Chiefs v Crusaders (Suva)
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Cracking game, well played both teams - really put on a show for the locals.
Gee the Saders are tough to beat, they're in the habit of winning and their self belief is through the roof. The break may not be a good thing for them, be interesting to see if they can continue this form afterwards.
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Seemed Chiefs were about to get away at about the 50. Then Cruden missed a 'should make' penalty and momentum swung from there as dropsies set in. Thought Chiefs started front row stood up well to Saders. Second string struggled in scrum and lineout seemed to follow soon after. That said it was the four penalties kicked by RM which did for them in the final analysis.
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@KiwiMurph said in Chiefs v Crusaders (Suva):
Great game.
Crusaders very impressive without Todd and Crotty.
Mounga looks an end of year tour AB and Goodhue looks a future AB.
Robertson's ability to get the most out of this Crusaders team is really impressive.
How many 10s are usually in the AB squad for the Rugby Championship? If three, he might already be in the squad before the EOYT? Playing or as an apprentice ...
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Great game - great result!
I thought we were in trouble when Todd was ruled out and I thought we were doomed when Crotty staggered off. Especially, when the backs' defence coughed up a couple of quick tries and looked in a bit of disarray.
Horrible mistake by Bridge to let Lowe in. I also thought Bryn Hall lacked a bit of composure at times as well - quite a few passes being fired at the feet of the receivers.
First half I thought we were just holding on, but the second half we seemed to take control and where we'd been being driven backwards in a lot of tackles, the Chiefs started going backwards.
Interesting call to replace Taufua with Strange and play for a while with three locks. Nice for Vern Fredericks to get a few minutes at the end, though I'd have been very annoyed if his high tackle had resulted in a converted try.
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From an AB perspective not sure Bird vs Romano yielded a clear result. Chiefs mauled well and Bird went well in lineout. But if selectors want three starters/one impact I suspect they'd go for Barrett and Pat T. If two scrummagers and two aerial then Romano and BBBR tick first box and Bird might have an outside chance if Barrett's injuries take longer than expected to heal. In which case Pat T would miss out.
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@Chris-B. said in Chiefs v Crusaders (Suva):
Great game - great result!
I thought we were in trouble when Todd was ruled out and I thought we were doomed when Crotty staggered off. Especially, when the backs' defence coughed up a couple of quick tries and looked in a bit of disarray.
Horrible mistake by Bridge to let Lowe in. I also thought Bryn Hall lacked a bit of composure at times as well - quite a few passes being fired at the feet of the receivers.
First half I thought we were just holding on, but the second half we seemed to take control and where we'd been being driven backwards in a lot of tackles, the Chiefs started going backwards.
Interesting call to replace Taufua with Strange and play for a while with three locks. Nice for Vern Fredericks to get a few minutes at the end, though I'd have been very annoyed if his high tackle had resulted in a converted try.
I thought Hall was terrible. Looked rattled early in the game.
Mo'unga really growing as an all round player.
Strange decision to have Cruden kick.
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@Stargazer said in Chiefs v Crusaders (Suva):
@KiwiMurph said in Chiefs v Crusaders (Suva):
Great game.
Crusaders very impressive without Todd and Crotty.
Mounga looks an end of year tour AB and Goodhue looks a future AB.
Robertson's ability to get the most out of this Crusaders team is really impressive.
How many 10s are usually in the AB squad for the Rugby Championship? If three, he might already be in the squad before the EOYT? Playing or as an apprentice ...
We only need 2 10's if we have DMac and Jordie.
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@ACT-Crusader said in Chiefs v Crusaders (Suva):
I thought Hall was terrible. Looked rattled early in the game.
I didn't want to be too mean. There were a few "FFS Hall's" flying at my TV!
Drummond has been looking quite a bit the more composed player to me in the last couple of weeks. I think he's my starter till further notice - though maybe Hall gets the start against the Rebels.
I was a bit surprised they didn't move Goodhue into 2nd five and Seta into centre when Crotty went off. Would have been less disruptive.
The way things are going, though - I'd keep Havili in the 15 jersey and play Dagg on the wing, which makes the Havili shift to midfield much more solid.
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Well thank god the abs have cruden to come on if Barrett ain't kicking well. 😂
Massive game from us, Pretty obvious that Todd was never gonna play. Excellent bluff from Robertson. Bedwell Curtis and samu were superb (didn't even notice Sam Cane)
fern favourite moaga is now Sammy favourite moaga. Player of the day for me.
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@SammyC said in Chiefs v Crusaders (Suva):
Well thank god the abs have cruden to come on if Barrett ain't kicking well. 😂
Massive game from us, Pretty obvious that Todd was never gonna play. Excellent bluff from Robertson. Bedwell Curtis and samu were superb (didn't even notice Sam Cane)
fern favourite moaga is now Sammy favourite moaga. Player of the day for me.
I thought Cane was huge in contact. Drove players back in the tackle quite a lot. Just what we will need against the Lions
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Agree about Mo'unga he has grown hugely. Has made that similar leap that Sopoanga did a few years back.
Obviously Crudens kicking cost a lot. bad decision not to hand the tee over to DMac.
I'm not trying to tit for tat on the injury front but it was also noticable that the Chiefs game lost a lot of coherence after losing two midfielders. Beaver came in fine as he and ALB have worked together enough but once things were shuffled again it was like they were playing off the cuff and not in tune.
I'd like to single out the class of ALB though. He gets moved 12/13 all the time, either planned or unplanned and it doesn't affect his game.
I think if Crotty is out for the ABs he could certainly shift in one position and take Crotty's role. ALB/Fekitoa could be a pretty good defensive unit. -
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@Tim said in Chiefs v Crusaders (Suva):
Crotty/ALB has a critical lack of go-forward though.
Really? Last year it was our best combination after they tried a fair few different ones. Got past the gain line consistently, linked well the both of them with Barrett and defensively were rock solid.
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@Tim said in Chiefs v Crusaders (Suva):
I won't be shocked if we see a SBW/ALB midfield. Crotty will have preference though.
Crotty/ALB has a critical lack of go-forward though.
I would think the SBW/ALB midfield is hoped for in the last 20. SBW offers impact off the bench. I think part of it is mental too. I can imagine being in the opposition and hanging in there, getting tired and trying not to slip up and on comes a whole new kettle of fish to defend against.
EDIT: he still has to show some form yet though.
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@ACT-Crusader Last year we were not particularly good, and were downright poor in the last Bledisloe test and the EOYT. We were shown up in those games. We were very much flattered by poor Australian and South African teams.
