Crusaders v Chiefs
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<p>This from the Herald</p>
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<p><strong>Todd Blackadder has called for an immediate change to one of rugby's concussion laws after an incident which saw his team disadvantaged in the final minutes of their loss to the Chiefs in Christchurch on Saturday.</strong></p>
<p>The unfortunate sequence of events occurred when Tim Boys, the openside flanker, was replaced after 67 minutes by Reed Prinsep, who was almost immediately knocked unconcious following an accidental clash of heads.</p>
<p>The concussed Prinsep was taken off the AMI Stadium pitch on a stretcher and straight to hospital after a break in play of at least 10 minutes, following which the Crusaders, 21-22 down at the time, asked to replace him with Boys, only to be told by referee Chris Pollock that the law didn't allow it.</p>
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<p><strong>Only those going off for blood or a concussion test are allowed to be replaced by a substituted member of the starting XV</strong>, meaning the Crusaders were forced to send replacement halfback Leon Fukofuka into the unfamiliar position of flanker.</p>
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The Chiefs went on to score another try through Sam Cane for a 27-21 victory and, while he wasn't suggesting the Prinsep injury controversy was the cause of the defeat, coach Blackadder was critical of a law which appears to defy logic.</p>
<p>"I think common sense needs to prevail here," Blackadder said.</p>
<p>"If Reed had been able to say 'I've had a head knock, I need to come off for a concussion test', we would have been able to replace him with Tim. But the fact that he was knocked unconscious meant we weren't able to do that.</p>
<p>"The law needs to be amended straight away because player welfare has to come first and teams shouldn't be penalised for players being knocked unconscious."</p>
<p>Blackadder, who will this week prepare his side for the visit of a Blues team on a high from their 33-31 victory of the defending champion Highlanders, said the law as it stood was vulnerable to gamesmanship.</p>
<p>He said there was nothing stopping Prinsep's replacement Fukuoka making a tackle and complaining of a sore head which would have resulted in a concussion test and Boys coming straight back on.</p>
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<p>What a crock of shit. Why should a player being knocked out be any different to a player breaking their arm? The reason the blood and concussion tests can be replaced is because they are possibly temporary. (I'm unsure what happens if a player fails a concussion test though and maybe that is where the oddity is)</p>
<p>His last comment is pure crap. There is something to stop that happening. It is called sportsmanship and is no different to players creating blood injuries for a tactical subbing.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Crucial" data-cid="561555" data-time="1456699814">
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<p>This from the Herald</p>
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<p>His last comment is pure crap. There is something to stop that happening. It is called sportsmanship and is no different to players creating blood injuries for a tactical subbing.</p>
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<p>Calm down... he didn't do it, just mentioned the loophole in an interview when discussing the law.</p> -
<p>According to the Laws of Rugby (3.13) a substituted player can only return for blood injury or injured Front Rower. No mention of the concussion.</p>
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<p>3.11 Temporary Replacement - Head Injury assessment only says that a player undergoing assessment shall be replaced even if all of the substitutes/replacements have been used.</p>
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<p>To me that means that Boys could only come back once all the bench had been used.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="SammyC" data-cid="561556" data-time="1456700303">
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<p>Calm down... he didn't do it, just mentioned the loophole in an interview when discussing the law.</p>
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<p>It's not a loophole, it is against the Laws for Fukuoka to do anything against the spirit of the game, which feigning a head injury to get a better sub on would certainly fall under.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="SammyC" data-cid="561562" data-time="1456701551">
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<p>boooooring....</p>
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<p>How about we discuss the game, not something that Toddy said in an interview that annoyed you</p>
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<p>You should start a new thread for conversations with yourself about rugby laws.</p>
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<p>Just to be clear, I simply made comment. You started the discussion.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="SammyC" data-cid="561562" data-time="1456701551">
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<p>boooooring....</p>
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<p>How about we discuss the game, not something that Toddy said in an interview that annoyed you</p>
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<p>You should start a new thread for conversations with yourself about rugby laws.</p>
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<p>Just because you're okay with cheating, doesn't mean we have to be.</p> -
<p>Back to the rugby.</p>
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<p>I thought Andy Ellis had his best game in a couple of years,</p>
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<p>Last year he looked tired and slow to get to breakdowns, which I blamed on his stint in Japan. </p>
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<p>Only one game in but promising signs.</p> -
<p>In the corresponding game in 2014 the Chiefs ended up with Nathan Harris playing at openside. This was the game that Afeaki and Retallick clashed heads forcing both off the field. Then Retallick's replacement (Koloamatangi) was injured 7 mins later and the Chiefs only had one forward sub left - Harris. He played the last 14 mins on the side of the scrum.</p>
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<p>In this game the Crusaders reserve TH prop (Alaalatoa) never even played so Blackadder could have also rearranged his forward pack. Fukofuka wasn't the only option available.</p> -
Thought the saders over did the kicking at times. They tried the attacking cross kick a few times which didnt come off, one of which was rubbish and put them under pressure. Hopefully they can refine that. Really hope Ngatai can stay fit this year to push for the ABs midfield. Imo he is the closest thing to Conrad we have in that he seems to be an intelligent player. Pair him with someone with a bit of punch and the AB midfield might not be such a big hole.
