Chiefs v Crusaders
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I’ve never been less confident about NZs RWC chances. But if we want any chance McKenzie is the only option at 10.
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@Billy-Tell said in Chiefs v Crusaders:
I’ve never been less confident about NZs RWC chances. But if we want any chance McKenzie is the only option at 10.
Yeah I’m not overly confident he is the answer at test level but am willing to go along with it to find out .
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@voodoo said in Chiefs v Crusaders:
Says a fucking lot about RM that people are diving into the DM at 10 camp after that performance
Did he get better in the 2nd half? Sure.
But at test level you don’t generally get the chance to make up for the 27 stupid fuckups you made in the 1st half.
Whereas Richie was showing his class all game, and not totally anonymous?
We tried RM at 10 last year. He was a huge step up from BB in my opinion, but he still didn't look like a guy who will turn up in a crucial game and show his mettle. Our backline still stutters, our field kicking is mediocre and defensively we have holes.
Damian is a massive risk, true, but we aren't going to win doing what we have been doing in 2021 and 2022. The Chiefs are a much better side when he is running the show, and I suggest that the ABs will be too.
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@Chester-Draws There is no doubt that more 10s are going to be needed next year. DMAC is still yet to resign his contract. Even if he resigns we will needs backup 10s.
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@SBW1 said in Chiefs v Crusaders:
@Chester-Draws There is no doubt that more 10s are going to be needed next year. DMAC is still yet to resign his contract. Even if he resigns we will needs backup 10s.
Also depends on how Razor and his team handle RM, given they probably have a very close bond and understanding. Not sure how much the coaching team have had with DMac. I am sure they will try to remove any loyalty to the Crusaders, Blues, Hurricanes etc but hard not to favour players you have intimate knowledge of. We have seen how Fozzie and previous coaches have been very loyal to players when the Fern was calling for changes well beforehand.
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@mariner4life said in Chiefs v Crusaders:
That's fucking harsh
I'm surprised there wasn't a comment about Whitelock pulling Jacobson's leg to destabilise the maul. Right in front of Gardner too. See, those 50/50s went both ways.
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@Jailbreak7 said in Chiefs v Crusaders:
What's with with the crazy Chiefs music
It was fuckin' annoying at the game. Does my head in.
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Just watched the game then read the thread. Two different pictures presented! Not sure if any Chiefs fans were posting so direct these observations their way.
Ennor LF and McLeod went very well for Crusaders and had them in the box seat. Their lineout was exceptional at disrupting Chiefs and maul was strong. T Williams impressing me again too. The game plan was aerial challenge and I thought it worked very well.
But the difference from then on was in the 10s. Richie seems to play within himself and behind the pressure points while DMac pushes the boundaries. Sure he made 3 or 4 obvious errors in first half but there were lots of extra good things that nobody seems to notice. His later tackle on Lio Willie was exceptional as was the corner flagger while the one he missed was one where most others would have missed even touching LF. His depth punting was good and goalkicking was too. For me it's no surprise he made the clutch plays in heavy traffic in the second half after testing the limits in the first. Yet the TSF thread suggests the total opposite... Richie started very well with his kicks regained but then went off the boil when he needed to take command.
Where was the praise for Sam Cane and Emoni Narawa? Both were exceptional. Stevenson and Luke Jacobson too. Mystified by his card as he was holding up the ball when Cullen Grace and Strange seemed to deliberately collapse the maul on goal line in front of TJ. ???
That squares off for 50 50 knock on earlier. Angus Gardner was very good outside those two grey area decisions.
And great to see such a good crowd and players staying on so long to mix with them. Really wish I did not have clashing commitments and could have been there.Big work on for Chiefs is their work in the air. Look forward to seeing more of Lord and Lienert Brown soon as they will add lots in the areas Chiefs are losing the contests.
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Looking at the match stats in this game, both teams missed a similar amount of tackles (17 and 16, for the Chiefs and Crusaders, respectively) but the Chiefs attempted twice as many tackles (191 vs 98).
Taukei'aho led the way with 19 (1 miss) followed by Jacobson (17, 2) Dyer (15, 1) and Cane (14, 1). All the starting Chiefs forwards made 10+ tackles.
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@Dan54 said in Chiefs v Crusaders:
@ARHS Mate you didn't read my post if you missed praise for Sam Cane and Jacobson, and agree how good all players you mentioned were.
And I a neautral, a one eyed Canes man, but can happily watch and appreciate good players from anywhere!All good. It was the balance between criticism and praise for players that seemed weird when reading the thread. Game was high intensity and there were lots of errors caused by pressure. The Cane thing is about the example he sets in doing the hard stuff and his captaincy under the gun. I think he was right in keeping it tight in the corner at the end. Six up with Crusaders superior aerially and kicking off was a risk.
