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I would also take Stuart Barnes with a pinch of salt as well. He is the equivalent of Mark Reason over here.hmph. ABs don't need to ne #1 all the time. this has worked against us in past WCs. not being the best for this WC is going to work in favour of the ABs I reckon
Stuff
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Which one was that?That was a weird game.
Yeah, it was an interesting one. I was saying to someone at half time that the brumbies looked like the better team because their defence was better than the blues attack, but the best you can do if you defend all day is draw, and the worst you can do if you attack all day is draw.ponies vs SR's PSG equivalent
You look at the game stats and it's hard to believe that was a 1 point game till the last second.
Ahh, yeah I know exactly what you mean. Was just noticing that in the moana pacifika game.Regarding the ref, i think most teams test the waters the first couple of engages and then adjust accordingly. The brumbies did just that. If there is one thing the pony's got going for them is how tidy they are and i suspect refs, consciously or not, tend to reward that. What i consider paramount is that the same criteria is applied equally to both sides, which in this case i believe it was. Mistakes happen, sure.
Regarding the last play, i didn't see a penalty.
I do see a LOT of people going in from the side, particularly when a player is supporting the ball carrier, this one gets tackled and the support player (at such time being at the same 'line' as the ball carrier) goes in from the side instead of stopping, going behind the player and entering the ruck from behind. It doesn't get penalized enough imo. I understand why the attacking team does it, it could be a calculated risk: it is generally in your opposition's half so if you get penalized it's far from your goal and if you get away with it you can continue with the momentum on your opponents half. But a lot of people do get away with murder.
A pretty mad second half.
this format was legit set up because "everyone" thought the NZ teams would be the top 5 and so they wanted to get at least three aussie teams in, it should be changed next year, top 6 probably but really should just be top 4So the Highlanders make the playoffs with a record of 4 wins, 10 losses!
Brumbies messing up at Moana means they will host the Hurricanes rather than the Waratahs.
The only QF 'upset' I expect is the Canes to just pip the Brumbies. But i hope I'm wrong so that there is Aussie interest for another week.
I wondered if part of the rationale was to mimic world cups by having quarterfinals - to give the players experience at playing quarterfinals. Also means the bottom teams have something to play for for longer into the competition, rather than getting half way in and there season is already effectively over. I do agree it's dumb though.this format was legit set up because "everyone" thought the NZ teams would be the top 5 and so they wanted to get at least three aussie teams in, it should be changed next year, top 6 probably but really should just be top 4