Hurricanes v Blues
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Blue's defence and general resiliance streets ahead of last year. :face_with_stuck-out_tongue:
Lineout debacle in first half meant playing for long periods with no ball, and we did well to keep things to 5 points in first quarter. Parsons/GCT made things much better, and GCT seemed to hold up well in loose. Thought the Canes locks faded in second half.
Not Faine's best game, and Plummer seemed to settle things. Ofa went much better at LH, although much of that post Lomax red. I think I prefer Marchant at 13 and Rieko on wing. Telea is real star, and reeks of X factor.
For Canes, really liked the look of Kirifi. Bloody nuisance in first half. Laumape liklewise, albeit fairly quiet in second. -
He looks a fantastic prospect, power, finesse and seems keen to go looking for work.
Wiki says he was born in Auckland and is of Samoan and SA heritage.
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Well that was ugly and I bet MacDonald was not very happy. Not sure about all the kicking when you have a 3 man advantage. Lacking a good hooker. Akira acquitted himself well tonight and I hope he is getting the message. His work rate was a lot higher. He is always impressive in tackling as is PT.
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Listening in to Radio Sport this , heaps of blame being lumped on Fraser which is totally unfair, apart from several side entries from both teams that were missed and I put that down to the official having to look at so many other things, in the main, he was transparent and wether you like it or not re the cards , he was spot on..
My personal take , the Blues defence in the first half especially was the catalyst for the victory , and once the visitors did get possession, it was the home sides discipline that let them down, end of story..I actually believe if the Canes had kept their discipline, they would have probably won this game going away, I have no doubt that while the Blues did not fully put the boot on the throat , I believe the travel factor had caught up with them in the last 15 minutes...it’s a bloody good feeling to wake up this morning knowing the team you support is finally starting show what they are capable of and the positions that have been contentious, 9,10 and 15 are starting look a little more stable .not perfect by any stretch, but on the improve ..
Que Chris Rattue to be in love with the Blues again -
Great coaching.
@Steven-Harris I thought the defensive pattern and alignment from the Blues in the first half was very good. Other than that very early Lam try, they were well organised. Not sure if that’s because the 9-10 combo are better communicators, but it was good.
Blues still a little stunted in attack though, but I think that will come as they build confidence from their defensive efforts.
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@broughie said in Hurricanes v Blues:
Well that was ugly and I bet MacDonald was not very happy. Not sure about all the kicking when you have a 3 man advantage. Lacking a good hooker. Akira acquitted himself well tonight and I hope he is getting the message. His work rate was a lot higher. He is always impressive in tackling as is PT.
Their ability to think how to take advantage of the numbers was terrible. Kicking the ball away from where the advantage was all the time instead of just pressuring the breakdown over and over until gaps appeared.
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I didn't mind the kicking. The breakdown was a lottery with that ref. Holding the ball was a reasonable chance of a penalty to the defence.
The Canes were struggling to get the ball through the midfield so tackling was easyThe quality of the kicking could have been better though
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@Duluth said in Hurricanes v Blues:
I didn't mind the kicking. The breakdown was a lottery with that ref. Holding the ball was a reasonable chance of a penalty to the defence.
The Canes were struggling to get the ball through the midfield so tackling was easyThe quality of the kicking could have been better though
Are you sure that the best way to take advantage of having three more players is to kick the ball away?
Surely holding onto the ball and playing with it ups yours odds considerably? -
@broughie I'd say it was lack of cool heads, making good decisions, Blues were in a position to beat a NZ team, something they hadnt done for a long time, i expect that carries some mental baggage.
That is where Parsons should be earning his coin.
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@taniwharugby might be right on the mental mind fuck of not beating a NZ team but 12 men?
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@Crucial said in Hurricanes v Blues:
Are you sure that the best way to take advantage of having three more players is to kick the ball away?
Surely holding onto the ball and playing with it ups yours odds considerably?It was very conservative. Yes holding the ball would have been the best way to take advantage.
However the Canes had the rub of the green at the breakdown all night. The best chance the Canes had of getting back into was penalties giving them easy field position
They had zero chance of scoring 80m tries with how their attack was going
It was about the best way of not losing. Not the best way of (maybe) racking up points
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@broughie that probably presents another issue in your mind in that you MUST take advantage of it...I very much doubt you do much practice of 15 v 12...Hansen said they had planned in the RWC for losing a player, I expect that would be offensively and defensively, but having such a massive advantage would be interesting problem to have too.
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@taniwharugby true. How about the KISS principle and just pound it in the forwards. Any way you slice it it did not reek of confidence.
