Crusaders v Hurricanes
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Loose forwards are a real problem for the Crusaders this year . With Grace injured, the Sader loosies are NPC level at best. Douglas has fallen off a cliff this year, I lost count of the times he failed to run on to the ball last night.
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@Crazy-Horse Douglas has always been a journeyman let's be honest. He goes OK with guys like Read and Todd next to him holding his hand but is barely NPC standard without them.
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@KiwiMurph said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@Stargazer said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@Canes4life Agree with most of that. I'd have to add though that this game exactly showed why David Havili is the preferred Crusaders fullback rather than Jordan. This game clearly exposed the defensive weaknesses in Jordan's game and his organisational work from the back still has to grow a lot. I'd only pick Jordan as an ABs wing, at the moment, and opt for Havili for a utility/fullback spot in black.
Havili hasn't been perfect at fullback either - his last game against the Blues was not one of his best.
Turnstiles don’t make good Test players. There is a reason he drifted out of the AB squad
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@Nepia said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
Haven't read the thread yet, but Boris needs to go back to centre, he's shit at 12. ALB has been copping crap all season but Goodhue was barely NPC standard last night.
I thought Boris was at Number 10! 🤔
I'll get my coat.
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@Nepia said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@Machpants said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
various Russian movie bad guys
There is your clue.
I thought all crusaders are bad guys?
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@African-Monkey said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@Crazy-Horse Douglas has always been a journeyman let's be honest. He goes OK with guys like Read and Todd next to him holding his hand but is barely NPC standard without them.
He was at his best when first filling in for Read, maybe two years ago.
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@Crazy-Horse said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
Loose forwards are a real problem for the Crusaders this year . With Grace injured, the Sader loosies are NPC level at best. Douglas has fallen off a cliff this year, I lost count of the times he failed to run on to the ball last night.
No argument there, but losing Read, Todd and Taufua at once was always going to hurt. Douglas isn't playing as well as he has done in the past, Christie is green and limited on attack, Harmon is the better fetcher but gets roughed up due to his size. And now we're missing our best two blindside options. Actually possibly best three including Barrett. Sanders is solid but unspectacular. It's all a bit average.
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@KiwiMurph said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@Stargazer said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@Canes4life Agree with most of that. I'd have to add though that this game exactly showed why David Havili is the preferred Crusaders fullback rather than Jordan. This game clearly exposed the defensive weaknesses in Jordan's game and his organisational work from the back still has to grow a lot. I'd only pick Jordan as an ABs wing, at the moment, and opt for Havili for a utility/fullback spot in black.
Havili hasn't been perfect at fullback either - his last game against the Blues was not one of his best.
True, it wasn't his best game, but he was still miles better than BB in that game.
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@shark He's just making stuff up. Havili came into the ABs as an injury replacement for Jordie Barrett. He lost his spot when Jordie returned from injury. It has nothing to do with below par performance or weak defence. Jordie's selection ahead of Havili has been controversial the last two years. The selectors said so themselves, last year, that Havili did everything right and was very unlucky, and then made up "Jordie being more versatile" as the reason, which was of course bs and everyone knew it.
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@Stargazer said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
then made up "Jordie being more versatile" as the reason, which was of course bs and everyone knew it.
So what was the reason, then. This is Jordie who had played 10, midfield, wing, and fullback for the ABs?
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@Machpants At that point, he hadn't played 10 for the ABs, yet. Only wing and fullback at that point. Maybe a few minutes at 12 due to subs. It was a "made-up reason", because Havili has the same versatility as Jordie.
Edited to add that IMO they should both be selected, this year, and that Dmac should be the one missing out.
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@shark said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@Kirwan Wow. It's a miracle we've won three titles on the bounce considering how horrific our defence is at 10 and 15.
Just another player whose ceiling is super rugby, not “horrific”. I made a point of mentioning Test rugby, you can get away with hiding tens on the wing or having a fullback that arm tackles at the lower level.
It’s the same thing BB got criticised for at Test level and he had to fix it.
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@Stargazer said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@KiwiMurph said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@Stargazer said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@Canes4life Agree with most of that. I'd have to add though that this game exactly showed why David Havili is the preferred Crusaders fullback rather than Jordan. This game clearly exposed the defensive weaknesses in Jordan's game and his organisational work from the back still has to grow a lot. I'd only pick Jordan as an ABs wing, at the moment, and opt for Havili for a utility/fullback spot in black.
Havili hasn't been perfect at fullback either - his last game against the Blues was not one of his best.
True, it wasn't his best game, but he was still miles better than BB in that game.
That wouldn't be hard.
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@Nepia said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@No-Quarter said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@kiwiinmelb said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@No-Quarter said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
Jordie has been so fucking good this year. Has really come of age, he's world class now.
In hindsight we definitely kept the best Barrett.
He is Often maligned but I still think he is a work in progress rather than a finished product , has the tools to make a good test fullback Imo, that goal kicking could be a weapon on its own.
Still a work in progress for sure, but he's turned a corner this year where he's cut out the absurd errors he was making in previous years when he tried to do too much. His net positive far outweighs the negative now, whereas with someone like DMac it's still 50/50 at best.
You had me kind of agreeing until you got to the DMac quip. DMac isn't in great form but put in a string of decent performances in black pre injury ... JB hasn't really done that yet. And as much as you say his error rate is down, he's still at least one silly unforced error a game even now when he's playing well.
And yes he's playing well, but I think for most non JB fluffers (like myself) the issue has never been whether he has the talent, but has always been his promotion to the ABs based on that potential talent and not on his form and temperament. If he keeps playing as he's playing now I'll have to stop trolling the JB fluffers and that will be a sad day.
I agree Jordie was promoted too early, and it backfired on them. The coaches figured they'd just get him into camp and get him up to speed, which is a tactic that is fraught with danger, just look at Toeava.
And whilst I agree DMac played OK in black pre injury, he is still an erratic player that is only really suited to the bench at test level. When he's on the back foot he really struggles and his error rate increases massively, largely due to his lack of size IMO.
Jordie has the potential to be a world class 15 and this year he looks like he's really matured, sticking to the basics when the team is on the back foot and taking his opportunities when they arise. We've been a completely different team with him on the field.
All that said, it's just Super Rugby. A test against a rampant SA or England is a different kettle of fish.
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The Hurricanes masterstroke selection that proved pivotal in dismantling the Crusaders
The decision to swap the finishing skills of Van Wyk for Wes Goosen also did not disappoint, with Goosen scoring two tries from the two opportunities that came his way.
