Reds V Rebels- S15 Rd 3

[RedsHappy]

On this weeks' displays thus far, I think Hawko has a point. That was far from the Reds best, and I think even die hards know it. That's not to say they'll not pick it up - be silly to think they won't. But they'll have to - play like that in SA and they'll struggle. I'm sure Link will have the rocket ready once they land in the Republic. But, as they say, winners are grinners, and hard to argue with 3-0. Unless you're Plumtree.

OK, OK, already , and I certainly 'know it' (I said last week we've become notably over-confident and a nasty loss is possibly what the team and the coaches needed as complete shock therapy). But it's also fair to note that, at this stage last year, all and sundry were attesting that, after weak away losses to the Tahs, an unconvincing 1 point home win v Force, etc, the Reds were 'not fulfilling the potential they showed in 2010 and are in trouble'.

Anyway, I also stand by what I said last year: it's only after about the range of Round 4-6 results that we can begin to assess the trend line henceforth of each S15 team. We need that quantum of home and way results under the belt to know what each team - for this year - looks like being made of.

 

[Penguin]

Really fantastic turn around in the Rebels defensive capabilities, they should take heart from this match going forward.
I don't think Harris is best used at ten, he seems unsure of which option to take at times & looks in two minds in executing. Lucas sparked the backline when he came on & Van showed his worth is immense (love the beard!) Robinson & Gill in tandem worked a treat. Gill had a blinder I thought.
Geez I wish they'd drop the fake "we are red" chant ad nauseam, it's most off putting and gets no one following.

 

[daz]

I'll take 3 from 3. I know the Reds could have and should have done better, but the reality is we won. I'll be happy enough with that for the entire season, right up to the point where we are saying "gee, the Reds could have played better, but they won the title again"...

Of course, they will need to step it up a bit as the season goes on and I have no doubt they will.

As for the Rebels, well, really proud of the boys.

Kingi just played himself into the starting 9 jumper, and Delve has proven yet again that he will be missed big time.

Oh, one more thing; well done to Chamberlain for making me eat my words from last week.

 

[FiveStarStu]

I am so proud of the boys after that performance. To go from 3-53 last year, to taking a bonus point away from the match tonight, is brilliant.

Spoke to Delve and Davidson after the match, they were genuinely disappointed because they knew they had them for 60 of the 80 minutes.

Delve was just a general, Beale was fantastic in his first outing, Chamberlain was brilliant as well, you could tell he took last week to heart.

The test will be next week - we need to destroy the Cheetahs on Sunday. If we play like we did tonight, we will, but we need that consistency to be any threat in the competition.

In all, though, I'm stoked. It was a great night to be in Brisbane.

Oh, and the pre-recorded 'We are Red' chant is a joke. We make our own down south.

 

[TOCC]

yeah obviously not a great game.. not to dissapointed but.. after Rd 2 in 2011 the Reds had barely scraped by the Force and been flogged by the Tahs.. So 2012 isnt shaping up to badly.


Not sure what to make of Harris so far either, his play-making ability is still yet to shine through. Starting to think we are going to need a bit more creativity at 5/8 to help inject the likes of Digby into the game better.

 

[Dan54]

Went into the game, but am wondering what I couldn't see on sideline. There must of been something very nice there because almost everytime Genia picked up the ball at back of ruck he ran towards sideline about 4 paces before throwing ball!!! I suspect Reds will still end up pretty high up in the comp, getting easy points against Force, Rebels and Brumbies (from what I've seen so far) will make sure of it, but I certainly hope Link gets them playing with a bit of passion soon or they may struggle against better teams.

 

[Penguin]

Seems to me they had to work pretty damn hard for the points against the Force & Rebels so far Dan, why would the next games against them be easy?

 

[What2040]

Happy for the Rabbles, performed well and will go well this season.
Reds, pretty pathetic, i expect so much more from them. It's starting to look like "No Quade, No Chance" especially in the backline.
Daley cannot start in South Africa, and I think Link realised that. Holmes wasn't perfect but produced some dominant scrums.
I thought our backrowers were pretty good, Shatz and Gill were very active and Higginbotham was dominant as always.

If Harris couldnt goal kick then I wouldn't have him in the side. Next week it needs to be 10-Lucas 12-Harris. Not taking anything away from Jono Lance, but Lucas needs to be there.

Agree about Daley - he got flogged and rest of scrum put under pressure - big difference when Holmes came on at half time - maybe Link is finally coming to the conclusion that many have.

Big change in tempo was the injection of Ben Lucas - IMO he should be at 10 and harris out wider - Gill had a reasonable game but the ball security of Taps was poor.

