Highlanders v Waratahs. Invercargill.

[Hawko]

And next year he's going to the Brumbies because he felt he was too far down the priority list to get any real game time.

 

[PhucNgo]

I can't work out why Ducka Caldwell got the chop. He seems to have been going OK when he has come off the bench and is close to regaining the strength he lost when he was ill last year. I think he will be seriously pissed off to be replaced in the squad by Chris Thomson, who has been given many chances and shown that he is just not up to S14 standard.
McCutcheon has been playing very well in Shute Shield and probably would have got a run earlier if he wasn't on 7s duty. He was definitely Uni's best player on the weekend. He won't disappoint.

I'm a bit of a critic of Thompson at the S14 level but he had a fine game for the Rats against Manly last Saturday, albeit in a lower tier of rugby. I don't know if that game was factored in or if he is getting a bench gig based on being enthusiastic at training or if Hickey thinks he should have a turn for the goodwill of the marginal players.

Dunno if Ducker has done anything wrong. He had a couple of dummy spits in one game when he came on but I looked at that as a positive, because if I have any criticism of the guy it's because he is too vanilla.

Good to see McCutcheon on the bench. Who knows - at some point in time in the match there may be 3 Oz Schools and Joeys captains on the park at the same time for the Tahs. Boydie will be proud.

Totally sober. Perhaps a couple of glasses of red would have improved the experience.

Always does.

I'd like to see him at 8 sooner rather than later in the game. I think he'll have it all over Mowen around the park but wait and see how things go in the lineout, which is where Mowen's height adds an advantage. There's some tall timber in that Clan pack.

Hawko, I noted that you've taken to posting at 4 in the morning. You didn't stay up and watch another replay of the Tahs and Brums did you?

 

[Hawko]

Always does.

I'd like to see him at 8 sooner rather than later in the game. I think he'll have it all over Mowen around the park but wait and see how things go in the lineout, which is where Mowen's height adds an advantage. There's some tall timber in that Clan pack.

Hawko, I noted that you've taken to posting at 4 in the morning. You didn't stay up and watch another replay of the Tahs and Brums did you?
[/quote]

Got some strange virus (no jokes please) that's playing hell with my sleeping. Should have put the replay on, it might have put me to sleep, but then again I might have started yelling at the TV and woken the neighbours.

 

[TheRiddler]

Is TPN definitely in and fully fit? Trying to work out whether to include him in my Fantasy Team.

 

[topo]

Is TPN definitely in and fully fit? Trying to work out whether to include him in my Fantasy Team.

I hope so.
I hear that he was still struggling throwing a ball into the lineout at training on Tues and he hurt the shoulder again when a scrum collapsed during a live scrum session on the same day. I suspect they would have given him another week if Freier was fit.

 

[TheRiddler]

Is TPN definitely in and fully fit? Trying to work out whether to include him in my Fantasy Team.

I hope so.
I hear that he was still struggling throwing a ball into the lineout at training on Tues and he hurt the shoulder again when a scrum collapsed during a live scrum session on the same day. I suspect they would have given him another week if Freier was fit.

Thanks Topo. Think I'll stick with Du Plessis

 

[matty_k]

Who would have thought duck season would have such an influence.

Tahs ducking tackles may find themselves in Kiwis' sights
AUSTRALIAN rugby teams have often come off second best on tours to New Zealand, but rarely at the hands of duck hunters.

Rugby officials fear the opening day of duck-shooting season could limit the number of spectators at tonight's Super 14 clash between the Waratahs and the Highlanders in the South Island city of Invercargill.

Local organisers need at least 4500 spectators to attend the match - which the Waratahs hope will propel them into the top four - to break even. But with duck-shooting season to open at first light tomorrow, some fear the shooters will opt for an early night instead of watching the 12th-placed Highlanders in action.

A local official, Christine O'Donnell, however, hopes both aspects of this week's unique sporting double-header will be well attended.

''Lots of [shooters] will go out, get their ponds all ready, get their alcohol in, go to the rugby and then shoot out to the duck ponds for dawn [tomorrow] morning to shoot some ducks,'' O'Donnell said. ''[It's] fantastic because duck-shooting people are into sports that are a bit rugged. Rugby and ducking compliment each other.''

