Canterbury v Tasman

Chris B.

Hmmmm - in theory we should be able to match them in the backs.
 
Winning ball is going to be the challenge - I hope Frizell has his jumping boots on, because I struggle to see Lepa and Strange winning many lineouts vs Bird and Barrett.
 
Realistically, Perry and maybe Geldenhuys are the only Ta$man forwards who would get a start in that Canterbury pack.
 
Could be a long afternoon for Ta$man.

Stargazer

Nice team try from Jordie Barrett. 
 
Sad to see already two Ta$man players (including David Havili) going off because of injury. Havili's seem to be a neck injury or possible concussion.
 
Canterbury leads 10 to 6, after Barrett converted his own try.

Chris B.

Commentators' man-love for Canterbury and Jordi Barrett, in particular, is a bit over the top. You'd think JB was SBW given the build-up he's been given! :)
 
 Ta$man hanging in there playing into the wind. Marty Banks being fucking good as usual.
 
As expected, Canterbury forwards giving us all we can handle at line-out time. Need the ref to stop Hodgman angling in at scrumtime - that fucker has been coming in at nearly 45" and getting away with it.
 
Other person we particularly need to stop is Rob Thompson - causing lots of problems with ball in hand.
 
Canterbury will be a bit disappointed by that scoreline, but Ta$man has defended pretty well.
 
Let's hope we get more chances with ball in hand and field position in the second half - we've occasionally looked promising as well.

Chris B.

Nice work by Hunt puts big Faingaanuku in in the corner - shoulda lost the ball in the tackle and drawn the yellow and penalty try for the high tackle. :)

crusadersfan

Any chance of a score update please, stuck in Thailand with no where to watch

Stargazer

As a neutral, I don't think the commentators are showing more man-love for Canterbury than for Ta$man.
 
The praise for Jordie Barrett is justified; he's showing a lot of promise.
 
I agree that these commentators aren't great though. Never been a fan of Laban.
 
Great offload from Todd leading to a great try from the Birdman.

Stargazer

Canterbury leading 24-14.

crusadersfan

Thanks Stargazer much appreciated.
How are we playing overall?

crusadersfan

Canterbury that is

Stargazer

Another try to Canterbury, scored by Lienert-Brown? Again converted by Barrett: Canterbury 31 - 14 Ta$man with 12 minutes to go.

Stargazer

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="crusadersfan" data-cid="610051" data-time="1472356816">
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Thanks Stargazer much appreciated.
How are we playing overall?
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</blockquote>
 
Canterbury clearly dominating the game; Ta$man defending well though, otherwise the score would have been much higher.
 
That new Canterbury player Nathan Earl is an interesting player with potential.
 
Goodhue just scored the bonus point try for Canterbury. After conversion, it's now 38-14.
 
Oh, and if McNicholl wasn't going overseas, he would have been higher up the AB wannabe-queque than James Lowe.

Stargazer

Who's that big boy in the no. 22 jersey for Ta$man? Don't know him, but he can run!

Stargazer

That was a great intercept from Jordie Barrett, leading to an excellent try by Canterbury's no. 22 (Finau?).
 
Full time: Canterbury 45 - 14 Ta$man.
 
5 tries to 1
 
Canterbury well-deserved winners. Ta$man not bad; not sure when exactly it went wrong, but I suspect bringing on bench players played a role in the big defeat.

Chris B.

Ta$man virtually no ball or field position in the second half.
 
Biggest difference between the two teams was probably Big Bird (assisted by Scott Barrett and Luke Whitelock). I think we might have won one lineout. Scrum was under severe pressure at times, though markedly improved when Kane Hames came on. I think a lot from the power that was coming from behind the front rows.
 
Hard to see who's going to beat Canterbury this season. Most teams simply aren't going to have size to compete with their forwards. They've dismissed Auckland and Ta$man with ease.

Chris B.

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Stargazer" data-cid="610062" data-time="1472357968">
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 Ta$man not bad; not sure when exactly it went wrong, but I suspect bringing on bench players played a role in the big defeat.
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Not being able to win any ball was a bit of a problem. :)
 
Frizell getting injured early was pretty much the end of the Ta$man lineout. He's a lock loosie, so at least provided good potential as the third lineout forward. Once he was gone, Bird and Barrett (and Whitelock) was a complete mismatch on Strange and Lepa.
 
Princep coming on for Geldenhuys was under a lot of pressure at tighthead from Lienert-Brown - otherwise most of the replacements were OK. Hames an obvious upgrade and Makalio probably an improvement on McDonald.

African Monkey

Geez Luke Romano has put on a lot of bulk looking at him live. Suprised he can move. Ta$man looked ok out wide but were badly beaten up front. Rob Thompson and Nathan Earle looked very good for the cantabs as well as their pack. I can see where SammyC is coming from in terms of Scott Barretts size as he is quite small for a lock. Looks bigger on tv than he does in person.
 
Sadly I can't see anyone other than Canterbury winning yet another title. Just give it to them now I say lol.

NZRUGBYQUIZZES

Romano seems to almost be on the outer now. Didn't get many starts for the Crusaders and now struggling to get a start for Canterbury.

Chris B.

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="NZ Rugby Quizzes" data-cid="610110" data-time="1472363965">
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Romano seems to almost be on the outer now. Didn't get many starts for the Crusaders and now struggling to get a start for Canterbury.
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I think Robertson perhaps more just keeping him warm for the ABs and bedding in the guys who are going to carry his season.

NZRUGBYQUIZZES

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Chris B." data-cid="610111" data-time="1472364098">
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I think Robertson perhaps more just keeping him warm for the ABs and bedding in the guys who are going to carry his season.
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Possibly but barely started in Super, S. Barrett pretty much preferred for most of the season. Not a stretch to say Bird and S. Barrett better than Romano right now.

Chris B.

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="NZ Rugby Quizzes" data-cid="610121" data-time="1472365354">
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Possibly but barely started in Super, S. Barrett pretty much preferred for most of the season. Not a stretch to say Bird and S. Barrett better than Romano right now.
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Not sure about that - I think Toddy did a fair bit of mixing it up - including with Sam Whitelock missing a few starts. Romano certainly started in the QF loss to the Lions because he missed a tackle in one of the quick tries at the beginning. :)
 
Romano is really a heavy tighthead lock to Barrett's lightweight loosehead.
 
I'm pretty much in Sammy's camp that Barrett's going to be too small to be an international lock. Bird will certainly push Romano, though. One of Toddy's less impressive selections - losing Bird to the Chiefs and retaining Barrett and Jimmy Tupou.

The Silver Fern

Canterbury v Tasman