Super Rugby play-offs: Chiefs - Crusaders in Hamilton (28/07/2012)

[admartian]

Either team would have deserved the win there. But I think the Chiefs more so. Score line absolutely indicative of the play today.

Who would have to win tomorrow in order for the Chiefs to have a home game?

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Sharks win = final in Hamilton
Stormers win = final in Cape Town

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

So whichever way it goes from here we'll have a new 1st time champ. May it be the Stormers!!

 

[saderista]

Well done Chiefs!

Hard luck Crusaders.

 

[Ruckyou]

Cheifs outplayed them all across the park , most surprising was Robbie Robinson outplaying Dagg.

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

So whichever way it goes from here we'll have a new 1st time champ. May it be the Stormers!!

Sharks deserve it more than the other 2 though. Lost a final 3 times, better point difference than the Chiefs, more tries scored than the Stormers

By the way... The stats for both the Chiefs and Sharks are eeriely similar.

Sharks have 47 tries scored, 31 against, 436 PF, 348 PA and +- of +88
Chiefs have 47 tries scored, 30 against, 444 PF, 358 PA and +- of +86

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

And the Chiefs have two (or one) more wins

 

[welshglory]

Sharks deserve it more than the other 2 though. Lost a final 3 times, better point difference than the Chiefs, more tries scored than the Stormers

By the way... The stats for both the Chiefs and Sharks are eeriely similar.

Sharks have 47 tries scored, 31 against, 436 PF, 348 PA and +- of +88
Chiefs have 47 tries scored, 30 against, 444 PF, 358 PA and +- of +86

Stormers deserve to be champs because

[TABLE="class: ladder, width: 100%"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TH="colspan: 3, align: left"]Super Rugby Standing[/TH]
[TH][/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1[/TD]
[TD="class: miniFlag"]

Stormers[/TD]
[TD]South African Conference Leader[/TD]
[TD]66[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TD]2[/TD]
[TD="class: miniFlag"]

Chiefs[/TD]
[TD]New Zealand Conference Leader[/TD]
[TD]64[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3[/TD]
[TD="class: miniFlag"]

Reds[/TD]
[TD]Australian Conference Leader[/TD]
[TD]58[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TD]4[/TD]
[TD="class: miniFlag"]Crusaders[/TD]
[TD]Wildcard[/TD]
[TD]61[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD="class: miniFlag"]Bulls[/TD]
[TD]Wildcard[/TD]
[TD]59[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: even"]
[TD]6[/TD]
[TD="class: miniFlag"]Sharks[/TD]
[TD]Wildcard[/TD]
[TD]59[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Anyone who's against the play-offs in rugby should just go and watch football in stead

 

[nickdnz]

Well done to the Chiefs. To be honest, the crusaders never looked like they deserved the win. They lacked any form of creativity in attack and their forwards were getting driven off the park. If Kieran Read was avalible it may have gone slightly differently.

I have to feel Todd Blackadder is in large part to blame for the loss. Adam Whitelock as consistant as he is, adds nothing on attack. Guildford never beats a man one on one. It's scary to think the Crusaders most dangerous back was Ryan Crotty! Sean Maitland must have been fuming, as there was no strike power in the Crusaders and yet Maitland still didn't get a look in for the entire game! If I was him I'd look for somewhere else to play, maybe the Blues? Somewhere Todd Blackadder isn't in charge of selections!

Players like Andy Ellis and Israel Dagg really weren't playing very well. All of Ellis's passes were delayed, he'd cponstantly pick the ball up, run it to the side of the ruck and then pass, limiting the amount of time Daniel Carter got with the ball to create anything. The result was the Crusaders were always under pressure. It was infuriating. He then waits for ages for the ball to be free, looks and points to the forwards he's going to pass it too and then finally passes it, like it's any wonder the forwards were getting smashed by the Chiefs with such obvious telegraphing. Israel Dagg has become the most predictable player in Super Rugby, everyone knows he's ganna do a little goose step and then keep running till he gets tackled. Guildford was typically his unthreatening self. He made a nice cover tackle at one point, but short of that he did little to threaten the line.
The forwards were equally frustrating. McCaw's running game has looked to improve quite a bit, but he still doesn't know how to pass the f*cking ball. It's amazing, he sees the overlap, but always decides to hit it up himself! Always! It was very evident in the Ireland tests and it costs his teams some of their best attacking chances! Matt Todd actually looked very good in my opinion, one of the picks of the pack.