The Waratahs had an unusual initiation into Invercargill life when they were invited to the annual awards ceremony for the best ''mai mai'' [shooting hut] and duck calls.

Members of the team awoke yesterday to see local organisers and duck shooters preparing for the soiree, and NSW assistant coach Scott Wisemantel got in the spirit by using a duck whistle for the Waratahs' training drills.

The Waratahs have never played in Invercargill, NZ's southernmost city. NSW's crowd figure of 40,271 for last weekend's match against the Brumbies is roughly 8000 shy of the city's entire population.

The duck-shooting season, meanwhile, has been placed in some jeopardy with recent heavy rains in the area flooding much of the countryside.

Locals suspect that come dawn tomorrow, ducks will be dispersed throughout a greater area than normal and thus harder to find.

There should be no such problem spotting the veteran Waratahs prop Al Baxter, a conspicuous presence at 116 kilograms.

 

[topo]

Maybe that's why "Ducka" Caldwell stayed home

 

[Newb]

that really is just too good. rugby.... duck shooting.... ruby..... duck shooting...... hmmmmmmm

 

[Hawko]

Ominous news that areas of the ground have not fully drained and are still boggy after recent flooding. Great for ducks to hide on but not so good for the rugby.

 

[Lee Grant]

It's cold and rainy in Sydney this afternoon and one can only imagine what it's like in Invercargill.

If it's what I expected it to be I bet that Beale gets a few high balls. I also expect Barnes to come into his own. I thought he had a fine second half against the Brumbies and did a lot to get the Tahs home. I think there will be a lot of getting home in this game too.

Hangers is not bad at this type of game either.

 

[Nusadan]

Is TPN definitely in and fully fit? Trying to work out whether to include him in my Fantasy Team.

I hope so.
I hear that he was still struggling throwing a ball into the lineout at training on Tues and he hurt the shoulder again when a scrum collapsed during a live scrum session on the same day. I suspect they would have given him another week if Freier was fit.

Thanks Topo. Think I'll stick with Du Plessis

ditto...

 

[Godfrey]

Highlanders have been leading the Waratahs all match and just scored their third try. As much as I don't like the Tards, it would be better for Aus rugby if they didn't drop this one. Come on you useless tards!

 

[Lee Grant]

Well done Highlanders - far too good. It was like the Tahs had a low position on the table and the Clan were going for a finals spot.

As Phil Waugh said after the game the Tahs were out-willed and that was the most disappointing thing for a Tahs fan.

No excuses.

 

[TOCC]

my NSW room mate tried getting me to go to the pub to watch this game... i said "mate its the tahs vs the highlanders, in Invercargill", i would rather watch paint dry

he was pretty upset with me, but thats karma for cheering for every team which has played against the Reds over the years

 

[Biffo]

Smacked everywhere.

 

[tranquility]

worked out for me. I had both teams to be under 43.5 points combined.

 

[fatprop]

Well done Highlanders - far too good. It was like the Tahs had a low position on the table and the Clan were going for a finals spot.

As Phil Waugh said after the game the Tahs were out-willed and that was the most disappointing thing for a Tahs fan.

No excuses.

+1

 

[GC]

Worst performance I've seen at the breakdown since the Wobs v. Scotland and Wobs vs. ABs last year. Tahs never in it. Poor ball security and poor kicking too.

Will make making the semis pretty hard now. Can they do it?

 

[Langthorne]

Sorry to say Godfrey, the Tahs really did play like tards.

I don't really think it was a fair result though as the Highlanders surely deserved a 4 try bonus point. On the other hand, if it had been a better team than the Highlanders it could well have been a 50 point thrashing.

The overall impression was that the Waratahs thought they just needed to turn up to collect the points - WRONG! - but at last their ineptitude has been found out. I wish that it was not true, but it is. The other issue is that the Waratahs chances of even making the finals have been damaged here, but based on this performance they would only embarass themselves against the top teams (even the Reds).