Reds vs Crusaders Super Rugby Rd11 2012

[Scoey]

Reds have a chance, and Fainga'a will help in defence. Unless he rushes up too much, which might cause a problem or two.

They have been getting thier rush defence pretty right IMO of late, and still coming up in a line. But yes on the big occasions, Ant has been known to get a bit keen. Good point.

 

[cyclopath]

They have been getting thier rush defence pretty right IMO of late, and still coming up in a line. But yes on the big occasions, Ant has been known to get a bit keen. Good point.

My concern would be Fruean is big, and quick footed, so if the defensive alignment goes a bit awry, he could cause havoc, as he does not need much space to get away. If Ant gets it just right, it might be the way to close him down. We'll see.

 

[SaderCheif]

This has got to be one of the more amicable and respectful pre-match "discussions" between supporters of these two teams I've seen in ages!

One thing I will be interested to see, is if the Saders get up, will it only be because they played at home? It seems that all of the recent victories the Reds have had over the Saders have been dismissed by many as only being achieved because they played at Suncorp which I guess peeves me a bit. With comments like, "...the Reds can only win at home, wait till they come to ChCh! You're not a true champion team until you beat the best away from home." But are the Saders a true championship team if they can only beat the Reds at ChCh?

I say this slightly tongue in cheek of course because I know that until the Reds have won close to the amount of championships that the Saders have, they will always be the ones who have to "prove" themselves but I needed to get that off my chest.

*climbing back down off my soapbox*

The Reds won last year because they were the best team. I hate the excuse "Saders had no true home games and traveled more so thats why they lost" They played in Tirmaru and Nelson, its not like they were playing home games in the north Island all season. It would have been tough for the Saders no doubt but I dont think it would of influenced their game.

 

[RugbyReg]

St.George Queensland Reds Team to play Crusaders
1. Greg Holmes
2. James Hanson
3. James Slipper
4. Rob Simmons
5. James Horwill (c)
6. Jake Schatz
7. Liam Gill
8. Scott Higginbotham
9. Will Genia (vc)
10. Ben Lucas
11. Digby Ioane
12. Mike Harris
13. Anthony Fainga'a
14. Dom Shipperley
15. Luke Morahan

16. Saia Fainga'a
17. Albert Anae
18. Adam Wallace-Harrison
19. Radike Samo
20. Eddie Quirk
21. Nick Frisby
22. Rod Davies

 

[tigerland12]

Is Daley injured? When did that happen?
Rest of the team I'm happy with, just hope that Quirk gets more game time then Samo.

 

[No4918]

He must be injured to be out of the 22. His last 2 games were the best so far and Link backed him prior to this when many were calling for a 'rest'.

Hopefully AWH and Quirk get used well before Samo.

 

[emuarse]

Is Daley injured? When did that happen?
Rest of the team I'm happy with, just hope that Quirk gets more game time then Samo.

with prop Ben Daley (hamstring) and flanker Beau Robinson (fibula) to miss the clash after sustaining minor injuries in last Friday’s 23-11 win over the Blues.​

Both are expected to miss just one week before returning for the Reds next home game at Suncorp Stadium – a special Mother’s Day clash of Sunday 13 May against the Chiefs.​

Cheap info for just one beer.

 

[Ignoto]

Is Daley injured? When did that happen?

Meh - Holmes and Slipper are better scrummagers.

 

[Schadenfreude]

What a load of rot. The Tahs defence on Fruean, on 3 specific occasions, was awful. In most other aspects of the game they matched the Crusaders. Or are you suggesting the Crusaders were also awful?
Reds have a chance, and Fainga'a will help in defence. Unless he rushes up too much, which might cause a problem or two.

Yes. I'm saying the crusaders weren't up to their usual standard.

 

[Troy]

One thing I will be interested to see, is if the Saders get up, will it only be because they played at home? It seems that all of the recent victories the Reds have had over the Saders have been dismissed by many as only being achieved because they played at Suncorp which I guess peeves me a bit. With comments like, "...the Reds can only win at home, wait till they come to ChCh! You're not a true champion team until you beat the best away from home." But are the Saders a true championship team if they can only beat the Reds at ChCh?

*

And to follow on with that last line - Are the AB's true RWC champs if they can only win in their backyard?

 

[Scotty]

I see Gill is currently coming equal 2nd in most pilfers (with Pocock). He would have only played 60% of the game time that Pocock has - impressive.

I also see they have Davies in the top 20 for most offloads - they must be counting some of the times he has dropped the ball!

 

[tranquility]

I see Gill is currently coming equal 2nd in most pilfers (with Pocock). He would have only played 60% of the game time that Pocock has - impressive.

