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Super Rugby final: Chiefs - Sharks in Hamilton (04/08/2012)
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Darwin
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Great win for the Chiefs. They completely deserved the Super Rugby ***le this season. Could be a big night (/day) for Amobokoboko, Larksea, Invictus etc!
Bad luck for the Sharks team (and fans) - they certainly deserved to make the final, but it looked like their hellish travel schedule over the last few weeks finally took its toll, as they weren't at their best in the final.
Bad luck for the Sharks team (and fans) - they certainly deserved to make the final, but it looked like their hellish travel schedule over the last few weeks finally took its toll, as they weren't at their best in the final.
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dudeabides
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Congrats to the Chiefs, been a fun season and that was nice to watch them play like that.
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Wasn't a particularly great final was it? Ah well 
pretty fantastic game as a long time chiefs supporter.
Yesterdaty I was looking at some stats thinking there was no way the sharks could win this. Sharks have not beaten the chiefs since 09 and they havn't even scored a try against the chiefs in recent history. Even before this year it seemed the chiefs had worked out the south african sides, Great record against them over the last couple of years.
But even then I thought surely the sharks would find a way to keep it close. They have too many classy players. Problem was they were never in the game. They never got any ball and when they did they got a face full of chiefs defenders at the same time.
So many chiefs players were great tonight but very fitting the man of the match went to Messam. He really sets the tone for the chiefs defense. and the battle on the advantage line, you have a guy like him he eaks out meters over the advantage line and stops opposition attackers dead in their tracks on that line. 2nd week in a row he's clocked up a couple line breaks about 80 running meters and clocked up a number of tackles that sat the oposition back on their bum. He also cleaned up so many times when the chiefs made mistakes. So impressive how a guy who's 190cm tall and about 110kg can bounce around on the tips of his toes for 80min and get stuck into pretty much everything.
I tell you what, if the all black selectors had their minds made up and found excuses not to select Messam and Tameafuna for this next All Black squad (as has been alluded to by the media) then then they will be having to sit down again with their pencils to re-select the squad with them in it. Because Messam is clearly the best 6 in NZ right now and who would have thought it was possible that someone would challenge Owen Franks for the position of NZ's #1 tighthead prop before the year 2019? Owen has not had a fantastic year and Tameafuna is clearly NZ's best 3 - WC hangover or not For Owen. Ben has simply been brilliant.
Another player who should be genuinely nervious is Israel Dagg. Another guy who looked to have a manololy on the 15 jersey for a long time. Robie Robinson has really come from nowhere this season. Showing a great range of skills, we seen all season how good his running game is but his kicking tonight was really good. While Cruden at times was finding players and getting his length wrong a few times (though he did inprove a bit) Robbies kicking around the park was very classy.
SWB has been freakishly good. It's hard to imagine that the chiefs would have won this season without him. His comptition leading offloads and near top running meters and his defense which really is more than safe it's very good and has created a lot of chances this season like the one that lead to Masaga's try. NZRU need to keep a line open with SBW, I think it's very likely that he will have a season in Japan a season in the NRL which could very well include selection for the Rugby League World Cup then he could be looking to get back into the NZRU the chiefs and the 2015 world cup and frankly the NZRU should roll out the red carpet.
Fantastic, has there ever been a better time for NZ sport and Waikato as well. The Magic, The Chiefs and the NZ rowers at the olympics - fricken awesme.
Yesterdaty I was looking at some stats thinking there was no way the sharks could win this. Sharks have not beaten the chiefs since 09 and they havn't even scored a try against the chiefs in recent history. Even before this year it seemed the chiefs had worked out the south african sides, Great record against them over the last couple of years.
But even then I thought surely the sharks would find a way to keep it close. They have too many classy players. Problem was they were never in the game. They never got any ball and when they did they got a face full of chiefs defenders at the same time.
So many chiefs players were great tonight but very fitting the man of the match went to Messam. He really sets the tone for the chiefs defense. and the battle on the advantage line, you have a guy like him he eaks out meters over the advantage line and stops opposition attackers dead in their tracks on that line. 2nd week in a row he's clocked up a couple line breaks about 80 running meters and clocked up a number of tackles that sat the oposition back on their bum. He also cleaned up so many times when the chiefs made mistakes. So impressive how a guy who's 190cm tall and about 110kg can bounce around on the tips of his toes for 80min and get stuck into pretty much everything.
I tell you what, if the all black selectors had their minds made up and found excuses not to select Messam and Tameafuna for this next All Black squad (as has been alluded to by the media) then then they will be having to sit down again with their pencils to re-select the squad with them in it. Because Messam is clearly the best 6 in NZ right now and who would have thought it was possible that someone would challenge Owen Franks for the position of NZ's #1 tighthead prop before the year 2019? Owen has not had a fantastic year and Tameafuna is clearly NZ's best 3 - WC hangover or not For Owen. Ben has simply been brilliant.
