Rebels v Crusaders
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I am impressed with the Crusader's (characteristic) discipline as the second half unfolded - continuous focus on backing up, short passes to any one of several men in close support, cohesiveness remained despite the yellow cards and the several replacements. I think Crotty and Whitelock remaining on the field has much to do with that last bit, I am not a fan of replacing the captain for no reason at any time.
Watching a lumbering big front rower scoring a try is always a joy - I was happy for Wyatt Crockett.
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We've never seen Jordan Taufua playing at no. 8 in so many consecutive games. Is this his best position? He's having an awesome season and I really think he should get an All Blacks call-up. I think he's definitely in better form than Luke Whitelock and Akira Ioane (before you start shooting at me, I'm talking about his form, not about whether he's the better player or not). The fact that he can also play at 6 and 7 should be an advantage?
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@stargazer I wonder if that game last year against the BIL is going to effect Taufua's chances of being selected for the ABs. He was monstered that night against a test pack and selectors tend to have long memories. Personally I would love to see him given a chance to prove himself in an AB jersey but I think they will go with Luke Whitelock.
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The accuracy of Goodhue on defense is almost Conrad like!
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It’s only the Rebels....
The short passing game and running lines were superb tonight. In attack we are really disciplined in our structure and backing up. Great to watch.
That second half our defence was humming. Guys pushing up in sync and not missing too many tackles. Hall just seems a better communicator on both sides of the ball.
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Goodhue was outstanding, best midfield performance for NZ side this year. Mounga was also very good, they just look more composed and dangerous with him. Agree that Tafua almost has to be an AB, I haven't always been a fan but he offers something others (even Akita) don't.
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@act-crusader I wonder if Drummond is feeling the pressure of seemingly being in the AB frame or whether he's just getting more starts and more minutes so more chances to make errors.
Stay safe (and in sight of your minders) Aaron Smith!
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@stargazer said in Rebels v Crusaders:
I still don't get why Barrett's try was disallowed. How could he knock on; the ball went backwards?
The ball was lost forward out of the hands.. It just happened to hit his leg and then come back..
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What a bullshit from Wessels
Wessels calls for greater Super Rugby equity
Rebels coach Dave Wessels has called for greater equalisation in Super Rugby, after his side’s 55-10 thumping at the hands of the Crusaders. The Rebels came back to Melbourne this week from their South African tour, facing the Crusaders, who opted to remain in Australia after beating the Brumbies last weekend, travelling down from Sydney. Though Wessels was quick to say travel challenges weren’t an excuse, he said more should be done to help historically struggling clubs when it came to the draw. “The championship team travelled a 45-minute flight or whatever it is,” he said. “We travelled 24 hours and that’s something Super Rugby generally has to look at. “One of the reasons AFL is so popular is they’ve got an equalisation model in whatever it is that they’re doing to give everyone a fair bite of the cherry and while the Crusaders might say at different times they have to do that travel, the difference is they’re a club that’s used to winning and have that momentum. “I think Super Rugby needs to think about giving the clubs that don’t have the momentum some of that because if you look at the success that AFL’s had with that model, why wouldn’t we be thinking about some of those things?” The Rebels were back in Melbourne on Monday, after a full day of flying back from South Africa, with Wessels saying jet lag was their biggest enemy ahead of a Friday night game. “I think if you were to ask me what has been our number one challenge this week it’s jetlag and the Crusaders didn’t have jetlag, the Crusaders came from Canberra,” he said. “They’ve had an extra day’s training because we had the flight and I’m not saying that’s an excuse`I just think it’s something that Super Rugby should be looking at because it certainly has made the week more difficult for us.”He's saying that the travel, the jetlag and having one less training day isn't an excuse, yet he is using it as excuse.
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@stargazer It's the world we live in. You're not allowed any excuses.
I think he's trying to frame it as a discussion, but I have a small reply for Dave.
We'll give you a slightly more favorable travel schedule, but you can swap with the Blues and come play in the NZ Conference for a couple of years...
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Very bad year to use the AFL as a model for anything.
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What a joke. So lets make it more equal by making it unequal. I'e got a suggestion for giving the Rebels a better travel schedule, cut them from super rugby so they can play in the nrc where they belong.
Also a bit of a joke to whinge about travel when the Crusaders went the whole 2011 season on the road and went one shitty ref call from winning the comp.
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Wessells blaming the travel but the Rebels had similar second half capitulations against both the Canes (when the Rebels played the week before at home) and the Tahs (when the Rebels played at home the week before and the Tahs had to travel from Argie).
Watching at the ground Rebels were really poor - especially after Genia went off - they looked like a club side - just not in the same league as the Crusaders. Not a great look for Super Rugby at all.
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So which AFL teams are in South Africa?
