Blues v Crusaders
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@Kiwiwomble said in Crusaders v Highlanders:
@Chris really? you dont think they'll go all out in front of what supposed to be a huge crowd? put an exclamation mark on the title?
Just what I heard
Mo’unga s wife is expecting their first baby this week and has played every minute except the last 4 min against the Landers
Whitelock has played every minute
Taylor and Goodhue have had massive loads
Depends with nothing on the line for The Crusaders maybe some players are in need of a rest. -
Can the Crusaders get up for this game? Sure Auckland vs Canterbury is NZ rugby's biggest rivalry and that should help drive the Crusaders but the competition is won now. I'd imagine it will be bloody hard for the Crusaders to get up for this game and the Blues will be absolutely chomping to get the win.
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@Toddy said in Blues v Crusaders:
Can the Crusaders get up for this game? Sure Auckland vs Canterbury is NZ rugby's biggest rivalry and that should help drive the Crusaders but the competition is won now. I'd imagine it will be bloody hard for the Crusaders to get up for this game and the Blues will be absolutely chomping to get the win.
Saders have won on bonus points. A pounding at Garden of Eden would diminish title significantly.
Not that that will stop them experimenting.
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@Toddy said in Blues v Crusaders:
Can the Crusaders get up for this game?
Course they can, they're a championship team remember? Any win against the Saders is great - but if we beat all the NZ sides in a year it's even better (after being 1-1-18 under Tana)
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@pakman said in Blues v Crusaders:
@Toddy said in Blues v Crusaders:
Can the Crusaders get up for this game? Sure Auckland vs Canterbury is NZ rugby's biggest rivalry and that should help drive the Crusaders but the competition is won now. I'd imagine it will be bloody hard for the Crusaders to get up for this game and the Blues will be absolutely chomping to get the win.
Saders have won on bonus points. A pounding at Garden of Eden would diminish title significantly.
Spot on. Blues win and finish with the same number of wins as the Saders. That's not quite CWC2019, but it's damn creditable.
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@pakman If the Blues lose it'll be a choke of epic proportions. They're playing at home, have the best loosies in the comp, two time worlds greatest player and playing against a team who has already won the competition.
The only thing stopping the Blues will be if the ref is biased. This has been a huge problem for them since about the start of 2004 super rugby season.
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@Toddy said in Blues v Crusaders:
@pakman If the Blues lose it'll be a choke of epic proportions. They're playing at home, have the best loosies in the comp, two time worlds greatest player and playing against a team who has already won the competition.
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Rancid bait matey,
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@Toddy said in Blues v Crusaders:
@nzzp Just following the theme after yours and Pakman's posts
Winning the championship on BP isn't the same as not being favourites.
When was the last time the Crusaders were genuine betting underdogs in any Super game? I have no idea ... must be years surely. If the Blues get up we'll take it, but if not it's still a statement season for us.
Also, looking at over 40,000 there. Daytime rugby with big crowds is so much fun
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what are the Crusaders resting players for? The semis?
Motivation levels will be very different between the two teams. The Crusaders lifted yesterday to win the title, it'll be hard to lift again.
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@nzzp said in Blues v Crusaders:
@Toddy said in Blues v Crusaders:
@nzzp Just following the theme after yours and Pakman's posts
Winning the championship on BP isn't the same as not being favourites.
If the Blues and Crusaders hadn't already played each other this year I'd be inclined to agree with Pakman's point about winning a title on bonus points. But the two teams did play this year when the competition was still alive and the Blues weren't good enough.
Also, don't forget if the Blues score more tries and lose it will still be a moral victory. So you've got two shots at a moral victory this weekend.
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i dont know....i feel a lot of the culture of the Saders is pride and legacy and all that stuff, i think they'll bounce back from a small scare yesterday, that wasn't the way they wanted to win this thing so i think they'll see this coming game as a chance to do it "right"
its going to be huge
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@Toddy said in Blues v Crusaders:
@nzzp said in Blues v Crusaders:
@Toddy said in Blues v Crusaders:
@nzzp Just following the theme after yours and Pakman's posts
Winning the championship on BP isn't the same as not being favourites.
If the Blues and Crusaders hadn't already played each other this year I'd be inclined to agree with Pakman's point about winning a title on bonus points. But the two teams did play this year when the competition was still alive and the Blues weren't good enough.
Also, don't forget if the Blues score more tries and lose it will still be a moral victory. So you've got two shots at a moral victory this weekend.
good early spice. come on Blues fans, get in the game.
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@Toddy said in Blues v Crusaders:
@pakman If the Blues lose it'll be a choke of epic proportions. They're playing at home, have the best loosies in the comp, two time worlds greatest player and playing against a team who has already won the competition.
The only thing stopping the Blues will be if the ref is biased. This has been a huge problem for them since about the start of 2004 super rugby season.
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What I think will play a massive role is not only that the Blues will be more motivated for this game and are playing at home in front of a huge crowd, but also that they've just had the bye, are therefore well-rested, and probably get some players back from injury.
The Crusaders will be playing their fourth game since their bye, had their high yesterday, so less motivation for this game, and again lost players to the injury ward. I hope they can get up for this game, one more time, because I'd like to see a real battle.
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All set up for a blues ambush , I think we know what they will bring , the crusader side of the equation will be interesting ,
Only a small thing , but razor avoiding his celebration dance , was probably a small psychological message to his players , the season isnt quite over yet., yes enjoy the win , but we keep a lid on it, we still have more business to do.
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@mariner4life said in Blues v Crusaders:
good early spice. come on Blues fans, get in the game.
We are the mature, responsible ones and won't indulge in these petty games.
We don't even know who the biased one eyed ref will be yet and apparently the Crusaders are going to play a "B" team so that they have excuses, sorry reasons, for a loss. We have an ex Crusader as a coach - make of that what you will too. I'm expecting him to pick Ruru at halfback and Colin Farrell at fullback.
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I do think Blues need to win this one just to get over the hump of the Crusaders having not beat them at all for 5 or so years.
They've learnt to beat the other NZ teams (home and away) - now they need to beat the Crusaders.
They've come close under Leon.
Even though it's not a final - it's still a cool way to finish the comp - Blues v Crusaders - packed out crowd - Sunday afternoon - bring it on.
