Crusaders vs B&I Lions
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@Donsteppa said in Crusaders vs B&I Lions:
@Bones said in Crusaders vs B&I Lions:
I'm surprised that for 2% of the game, no team was considered in possession.
The ball spent a lot of time being hoofed in the air...
aimlessly
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@Stargazer said in Crusaders vs B&I Lions:
@Bones said in Crusaders vs B&I Lions:
I'm surprised that for 2% of the game, no team was considered in possession.
I'm not allowed to state the obvious on the Fern, so here are the numbers from the Lions website:
They should have given the sky more credit!
Hmmm.. smiley face keeps vanishing.
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Garces is an excellent ref. One of the worlds best.
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From the Book of Wise after the Event: Had Chch taken 3 points instead of trying to macho a try, they would have gone in 9-6 down. Even as late as the last five the dynamic of the Lions having to defend a match losing try versus the immeasurably simpler matter of preventing two scores would have put the Lions under real pressure, at which point mistakes happen. Here endeth the lesson.
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Random thoughts:
Don't know why people are saying the Lions tight 5 were superior. The Lions loosies were more physical, accurate, and influencial and their 9-10-12 were (and are) so much better. Best team won.
The tight 5 mmmm.... , the Lions scrum was protected by the ref, they pulled the lineouts down illegally a few times (Jones). The Crusaders tight 5 esp. Romano, were fairly brutal on defense I thought.
The Lions were smart however, knew a few tricks, and showed what happens when you bring together an experienced pack of internationals. No way were they going to let the Crusaders score and shut down attacks both with good defense and a bit of shennagins at times.
Tour is back on! -
@Samurai-Jack Couldn't agree more. Reminded me that Todd is an exceptional Super player but AB journeyman.
No one seems to have cottoned on to what Lions have learned, viz Mako/George/Furlong are a bench impact combo and Coles/Owens/McGrath need to start or ABs will have Lions scrum under pressure. POM needs to start as Lions need three jumpers with Read playing. Suspect AWJ/Kruis with Itoje becnh wll be test lock combo. They will be looking to get Warburton up to speed, but if it were me I'd be very tempted to stick with SOB. -
@Bones said in Crusaders vs B&I Lions:
Todd has hardly been shown to be a journeyman at AB level. Quite the opposite.
Agreed. The advantage the Lions had in the backrow overall made it very difficult for Todd. Bedwell Curtis is obviously a bit out of his depth and Taufua as well struggled against Faletau, arguably the Lions best player.
Replace those two with All Blacks and it's a big difference.
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How Conor Murray, Owen Farrell and Jonathan Sexton ignited the Lions attack
Two tries from 240 minutes of rugby hardly seems the sort of return to generate excitement, but the British and Irish Lions’ attacking game is starting to click.
Thought this was an interesting analysis of the accidental midfield created in yesterday's match.
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@Pot-Hale said in Crusaders vs B&I Lions:
How Conor Murray, Owen Farrell and Jonathan Sexton ignited the Lions attack
Two tries from 240 minutes of rugby hardly seems the sort of return to generate excitement, but the British and Irish Lions’ attacking game is starting to click.
Thought this was an interesting analysis of the accidental midfield created in yesterday's match.
Can't access the article.
Seems like quite a lot of confidence building though.Excellent!
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Two tries from 240 minutes of rugby hardly seems the sort of return to generate excitement, but the British and Irish Lions’ attacking game is starting to click.
After a run of 14 straight Super Rugby victories, the Crusaders understandably began this match as two-point favourites with the bookies. When Owen Farrell booted the ball into the crowd to end the game, a 12-3 scoreline flattered the hosts.
Besides suffocating their opponents in phase-play, the Lions comfortably edged the scrum exchanges and derailed the Crusaders’ lineout. With props Joe Moody and Owen Franks and lock Sam Whitelock likely to start the first Test for New Zealand, the set piece would have brought a significant psychological boost.
Perhaps even more impressively, the Lions made nine clean breaks to the Crusaders’ three. Composure in the 22 was sorely lacking, yet the tourists consistently created openings. Conor Murray, Owen Farrell and replacement Jonathan Sexton were central to the incisiveness. Here is a closer look at how the three combined.
