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Go back and watch it. It's the correct decision. Jacobson does a long place then when Leicester goes to contest the ball on the ground Jacobson pulls the ball back to his chest which causes Leicester to fall over. Holding on.

Nah if you watch Gardner he doesn't do anything - you can tell when they press their chest to talk to the ref

Wonderful game of rugby. Crusaders do it again. Incredible ability to play winning finals football consistently. Chiefs can be proud of their effort but they let that one slip - they failed to close out the last 20 and their discipline was awful (including the AB captain). From an AB...

This was a much more impressive win than Eden Park last year. Crusaders haven't lost a game at Eden Park since 2014. 2023 Chiefs were a far better team than 2022 Blues.

If he can translate his game to test rugby I reckon he is. Ideal bench prop.

Pretty happy with the ABs squad. Glad they went with Jacobson over Sotutu and took a punt on Finau. I think Akira is unlucky and Frizell is lucky - especially as Akira is sticking around and Frizell is off overseas. This coaching staff's fascination with Frizell is really weird. Either way I...

3 key areas. Poor coaching, poor culture, poor leadership. Coaching can be seen in poor game plans and poor selections. Blues refusal to move on from Beauden at 10 in big games is laughable - he refuses to take on line which stuffs the whole attack. Game plan wise the Blues attacking shape...

Well that was an utter shitshow. The fraudulent Leon MacDonald Blues talk a good game but don't deliver. A very well coached team with a crazy strong culture and wonderful leadership against a bunch of talented individuals with poor coaching, a poor culture and poor leadership. Papali'i might...

I don't think you need that many outside backs when you have oodles of cover anyway. I'd add an extra midfielder (i'd swap Heem for Aumua and I'd add someone like Goodhue) and i'd drop Clarke.

One thing that could count against L Aumua is his defence. Fozzie made specific mention earlier in the season in the importance of defence when selecting midfielders and it's not exactly his strength.

I can't see the value of picking Frizell - he looked better at lock than 6 for Highlanders this year and he's hardly a proven test star. He's also off overseas, not to mention his off field stuff.

At 6 I'll be keeping an eye on Finau tomorrow. If he can shine vs a quality Brumbies pack he'd be worth taking a flyer on imo. He hits like a truck, has a big engine, can carry and has the measurables you want. He's a little raw but he's quickly improving.

Sure enough Jordan will pull out a classic performance tomorrow to kill my Blues but I don't think you can put him at 15. Stevenson would be the form 15 or DMac has looked better at 15 in Super (and has test experience). Jordan's test experience is almost entirely at 14 so I can't see him...

Heart says Blues Head says Crusaders Certainly have more hope than a typical trip to Chch though. Midfield battle will be fascinating. I'd like to see the Blues kick less this week but they've been kicking too much for years so I can't see that changing.

32 degrees today. No shade on the field. Almost no fans in the stand. Bring it.

Just to be a tool and quote myself - see above

Yes. He also played 2 years in France for Toulon before NZRU signed him. Brad Thorn I suppose is one - but he was noticeably better in his second stint with ABs than his first (went back to Broncos in between).

Without a background in rugby? Who? Benji Marshall would be the closest (though he did play some school rugby) and he struggled under a poor Blues coach (Kirwan) and canned it after 1 year.

Perofeta is the Blues backup 10 and the Blues backline arguably functions better with Perofeta at 10 than Barrett imo. I would prefer to see Perofeta at 10 and Barrett at 15. Perofeta played really well at 10 in his chances last year which is how he cracked the ABs. On the other hand I think...

I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle - I can't see either side winning comprehensively - I think it will be a close game just like both Blues-Brumbies games were last year. It should be fascinating as the Brumbies look stronger up front and more attacking this year but with the new...