Canterbury v Hawke's Bay
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@Stockcar86 said in Canterbury v Hawke's Bay:
I'n beginning to regret only picking a loss by 9-16
Yeah, it's not looking good for us with Wairarapa-Bush ahead by a couple of points and not too much difference in our picks for these last two. I think our best hope of knocking them off is if Waikato wins 1 - 8 as that's Magpie_in_Aus's tip (the only one to go for an away win in both teams) but even then the Bush have three home 1-8s (each worth 2 points if Waikato win 1 -
compared to our 1 so things are not looking rosy. -
@Stockcar86 said in Canterbury v Hawke's Bay:
@Nepia said in Canterbury v Hawke's Bay:
Well, it's under 50 so far. Yay.
Our second halves have been weaker all season, so I am not holding out
muchany hopeFIXED
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Mason Emerson has been our best so far
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FFS Eaton and his blind side plays
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Mikaele-Tu'u has impressed me on his first game out. Pretty good for a 19 year old
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Why the fuck would Eaton take a quick tap 5 meters out from his own line for a penalty. Fuck I hate his bad decision making with a passion
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THe hurdling of a player exhibited by that Wellington blindside on Friday is catching on fast with the Canterbury winger doing the same to Shannon Chase as Canterbury break their ten minute drought with a try in the right hand corner and immediately followed up by a Rob Thompson try under the p[osts after 68 minutes to make it Hawkes Bay 07 - 49 Canterbury.
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Well, we kept them to scoring 40 points in the second half
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I'm worried about Stargazer who is strangely absent, has he been called into the squad and taken his place on the bench as his silence is out of character? If not then please lock up all your sharp knives, scissors, razor blades and lenghts of rope. We need your insightful thoughts.
Thanks christ Mr. Kelly blows his whistle for full time and we manage to restrict them to Hawkes Bay 07 - 63 Canterbury so a moral victory to us for keeping the score under one hundred.
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@Higgins said in Canterbury v Hawke's Bay:
I'm worried about Stargazer who is strangely absent, has he been called into the squad and taken his place on the bench as his silence is out of character? If not then please lock up all your sharp knives, scissors, razor blades and lenghts of rope. We need your insightful thoughts.
Thanks christ Mr. Kelly blows his whistle for full time and we manage to restrict them to Hawkes Bay 07 - 63 Canterbury so a moral victory to us for keeping the score under one hundred.
My absence can be entirely explained by my better half walking into the garden almost crying and screaming in despair. Couldn't leave her there in case the neighbours would call an ambulance/police/SPCA.
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What we just saw pisses me off. In reality we were never going to win, but when you see a team whose basics are so far behind the opposition you start asking questions. Our passing looked pedestrian in comparison. Our tackling , enough said about that. Eaton tapping the ball, and bugger me trying to take Dominic Bird on . The lineout was a bloody shambles and to be honest they looked like they were there to simply play out 80 minutes. As a life long Bay supporter this is not bloody good enough. Where is the pride in that Jersey. Our great players of yesteryear, if they were watching must have been spewing. Yes it's a tough competition but for Christ's sake show a bit of professional pride and passion.
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Seriously .. WTF!
First: possible injuries from this game
Tony Lamborn left the field injured; radio commentators said something about a rib injury but they may have been guessing
Riccitelli looked in pain when he left the field, but that may have been mental pain as well
Mason Emerson looked injured from the first minutes of the game (neck?), but played all gameSecond: the positives
There were only a few: I like Cridge for some reason and Abbott's work rate is to be admired. I also (still) like Garland, and Mason Emerson is like a terrier that won't let go. My only laugh during the game was when he was trying to get past Bird, who carried/pushed him into touch with just one hand. Tallest v smallest player on the field was quite hilarious (although I might have been hysterical from desperation at that stage). Lowe a mixed bag. West wasn't that bad, how can you lead a team around the field that drops every ball & misses every tackle? Only got to kick one conversion and nailed it.Third: the negatives
Everything else. Line-outs terrible. Bad throws and even worse catching. Filipo was really awful and maybe the worst of the lot? Can't even say it with certainty as so much went wrong. Even Ash Dixon couldn't throw the ball anymore. Why can't they tackle anymore? It wasn't a problem last year.I'm convinced the problem is a combination of:
- lack in leadership and proper communication: this seems mostly due to the departure/absence of experienced players like O'Connor, Edmonds, Buckman, Guildford, Dagg and especially Horrell.