 

[Ruggo]

Oh, one more thing; well done to Chamberlain for making me eat my words from last week.

I hope you smothered your words in tomato sauce before eating them. It would be un Australian of you to not do so.

 

[Ruggo]

First well done Rebels. That was a damn solid performance and only being your second game is really positive.

Second, happy to take the win and we are closing out sloppy performances and getting the points. That is a positive in its own right.

Third, Great to see Van the man back and he had a blinder when he was on. I think he inspired the others to lift their games.

3 from 3 is nothing to whinge about.

 

[James Buchanan]

I'm not happy with the outcome.

I am of course happy that the Rebs improved, but that they couldn't lift their intensity again in the second half frustrates me.

I suspect it stems from same source that caused their problems last week. Less match fitness than their opponents. That Rd 1 bye is going to sting for a little, but we're starting to get over it.

 

[Reddy!]

I wouldn't mind seeing Lucas at 10, Taps at 12 and Harris at 13. Harris has a big body and runs good lines.

Defense coach Muggleton has really improved the Rebels defense and it showed last night. He hasn't lost his coaching ability and I remember how good the Wallabies defense was when he was in the ranks. That said, without the attacking genius of Quade, the Reds are easier tackle targets.

It's a shame the Rebels couldn't score a try (even with O'Connor and Beale playing quite well), which also says something about the Reds defense.

Anyway, I'm very happy about where the Reds are at so far in the season, and happy that the Rebels are becoming increasingly competitive. If the Reds can win 2 of the next 3-4 games, we are still in a prime position with Quade coming back into the team and combinations settling.

I also agree the "We are Red" chant is lame and embarrassing. They should ditch it. Instead there should be a "cheer squad" type membership, ala AFL, where a section of the crowd is responsible for getting the crowd going. Give the fans the responsibility. Rebel fans impress me, and the new team down south is lucky to have them.

 

[wamberal]

Am I wrong in thinking that the Rebels might just have won that game? If Britney had kicked that easy penalty he fluffed, they might have been within a penalty kick in the last few minutes.


They have the nucleus of a pretty handy side, they need to keep building on their strengths, and they also need to get a good fetcher. How about Colby F?

 

[Godfrey]

I know it's early days, but I'm damn glad that after 3 pretty poor games the Reds top the ladder. A few years ago a poor game meant a 50 point flogging or worse. The standards are higher now though, so let's get the powder keg in shape for when Cooper gets back.

 

[Karl]

Didn't they fire up when Robinson came on? Those flashes of hunger and the danger when they moved the ball wide is where they need to play for 80 minutes.

And is it just me or do the forwards look like they need a LOT more fitness? They were lagging behind breakdowns, ambling around with hands on hips. I was wondering if they weren't using the backline more because the forwards weren't keeping up.

 

[Scotty]

I don't think the performance was as bad as everyone is saying, well at least not the last 50 minutes of the game. For mine in this period their attack was the best it has been so far this season and only a good rebels defense with many last ditch tackles held them out (2 from Beale, 1 from vuna and a few others in midfield). They were moving forward at a good rate and injecting themselves at pace and straight. Just last passes and ball security (eg morahan miracle attempt and taps losing ball in contact) that stopped them from racking up a few tries. Obviously these are issues, but I believe the structure was there.

Subs did make a difference but I think the biggest difference was when genia stepped up the intensity near the end of the first half.

 

[suckerforred]

Ok. Thoughts after I have watched the replay...

There was lots of blood shed - at leasy 5 blood bins that I counted. There was some hard hits from both sides of the game. Fatigue was showing all round by the end, but I think the Reds had the worse of it. The last 10 mins was the most stressful I have had this season and hopefully that is it.

