Waikato vs. Canterbury ITM cup final 2011

[Larksea]

frustrating game, gutted Waikato didn't win but it was a final and they didn't really play finals rugby.

Canterbury never looked like scoring a try but they converted field position into points and had better dicapline.

Waikato looked more likely to score but made mistakes the few chances they created and in the 2nd half they were just plain starved of the ball. Donald in particular looked strong but he hardly touched the ball in the 2nd half as the canterbury forwards swallowed the ball and won the last penalty to seal the game.

Sivivatu was pretty poor when he came on. I think if they were going to play him he should have started.

It was a very hard game and for the first half in particular was very fast with long periods of play.

First ever national final without a try.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

I'm sure I could probably do a better job refereeing than this referee did... He didn't even seem to know the rules at times.

One thing that really frustrates me as both a supporter of Waikato and of rugby is when teams hold the ball at the back of a breakdown, and just leave it sitting there to eat up time (which teams do at the end of the game). Once the ball is available, a team should have to play it within five or so seconds, or they should get free kicked for wasting time. It's ridiculous, and is poor sportsmanship to just hold the ball there, as there is literally nothing the opposition can do. It's something that really needs to be eliminated from the game.

 

[Seaton]

One thing that really frustrates me as both a supporter of Waikato and of rugby is when teams hold the ball at the back of a breakdown, and just leave it sitting there to eat up time (which teams do at the end of the game). Once the ball is available, a team should have to play it within or so seconds, or they should get free kicked for wasting time. It's ridiculous, and is poor sportsmanship to just hold the ball there, as there is literally nothing the opposition can do. It's something that really needs to be eliminated from the game.

100% Boring as hell, especially the last 2-3 minutes of a game, when teams do that I actually hope they stuff up and lose.

 

[Larksea]

the interesting thing is that if a team has the ball sitting in the back of a ruck like that their is nothing in the rules to say they have to play it at all as far as I know. If a team wanted to they could hold it at the back forever.

I'm still very concerned for the game of rugby while negative slow rugby wins over teams that want to play fast rugby, use the ball and speed up the game.

The new rule interpretations that game in seem to mean nothing now. Early on they gave the attacking team the time and protection from oposition trying to slow the ball down but over time it's pretty much gone back to they way it used to be to the point where the advantage has swung back to the defending team at breakdowns. In many cases players are being allowed to be on the wrong side and tackles are not releasing the tackled player and giving them time to play the ball. Another thing I'm seeing a lot is players being penalised for "not releasing" in situations where an oposition player has got their hands on the ball yes but the tackled player isn't actually holding the ball. Like the defender isn't actually trying to get the ball, all they do is get their hands on it to win the penalty.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

the interesting thing is that if a team has the ball sitting in the back of a ruck like that their is nothing in the rules to say they have to play it at all as far as I know. If a team wanted to they could hold it at the back forever.

I'm still very concerned for the game of rugby while negative slow rugby wins over teams that want to play fast rugby, use the ball and speed up the game.

The new rule interpretations that game in seem to mean nothing now. Early on they gave the attacking team the time and protection from oposition trying to slow the ball down but over time it's pretty much gone back to they way it used to be to the point where the advantage has swung back to the defending team at breakdowns. In many cases players are being allowed to be on the wrong side and tackles are not releasing the tackled player and giving them time to play the ball. Another thing I'm seeing a lot is players being penalised for "not releasing" in situations where an oposition player has got their hands on the ball yes but the tackled player isn't actually holding the ball. Like the defender isn't actually trying to get the ball, all they do is get their hands on it to win the penalty.

I think you're right, though I know of occasions where a team has been penalised for simply 'wasting time' and it really comes down to referee's discretion.

 

[Darwin]

frustrating game, gutted Waikato didn't win but it was a final and they didn't really play finals rugby.

Canterbury never looked like scoring a try but they converted field position into points and had better dicapline.

Waikato looked more likely to score but made mistakes the few chances they created and in the 2nd half they were just plain starved of the ball. Donald in particular looked strong but he hardly touched the ball in the 2nd half as the canterbury forwards swallowed the ball and won the last penalty to seal the game.

Sivivatu was pretty poor when he came on. I think if they were going to play him he should have started.

It was a very hard game and for the first half in particular was very fast with long periods of play.

First ever national final without a try.

I thought Donald had poor game. He did look dangerous at times when he took the ball to the line, but he continuously lost the ball - often when trying to force passes that weren't on (I counted 4 times he lost the ball, plus one forward pass by Donald). I agree Sivivatu looked poor - he just didn't seem to have any energy, and was consistently driven back whenever he got the ball. I'm a bit worried that he may well do 'Rupeni Caucau' when he goes to France and put on 20 kg - he was certainly carrying some weight at the start of the Super Rugby season.

Incidentally I hope Romana Graham gets suspended for his head-butt on Sean Maitland during the match (I think the hearing is tonight). He is a bit of a thug really, and he also got away with a blatant shoulder charge in the game.

 

[donmcdazzle]

I thought Donald had poor game. He did look dangerous at times when he took the ball to the line, but he continuously lost the ball - often when trying to force passes that weren't on (I counted 4 times he lost the ball, plus one forward pass by Donald). I agree Sivivatu looked poor - he just didn't seem to have any energy, and was consistently driven back whenever he got the ball. I'm a bit worried that he may well do 'Rupeni Caucau' when he goes to France and put on 20 kg - he was certainly carrying some weight at the start of the Super Rugby season.

Incidentally I hope Romana Graham gets suspended for his head-butt on Sean Maitland during the match (I think the hearing is tonight). He is a bit of a thug really, and he also got away with a blatant shoulder charge in the game.

Larksea was always going to plug Donald regardless of his performance.