Waratahs v Crusaders
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@antipodean to be fair, they barely got any ball, the problems were well ahead of them.
Not saying either should be in the ABS, just sweeping statements like that after a team performance like that are bit OTT IMO.
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@KiwiMurph said in Waratahs v Crusaders:
Cullen Grace's AB chances took a big hit tonight.
He was just "there" without adding anything.
Christie is too small and ineffective, an absolute powderpuff against the heavier packs, Grace is not the answer at 8, I'd have Matera there or even S.Havili, although both are just 105 kg & are stop-gap measures at best, not longer-term solutions there. Far too many lightweight passenger forwards in the squad. They need someone who can carry the ball with power, someone like even Frizell or MMT from the Highlanders would be a godsend Lol..
Crusaders lack dynamic, ball-carrying athletes in the forwards, they haven't even had one there since Taufua departed in 2019... the recruitment has been genuinely shocking for the last 4 seasons.
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@kiwi_expat they tried to recruit Frizell but he turned them down
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@Kirwan said in Waratahs v Crusaders:
So four missed tackles from DH in end. Grace joined Christie for missing three each.
Crusaders just got owned in the breakdown at times. Only part of their game that was the usual standard was the scrum.
Did notice something from him on what looked like a missed tackle in the game - seems he will kind of hit and release if he's stretching and the player has stopped. This one he kind of swung around the player and was struggling to hold on, but released when he saw one or two others had it covered.
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@kiwi_expat said in Waratahs v Crusaders:
@Old-Samurai-Jack said in Waratahs v Crusaders:
Pretty poor right across the board tonight. Codie Taylor a shadow of his former self. The bench was the only positive really, Havili (the forward), Newell, and maybe Williams. Everything just looked so laboured.
RTS as an AB midfield option just became much more attractive.Havili once again was as effective as a paper bag in the midfield, and Whitelock & Taylor are utter dinosaurs who are quite obviously 2-3 years past their expiry dates at this point. None of them should be in a starting ABs XV, and Ennor, Havili, Bridge, Grace, Bower etc.. shouldn't be anywhere near an All Black squad either. Keep the Crusaders bog-standard, awfully limited players away from our national side FFS Foster.. except for Jordan & Reece - they are more than welcome.
I thought Goodhue did one or two ok things last night, but I still think he's a 12, as doesn't have top end speed to be 13. Though I have to say, let's not perhpas get to carried away, Crusaders were not flash, and Tahs tore into them especially at breakdown etc, but it's hardly end of world for them I don't think.
And boy I not a Crusader's supporter or anything. -
Terrible display. The forward pack is a mixture of journeymen and once-great players past their peak. Best forward was newell, that guy has a big future. Best back imho was Jordan. Thought goodhue did ok but Havili was poor. I think he’s a busted flush as a midfielder. This is the weakest crusaders side in along while. No way they win the comp.
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@Bovidae Most of his tackles are ineffective as well. About a third of his tackles he might stop the carriers in their tracks, the other two thirds the carriers make about 3-4 meters post contact. His jacking is also non existent, and he certainly ain't a ball carrier.
I'd take Moana Pasifika's loose trio over the Crusaders one at this current time.
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@Billy-Tell I wouldn't write them off yet. Hope they don't win though.
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Reece stood out in the Crusaders backline tonight. To be fair, hard to judge if he had an average game or the rest were just dross. Goodhue started to come into the game later on and did some good stuff. Considering he's been out for a year,I think he did OK.
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@Victor-Meldrew yeah Reece always goes looking for work.
Up until about 70 mins I think Goodhue had touched the ball maybe 3 times and one was a pass behind him from Jordan he shelled.
Several in that line up you can usually rely on were poor, like Bryn Hall who missed a fairly straight forward tackle for the opening try, his pack gave him shit ball and then his passing was slow putting additional pressure on those outside him.
That loose trio last night IMO was a huge part of thier problem though, too slow, ineffective in clearing or securing Crusders ball.
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@taniwharugby said in Waratahs v Crusaders:
Up until about 70 mins I think Goodhue had touched the ball maybe 3 times and one was a pass behind him from Jordan he shelled.
Yep. But in the last quarter, he started to look less like a player who'd been out for a year and way more comfortable and assertive. Good to see and hope he can kick on.
That loose trio last night IMO was a huge part of thier problem though, too slow, ineffective in clearing or securing Crusders ball.
I honestly can't remember the loosies doing anything which stood out. - Matera possibly. Stark contrast to the Lander game - Tu'u in particular.
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@Victor-Meldrew somewhat disappointing Cullen did not Grace us with his presence
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@Victor-Meldrew guess my point was if a player of his calibre is pretty much non-existant for 3/4 of a game then there are other issues...IIRC several Crusaders plays had passes skip him, whereas they needed his more direct straighter running.
Big Leicester has been found wanting the past few weeks too, teams have shut him down rendering him largely ineffective.
Think Havili tries to do too much, and given he hasnt been in great form, is a big problem too
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The prop throwing the ball behind to a runner seems a go to play for NZ teams but has been pretty ineffective. We seem to go backwards as we slowly shift it out the backline. Seems the best yards are quick ball close to the rucks with players running hard and straight. Or forwards pick and go, gainline metres se hard to get with fast D so they need to figure out a way to go forward.
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@chimoaus yeah there were several plays the Crusaders passed 2 or 3 times and were 10m+ behind the gain line, and with the rushing d of the tahs, they were getting caught behind so often, whihc adds to the pressure, they needed to do some pick and and goes to fracture the defence, one wide, 2 wide and so on, sometimes it looks like they are reverting back to the play when they had Nadolo on the wing, try and spread it to him and go from there, but with Leicester.
I hate the saying 'earn the right to go wide' but many of the NZ teams need to take a step back and look at thier decision making and how they will often fling it wide for the sake of it.
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@taniwharugby agree about the Saders not handling the rush defence. The other NZ teams seem to have made some progress this year in that department but I think the Saders are still struggling with it.
