Super Rugby: Rd 4, 2024. NSW Waratahs v The Auckland Blues

[Wilson]

Crowd was 13,237:

Blues hang on for victory over NSW Waratahs

The Blues have survived a late scare to defeat the NSW Waratahs 12-10 in Sydney.

www.rugby.com.au

 

[Shiggins]

Jordy weigh. What a shit penalty to give to the blues after 80 min to end the game. Knows to to ruin a game for the fans giving a technical 50/50 .

Tahs did well to keep the blues to 12 points. Can take away something from that. Not many teams can do that.

 

[Dan54]

Gave up 15-20 minutes in, sounds like a good decision.

Probably was WOB, I just too much of a tragic to miss a kiwi super team playing!

 

[Crashy]

Jordy weigh. What a shit penalty to give to the blues after 80 min to end the game. Knows to to ruin a game for the fans giving a technical 50/50 .

Tahs did well to keep the blues to 12 points. Can take away something from that. Not many teams can do that.

Yeah thats where our game just keeps shooting itself in the foot - We could have had a grandstand finish, but no - some fucking pissant rule for some indiscretion that wouldnt have impacted the game. Dear me..
As long as the game keep adhering to its weighty rule book, not improve the spectacle and wonder why its shrinking around the globe in many places....

 

[Dan54]

Jordy weigh. What a shit penalty to give to the blues after 80 min to end the game. Knows to to ruin a game for the fans giving a technical 50/50 .

Tahs did well to keep the blues to 12 points. Can take away something from that. Not many teams can do that.

Can't even remember what it was for Shiggins.

 

[KOB1987]

Jordy weigh. What a shit penalty to give to the blues after 80 min to end the game. Knows to to ruin a game for the fans giving a technical 50/50 .

Tahs did well to keep the blues to 12 points. Can take away something from that. Not many teams can do that.

Yes, see this is the thing. The Blues are up there with the best in the world when it comes to pro teams but the Tahs get lambasted for keeping them to12 pts and a 2 point margin. Sure, it wasn't the best watch but one of the objectives of rugby is to stop the opposition from scoring points - which inevitably does not create entertainment. There were 5 (I think) of the All Blacks world cup squad in that Blues team last night. If people want a guaranteed attack play 20% of the time with all the competition removed in the interim then watch NRL. The refereeing is another issue, the bigger one in fact in terms of watchability, but that's for another thread.

 

[Hogan]

Yes, see this is the thing. The Blues are up there with the best in the world when it comes to pro teams but the Tahs get lambasted for keeping them to12 pts and a 2 point margin. Sure, it wasn't the best watch but one of the objectives of rugby is to stop the opposition from scoring points - which inevitably does not create entertainment. If people want a guaranteed attack play 20% of the time with all the competition removed in the interim then watch NRL. The refereeing is another issue, the bigger one in fact, but that's for another thread.

Keep it in perspective KOB. If Perofeta kicks those 4 reasonably simple goals (which in any other game he probably would have), the final score would have been 26-10.

 

[KOB1987]

Keep it in perspective KOB. If Perofeta kicks those 4 reasonably simple goals (which in any other game he probably would have), the final score would have been 26-10.

Sliding doors. What if Pietsch didn't step out.

 

[Wilson]

Sliding doors. What if Pietsch didn't step out.

The difference there is Pietsch is a pretty inaccurate finisher and an error or two like that per game is in character, whereas Perofeta's misses (or at least a couple of them) were out of character.

I do think the tahs are doing alright though, probably looking a bit better than this point last year, but they have a tough start to the year and probably a tougher draw than last year. All that looks a bit like stagnation or recession in the macro view. Throw in aboard not sold on the coach and him pilling the pressure on himself by asking for a review and decision on his future at the end of March, and every game looks like life or death for him, and potentially the season if the disruption from not renewing (or even sacking him) derails the season. It's hard to take the positives from close losses in those situations, particularly when the team looks capable of more. Somewhat perversely if they were a worse team playing closer to their potential with these same results the mood would likely be better.