The Chiefs were very impressive. Taumololo, Messam, Cane (when he came on), Tameifuna, Clarke, Retallick and Schwalger all had very good games for the forwards. Very physical and good in defense. Their setpieces started to crumble when Ben Afiaki came on (possibly due to his big layoff and Crockett being a very good scrummager), but other than that it was overall very good. For the backs, Robbie Robinson looked constantly dangerous. One thing I really like about him is that unlike so many back in New Zealand, when he gets the ball with space, he puts his head down and runs hard. Too many players try little steps which ultimately costs them speed and momentum. Robinson's running is exactly what I like to see. Cruden also looked very good for large parts of the match. Made the efforts for the forwards count and ran with the ball well and kicked for the right spots.

 

[welshglory]

Playoffs are only in rugby for money and commercialisation

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Playoffs are only in rugby for money and commercialisation

I think it adds to the excitement. If we didn't have play-offs in this competition, the final 2 rounds were boring as hell. Now the final round alone had all 7 matches that included teams that had something to play for.

 

[Rhyer]

If it were a regular competition where every team played each other then maybe. But Stormers vs Chiefs never happened and Crusaders vs Sharks never happened. South Africa and Australia also had the luxury of playing sub-standard teams twice.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

I'd loathe a tournament of this length and size that didn't have playoffs...

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Really? Only SA and OZ have sub-standard teams? The Blues gifted wins to the other 4 franchises. Blues only won inter-conference matches this season. The Lions and Cheetahs caused several upsets, despite not being real play-off contenders.

I just wish we could go back to the old format. Still have the conferences, but play 14 matches where you play each team once.

 

[Darwin]

Well done to the Chiefs. To be honest, the crusaders never looked like they deserved the win. They lacked any form of creativity in attack and their forwards were getting driven off the park. If Kieran Read was avalible it may have gone slightly differently.

I have to feel Todd Blackadder is in large part to blame for the loss. Adam Whitelock as consistant as he is, adds nothing on attack. Guildford never beats a man one on one. It's scary to think the Crusaders most dangerous back was Ryan Crotty! Sean Maitland must have been fuming, as there was no strike power in the Crusaders and yet Maitland still didn't get a look in for the entire game! If I was him I'd look for somewhere else to play, maybe the Blues? Somewhere Todd Blackadder isn't in charge of selections!

Players like Andy Ellis and Israel Dagg really weren't playing very well. All of Ellis's passes were delayed, he'd cponstantly pick the ball up, run it to the side of the ruck and then pass, limiting the amount of time Daniel Carter got with the ball to create anything. The result was the Crusaders were always under pressure. It was infuriating. He then waits for ages for the ball to be free, looks and points to the forwards he's going to pass it too and then finally passes it, like it's any wonder the forwards were getting smashed by the Chiefs with such obvious telegraphing. Israel Dagg has become the most predictable player in Super Rugby, everyone knows he's ganna do a little goose step and then keep running till he gets tackled. Guildford was typically his unthreatening self. He made a nice cover tackle at one point, but short of that he did little to threaten the line.
The forwards were equally frustrating. McCaw's running game has looked to improve quite a bit, but he still doesn't know how to pass the f*cking ball. It's amazing, he sees the overlap, but always decides to hit it up himself! Always! It was very evident in the Ireland tests and it costs his teams some of their best attacking chances! Matt Todd actually looked very good in my opinion, one of the picks of the pack.

The Chiefs were very impressive. Taumololo, Messam, Cane (when he came on), Tameifuna, Clarke, Retallick and Schwalger all had very good games for the forwards. Very physical and good in defense. Their setpieces started to crumble when Ben Afiaki came on (possibly due to his big layoff and Crockett being a very good scrummager), but other than that it was overall very good. For the backs, Robbie Robinson looked constantly dangerous. One thing I really like about him is that unlike so many back in New Zealand, when he gets the ball with space, he puts his head down and runs hard. Too many players try little steps which ultimately costs them speed and momentum. Robinson's running is exactly what I like to see. Cruden also looked very good for large parts of the match. Made the efforts for the forwards count and ran with the ball well and kicked for the right spots.

