SR Final - Blues v Chiefs
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@mariner4life said in SR Final - Blues v Chiefs:
Maybe you're right, I'll just cut straight to the celebratory drinking
Welcome onboard the Blues train!
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@nostrildamus said in SR Final - Blues v Chiefs:
@mariner4life said in SR Final - Blues v Chiefs:
Maybe you're right, I'll just cut straight to the celebratory drinking
Welcome onboard the Blues train!
celebratory, commiseratory, who cares right
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@Tim said in SR Final - Blues v Chiefs:
With Taukei'aho out we will target their lineout. Beehre or McWhannell? Beehre is the better ball carrier.
It's pretty worrying for us, as your scrum is also a weapon.
If we get our set piece right, we still have to worry about your carry and clean. That's before even considering the talent in your 3/4. It's a good Blues team, and I've got a bit of wood for Stern Vern's style.
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“This year they’ve shown a really good maul, really good scrum, and that power game with their carry one off the ruck, and forwards and backs joining in,” said Larkham of the Blues. “And they’re one of the strongest teams in all aspects defensively.
“They’re very well drilled. They’re big bodies. They’re going to be hard to beat. When you get these conditions on this surface and those big bodies coming at you, it’s pretty hard to stop them.”
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In related news, Papali’i also sent a clear message to his team that they had achieved nothing yet. “We can celebrate just a little bit making it to a final because it takes a lot of heart. But we’ve got one more job to do. We’ve been in this position and we’ve failed. We know what’s on the line.”
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This is just sad from geriatric Phil Gifford:
Ask anyone on the streets of Te Awamutu or Morrinsville and they’ll tell you the edge for rugby teams from the Waikato area playing Auckland has always been in the forwards, where the Queen St Yanks can’t match the grit of the rural grafters in red, yellow, and black.
No one in NZ has ever used the term "yanks".
He has dementia.
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@mariner4life said in SR Final - Blues v Chiefs:
Ah just remembered Im heading to Port for the weekend. Guess I'll be watching on my phone
I'd say catch up for a beer, but am home this week.
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@Tim said in SR Final - Blues v Chiefs:
This is just sad from geriatric Phil Gifford:
Ask anyone on the streets of Te Awamutu or Morrinsville and they’ll tell you the edge for rugby teams from the Waikato area playing Auckland has always been in the forwards, where the Queen St Yanks can’t match the grit of the rural grafters in red, yellow, and black.
No one in NZ has ever used the term "yanks".
He has dementia.
Actually have heard the term - but not for many much years. You're likely far too young.
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@Tim can still read that. No offence taken...
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The Blues will have an extra day’s preparation, and hope to get Bryce Heem and Laghlan McWhannell back into their selection. They also shrugged off Dalton Papali’i’s failed HIA as a non-issue due to a “misunderstanding”.
Ok, they didn't list McWhannell as injured last week. So you'd assume Evans and Thompson drop out of the 23.
Maybe McWhannell does come back in to start? Beehre was a big part of the win last week though. The young second row had plenty of power in the scrum and he was everywhere in general play (top tackler with 20 etc)
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I think this game is for the Blues to win, they play a "finals - style" type of footy, low risk but brutally effective, heavy forward runners to draw the defence in then effective closers out wide to get past the defence once it's all been sucked into the middle of the field.
Just a very effective style of play that utilises the skills of their players, it's smart rugby.
The one advantage the Chiefs do have is Dmac and their kicking game, if they can draw the Blues into a kicking game the Chiefs will win it and if they put pressure on the ruck as the Blues try to work their way out of their half and feed of their errors it could be a repeat of the semi final.
While I'm confident that the Chiefs can win the kicking game, I'm not confident that they can pressure the Blues ruck as the Blues have been very effective there all season.
The Chiefs will need a bit of luck and a few calls to go their way (like if one of the Chiefs ball carriers get direct head-to-head contact by a tackler that player gets yellow carded instead of being let off Scott-free).
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@ARHS said in SR Final - Blues v Chiefs:
Are Solomone Tukuafu or Rhys Marshall genuine options for Chiefs? Else I assume Sanerivi or maybe Vernon Bason? Shilo Klein?
Marshall is back playing, and played in the club game BB made an appearance in. Tukuafu doesn't really play hooker now. I think they would use Sanerivi, who is playing club rugby in Auckland. No chance for Bason as the NZ U20s are in camp.
McMillan did mention bringing in a hooker from Waikato club rugby for training. Maybe that is Hakaraia Richards-Coxhead, who was involved with the Chiefs Dev team.
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