Highlanders v Waratahs - R5, 2015

[Inside Shoulder]

At the risk of plagiarizing cyclo what the tahs showed was entirely one dimensional: the only option was get it wide as quickly as possible and almost irrespective of where they were on the field.
I would have thought our comparative advantage lay in close, but as someone said potgeiter was ineffective: I'm thinking he had one top season in him and he's spent it.
I know the tahs are talking the talk about taking nothing for granted but they're walking like they just expect things to work.

 

[Pfitzy]

Naholo was only centimetres inside the touch line when Beale made a grab for him. A half way decent shove using some shoulder as well as arms would have put him into touch. It was a very weak effort.

From memory, Naholo was already past him at that point. But fuck, invent whatever you want if it makes you happy

I know the tahs are talking the talk about taking nothing for granted but they're walking like they just expect things to work.

Exactly as they did last year - and once it clicked, BOOM! No guarantees that it'll happen this time of course

 

[Inside Shoulder]

Exactly as they did last year - and once it clicked, BOOM! No guarantees that it'll happen this time of course

My memory is both short and convenient but i thought they at least put in the hard work early last year without clicking. This year they seem to me to be looking for shortcuts at times.

 

[Scrubber2050]

On form they will lose to the Brums. But you can probably chuck form out the window,

Tahs will get better - but it needs to happen now

 

[Braveheart81]

From memory, Naholo was already past him at that point. But fuck, invent whatever you want if it makes you happy

Beale could barely get a hand on him. He should have gone for an ankle tap rather than a textbook tackle because he wasn't close enough to grab Naholo. He barely got a hand in his jersey.

Of course all the focus is on Beale rather than Folau who had the ball stripped in contact which resulted in the try.

 

[fatprop]

The Highlanders negated the go forward regularly from the Tahs pigs and showed the backs the fools gold on the outside; and then closed us down. They also shut down the kick return until the 78th odd minute by having a disciplined chase. They are a very effective, hard working team.

Beale's defense ......................... well it is a known property, he will miss a tackle or two, he isn't the only back in world rugby with that affliction and that doesn't cost us the game.

 

[Braveheart81]

The Tahs lost the plot for a total of 10 minutes on either side of half time and that cost them the game. In that period they gave up 19 points.

They made dumb errors and then compounded them with another error or a missed tackle to give away a try.

In the lead up to the Ben Smith try (I think it was), two players attempted to put on a bit of a shoulder charge rather than just trying to secure the runner and it resulted in the Highlanders making more metres in the Tahs 22 and putting the defensive line in disarray.

Too many players seemed like they were trying to hurt the opposition with their physicality rather than just using it efficiently to secure the breakdown ball. There was one instance where we made a break down the left hand side and Potgieter was the first to arrive. He needed to stand over the ball and protect the ruck but instead he made a huge cleanout and took one player out (and himself) and the other Highlanders player just picked the ball up. He is big enough that he could have protected the ball and we could have retained it and been hot on attack with a disjointed defensive line running back onside.

There were again too many handling errors, often from pushed passes. We make the breaks to get down to the opposition 22 often enough and then don't have the composure to work away until we can create a numerical advantage somewhere and score a try. Getting clinical in the red zone like we were last season needs to happen soon.

 

[Braveheart81]

When the Tahs took the rolling maul over the line and Joubert went to the TMO and said he couldn't see a grounding I was pretty perplexed.

The way that is refereed seems to be generally that the assumption is that the attacking team has scored a try if they advance the maul over the line and had the ball controlled at the back.

The only way it couldn't have been a try from being held up is that a Highlanders player was under there illegally because they had collapsed the maul.

It seemed to me that Joubert's ruling went the complete opposite of what most referees do in that situation.

 

[rugbysmartarse]

you guys can stop blaming individual players, because the person at fault for the loss is me. I was happily watching the game on my couch, and at 20 minutes in we were looking great. then I got a work phone call and had to spend time on my back deck trying to iron out an issue that wasn't an issue and was getting blown out of proportion. During this time the Landers put 26 points on us. Once my work issue was resolved and I returned to the couch we pulled together and looked good again, scoring 7 points to nil again.

I have set up a Kickstarter to fund me sitting at all waratah games without my phone or kids to ensure future results.

 

[Shiggins]

The one that doesn't see the ball grounded and asks the TMO for assistance I guess...

I thought the breakdown work of the Tahs was surprisingly sloppy tonight. Lacked any real cohesion in attack and then had bodies flying in when it wasn't necessary. As someone else posted, the Landers fanned out fairly easily and organised well (except in the last 10 when they looked absolutely spent).

Foley was pedestrian tonight. Seemed hesitant to take the ball to the line.

Despite all that, the Tahs were still in it with minutes remaining. But the Dunners hoodoo continues.

Fair calls mate. Usualy from a maul like that they award the try. They should give benefit of the doubt because the chances of the ball behing held up are so unlikely in that situation and going to a tmo is going to cause a no try. He should of asked "is there any reason I can't award the try" and if no evidence was found to support it being lost or held up award the try. I've seen other refs award those trys.