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="pukunui" data-cid="561572" data-time="1456704756">
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<p>Thought the saders over did the kicking at times. They tried the attacking cross kick a few times which didnt come off, one of which was rubbish and put them under pressure. Hopefully they can refine that. Really hope Ngatai can stay fit this year to push for the ABs midfield. Imo he is the closest thing to Conrad we have in that he seems to be an intelligent player. Pair him with someone with a bit of punch and the AB midfield might not be such a big hole.</p>
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<p>Yeah almost mentioned that in both my posts. The Chiefs dropped a couple of kicks early on and we got a bit too keen and kept doing it.</p>
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<p>Agree about Ngatai, he has to be an All Black this year. </p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="pukunui" data-cid="561572" data-time="1456704756"><p>Thought the saders over did the kicking at times. They tried the attacking cross kick a few times which didnt come off, one of which was rubbish and put them under pressure. Hopefully they can refine that. Really hope Ngatai can stay fit this year to push for the ABs midfield. Imo he is the closest thing to Conrad we have in that he seems to be an intelligent player. Pair him with someone with a bit of punch and the AB midfield might not be such a big hole.</p></blockquote>
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I like non-injured Ngatai a lot. Hope he has followed the C Smith path and got his injuries out of the way. He can play anywhere too, so looks a great bet for a few tests in black. I still like him better at 13 (Moala 12), but with Fekitoa and Ranger around, there are plenty of class players who can play both positions. <br><br>
We'll miss the old firm, but there is plenty of class about that it shouldn't be a weak area... -
Yes power and pace were never words you would use to describe conrad so i don't see it being an issue as long as there is balance in the 12/13 combo. He is hardly a lightweight though. Just needs to stop getting injured. As far as i can remember he was one of the only ones to come out of that samoan test looking good.
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Tim" data-cid="561578" data-time="1456706979">
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<p>I like Ngatai, but I wonder if he has either the pace or power for test rugby.</p>
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<p>Ngatai <span>was a national age grade sprint champion. He's quicker than you think.</span></p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Stargazer" data-cid="561545" data-time="1456697986">
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<p>You'll be happy with this news then: </p>
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<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href=''>
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<p>Yeah, I read the article and I see he's a tradesman who's made his way by hard grit up the rugby ranks. He's perfectly adequate, but he is not the stuff of a title-winning 1st 15. Havili looked wasted/lost at 15, should be played elsewhere.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="cgrant" data-cid="561626" data-time="1456733558">
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<p>I would be pleased by a SBW / Ngatai combo for the EOYT. For the June tests and the RC, I guess Hansen won't use two newcomers in the midfield at the same time. So we won't see a Ngatai / Moala combo, that's for sure.</p>
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<p>I'd like to see Fekitoa (12) and Ngatai (13) given a chance. Fekitoa lacks distribution skills at this point of his career so I think he can be a like-for-like replacement for Nonu at 2nd 5. As others have mentioned, Ngatai has similar attributes to Smith. Crotty is another option but Ngatai has more upside.</p>
