Semi-finals 2016 - Hurricanes v Chiefs & Lions v Highlanders

[ACR]

Payper 'avin an absolute laugh with his ruck officiating, and they score off the back of it.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Try Kriel that should seal it. 35-11 & 25 to go.

@ACR I feel your pain but hard to argue that the Lions aren't a 20-point better side tonight.

 

[Bairdy]

Thank God for my last minute change of heart with the bet on the Lions

 

[ACR]

Try Kriel that should seal it. 35-11 & 25 to go.

@ACR I feel your pain but hard to argue that the Lions aren't a 20-point better side tonight.

Oh I know, I wait till the end of the game to give credit. Game time is for whinging . To be fair it was crap officiating, IMO.

Just a matter of how much for the Lions. Highlanders look out on their feet already.

 

[ACR]

Were the Lions training with the Russian olympic team in the offseason?

They play like beserkers, Kriel is a beast.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

If half the Lions aren't wearing 'Bokke shirts next month Cootzee's got rocks in his head. De Klerk, Jantjies, van Rensburg & Mapoe for starters with at least Kriel & Mostert up front (plus Whiteley if fit), possibly Marx & Tecklingberg as well.

 

[teach]

Ah well. Top 4 is not a bad finish to the season. Lions look pretty good to be fair.

 

[Groucho]

What a game. Anyone who thinks the Lions success is due to the draw is drinking the Kiwi Kool-Aid.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Meanwhile up the road in Bulawayo Zimbabwe are 164 & 121/5 to NZ's 576/6 dec (Latham 105, Williamson 91, Taylor 173*, Watling 107) at stumps on Day 3.......

And back in Jo'burg it's turning into the try-fest I was expecting in Wellywood, 42-23 into the last six min.

 

[ACR]

Turned into a game of touch (Jantjes still playing NFL). Lions have been magnificant and deserve a final spot. Highlanders looked knackered 15mins into the game, one game too far this one. Faf de Klerk, easy man of the match.

Hurricanes will still have to be favourites in Wellington.

 

[ACR]

Infact I just flat out don't like Jantjes. He's cocky, throws forward passes all day and then whinges at the ref (irony, i know) after 80mins when 20 points ahead.

Good game Lions.

 

[fo!!ower]

Infact I just flat out don't like Jantjes. He's cocky, throws forward passes all day and then whinges at the ref (irony, i know) after 80mins when 20 points ahead.

Good game Lions.

You might need to remove the green (or are they all black?) tinted glasses - Marty Banks was passing forward about 60% of the time and he wasn't getting them called either. Refs must have decided to let them all go tonight.

 

[mst]

Game report for the Hurricanes v Chiefs is here:

http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/hurricanes-storm-super-rugby-final/

Give it a click!

 

[ACR]

You might need to remove the green (or are they all black?) tinted glasses - Marty Banks was passing forward about 60% of the time and he wasn't getting them called either. Refs must have decided to let them all go tonight.

No glasses here. Jantjes has thrown 6-7 forward passes over this and (especially) last week that have lead to huge breaks or tries. And please, please don't mistake this for me being bitter. He's a good player playing well but his passing technique is very frustrating. He doesn't throw the loopy floaters forwards, they're forward out of his hand.

He'll get called for it a lot more in the future.

Sure Banks was throwing them forward but by then the game was a shambles and Peyper was letting everything go.

 

[fo!!ower]

No glasses here. Jantjes has thrown 6-7 forward passes over this and (especially) last week that have lead to huge breaks or tries. And please, please don't mistake this for me being bitter. He's a good player playing well but his passing technique is very frustrating. He doesn't throw the loopy floaters forwards, they're forward out of his hand.

He'll get called for it a lot more in the future.

Sure Banks was throwing them forward but by then the game was a shambles and Peyper was letting everything go.

So forward passes are ok if you a) don't score a try off it, or b) are losing the game by that point?

What about if your forward pass gets you out of your own 22, thus relieving significant pressure, but you don't a score the try for another 3-4 phases after the initial forward pass, AND you're still a mathematical chance of a come from behind victory at the time - is this ok?

Just trying to get my head around this particular piece of kiwi logic...

 

[Dan54]

The Lions were great again tonight, I real pleased to see Joseph not prepared to play the travel card, as to take away from a real good Lions performance would of been unfair. I will repeat that I think Shag Hansen will be a little relieved as Aaron Smith looks shot and definitely needs to have a rest as does Ben from Accounts! Should be another good entertaining final with deserved teams there to show that for all the complaints etc on the format, the cream still raises!!
Can I also add good to see in Josephs interview he said the Clan players were in the Lions dressing shed having a beer, the game is still being played the right way!!

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Hurricanes v Chiefs:

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Lions v Highlanders:

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

According to sanzarrugby.com the Final is on Saturday at 16:35 AEST so an hour earlier than usual which seems odd, if anything I thought they'd have pushed it back to make it slightly more UK/ Euro-friendly time-wise.

Hard to argue that the two best teams aren't in the Final & Lions may yet be rewarded for the last-round player resting gamble but still: no South African side has won a playoff match in NZ in 10 attempts & no SA side has won the title outside of SA.

Also a 'canes win would mean that all five NZ teams have won a title and no matter who wins there will be a new name on the trophy for the third year running which hasn't happened before, I think.

@Dan54 I shall of course be backing your boys for the win but that does NOT mean I've re-boarded the 'cane train, m'kay.

 

[galumay]

Wow, what a complete game from the Lions. They have looked the goods all season but have taken it to a whole new level now. They blew the Landers off the park - following up from taking the Saders apart.

Next week they will end the Cane's season with ease I reckon, amazing to see Kiwi sides completely 'out-kiwied' in such a clinical manner

Thankfully they cant all play in the SA team, because that Lions team would walk over the Wobblies, smash the Pumas and might very well leave the AB's in their wake.

How on earth did this happen in a country where rugby has been in disarray, politics and infighting doing its best to destroy the game, the rest of the super sides mainly woeful and and an ingrained resistance to playing open running rugby?

Sure the draw favoured them, probably meant less injuries, gave them the option of giving the team a week off in the final round and a couple of home finals, but they have been way better than those advantages.

I really feel for my kiwi cussies, if as I expect the Lions romp away with this one, NZ will have had 4 teams in the finals, a 5th team finishing very strongly -and nothing to show for it

Sure its never been done before, in terms of a SA team winning the final away, but this is a different team to anything we have seen before.