- related: lack of contracting experienced players to replace them. May and Filipo are too small bandages for too big wounds as my old lady would say (my mother was a nurse).
- mental issues: lack of confidence, fighting spirit, sheer panic etc
- coaching: Philpott inadequate and too distracted by his career planning?
- missing people like Grant Dearns?
By the way, is Philpott the first coach to coach a team to a second relegation to the Championship?
Now off to see whether Mrs SG hasn't cut her wrists or drowned herself in the bath after that appalling performance.
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We are all feeling your pain Billsy11. What we are witnessing is completely unacceptable in the days of professionalism. The players have nothing to do in their lives other than to practive and perfect rugby skills until they have them down pat. You cannot say we have seen anything remotely resembling that.
What is youre honest opinion on the standard of players doing the rounds in club rugby back home as they look to be somewhat underwhelming when compared to Unions like Counties who rely almost exclusively on players from within their own catchment. If we don't have players available in the local club competition do we grim and bear it and take it with a grain of salt or do we go out and buy a team capable of footing it (or at least holding their own) in the competition. It looks like we are not adopting either at this stage with the imported players like Ross Filipo and Ben May being eligible to play Presidents Grade for the last couple of seasons and Ben May close to achieving that accolade as well. Neither are worldbeaters and one must question whether the money should not have been spent elsewhere. I supose the same could be said about Robbie Fruean but in his case it is his continuing injuries that are the problem (Hugh Rent and Gareth Evans also fall into that category) but at least he has been a Bay player for the last few seasons.
Getting a compeitive team on the field is a bit of a balancing act but whatever is being used this season is clearly not work and something that should have been obvious right from the start of the pre-season games, if not before that. -
@Higgins Mate here's the way I see it. At the start of the season it was clear we were going to lose a truckload of experience in key positions. That was clear very early. In answer to your question NO we do not have players in club rugby that I've seen capable of filling those spots. The only player in club rugby who possibly could is Sam Giddens who played a few years back. To not buy in experience is dumbfounding. Finance I refuse to believe is the issue (Ranfurly Shield era and good crowds last year) make a mockery of that. So what does it come down to? Either very poor planning and recruitment or a CEO who wouldn't release the finance to buy what was needed. Either way it's unacceptable. Simply put to play with the big boys have a big boys mentality not that of a whitebait.
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Experience is the reason trumpted by Mr. Bishop as the basis behind the signings ofFilipo and May. Sadly he did not factor in the ability to perform into the equation. Hell if he wanted experience he could have gone after Brad Thorne. I cannot comment on the financial aspects but do know that we have traditionally been one of the higher spenders on players salaries in the NPC and despite that we have also returned a surplus at the end of each season, albeit rather modest when compared to other unions. That has to be a feather in Mr. Bishop's cap coming during a period when most other unions were bleeding cash hand over fist and for that we must be grateful to him. Maybe with the loss of the Shield he factored in certain less gate takings and possible sponsorship income and tailored the wage bill to fit into the worst case scenario. He would have had an inkling on how this were going income wise. If that's the situation there is not much we can do about it but if there is still the same level on income then we can start waving the big stick.
Questions should also be asked about the performance of our Academy given the poor results of our age grade sides compared to the past when we were almost unbeatable at Under 16 and Under 18 levels. Why are these players not being produces nowadays, is it because the raw materials are not there to start with or perhaps not enough resourse is bieng directd into that level?
