Highlanders v Blues
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I thought it was good game , and if I was a Clan supporter, I would be reasonably happy. I can see them going alright over the season, and can see a good future for the team with some of the young fellas. Patchell seems to of been a good buy too.
For Blues, once again their supporters should be well pleased, there was a lot to like the way the first half they rolled up sleeves and did the donkey work, had Cotter's fingerprints all over it. -
@cgrant he's been with Ta$man since 2021, is 26, is it 3 or 4 years through residency?
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@taniwharugby said in Highlanders v Blues:
@cgrant he's been with Ta$man since 2021, is 26, is it 3 or 4 years through residency?
5
(c) the Player has completed sixty [1] consecutive months of Residence immediately preceding the time of playing; or
(d) the Player has completed ten years of cumulative Residence preceding the time of playing.
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@Kirwan said in Highlanders v Blues:
@Mattasaurus said in Highlanders v Blues:
Definitely a contender for worst commentary performance in super rugby history... and that bar was already low.... but I think they may have got it.
Made me the miss the alternative commentary clowns.
Did it make you miss TJ though?
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@Nepia said in Highlanders v Blues:
@Kirwan said in Highlanders v Blues:
@Mattasaurus said in Highlanders v Blues:
Definitely a contender for worst commentary performance in super rugby history... and that bar was already low.... but I think they may have got it.
Made me the miss the alternative commentary clowns.
Did it make you miss TJ though?
Did me, mind you while not being a TJ fan , he doesn't worry me.
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@Nepia said in Highlanders v Blues:
@Kirwan said in Highlanders v Blues:
@Mattasaurus said in Highlanders v Blues:
Definitely a contender for worst commentary performance in super rugby history... and that bar was already low.... but I think they may have got it.
Made me the miss the alternative commentary clowns.
Did it make you miss TJ though?
It was bad enough, that yes, I missed TJ. He’s a biased prick, but at least professional enough to not distract from the game.
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A few team stats
Blues Highlanders carries_metres 519 285 carries_opp_half 129 66 carries_own_half 41 19 carry_dominant 92 36 - - - ruck_speed (0-3secs) 99 33 ruck_speed (3-6secs) 24 18 ruck_speed (6+secs) 9 7 ruck_speed (0-3secs % ) 72% 46% ruck_over_gainline_percent 50% 35% - - - tackles 108 237 missed_tackles 19 27 dominant_tackles 12 13 Blues probably should've done better on the scoreboard. The big stat against them was the 12 v 4 knock ons. Those errors killed a lot of opportunities
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You can see the difference this year in the Blues forwards. They are supporting the ball carrier, protecting the ball at the breakdown, and muscling up. In previous years it was their obvious soft underbelly but you can see what this new coaching group is bringing. Loving what Sotutu is bringing this year, hopefully he can keep it going.
The Clan look better as well but still the same old errors that put themselves under pressure are just so frustrating. People are praising that new fullback but the comedy of errors he made defensively leading up to that Blues try at the break was mindblowing. WTF? -
@Old-Samurai-Jack People seem to forget that the Blues forwards were fucking good in 2022 all the way up to the final. Then Eklund choked. 14 wins in a row didn't happen by accident.
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@Tim said in Highlanders v Blues:
@Old-Samurai-Jack People seem to forget that the Blues forwards were fucking good in 2022 all the way up to the final. Then Eklund choked. 14 wins in a row didn't happen by accident.
They were good and would have been "fucking" good if the Crusader's forwards didn't do a number on them in the final in 2022. Not being an arse, but the Blues forwards have capitulated in the past when it mattered. Early days but they battered a handy Clan tight five and some things like supporting the ball carrier and protecting the ball at the breakdown were very obvious in this game. They seem to be playing as a unit and not as individuals this season.
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@Old-Samurai-Jack said in Highlanders v Blues:
@Tim said in Highlanders v Blues:
@Old-Samurai-Jack People seem to forget that the Blues forwards were fucking good in 2022 all the way up to the final. Then Eklund choked. 14 wins in a row didn't happen by accident.
They were good and would have been "fucking" good if the Crusader's forwards didn't do a number on them in the final in 2022. Not being an arse, but the Blues forwards have capitulated in the past when it mattered. Early days but they battered a handy Clan tight five and some things like supporting the ball carrier and protecting the ball at the breakdown were very obvious in this game. They seem to be playing as a unit and not as individuals this season.
This a bit of a myth, you can't really say forwards, maybe tight forwards. The Blues loosies outworked the much hyped Crusaders loosies in that match (who were outstanding in defence the week before against the Chiefs) in both attack and defence even allowing for Tom Christie being allowed to come in from the side and pilfer at pretty much every ruck.
That final was a lot closer than people make it out to be these days. A good win to the Crusaders but some context gets lost as the years pass.
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@Nepia said in Highlanders v Blues:
@Old-Samurai-Jack said in Highlanders v Blues:
@Tim said in Highlanders v Blues:
@Old-Samurai-Jack People seem to forget that the Blues forwards were fucking good in 2022 all the way up to the final. Then Eklund choked. 14 wins in a row didn't happen by accident.
They were good and would have been "fucking" good if the Crusader's forwards didn't do a number on them in the final in 2022. Not being an arse, but the Blues forwards have capitulated in the past when it mattered. Early days but they battered a handy Clan tight five and some things like supporting the ball carrier and protecting the ball at the breakdown were very obvious in this game. They seem to be playing as a unit and not as individuals this season.
This a bit of a myth, you can't really say forwards, maybe tight forwards. The Blues loosies outworked the much hyped Crusaders loosies in that match (who were outstanding in defence the week before against the Chiefs) in both attack and defence even allowing for Tom Christie being allowed to come in from the side and pilfer at pretty much every ruck.
That final was a lot closer than people make it out to be these days. A good win to the Crusaders but some context gets lost as the years pass.
The main difference was Whitelock at lineout. An All Black great doing what All Black greats do.
Dalton coming back from surgery was also a huge factor, even though he played well in that game.