Reds - played badly. Not sure what is going on but they need to pick themselves up. Have a feeling they might be in for a touch up the next couple of weeks. They seemed to try to many options based on the 'old' rebs and didn't have a plan B. First time I have seen this from Link. To many kicks went straight to the man - extra bugger was that the man was generally JB or JOC (James O'Connor). I also think that they will be spending a lot of time in their near future under the high ball. Handling still not back to what we have come to expect. Perhaps they mixed the hand washing water with baby oil.
Daley - had a shocker. Greg Holmes definitely improved the front line when he came on. I wonder if he is carrying a niggle though and that is why he has not started. He might have his chance next week though.
Harris - had a shocker of a game as well. His boot was broken this week. 2/5 is not good, even but Oz kicker standards. He was clutching his side late in the game so I wonder if there was a niggle there as weel.
Morahan - as a fullback you need to kick. If you aren't going to kick then you need to be else where.
Lucas - Needs to start. I can see him starting at 15, but...... are we going to want Morahan's size for the next couplt of weeks in SA. Or are we going to see a Genia 9, Lucas 10, Harris 12, Taps 13, back line. When is Ant going to be back? This might open up a few options. We seem to be playing with a lot of players out of position in the backs at the moment.
Shipperly - showed great defence. Rebs learnt the lesson from Tahs though and had him well covered. He did show some great strength along with Beau.
Gill - had a good game at the breakdown.
Shatz - Was in everything but sometimes I feel that he may not have been effective at times.
Van - showed power and passion when he came on.
Genia - passes back on song this week with a couple of beauties to put Van in space.
QC (Quade Cooper) - Having a lot to say about the tatics. I for one have underestimated his input in the decision making of the team. Potential coach?
Diggers - ball security was below par, and how he didn't score that try I do not know.

Rebels - Muggleton has earnt his money. But they were also challanging the Reds line a lot with JOC (James O'Connor) and Beale in particular breaking a few tackles. Tighthead won was good work by their forwards.
Henderson - Was hurt very early, but player on. Not sure if we will see him next week though.
Delve - had a captains knock. The Rebs are going to miss him. He worked the ref very well and showed the advantages of not having a captain in the middle of the scrum.
Gerrard - can still punish the oposition with his boot.
Weeks - needs bigger pants. This is the second week in a row that he has split his shorts.
Frier - good to see him back on the park. He is improving every week and seems to have the nack of unsettling the oposition front row.
JOC (James O'Connor) - one of the problems with playing against your Wallabies team mates is that they stick to you. Still managed to break a few tackles though and shows improvment in the rebs backline. He needs to find somewhere else to keep his mouthguard during his kick though. He used to keep it in his mouth. Must admit that the change in routine has improved his accruacy. I hope that there is no long lasting effects from him trying to kick the turf rather then the ball.
Cippers - Seems to have played better. He did pack the wrong socks though.
Beale -Great cover defence

Ref - It was Gardner's debut, and boy it showed. He looked like a deer in the headlights at the start and I am not sure he stopped being startled. He had little consistancy at the breakdown and the scrum was attrocious. Weeks burrowed in a few times, Genia was pinged for a knock on that wasn't, Blake had an obvious and blatant hand in a ruck, and to prove I am not a one eyed Reds fan, Beau should have been done for off side a couple of times and both sides spent more time then they should have lying on the ground at the breakdown. He was very easily swayed by both crowd and players, and I wonder how many of the calls were coming from the side lines. There was also some very long delays in throws into the lineouts.


Couple of law confirmations I would like :
How, as a ref, do you tell which pack goes early? One of the calls against the reds, IMO, was marginal and another was just confusion.
Wheeling of the scrum - How can a pack stay square if the oposition is not pushing back????????
What is the offside line for scrum halfs at the scrum now. I think we need to go back to he tunnel.

That is all.

 

[Dan54]

Seems to me they had to work pretty damn hard for the points against the Force & Rebels so far Dan, why would the next games against them be easy?

Penguin, I think I saying Force and Rebels are pretty weak, and so if they can't bank points against them I would be surprised, in saying that the way the Tahs went against Landers last night ,thought that was almost best diplay from Aus team so far.

 

[sonny crockett]

Found in Law 20. Offside for scrum-halves. When a team has won the ball in a scrum, the scrum half of that team is offside if both feet are in front of the ball while it is still in the scrum. If the scrum half has only one foot in front of the ball, the scrum half is not offside. Not many refs even know the bit about both feet.

Simple, you stay pushing square, you can wheel a scrum but you can't step out and around to wheel it.

As a ref you watch who goes early, pretty easy one.

 

[suckerforred]

Found in Law 20. Offside for scrum-halves. When a team has won the ball in a scrum, the scrum half of that team is offside if both feet are in front of the ball while it is still in the scrum. If the scrum half has only one foot in front of the ball, the scrum half is not offside. Not many refs even know the bit about both feet.

Simple, you stay pushing square, you can wheel a scrum but you can't step out and around to wheel it.

As a ref you watch who goes early, pretty easy one.

Thanks Sonny. Interesting about the Scrumie and both his feet. Does that mean that the oposing Scrummie is on side as long as both of his feet are on his side of the ball?

As a ref what did you think of the two 'wheeling' calls that were made against the Reds scrum? Just wanting an opinion. I though at least one of them the Rebs pulled back, or did not push.