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Watched the Highlanders game first half again last night paying particular attention to the box kicks. They were definitely good and contestable but we still lost every one of them. The Highlanders got crunched as soon as they got the ball which meant they couldn't do any of their fancy...

Yeah it was encouragingly effective in the first half but failed badly in the second half and nearly cost the Reds the game. Not just box kicking but kicking away possession in general. I think the lesson from the Reds/Highlanders game (and the employment of the box kick by the Highlanders as...

The fact the box kicking is as bad as ever makes me think it's an O'Connor tactic rather than a Graham tactic. As Happy to Chat pointed out, all it usually achieves in the Reds' half is gifting possession back to the opposition for maybe 10m of gain. I understand that they are struggling to...

I think the Reds have more chance against the Stormers at sea level than they did at altitude. Another week to get the body clocks used to the time zone, too. I don't expect it (due to the CIHCs' preference for CFS) but I'd love to see Junior Laloifi get a run against Cheslin Kolbe. Battle of...

I think this is the worst half of rugby I've ever seen a Crusaders team play. Even the Reds don't drop the ball this egregiously. Might be worth examining their phone records for strange numbers from India.

"nobody can doubt the Reds’ defence; they’ve conceded just 11 tries so far this year" Correlation does not always imply causation. :) Just as likely they've conceded just 11 tries because they played the Tahs twice, Force, Rebs and the weakest of the Kiwi sides, nearly all the games in either...

Another good thing about Schatz is he is a genuine lineout option (in fact more than just an option - he's a lineout stalwart) which frees up for someone like Tui at 6. Perhaps if Tui and Schatz switched jerseys he'd get less flak. Schatz is probably more of a natural 6 and last season he...

Appropriate that kid is wearing Red. :rolleyes:

Chiefs must be almost unbackable tournament favourites now. Reds vs Chiefs in round 16 is going to be very, very ugly. If they put 60 on the Reds I would hardly even be surprised.

Yes, the Reds 10 jersey is a poisoned chalice. I don't even think if you put Dan Carter in there he'd come out of it looking good. Which in itself makes it difficult to recruit a star 10, because who wants to burn their career and future prospects by taking on that job? Many of these Reds...

Both Simmons and Horwill looked much better players last year when they came out from RG's coaching and into the Wallabies. It's rare that a player actually looks BETTER when stepping up from Super to internationals. Might indicate that they just didn't GAF under Graham. They might have tried...

And if they gave Magnay a shot, he'd run into the same problems the current players are, and everyone here would be going on about how Magnay is crap and would never make it in NZ and we should put the next guy in. Because the problem is bigger than any individual players. They look worse...

I'm never entirely sure HOW the Force manage to look competitive for 40 or 60 minutes, and then just fold up like a deck chair. Do they put in such an effort in the first half that they just have nothing left? Are they lacking match fitness, being coached by a coach well known for his 10-man...

But for Nabuli in particular he had a better running game because he was roving infield looking for work. Previous games he hardly saw the ball because he was out on the wing and only got the ball when the Reds managed the rare overlap for a break down the sideline. Then he had the opposing...

If I were O'Connor, I'd be sending both Kerevi and Nabuli at Beale together. In fact, send them both together at everybody in the backline. McIntyre just needs to give them enough of a chance to get through. They are both extremely powerful runners who haven't been given enough front-foot ball...

That is certainly a pretty formidable double set of front rows. If the Tahs don't find some serious improvement at scrum time they will find themselves pushed all the way out onto Caxton Street if not careful. At which point there will time for a quick XXXX and a sly 20 in the pokies while the...

Except the props. They're not allowed to go anywhere this time around.

Agreed, Browning is better able to cover 6 and 8 I think, so I'd stay with him as the bench back rower. Setu is finding the step up from NRC pretty challenging judging on the games to date. IMO the Reds would go better to plan for him as Gill's understudy and develop him into a dedicated 7.

That's where you really want Gill back in the side, to win some breakdown penalties and go for the corner. Doesn't matter who wins the lineout, somebody will probably fumble the wet ball near the line. Nek minnit, penalty try! Or else the Tahs run out of props again and go uncontested.

As long as it's RED Kool-aid...