Blues v Waratahs - Friday 15 July 2016
- Thread starter Braveheart81
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waiopehu oldboy
George Smith (75)
Blues: 15 Melani Nanai, 14 Matt Duffie, 13 Male Sa’u, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Tevita Li, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Bryn Hall, 8 Steven Luatua, 7 Kara Pryor, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Josh Bekhuis, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu, 3 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 2 James Parsons (c), 1 Sam Prattley. Replacements: 16 Matt Moulds, 17 Nic Mayhew, 18 Sione Mafileo/Charlie Faumuina, 19 Scott Scrafton, 20 Blake Gibson, 21 Billy Guyton, 22 Matt Vaega/George Moala, 23 Lolagi Visinia
Same starting XV that rolled the Brumbies & possible off-the-bench returns for Faumuina & Moala. Doesn't look good for the 'tahs.........
Dunno why, I'd have thought a wet & heavy track suits the 'tahs up-the-guts approach moreso than the Polynesian b-ball Paremoremo jail breaking Bloos.
Also it's Tuesday so whatever MetService are predicting may or may not have arrived/ passed through/ swung South-East & missed the place completely come Saturday. As they say, Auckland's weather is harder to pick than a not-very-good boxer's nose.
Same starting XV that rolled the Brumbies & possible off-the-bench returns for Faumuina & Moala. Doesn't look good for the 'tahs.........
Dunno why, I'd have thought a wet & heavy track suits the 'tahs up-the-guts approach moreso than the Polynesian b-ball Paremoremo jail breaking Bloos.
Also it's Tuesday so whatever MetService are predicting may or may not have arrived/ passed through/ swung South-East & missed the place completely come Saturday. As they say, Auckland's weather is harder to pick than a not-very-good boxer's nose.
Simon.
Bob Loudon (25)
"Dunno why, I'd have thought a wet & heavy track suits the 'tahs up-the-guts approach moreso than the Polynesian b-ball Paremoremo jail breaking Bloos."
Perhaps - but it surely hasn't escaped your attention that our teams have been somewhat lacking in both handling and kicking skills this season, both of which are important in the wet.
The Tahs in addition have an uneven set piece. Woeful lineout, even if their scrum has improved a bit.
I tend to think that of the Aussie sides, the Brumbies and Force are the only ones whose win potential improves on a wet track.
Perhaps - but it surely hasn't escaped your attention that our teams have been somewhat lacking in both handling and kicking skills this season, both of which are important in the wet.
The Tahs in addition have an uneven set piece. Woeful lineout, even if their scrum has improved a bit.
I tend to think that of the Aussie sides, the Brumbies and Force are the only ones whose win potential improves on a wet track.
The_Brown_Hornet
John Eales (66)
Groucho
Greg Davis (50)
Given the current state of the Brumbies attack, that's a case of a resistable force meeting a moveable object.
Yeah what wouldn't work against the blues will be a bonus point against the force with reality returning the following week
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The_Brown_Hornet
John Eales (66)
Is there any scenario where both the Brumbies and Tahs make the finals?
Viking
Mark Ella (57)
Only way that is going to happen is with around 5 line-out to maul tries. No other way of the Brumbies scoring tries unfortunately.
Simon.
Bob Loudon (25)
Brumbies backline fired okay against the Reds, at least in the last 20 minutes. They are okay against poor defence and the Force are similar to the Reds in that they tend to fall apart defensively in the last quarter. I expect the Brumbies backline will do okay and look better than they are.
Viking
Mark Ella (57)
Firing okay against the Reds is nothing to be proud of
Brumbies are certainly capable of lifting significantly though, they have the players to win against any opposition. Hopefully this is the week they wake-up and start playing to their potential.
Simon.
Bob Loudon (25)
Well firing okay against the Reds is fine if your next opponent is the Force!
I had a bet on the Brumbies to win the championship from before Round 1, on the back of preseason and Cubelli's signing. I cashed it out for surprisingly good odds after the Blues game. Cost me $20, got almost $19 back on it.
So the bookies still seem to think the Brumbies are a chance. I don't - it was pretty clear to me after the Blues game that they can't match it with the Kiwi teams. They are going to finish in 4th and have a home quarter final against the number 2 Kiwi team. If by some chance they win that they are likely to have an away game in NZ or SA, unless there is more than one major upset in the quarters.
Pocock should be back for the finals though, right? That's a glimmer of hope for a team based on driving mauls from 5m lineouts.
I had a bet on the Brumbies to win the championship from before Round 1, on the back of preseason and Cubelli's signing. I cashed it out for surprisingly good odds after the Blues game. Cost me $20, got almost $19 back on it.
So the bookies still seem to think the Brumbies are a chance. I don't - it was pretty clear to me after the Blues game that they can't match it with the Kiwi teams. They are going to finish in 4th and have a home quarter final against the number 2 Kiwi team. If by some chance they win that they are likely to have an away game in NZ or SA, unless there is more than one major upset in the quarters.
Pocock should be back for the finals though, right? That's a glimmer of hope for a team based on driving mauls from 5m lineouts.
Especially in a Blues v Waratahs thread.
If people want to discuss the Brumbies backline, or Pocock, then there are plenty of threads for that.
mst
Peter Johnson (47)
It's like battle of the pessimists. The worst performing loser wins because they are less of a loser!
waiopehu oldboy
George Smith (75)
Current 7PM forecast is 10C with showers & a decent WSW breeze. Most of the really nasty stuff has gone through the midsection of the country with more on the way which could make things interesting in Christchurch tomorrow.
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