Crusaders v Hurricanes
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@booboo said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@shark said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@booboo I don't know if a good game marking Paea is the best measure of Umaga-Jensens' progress.
Fair call. However I have previously been underwhelmed by him and his name has been bandied about for years.
Was at least partially whelmed by him last night.
Hes had two good games now. But he looks the part physically now (Proctor also needs work here). Maybe hes done a lot of quality gym work and this has make a difference. But he also ran hard. Defended well. Option taking was also good. Shame he will likely miss the next 2 games
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@kiwiinmelb said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@No-Quarter said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
Jordie has been so fucking good this year. Has really come of age, he's world class now.
In hindsight we definitely kept the best Barrett.
He is Often maligned but I still think he is a work in progress rather than a finished product , has the tools to make a good test fullback Imo, that goal kicking could be a weapon on its own.
Still a work in progress for sure, but he's turned a corner this year where he's cut out the absurd errors he was making in previous years when he tried to do too much. His net positive far outweighs the negative now, whereas with someone like DMac it's still 50/50 at best.
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Where do we start. Last night was a match of pure quality, two teams brimming with talent and it showed. I thought it was the best game of SRA so far, just the finishing of both sides was top notch and it was nailbiting up until the last minute.
The Crusaders will obviously be disappointed losing their impressive run of home victories but a few players really stood up despite the end result. Richie Mo'unga, take a bow young man, he was everywhere last night and surely deserves the first crack at the All Black's number 10 jersey. The way he drives his team around the park is just poetry in motion, and I believe without his efforts the Canes may have blown this one out.
The other player that stood out for me was Will Jordan. The Canes were able to shut him down for long periods of the match but he is one of those guys that you can't keep out forever. Massive running metres and he nearly pulled off a game-winning try right at the death. That Jordie/Jordan combo must look very tantalising if you were an All Black selector right about now.
The last player that just keeps churning out influential performances is Sam Whitelock. How is this guy not All Black captain? Sorry Chiefs fans but this guy is the best option we have in the country at the moment. He was tireless to the final whistle and was nearly able to turn the tide with all his experience, guile and skill. An absolute competitive performance. Exhausted himself for the cause and that's what we need at test level in my opinion.
Onto the Canes. Fairly chuffed watching them go about their work last night, I would consider that performance as their best since winning the title back in 2016. Asafo Aumua continued his rise up the hooking ranks with another barnstorming performance. He was nearly perfect at the lineout and did plenty of damage around the park. Scary to think that we haven't quite seen the finished product.
Another strong performer was Ardie Savea. One of the standouts in both teams last night. Was powerful when he carried and had an abundance of energy that allowed him to make an impact in defence and around the breakdown. Was simply destructive every time he got his hands on the ball.
Man of the match for me was Peter Umaga-Jensen. Dominating two All Black's in the space of two weeks must put him in contention for All Black selection, especially now Laumape looks to be out for some time. I've been a big supporter of this kid ever since the Canes signed him out of school. At 22, and with a chance to showcase his ability with consistent game time, he has definitely announced himself over the last couple of weeks with his sharp, brave and direct style of running. Check out Rugby Pass's rundown of PUJ here - https://www.rugbypass.com/news/hurricanes-new-star-umaga-jensen-impresses-fans-after-bullying-all-black-centre-jack-goodhue/
Lastly, it's hard not to applaud the Cane's pack. With late injuries causing disruption I couldn't have asked for more. Cudos to the young Tevita Mafileo, he really stood up after coming on early in the match. I can see why the Canes have signed him for the next two years. Strong at scrum time and he will probably only get better as he matures.
All in all, a great game of footy. Bring on today's match between the Blues & Chiefs.
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@Canes4life Agree with most of that. I'd have to add though that this game exactly showed why David Havili is the preferred Crusaders fullback rather than Jordan. This game clearly exposed the defensive weaknesses in Jordan's game and his organisational work from the back still has to grow a lot. I'd only pick Jordan as an ABs wing, at the moment, and opt for Havili for a utility/fullback spot in black.
I'd also like to add George Bridge to the stand-outs. He's coming into better form with every game.
It's good to see Ardie getting back into form, too, after his surgery. It has taken a while, understandably, but his timing couldn't be better. It's a pity Sam Cane has been named captain before the season kicked off, which means that it is a near certainty that he'll start for the ABs and probably at 7. I'd prefer Ardie at 7, not 8, in black, but that's probably where things are going.