Another player who should be genuinely nervious is Israel Dagg. Another guy who looked to have a manololy on the 15 jersey for a long time. Robie Robinson has really come from nowhere this season. Showing a great range of skills, we seen all season how good his running game is but his kicking tonight was really good. While Cruden at times was finding players and getting his length wrong a few times (though he did inprove a bit) Robbies kicking around the park was very classy.
SWB has been freakishly good. It's hard to imagine that the chiefs would have won this season without him. His comptition leading offloads and near top running meters and his defense which really is more than safe it's very good and has created a lot of chances this season like the one that lead to Masaga's try. NZRU need to keep a line open with SBW, I think it's very likely that he will have a season in Japan a season in the NRL which could very well include selection for the Rugby League World Cup then he could be looking to get back into the NZRU the chiefs and the 2015 world cup and frankly the NZRU should roll out the red carpet.
Fantastic, has there ever been a better time for NZ sport and Waikato as well. The Magic, The Chiefs and the NZ rowers at the olympics - fricken awesme.
Darwin
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Yeah I thought Messam had another storming match - whether it will be enough to make into the AB's squad we will find out tomorrow morning!
Though I agree Tameifuna has had a good season, I don't know how you could consider him the best 3 in New Zealand! He has been very solid in the scrum, and has some good ball handling skills for such a big man, but his work-rate around the field is shocking at times. I'd be surprised if he hit half as many rucks per game as the likes of Owen or Ben Franks (or makes near as many tackles). If the AB's decide to take 5 props he may be an option (as he clearly has big future), but if they only take 4 props there will be no room for him, as he is only capable of playing TH prop...
Kerr-Barlow had a pretty poor game - his clearance at the base of the breakdown was very slow. Leonard wasn't any better when he came on either. I thought Cruden tried to do too much at times - the chip kick was obviously a planned tactic, but it wasn't executed very well (most of the time). SBW was good, as was Horrell at centre, and I thought Nanai-Williams had probably his best game of the season on the wing. Robinson was good again, but I don't think he will be anywhere near the AB's - he is great with ball in hand, but his option taking is still very poor at times, and his defense is still very weak!
Though I agree Tameifuna has had a good season, I don't know how you could consider him the best 3 in New Zealand! He has been very solid in the scrum, and has some good ball handling skills for such a big man, but his work-rate around the field is shocking at times. I'd be surprised if he hit half as many rucks per game as the likes of Owen or Ben Franks (or makes near as many tackles). If the AB's decide to take 5 props he may be an option (as he clearly has big future), but if they only take 4 props there will be no room for him, as he is only capable of playing TH prop...
Kerr-Barlow had a pretty poor game - his clearance at the base of the breakdown was very slow. Leonard wasn't any better when he came on either. I thought Cruden tried to do too much at times - the chip kick was obviously a planned tactic, but it wasn't executed very well (most of the time). SBW was good, as was Horrell at centre, and I thought Nanai-Williams had probably his best game of the season on the wing. Robinson was good again, but I don't think he will be anywhere near the AB's - he is great with ball in hand, but his option taking is still very poor at times, and his defense is still very weak!
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Finally we can get down to the serious business of discussing Leinster vs the Chiefs.
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Easy.
Chiefs
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Oh you big joker you.
LittleGuy
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A flight too far for the Sharks they looked absolutely exhautsed especially in the 2nd half. Good to see Chiefs fans getting to celebrate a championship. Bit of an anticlimactic affair unfortunately even more so in the 2nd half, glad I didn't stay up to seee it live LOL.
Amobokoboko
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really happy with the result. Only saw the highlights but we won the ***le.
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Not sure I agree that this is necessary. There is a way that teams can avoid a lot of travel at the play off stages.... make sure that they finish better than fifth or sixth. Adding a one week delay would work too much to the advantage of the lower placed teams because the higher placed teams would have a two week break, which I am not sure they would want. Maintaining focus would be difficult.
Travel is a fact of life in a cross-borders competition that spans the globe. The teams know its a factor adn that they simply have to deal with it, the way the Crusaders did last year. After all the tens of thousands of air miles they clocked up with no home games at all, they still came within an ace of winning the ***le; one piece of sheer brilliance by Will Genia twelve minutes from the end being the difference.
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This!
admartian
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I don't know if they have to because the Chiefs still had to play the widcard. A week off break negates all this.
Arguable both ways. Not that we should be against either solution too adamantly. Just makes it fairer.
Meh, either way.
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