Cheetahs v Brumbies - Round 5, 2016

[Slim 293]

So, there's a game on.........

Changes for the Brumbies:


Cheetahs v Brumbies, Saturday 26 March 2016

1. Scott Sio
2. Stephen Moore (c)
3. Ben Alexander
4. Rory Arnold
5. Sam Carter
6. Scott Fardy
7. David Pocock
8. Ita Vaea
9. Tomás Cubelli
10. Christian Lealiifano (c)
11. Robbie Coleman
12. Matt To'omua
13. Tevita Kuridrani
14. Joe Tomane
15. Aidan Toua

RESERVES

16. Robbie Abel
17. Allan Ala'alatoa
18. Ruan Smith
19. Tom Staniforth
20. Jordan Smiler
21. Michael Dowsett
22. James Dargaville
23. Nigel Ah Wong

 

[mst]

Back to the good stuff and it can't come soon enough.

Looking forward to see Ruan and Dargaville getting a run. Big game for Abel on debut.

Hope they bounce back and get on track again after last week.

The bar is set pretty low after last week so I think Glen Jackson should go ok and manage to have some clue.

 

[Brumby Runner]

Looking forward to seeing how Robbie goes on the wing. Have not been convinced he's a winger or fullback due to his size, height and weight. But he looks to have put on a little beef this year. Still think his best position is 10 or 12.

Les Makin probably feels a little let down by being dropped from the bench (or does he have an injury?) but I'd say that Bernie is looking for a bit more in attack out of Ruan Smith. Makin has been extremely impressive at set piece and in defense in his games this year, so it's a big call. Benny A has also been very strong in the scrum but you'd have to think his starting spot is coming under pressure from Makin, and maybe Smith depending on how he shapes up this week. Benny has had a bit of dropsy in previous games and is not his usual self with ball in hand.

All in all, that's a very strong bench but maybe in time Joe Powell might force his way there in place of Michael D.

 

[mst]

I think with Cubelli copping a bit of wear and tear he will need some time out to keep him as close to fully fit and fresh as possible come the end of the season. I think its worth giving Dowsett and Powell a run but the game(s) need to be selected carefully.

 

[RebelYell]

From the RUPA website (http://www.rupa.com.au/news/the-players/stat-attack-round-five-2016):

It’s not often a team on a fortnight-long South African tour has to fly over three replacements between the first and second game, but that’s exactly the fate that’s befell the Brumbies this week as Jarrad Butler, Josh Mann-Rea and Henry Speight returned home either injured or suspended.

In their place come Robbie Abel, Robbie Coleman and Ita Vaea. Vaea made 16 appearances last year, ranked third at the Club for tackles and made more metres than any other Brumbies forward, carrying a Club-high 126 times and beating 19 defenders over the course of the season; his return from injury certainly comes into the ‘silver lining’ category.

The Cheetahs have lost each of their last five matches on home turf, their longest streak in Super Rugby, however the Brumbies have only ever won once in Bloemfontein as both Christian Leali’ifano and Mark Gerrard scored tries and slotted drop goals in a 40-27 win, with Peter Kimlin and Josh Holmes adding a further two tries and Stirling Mortlock scoring 10 points with attempts on goal.

The Brumbies suffered their first defeat of the season in Cape Town, going down 31-11, but they still rank in the competition’s elite for points scored, goal kicking, tackling and winning turnovers. The Cheetahs, on the other hand, have the lowest scrum win percentage and rank 16th for lineout success. They miss 29 tackles per game on average, nearly double the Brumbies’ 15.5 and concede nearly 20 turnovers per game.

Despite the injury disruptions this week, the Brumbies can call upon seven players who’ve been on the field for more than 300 minutes this season, with Sam Carter, Tevita Kuridrani and Christian Leali’ifano playing the full 320 thus far. Leali’ifano is a virtual lock to pass 50 points for the year, currently just one shy, while his Co-Captain Stephen Moore has thrown the second most lineouts in the competition with 50 at 86%, behind only Cheetah Torsten van Jaarsveld with 51 throws at 82%.

 

[mudskipper]

Should be a good SA game. Cheetahs will show up with a young team ready to prove their abilities. Im sure they will play well and push the brumbies at home. Important points here for the brumbies to pick up... Hoping for a clean win tonight... And a bonus point if posdible...

 

[Brumby Runner]

Should be a good SA game. Cheetahs will show up with a young team ready to prove their abilities. Im sure they will play well and push the brumbies at home. Important points here for the brumbies to pick up. Hoping for a clean win tonight. And a bonus point if posdible.

Saturday night isn't it?

 

[Tomikin]

11pm brissy

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[mudskipper]

Saturday night isn't it?

Just realised that this morning... Hopeless me long week

 

[mst]

Little nervous about this one - hope I am wrong!

 

[ChargerWA]

Fucking ground producers deciding outcomes again. When playing in SA just take drop goal attempts for conversion

 

[Merrow]

Good start!

 

[Bairdy]

Brumbies playing with real purpose early on.

Need them to restore some pride on behalf of the Australian teams.

 

[Bairdy]

Ben Alexander folding like a deck chair against a young loosehead

 

[mst]

Fucking ground producers deciding outcomes again. When playing in SA just take drop goal attempts for conversion

A simple rule that says that only one replay in real time is allowed to be shown on stadium screen prior to the conversion kick would fix it.

 

[Marcelo]

Good scrum by the Ponies

 

[mst]

Lazy stuff from the Brumbies. Cheetahs flooding the breakdown,

 

[TheKing]

I've just discovered why SA games put me to sleep.

So little crowd noise, plus commentators who let the game do most of the talking. So little excitement from the faceless voices, unless the home team gets a linebreak / scores.

Enjoying this one though!

 

[Marcelo]

Steve asks a scrum!

 

[Marcelo]

Try by Toua