction?

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Bulls by 6

 

[Gena_ZA]

Bulls by 4