Highlanders v Crusaders
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Awesome game , Nz rugby is in good nick isn't it ?
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Always felt the HIghlanders were struggling once the Crusaders got the penalty try. I know they love defending but it definitely took its toll on the Highlanders in the last 20.
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Phew - Razor spends his "Get out of jail free" card. Hope he's got a few more.
Highlanders pretty much ran out of gas - couldn't get the numbers across to the right.
We didn't get the ball into Goodhue or Tamanivalu's hands enough. Break the line and offload to someone with the acceleration of a Morris Minor!
Those are bonus points really - away from home against another NZ team, without Mo'unga.
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@KiwiMurph said in Highlanders v Crusaders:
I feel like this is Hammett's doing somehow...
And so it begins.......
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@akan004 Ioane suffered a hip injury during the Brisbane 10s. He was named in the Crusaders Knights squad that beat the Highlanders Bravehearts tonight, so will probably be good to go next week.
Ioane will probably play on the left wing, with Tamanivalu on the right and Dagg back to fullback. -
@akan004 I think 12. Crotty, 13. Goodhue, 14 Tamanivalu, 15. Dagg is quite a bit better than what we fielded a lot of the time last year.
I'm far from convinced by Havili at this level - he's a bit lacking in pace and he seems impelled to overplay his hand every time he has the ball. Which is OK when he's playing for the Mako$ and is one of the better backs and needs to spark things, but in the Crusaders he's not, so I'd rather mainly see him playing a role as a "glue man" - linking to the big guns rather than trying to be one. Hopefully Ioane is fit this week, but if he's not I'd start Bridge on the wing.
Inside backs are going to be a problem, especially while Mo'unga is out. Actually Hunt and McKenzie both went better than I expected - possibly outplayed Sopoaga, who I thought was poor - even without the drop goal attempt. Hall went quite well against the Brumbies, but was a distant second to Smith last night.
I wonder if Tony Brown is regretting his decision to pull Aaron for the last 10 minutes or so. Seemed to coincide with a complete loss of control.
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@Crucial said in Highlanders v Crusaders:
@mariner4life said in Highlanders v Crusaders:
Crusaders' tight 5 looks like a weak point...
It really is one of those games where one team has a better forward pack and the other better backs
And just like i always say, the better pack is the most important
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@Chris-B. said in Highlanders v Crusaders:
@akan004 I think 12. Crotty, 13. Goodhue, 14 Tamanivalu, 15. Dagg is quite a bit better than what we fielded a lot of the time last year.
I'm far from convinced by Havili at this level - he's a bit lacking in pace and he seems impelled to overplay his hand every time he has the ball. Which is OK when he's playing for the Mako$ and is one of the better backs and needs to spark things, but in the Crusaders he's not, so I'd rather mainly see him playing a role as a "glue man" - linking to the big guns rather than trying to be one. Hopefully Ioane is fit this week, but if he's not I'd start Bridge on the wing.
Inside backs are going to be a problem, especially while Mo'unga is out. Actually Hunt and McKenzie both went better than I expected - possibly outplayed Sopoaga, who I thought was poor - even without the drop goal attempt. Hall went quite well against the Brumbies, but was a distant second to Smith last night.
I wonder if Tony Brown is regretting his decision to pull Aaron for the last 10 minutes or so. Seemed to coincide with a complete loss of control.
A. Smith was sharp last night. Played that excellent mix of control, speed and instinct. Hall struggles to play consistently with even one of these attributes. In saying that though, he had some moments. But things did get better when Mitch came on.
Great to see us get a couple of close wins in the first two weeks.
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Big kudos goes to Sammy Whtelock for rallying his forward troops and really taking the attack to the Landers in that final 25 mins. Romano had a big hand in that also. That is a huge W in the checklist and a very enjoyable, intense and absorbing game to watch from a spectators point of view I must say.
Did the Landers think they had it in the bag and in doing so took their big guns off too early?
There will a number of teams looking at that result who will feel more than a little uncomfortable about having to play the Saders at the business end. -