I also see they have Davies in the top 20 for most offloads - they must be counting some of the times he has dropped the ball!

Gill is best pure scavenger I have ever seen. He gets more clean turnovers, (where he actually gets the ball as opposed to the opposition being penalised for holding on) than anyone in the comp by a mile.

 

[RedsHappy]

Not quite this game, but thought this was the best place to post it...

Quade Cooper edges closer to return
May 3, 2012 - 1:50PM Brisbane Times

Quade Cooper's return to teh Reds line-up is getting closer.

Ewen McKenzie has continued to keep a firm lid on the potential return of his star playmaker Quade Cooper as the Reds slowly but surely edge their way closer to a full-strength side.

Twins Anthony and Saia Fainga'a will make their first tandem appearance of the year against the Crusaders in Christchurch on Sunday, while Digby Ioane returned from suspension last week and Adam Wallace-Harrison has reprised his key role from the bench.

The final piece of the puzzle is undoubtedly Cooper, who trained and ran at Ballymore this morning but has given no definite timeframe for when he will make his much-anticipated comeback from a serious knee injury.

Advertisement: Story continues below
McKenzie wasn't giving any hints, saying "when he's right, he'll be right" and that the Reds would wait until he is fully confident in his reconstructed knee before pulling the trigger on his return.

That means Cooper could be back as early as next Sunday's home game against the Chiefs or be kept on ice until later in the season. What is clear is that the Reds aren't considering rushing him back from rehab.

"He's running today. He's edging his way back. We can only put him out there when he's confident everything's right. Unless he goes out there and is 100 per cent, he's not much value," McKenzie said.

"We've got to get to that point and he's not far away. But it's not going to be tomorrow."

McKenzie said coaching and medical staff would continue to confer but the final decision would ultimately come down to Cooper, who had a fright two weeks ago when he tweaked his knee playing a game of social touch football.

"In the end, it's the player. It's the player's knee and he knows how it feels. It's a much slower process than people think. It goes up and down. It's not an exact science," McKenzie said.

"People say these injuries can be six to nine months, so you've got a three-month fudge. We're working on the six side of things but some might take nine. It really depends.

"The good thing for Quade is he's been ahead of the rehab timetable the whole way. In effect, he's way ahead of where he would be in a normal situation.

"Everyone is gauging it is when is he going to be on the field. Well, sooner rather than later."

When Cooper does return, McKenzie cautioned any soaring expectations for an immediate return to his fine form of 2011, where his brazen attacking plays paid off handsomely in the Reds run to the title.

"He's very fit. It's not like he's in a wheelchair and and suddenly he's going to get out and be the playmaker. He's doing a lot of stuff," McKenzie said.

"He's got to be fit to be able to play at the level Quade plays at, not half a level below that. We need him at 100 per cent mentally and 100 per cent physically."

Newly re-signed Ben Lucas will continue in the number 10 jumper across the Tasman on the weekend.

 

[Jets]

He would have to be only a week or 2 away. He looks like he is running freely from the footage I've seen of him at training. I guess it depends on how he goes in contact. Will be interesting if he pulls out the big sidestep when he does come back.

 

[The Red Baron]

I'm happy with that team. Is that the strongest team the Reds have been able to name so far this year?

 

[What2040]

Meh - Holmes and Slipper are better scrummagers.

Both a lot better - Daley has a minor hamstring tweak - didn't think props were born with hamstrings

 

[twenty seven]

Lots of forwards on the bench.
PLEASE no more injuries; eough is enough.

 

[FrankLind]

He would have to be only a week or 2 away. He looks like he is running freely from the footage I've seen of him at training. I guess it depends on how he goes in contact. Will be interesting if he pulls out the big sidestep when he does come back.

Quade Cooper - contact?????

Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[liquor box]

I say this slightly tongue in cheek of course because I know that until the Reds have won close to the amount of championships that the Saders have, they will always be the ones who have to "prove" themselves but I needed to get that off my chest.

*climbing back down off my soapbox*

But when it comes to Super 15 championships the Crusaders have never won, and have a 0% winning percentage in Grand Finals

 

[liquor box]

My concern would be Fruean is big, and quick footed, so if the defensive alignment goes a bit awry, he could cause havoc, as he does not need much space to get away. If Ant gets it just right, it might be the way to close him down. We'll see.

I think after seeing what Fruean did last week that this is a massive game for Anthony as it will be a trial to see if he gets a run against NZ later this season. He needs to obviously show he is fit, but more importantly he needs to show he can handle the best NZ has to throw at us.

I think Robbie will be having a close look at this game