Urgency from the off
Whereas the Lions seemed soporific and reactive in Whangarei, they seized impetus here. Note Conor Murray’s starting position from this lineout, in the five-metre channel:
Lions_analysis
As the throw comes in, referee Mathieu Raynal awards the Lions a free-kick, ruling that the Crusaders have closed the gap between the sides. Owen Farrell begins 10 metres back in the defensive line:Lions_analysis
Clearly, a free-kick means the Lions would give away the lineout if they kicked the ball to touch. With this in mind, Farrell gets hold of the ball, glances across to Murray…Lions_analysis
…and takes a quick tap:Lions_analysis
He feeds Murray…Lions_analysis
…who draws Crusaders wing Seta Tamanivalu and chips ahead: -
@Pot-Hale said in Crusaders vs B&I Lions:
Besides suffocating their opponents in phase-play, the Lions comfortably edged the scrum exchanges and derailed the Crusaders’ lineout. With props Joe Moody and Owen Franks and lock Sam Whitelock likely to start the first Test for New Zealand, the set piece would have brought a significant psychological boost.
Hmmm...an interesting take on what happened.
From what I recall most of the scrum penalties to the Lions were on engagement. When Raynal actually let the teams scrummage it was a different story. There was one scrum when the Crusaders absolutely demolished the Lions, leading to the pushing and shoving.
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Yeah we are back to rugby cliches again. The NH always feel they have the better packs and feel this game justified that theory.
There were a number of technical scrum infringements awarded against the Crusaders. By the letter of the law the ref might have been correct.
But when moody popped furlong and the Crusaders got pinged for wheeling it was totally the wrong call imo
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@Bovidae said in Crusaders vs B&I Lions:
@Pot-Hale said in Crusaders vs B&I Lions:
Besides suffocating their opponents in phase-play, the Lions comfortably edged the scrum exchanges and derailed the Crusaders’ lineout. With props Joe Moody and Owen Franks and lock Sam Whitelock likely to start the first Test for New Zealand, the set piece would have brought a significant psychological boost.
Hmmm...an interesting take on what happened.
From what I recall most of the scrum penalties to the Lions were on engagement. When Raynal actually let the teams scrummage it was a different story. There was one scrum when the Crusaders absolutely demolished the Lions, leading to the pushing and shoving.
Nigel Yalden is pretty balanced. Check out his comments on the scrums at about 11m30s (interview starts at around 11min)
http://120.138.20.16/WeekOnDemand/radiosport/2017.06.11-16.00.00-S.mp3Rest of the interview here:
http://120.138.20.16/WeekOnDemand/radiosport/2017.06.11-14.15.00-S.mp3 -
I wasn't at all surprised by the result. I thought it was a much stronger Lions team and that they would do better against a more structured NH type team in the Crusaders than the off the cuff Blues. I mean most of the time the Blues have no idea what they are about to do so what chance the opposition.
Crusaders looked very average but then they were made to do so. The most disappointing aspect of the Crusaders play was their lack of intelligence. The Lions defence negated the attacking game the Crusaders wanted to employ but the home team response was if it ain't working keep trying coz sooner or later it will succeed. Bone headed.
The ref seemed to fall for the "everyone says the Lions scrum is going to be much better than the local powderpuffs - so if they are getting monstered the Crusaders must be cheating" line. PENALTY!
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Plenty of Crusaders showed that they were no ready to take the next step. Havili is not a center, Mo'unga, looked shell shocked, Jordan Taufua found that his dominance didn't translate.
I thought the Ref ruined what could have been a decent spectacle. His game management was shitty when the whistle went no one had any idea what he was going to call. He would say just advantage. No idea if its penalty or knock on. Rarely called when it was over. I think at the scrum time he protected the Lions and I don't know why. Normally a team being dominated doesn't get that sort of protection.
I know some people don't like Refs that coach but it has one advantage it lets the game flow a bit more it allows players to adapt while the game is in progress having to wait till after the whistle has been blown then wondering what the hell is going on is just shitty as a spectacle.
Oh and why the fuck kick the ball from in front of the posts to the sideline? It was arrogant and a shit call from Sam. You put that over your playing the Lions not the western force.
