Hurricanes v Blues
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@Canes4life said in Hurricanes v Blues:
My two cents without reading the thread.
I take my hat off to the Blues, they were outstanding on defence in that first half and managed to stop any of our momentum, especially after a blistering start.
I felt we were just getting on top before the red card occurred and with half an hour left it was the Blues match to lose.
Overall a fairly messy game. I think the big thing for Blues fans to celebrate is that they managed to get over the line. I feel if it was the Blues of a couple of seasons ago they would have found a way to lose on Saturday.
Canes will need to lick their wounds fast as it doesn't get any easier over the next two weekends. For the Blues, they are sitting pretty with two winnable games next, a bye after that and then Beauden's return.
From a Canes perspective I feel Fifita should get the axe and I'd like to see Blackwell pack down on the side of the scrum. I'm sick of Fifita's brain explosions and there should be consequences,
It's hard to tell what would have happened without the red card, but I was more worried when the Canes went to the backs than the forwards. The Blues pack was beating up the Canes and I think we were seeing the rewards for that, in fact I think it directly lead to the multiple instances of foul play (only two shoulder charges were called, there were more than that) asthey tried to muscle up.
The fatigue even with a numerical advantage was a huge factor, so we may not have been able to hold on.
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@Chris-B said in Hurricanes v Blues:
@taniwharugby said in Hurricanes v Blues:
Was at a function on Friday night with Grant Fox and Glenn Taylor, and Fox reckoned Blues would make finals but didn't have the squad to win.
Both said it was thier tight 5 making the difference this year with Taylor making special mention of Tuipuluto's form and also Robinson.
I think that's a pretty decent bet.
What I most didn't like about the Blues performance was that they were losing both the scrums and lineouts in the first 20 minutes and, while Parsons improves the lineout throwing, he's a weakness around the paddock. And scrums - I suspect there's other scrums more dominant that what the Canes have that would have to be matched in the play-offs.
However, there's still time for the Blues to get better in these aspects and they've got some physical specimens. And people like Nock are starting deliver on their promise.
The real wildcard is what Beauden can bring. He's the sort of player who turns five point losses into five point wins.
I'd be surprised if the Canes make the finals without Beauden. He's done exactly that time and time again the past couple of seasons and has made us look a lot better than we are.
You can say what you like about his credentials as a test 10, but in the more open Super rugby he's an absolutely superstar in that position and is regularly the difference.
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The standard is a bit lower this year so the Canes still have a good chance of making the playoffs.
That was the first derby match, we'll know where they really stand after these two away games (Chiefs, Crusaders)Barrett is probably worth a freakish try (scored or set up for someone else) per match. Thats enough to turn close matches
Also, without him, who has the authority to tell TJ to clam the fuck down?
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@Canes4life said in Hurricanes v Blues:
From a Canes perspective I feel Fifita should get the axe and I'd like to see Blackwell pack down on the side of the scrum. I'm sick of Fifita's brain explosions and there should be consequences.
We don't always agree (especially around the propping situation) but in this instance I would be absolutely delighted to see him banished back to club rugby. Purely from an Axemens (who were rather average in the commemorative 150th anniversary of the first ever club rugby match played in NZ against the Nelson RFC on Saturday) selfish point of view he would look good running around Hataitai Park away from the TV cameras! The specialist TMO panel (selected and trained by myself!) up there are superb at their unofficial assistance they give the referee in determining any doubt he/she (we have same good female refs in Wgtn) might have about things.
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@No-Quarter said in Hurricanes v Blues:
I'd be surprised if the Canes make the finals without Beauden.
I think the Canes will be there or thereabouts.
Currently they're in eighth - I guess the question is which team below them is likely to get past them. I guess most likely would be the Rebels or Reds with lots of games in the Australian conference - but, those teams need to start collecting points.
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@Chris-B Yes you did, it ended up about 30 odd to about 20 odd after the Blues scored a try and kicked a couple of late penalties. I was busy dealing with a lot of other things going on at the time and did not really pay much attention to the play.
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I think the Canes will get there, especially if we can get Ardie back soon.
The one guy that we probably couldn't afford to lose for the Chiefs and Crusaders games coming up is Lomax. How costly will this red card be on our campaign? Well we will have to wait and see.
I would bring Ben May back into the fold as the starting 3 and leave Fidow on the bench.
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@Canes4life I think May was one of the reasons why the Hunters' scrum dominated Blues A in the first half, on Saturday. It's no secret that I'm not a huge fan of his, but he's a big lump of a man who adds a lot of weight to the pack.
Assuming the citing will be upheld, the Canes will probably lose Lomax for about 3 games/weeks.
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@Stargazer Lomax has been suspended for 3 weeks as per the article above.
Numia might be unavailable too due to concussion.
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Worrying times for the Canes, their depth will be tested heavily over the next three weeks.
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@Canes4life said in Hurricanes v Blues:
The one guy that we probably couldn't afford to lose for the Chiefs and Crusaders games coming up is Lomax. How costly will this red card be on our campaign? Well we will have to wait and see.
If you're being brutally realistic then losing Lomax for away games vs Chiefs and Crusaders might not be the worst thing in the world.
He'll get a compulsory rest in games that the Canes definitely will not be (and would not have been) favourites for.
The real damage is letting four points slip away vs the Blues and the need to ensure the same thing doesn't happen vs the Bulls.
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@Canes4life So if Armstrong is still out, Rakete-Stones will likely start at LH, and Fidow/May for TH. Who'll be the reserve LH? Sitiveni Paongo, who started for the Hunters? He didn't really impress on Saturday .... It's either him or Morgan Poi, I guess. I hope Armstrong will be back, even if it's only for the last 30 minutes.
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Yeah I would say so, what about Mafileo who played in those first two games?
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@Canes4life Playing “Rapid Rugby", I think.
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@No-Quarter said in Hurricanes v Blues:
@Chris-B said in Hurricanes v Blues:
@taniwharugby said in Hurricanes v Blues:
Was at a function on Friday night with Grant Fox and Glenn Taylor, and Fox reckoned Blues would make finals but didn't have the squad to win.
Both said it was thier tight 5 making the difference this year with Taylor making special mention of Tuipuluto's form and also Robinson.
I think that's a pretty decent bet.
What I most didn't like about the Blues performance was that they were losing both the scrums and lineouts in the first 20 minutes and, while Parsons improves the lineout throwing, he's a weakness around the paddock. And scrums - I suspect there's other scrums more dominant that what the Canes have that would have to be matched in the play-offs.
However, there's still time for the Blues to get better in these aspects and they've got some physical specimens. And people like Nock are starting deliver on their promise.
The real wildcard is what Beauden can bring. He's the sort of player who turns five point losses into five point wins.
I'd be surprised if the Canes make the finals without Beauden. He's done exactly that time and time again the past couple of seasons and has made us look a lot better than we are.
You can say what you like about his credentials as a test 10, but in the more open Super rugby he's an absolutely superstar in that position and is regularly the difference.
Ardie is the other diffecernce maker, both at SR and ABs, at least he is coming back to the canes. Hopefully he'll tell TJ to calm down
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@Stargazer said in Hurricanes v Blues:
@Bovidae Ah, hadn't seen that yet. Have been too busy to read the news (and the Fern).
#booboo
