Super Rugby AU Grand Final - Reds v Brumbies - Saturday 8th May 2021

[Dctarget]

Not just a great advertisement for the audience but also for OS based Aus players. Imagine turning out every weekend in cold as fuck Leicester and playing in front of empty stadiums. It's raining and 14 degrees there tomorrow, with 21 days before Summer. Whereas if you took a wee pay cut you could be playing in front of your friends, family and a roaring live home crowd on a day that's a week out from Winter and 27 degrees & sunny.

Good turns into good turns into good.

 

[formerflanker]

I think Frost has a huge future in the game. He stepped up at No 6 with hardly a blemish.

Before the game I thought that selection was a bad one - little experience in that position, not enough Super experience, hasn't started enough to be considered for a full game etc etc.
How wrong i was.
I thought he had a blinder, particularly in the 1st half.

 

[Dan54]

Meant to ask yesterday, while watching game ( and when I used to go to there) I noticed the field seemed to cut up quite a bit. Is there a reason the ground staff have never seemed to get a good base at Suncorp?

 

[Pfitzy]

Not just a great advertisement for the audience but also for OS based Aus players. Imagine turning out every weekend in cold as fuck Leicester and playing in front of empty stadiums. It's raining and 14 degrees there tomorrow, with 21 days before Summer. Whereas if you took a wee pay cut you could be playing in front of your friends, family and a roaring live home crowd on a day that's a week out from Winter and 27 degrees & sunny.

Good turns into good turns into good.

Excellent points, except for the "wee" bit. Some of the guys up there are well overvalued in the market and would never consider coming back here for half the money, when a full stadium is a rarity.

 

[Pfitzy]

Meant to ask yesterday, while watching game ( and when I used to go to there) I noticed the field seemed to cut up quite a bit. Is there a reason the ground staff have never seemed to get a good base at Suncorp?

I reckon it is something to do with the root base of the grass itself - sandy soil mix for drainage is great at Suncorp BUT when you need to keep the couch grass happy in the cooler months with less direct sun, and you're still mowing it short for pro sport, you end up with a very shallow root system.

Here in amateur land, our field is managed by Eels NRL and they mow it very short indeed for their guys to occasionally train on. Back in March/April they oversowed with ryegrass which has come through beautifully, and it is standing up to an entire Junior Rugby League club, as well as three rugby grades training on it and playing alternate weeks.

 

[Wilson]

Meant to ask yesterday, while watching game ( and when I used to go to there) I noticed the field seemed to cut up quite a bit. Is there a reason the ground staff have never seemed to get a good base at Suncorp?

There's a bit of insight here about the turf management:

https://turfmate.com.au/a-chat-with-suncorp-stadiums-mal-caddies/

Basically the fact that the field rarely has any downtime and the need transition between couch and rye throughout the year to suit the climate makes things difficult. It has been pretty wet the last couple of months which might not have helped much either.

 

[KevinO]

One question, with eight against six, why wouldn't you just keep packing a scrum? Surely you would keep drawing the penalty, and at some point that becomes a penalty try. I mean, the way it was finally decided was more satisfactory, but all they needed was a knock-on and it was a win to the Brumbies.

Because the Reds had been warned to hit and hold, if they applied to much pressure (Or any at all) and the Brumbies went back before the ball went in they would have given away a free kick. Imagine they have an extra 200kg trying to hold and the Brumbies are not going to be able to support the weight, they don't have to until the ball goes in. It was smart by the Brumbies to go with 6 men and force the Reds into tapping. I'd say they were hoping for the Reds to goto the lineout.

 

[KevinO]

Back on the game for a second. What are people thinking of the Reds performance tactically at the end. I know the Reds said not taking the scrum was about getting rid of referee risk, but I disagree. There’s no way the Reds are getting penalised in an 8 against 6 scrum that the brumbies are obviously collapsing. They should have gotten a penalty advantage or penalty try from scrums at the end and then just put it through the hands. Higher probability of scoring a try, less risk of knock on or being held up. Imo the tactic they used was wrong

But the Reds had to hold there weight till the ball was feed, that was never going to happen against 6 men and only required one of eight to shove early.

 

[Set piece magic]

You must have been near me. We were in row 2.

Out of shot and a bit to the left!

 

[M10]

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/rugby-...Qk_uWgjflHWeZssWQk2vxcmztqpqKZFFW1I4T6mbzCZ4c

 

[KevinO]

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/rugby-...Qk_uWgjflHWeZssWQk2vxcmztqpqKZFFW1I4T6mbzCZ4c

It's what I like about the captains referral, they have to play it on the big screen.

Puts the argument that Thor had scored to bed, but why did the TMO not have access to all camera angles? What's the point in having all these cameras if they are not going to be used in vital situations.

 

[Zero_Cool]

But they looked at it, it was fine, even afterwards they looked at it and were happy with the decision. To the naked eye it's fine. I think we spend too long picking over too many decisions on too much detail. That call could have gone the other way, but a dozen others could have gone the other way too. And honestly the Brumbies probably got the better end of the ref stick that game.

But the real casually is Nic Berry who dispite having dinner an excellent job officiating the game - better than anyone else would have, he cops all this criticism. Should he have been reffing that game - probably not, but that's on Rugby Australia they shouldn't put Berry in that position to have to make those calls.

 

[Braveheart81]

But they looked at it, it was fine, even afterwards they looked at it and were happy with the decision. To the naked eye it's fine. I think we spend too long picking over too many decisions on too much detail. That call could have gone the other way, but a dozen others could have gone the other way too. And honestly the Brumbies probably got the better end of the ref stick that game.

But the real casually is Nic Berry who dispite having dinner an excellent job officiating the game - better than anyone else would have, he cops all this criticism. Should he have been reffing that game - probably not, but that's on Rugby Australia they shouldn't put Berry in that position to have to make those calls.

Seems like if they had the spidercam angle at the time, the decision might have gone the other way.

 

[barbarian]

I bet Leckie and Berry are very happy they didn't have Spidercam, though.

At the time the try was scored I saw the Brumbies player gesturing for a knock-on, and it made a bit of sense to me given the way the ball came out of the ruck. Thor was running left but somehow the ball came out on his right, and came out pretty quickly.

But then I realised the crowd would burn Suncorp to the ground if the try was negated by a marginal knock-on call, so it was probably for the best that the try stood!

 

[RugbyReg]

Definitely a knock on. Try should have been disallowed.

What a bugger.

 

[Serge]

How does any spectator know if it was a knock on? Unlike League where a dropped ball in any direction is for some bewildering reason considered a knock on, in Union it must be propelled towards the opponent's goal line. If Tupou lost the ball in contact and it went directly to ground or backwards - it is not a knock on. In the overhead shot Tupou is in front of where the ball is so in my view the referee call was correct. There is zero evidence to indicate that the ball was propelled towards the opponents goal line.

 

[Derpus]

Yeah that angle doesn't mean shit IMO. All it means is Tupou let go of the ball after he hit the deck.

 

[Sully]

The Reds scored about three times before that anyway. Or have they changed the law about ball aat the base of the goal post?

 

[cyclopath]

The Reds scored about three times before that anyway. Or have they changed the law about ball aat the base of the goal post?

Yes, they have.

 

[Sully]

Yes, they have.

Crap.