 

[teach]

At the risk of plagiarizing cyclo what the tahs showed was entirely one dimensional: the only option was get it wide as quickly as possible and almost irrespective of where they were on the field.
.

Surprisingly enough, the Highlanders game plan was to kick the ball back at the Waratahs and let them run around, wearing out their big guys, then winning the breakdown to get it back. Certainly worked. The Waratahs went from side to side, with hardly a mid field hit up. Played right into the Highlanders game plan. Their team of monsters should have done a lot more pick and goes and hit ups. Kepu, Potgieter and co would have made some space eventually.

http://www.odt.co.nz/sport/rugby/highlanders/336315/rugby-highlanders-roll-cost

 

[I like to watch]

It's a rugby lesson that has to be continually learnt.
You have to go forward,to earn the right to go wide.
We just have to dumb things down a bit,to get a bit of rhythm I reckon.

 

[HighPlainsDrifter]

One word the Tah's need to ad to their vocabulary then mindset ie, RUTHLESS !

 

[Pfitzy]

you guys can stop blaming individual players, because the person at fault for the loss is me. I was happily watching the game on my couch, and at 20 minutes in we were looking great. then I got a work phone call and had to spend time on my back deck trying to iron out an issue that wasn't an issue and was getting blown out of proportion. During this time the Landers put 26 points on us. Once my work issue was resolved and I returned to the couch we pulled together and looked good again, scoring 7 points to nil again.

I have set up a Kickstarter to fund me sitting at all waratah games without my phone or kids to ensure future results.

Good plan. I'll also take a bit of stick for not wearing my Tahs jersey during the match.

 

[Scrubber2050]

Good plan. I'll also take a bit of stick for not wearing my Tahs jersey during the match.

Mate you would have cut a fine figure at Doyles

 

[barbarian]

When the Tahs took the rolling maul over the line and Joubert went to the TMO and said he couldn't see a grounding I was pretty perplexed.

The way that is refereed seems to be generally that the assumption is that the attacking team has scored a try if they advance the maul over the line and had the ball controlled at the back.

The only way it couldn't have been a try from being held up is that a Highlanders player was under there illegally because they had collapsed the maul.

It seemed to me that Joubert's ruling went the complete opposite of what most referees do in that situation.

Hooper buggered it up though, it looked to me like he didn't know where the try line was. So he went too far, got in a weird position and then allowed the Clan to get in and spoil his attempts to put the ball down.

A good maul technician (most hookers) know to keep low and flop down as soon as the first inch of white paint comes into view.

I agree he may well still have got the ball down, but to be honest I don't think we were too hard done by there.
.

 

[Brumby Runner]

Beale could barely get a hand on him. He should have gone for an ankle tap rather than a textbook tackle because he wasn't close enough to grab Naholo. He barely got a hand in his jersey.

Of course all the focus is on Beale rather than Folau who had the ball stripped in contact which resulted in the try.

BH, balls get stripped all the time but rarely lead to tries especially from about 30m out. It really is the defensive errors (not only by Beale - I think Horne also missed Naholo) that directly allows the try to be scored.

 

[cyclopath]

BH, balls get stripped all the time but rarely lead to tries especially from about 30m out. It really is the defensive errors (not only by Beale - I think Horne also missed Naholo) that directly allows the try to be scored.

The Waratahs were on attack, they did not have a defensive line set, Fekitoa stripped it and moved it quickly to Naholo. Counter-attack in that situation is different to counter-attack from, say, a kick return of a bad kick, so it is one of the more vulnerable situations to defend. Carraro got done for pace, so too Beale, and Phipps (the best cover defender for the Tahs) couldn't really get close. Apparently Naholo is pretty quick, or so it seemed to others. Yes, defensive lapses, but to blithely ignore the preceding circumstances and focus one one of 2-3 players who missed the player is hardly an objective overview of the passage of play, which is a complex thing of many parts.

 

[Hawko]

The Waratahs were on attack, they did not have a defensive line set, Fekitoa stripped it and moved it quickly to Naholo. Counter-attack in that situation is different to counter-attack from, say, a kick return of a bad kick, so it is one of the more vulnerable situations to defend. Carraro got done for pace, so too Beale, and Phipps (the best cover defender for the Tahs) couldn't really get close. Apparently Naholo is pretty quick, or so it seemed to others. Yes, defensive lapses, but to blithely ignore the preceding circumstances and focus one one of 2-3 players who missed the player is hardly an objective overview of the passage of play, which is a complex thing of many parts.

Not defensive lapses, they just got done for pace.

Not only does it disrespect the Tah tacklers, it totally disrespects Naholo, who is an absolute gun and certainly in the Savea class. So glad he's going to Clermont next year and won't be wearing black. But we might see him on the wing for Fiji in the WC and Fiji are in our group!

 

[ACT Crusader]

Hooper buggered it up though, it looked to me like he didn't know where the try line was. So he went too far, got in a weird position and then allowed the Clan to get in and spoil his attempts to put the ball down.

A good maul technician (most hookers) know to keep low and flop down as soon as the first inch of white paint comes into view.

I agree he may well still have got the ball down, but to be honest I don't think we were too hard done by there.
.

Yeah I agree. They went to far past the line allowing the Highlanders to pile in.