Does anyone know why Lomax, Walker-Leawere and Fifita were unavailable? What exactly was wrong with them?
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@Tim said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@Higgins I think he played most of the season at 12 for BOP.
Yeah, him and Toala were the best players from either team in the final both at 12, which you'd have to give the award to Tiatia due to his team's win.
On Laumape, is it more he was asked a question and replied, or was there a televised interview where he sounded snippy?
@ACT-Crusader said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@booboo said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@shark said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@booboo I don't know if a good game marking Paea is the best measure of Umaga-Jensens' progress.
Fair call. However I have previously been underwhelmed by him and his name has been bandied about for years.
Was at least partially whelmed by him last night.
That’s two weeks in a row that PUJ has played very well.
Yeah, he's started showing why he's rated so highly - and he looks massive.
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@No-Quarter said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@kiwiinmelb said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@No-Quarter said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
Jordie has been so fucking good this year. Has really come of age, he's world class now.
In hindsight we definitely kept the best Barrett.
He is Often maligned but I still think he is a work in progress rather than a finished product , has the tools to make a good test fullback Imo, that goal kicking could be a weapon on its own.
Still a work in progress for sure, but he's turned a corner this year where he's cut out the absurd errors he was making in previous years when he tried to do too much. His net positive far outweighs the negative now, whereas with someone like DMac it's still 50/50 at best.
You had me kind of agreeing until you got to the DMac quip. DMac isn't in great form but put in a string of decent performances in black pre injury ... JB hasn't really done that yet. And as much as you say his error rate is down, he's still at least one silly unforced error a game even now when he's playing well.
And yes he's playing well, but I think for most non JB fluffers (like myself) the issue has never been whether he has the talent, but has always been his promotion to the ABs based on that potential talent and not on his form and temperament. If he keeps playing as he's playing now I'll have to stop trolling the JB fluffers and that will be a sad day.
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Well, if he isn't good enough at FB to get some starts for the ABs, I don't see how he should get a wing spot - he's much worse there on defense and looks like he has no idea with his positioning.
I think he deserves a shot, but he may be a very unlucky player, as Jordie is starting to really develop.
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@ACT-Crusader said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@booboo said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@shark said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@booboo I don't know if a good game marking Paea is the best measure of Umaga-Jensens' progress.
Fair call. However I have previously been underwhelmed by him and his name has been bandied about for years.
Was at least partially whelmed by him last night.
That’s two weeks in a row that PUJ has played very well.
As well as mentioning you're agreeing with @Winger I didn't watch last week's game as closely.
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@Stargazer said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@Canes4life Agree with most of that. I'd have to add though that this game exactly showed why David Havili is the preferred Crusaders fullback rather than Jordan. This game clearly exposed the defensive weaknesses in Jordan's game and his organisational work from the back still has to grow a lot. I'd only pick Jordan as an ABs wing, at the moment, and opt for Havili for a utility/fullback spot in black.
Havili hasn't been perfect at fullback either - his last game against the Blues was not one of his best.
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Loose forwards are a real problem for the Crusaders this year . With Grace injured, the Sader loosies are NPC level at best. Douglas has fallen off a cliff this year, I lost count of the times he failed to run on to the ball last night.
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@Crazy-Horse Douglas has always been a journeyman let's be honest. He goes OK with guys like Read and Todd next to him holding his hand but is barely NPC standard without them.
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@KiwiMurph said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@Stargazer said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
@Canes4life Agree with most of that. I'd have to add though that this game exactly showed why David Havili is the preferred Crusaders fullback rather than Jordan. This game clearly exposed the defensive weaknesses in Jordan's game and his organisational work from the back still has to grow a lot. I'd only pick Jordan as an ABs wing, at the moment, and opt for Havili for a utility/fullback spot in black.
Havili hasn't been perfect at fullback either - his last game against the Blues was not one of his best.
Turnstiles don’t make good Test players. There is a reason he drifted out of the AB squad
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@Nepia said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:
Haven't read the thread yet, but Boris needs to go back to centre, he's shit at 12. ALB has been copping crap all season but Goodhue was barely NPC standard last night.
I thought Boris was at Number 10! 🤔
I'll get my coat.