Agree with the vast majority of that. The Crusaders backline as a whole offered very little in attack - they were exactly the same last weekend, but luckily the Bulls kept giving them easy points! Carter was very predictable to - he would get the ball, shuffle sideways a bit, then shovel the ball on. Crotty was really the only threatening back, as he ran hard and straight at the line. The only time I noticed Fruean was in the match was when he tackled Kerr-Barlow in he air - he has an amazing ability to disappear in the big matches!

In terms on of the Chiefs, one person who you didn't mention (but had a very good game) was SBW. He constantly hit the line hard and made it too (and more often well over) the advantage line. It has taken a few years to work out that he needs to run straight and hard - it is unfortunate that he is leaving just as he has figured that out! Kerr-Barlow put good pressure on Ellis, but I feel there are still a few rough edges in his game he needs to sort out before he becomes an All Black (it is simply a matter of when, not if). Robinson did look dangerous from the back. He is as dangerous as any fullback in the country with ball in hand as he has freakish acceleration - it is unfortunate that the rest of his game is still pretty poor. He made quite a few errors that could have cost the Chiefs - dropped an easy pass, one shockingly poor bomb, and he even got the ball ripped out of his hands by Zac Guildford (of all people!). It would be great if he could sort out the rest of his game, as his running from the back definitely is world-class!

 

[donmcdazzle]

Really? Only SA and OZ have sub-standard teams? The Blues gifted wins to the other 4 franchises. Blues only won inter-conference matches this season. The Lions and Cheetahs caused several upsets, despite not being real play-off contenders.

I just wish we could go back to the old format. Still have the conferences, but play 14 matches where you play each team once.

Not that I'm of the opinion one way or the other, but doesn't the fact the the blues lost every game to other NZ teams but managed to beat Aus and SA teams kind of back up Rhyer's point?

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Well, the Cheetahs beat the Hurricanes, the Rebels beat the Crusaders, the Waratahs beat the Sharks... You can pick any result to prove a point. I think the overall number of points in the NZ conference is higher, but South Africa and New Zealand both had 3 teams competing for the play-offs the entire season. SA having 3 in the play-offs in the end could be evidence of both being strong. You can argue that the Australian conference is strong if even the Rebels can beat the Crusaders... Stats can work in any direction. It just depends on interpretation.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

Robinson has improved remarkably since moving to the Chiefs, it's actually incredible...

 

[Sneaki]

Agree with the vast majority of that. The Crusaders backline as a whole offered very little in attack - they were exactly the same last weekend, but luckily the Bulls kept giving them easy points! Carter was very predictable to - he would get the ball, shuffle sideways a bit, then shovel the ball on. Crotty was really the only threatening back, as he ran hard and straight at the line. The only time I noticed Fruean was in the match was when he tackled Kerr-Barlow in he air - he has an amazing ability to disappear in the big matches!

In terms on of the Chiefs, one person who you didn't mention (but had a very good game) was SBW. He constantly hit the line hard and made it too (and more often well over) the advantage line. It has taken a few years to work out that he needs to run straight and hard - it is unfortunate that he is leaving just as he has figured that out! Kerr-Barlow put good pressure on Ellis, but I feel there are still a few rough edges in his game he needs to sort out before he becomes an All Black (it is simply a matter of when, not if). Robinson did look dangerous from the back. He is as dangerous as any fullback in the country with ball in hand as he has freakish acceleration - it is unfortunate that the rest of his game is still pretty poor. He made quite a few errors that could have cost the Chiefs - dropped an easy pass, one shockingly poor bomb, and he even got the ball ripped out of his hands by Zac Guildford (of all people!). It would be great if he could sort out the rest of his game, as his running from the back definitely is world-class!

Fruean is such a frustrating player, he has the potential to be world class and is a very powerful ball runner and tackler (sometimes). And yet his work rate is just hopeless!