Reds vs Hurricanes RD3

[No4918]

Horwill (still out) and Fainga'a expcted to return, probably from the bench.

Did not see any of the Hurricanes game. How bad were they?

 

[Brumby Runner]

Horwill and Fainga'a expcted to return, probably from the bench.

Did not see any of the Hurricanes game. How bad were they?

Hurricanes were not good, but not dreadful. Made a lot of mistakes so I expect they will improve with games. Barrett had probably the worst game I've seen from him.

 

[teach]

Auckland were not shabby either. They are nothing like last year's easy beats and have some serious fire power in their backline.

 

[Scott Allen]

Horwill and Fainga'a expcted to return, probably from the bench.

Did not see any of the Hurricanes game. How bad were they?

In the after match press conference on Saturday Link said Horwill definitely won't be back this week. Was still in his moon boot on Saturday night.

 

[emuarse]

So, my Reds team against the Hurricanes would be:
1 Slipper
2 Hanson
3 Holmes
4 O'Donoghue
5 Simmons
6 Quirk
7 Gill
8 Shatz
9 Lucas
10 Cooper
11 Ioane
12 Tapuai
13 Chris Feauai-Sautia
14 Shipperley
15 Morahan

16 Fainga'a Saia
17 Anae
18 Horwell/AWH
19 Samo
20 Frisby
21 Fainga'a Ant
22 Harris

Horwell to come off the bench for 20 - 25 minutes, he will be gasping for air by the end of the game. If he isn't fit to play, then AWH.
I think Shatz should start and bring on Samo in the last 20 - 25 minutes as an impact player against weary forwards.
Harris is not fast enough at full back and give Morahan a chance to prove himself - Cooper can do the goal kicking.You have the option of bringing on Harris earlier if either Cooper is kicking poorly e.g. like O'Gara for Ireland coming in for the last 15 - 20 minutes, or if Morahan is not up to scratch

 

[FrankLind]

It looks as if Conrad Smith might not be playing due to concussion. He is the glue that holds that team together. A big blow.

 

[Penguin]

Horwill and Fainga'a expcted to return, probably from the bench.

Did not see any of the Hurricanes game. How bad were they?

Word is Horwill won't be back still

Hurricanes are a bogey team for the Reds & always get a good turnout of support from ex pat Kiwis that somewhat nullifies home ground advantage. They're gonna have to improve a lot from the 1st two games to take this one.

 

[No4918]

Horwill can't get a break. Will be a huge blow to Aus if he does not get enough time to be close to his best for the Lions.

 

[Scrubber2050]

Shit Reds need Horwill back badly - he seems to have been out forever. He better start playing soon or he will be underdone for Lions Tests and possibly even miss selection !!!!

 

[Bullrush]

Auckland were not shabby either. They are nothing like last year's easy beats and have some serious fire power in their backline.

The back-line was always gonna be dangerous. I was happy with how the forwards stood up. The scrum will continue to be tested but overall I thought they did well.

Conrad took some pretty heavy contact during the game, especially in the 2nd Blues try where I think Moala ran over him. He will be missed badly this weekend though as some of his touches were real class.

Hurricanes will need to cut a lot of errors out of their game this week...

 

[Scoey]

Seriously, on Horwill, does anyone else get frustrated with the lack of information on his injury? How can a guy go from "he rolled his ankle at training so we'll rest him this week" to being definitely not fit (announced on game day a week before the next game) 3 weeks later?

I assume the medical staff know what's wrong with him so what's wrong with telling the fans? Surely they know that stuff like this only frustrates us and does nothing to ensure confidence in the administration of our team.

 

[BDA]

In the scheme of things this game is a must win. In fact the Reds really need to win all of their home games this year, which is definitely achievable. They have some difficult games on the Road (Highlanders, Chiefs, Cheetahs, Stormers). On current form I'm not sure I'd mark down too many wins out of those games.

The major up-shot for the Reds is that their first really tricky away game until round 7 (Highlanders) and we dont tour SA until week 14. That suits us given that Genia, Horwill and Robinson need time to return and find form. The trend over the last few years has certainly been that the Reds play their best rugby later in the tournament and I expect itll be the same this year.

The Reds appear to be getting the Canes at the right time of the season. They didnt click last weekend but we saw last year that they are capable of beating top 6 teams on their day.

The long and the short of it is the Reds must come away with the win this weekend and i think they will.

It'll be nice to see ANT back and hopefully Horwill on the bench.

I must say I thought the Reds loosies put in an impressive performance on the weekend against the more fancied Tahs backrow of Hooper/Palu/Dennis. Considering the Reds have Samo and Robinson still to return that area should be a strength as the season wears on.

Also I think Cooper has made a nice start to the season. His decision making has been ok, his mistake count has been low and he's been passing the ball nicely. Hopefully he'll continue to improve as the season goes on.

 

[Scrubber2050]

Seriously, on Horwill, does anyone else get frustrated with the lack of information on his injury? How can a guy go from "he rolled his ankle at training so we'll rest him this week" to being definitely not fit (announced on game day a week before the next game) 3 weeks later?

I assume the medical staff know what's wrong with him so what's wrong with telling the fans? Surely they know that stuff like this only frustrates us and does nothing to ensure confidence in the administration of our team.

Scoey - agree with your post - Horwill was supposedly running with the team last week then on Sat night I saw him in a moon boot (or whatever its called) WTF

 

[Tangawizi]

The Horwill injury is an interesting one. I'm sure there was footage of him running at training with Samo last week but then there he was on Saturday night with the moon boot back on.

So I think either he's injured it again last week or the Moon boot was for show.

Hope Ben Daley dresses up as Frankenstein during the week for a few promo photos with that scar...Must've been a bit of blood in the gym that day.

 

[tigerland12]

I'm really calling for Harris to get dropped for this week. He offers very little at fullback, slow and made some bad reads. His goal kicking has not been that outstanding either. Lucas or Cooper should be the starting kicker, then if they are screwing up, bring on Harris.

 

[Tangawizi]

Historically, the Hurricanes would have to be the biggest bogey side out there for the Reds. Reds record against them is appalling.

Last win against them was 2007 and time before that was 2001.
http://www.lassen.co.nz/s14mat.php?year=&teama=7&teamb=3#hrh

Perhaps that means we're due this year or maybe we just regularly play poorly against the Canes.

Letting that match slip in 2011 when we were riding high might provide a bit of added motivation for the Reds boys. As might having been thumped out of finals contention in 2010.

 

[Lior]

Although Tapuai is very good he needs to start playing as a team member and not a glory seeker. Utilising Chris Sautia more would be a good start. There's no room for selfish players in rugby these days. Hoping to see a far more gelled Reds backline, we need Cooper to show a bit more direction and for Tapuai to start accepting that there are other players in the backline that can do some pretty special shit too.

 

[No4918]

Since when has Tapuai been a selfish player?

 

[Scott Allen]

Although Tapuai is very good he needs to start playing as a team member and not a glory seeker. Utilising Chris Sautia more would be a good start. There's no room for selfish players in rugby these days. Hoping to see a far more gelled Reds backline, we need Cooper to show a bit more direction and for Tapuai to start accepting that there are other players in the backline that can do some pretty special shit too.

What????

 

[Bowside]

I liked Emuarse's team above although there is probably an argument for giving Butler another run off the bench as he did pretty well in his little cameo last week I thought.

Reds need to step it up this week. Time for the Lucas-Cooper and Frisby-Cooper Combos to gel.