 

[KOB1987]

The difference there is Pietsch is a pretty inaccurate finisher and an error or two like that per game is in character, whereas Perofeta's misses (or at least a couple of them) were out of character.

I do think the tahs are doing alright though, probably looking a bit better than this point last year, but they have a tough start to the year and probably a tougher draw than last year. All that looks a bit like stagnation or recession in the macro view. Throw in aboard not sold on the coach and him pilling the pressure on himself by asking for a review and decision on his future at the end of March, and every game looks like life or death for him, and potentially the season if the disruption from not renewing (or even sacking him) derails the season. It's hard to take the positives from close losses in those situations, particularly when the team looks capable of more. Somewhat perversely if they were a worse team playing closer to their potential with these same results the mood would likely be better.

I don't disagree with any of that, but define 'if they were a worse team playing closer to their potential'. I think that sums us up, NSW rugby should be a powerhouse in a provincial comp, but the fact is we aren't. Due to some poor decisions and poor governance and a complacent administration we are where we are, which is amateur era cellar dwellers. We can rebuild.

 

[Strewthcobber]

Can't even remember what it was for Shiggins.

Tahs ball carrier was a bit isolated and did an extra roll while holding the ball to prevent the Blues from jackling.

 

[Wilson]

I don't disagree with any of that, but define 'if they were a worse team playing closer to their potential'. I think that sums us up, NSW rugby should be a powerhouse in a provincial comp, but the fact is we aren't. Due to some poor decisions and poor governance and a complacent administration we are where we are, which is amateur era cellar dwellers. We can rebuild.

It's a strong list, even with the injuries, and they're leaking points and leaving them on the park through poor execution. General play kicking and ruck work this weekend weren't good enough and generally haven't been great. The players that are there are capable of executing on those skill sets much better than they have been. If it was a weaker list, less capable of the big flashy plays but nailing their basics I think they'd be getting a lot more leeway for the same results, even with a lower ceiling. In that situation you can see the team progressing and believe in a couple of key signings to take things to next level down the track. I think that's a big part of the frustration - as it stands it feels like they've plateaued without and obvious (positive) turning point to come.

 

[Crashy]

Yeah thats where our game just keeps shooting itself in the foot - We could have had a grandstand finish, but no - some fucking pissant rule for some indiscretion that wouldnt have impacted the game. Dear me..
As long as the game keep adhering to its weighty rule book, not improve the spectacle and wonder why its shrinking around the globe in many places....

Anyone see the Welsh try awarded vs the Italians where the taffy rolled a couple of times.
FFS world rugby - look for a reason NOT to give a penalty, as opposed to finding a reason to award one - we really need to change the mindset.

 

[Dan54]

Anyone see the Welsh try awarded vs the Italians where the taffy rolled a couple of times.
FFS world rugby - look for a reason NOT to give a penalty, as opposed to finding a reason to award one - we really need to change the mindset

Only trouble with that reasoning , is if it your team getting offended against, I wonder if you would agree. I don't disagree with the thoughts in general, but suspect we don't want OUR team penalised and opposition to be policed harshly?

 

[Bullrush]

It's not the ref that made this game hard to watch.

The players just didn't perform very well. Poor execution of skills and poor decision-making are not the fault of the ref or the laws of the game.

 

[Braveheart81]

Yeah thats where our game just keeps shooting itself in the foot - We could have had a grandstand finish, but no - some fucking pissant rule for some indiscretion that wouldnt have impacted the game. Dear me..
As long as the game keep adhering to its weighty rule book, not improve the spectacle and wonder why its shrinking around the globe in many places....

I disagree with this take.

The last penalty was reasonable. I don't think it improves the game by putting the whistle away because you're trying to "enhance the spectacle" because of the game situation.

If we'd made it past halfway we're looking for someone to not roll away fast enough or a defender to creep forward offside to give us a penalty and a chance to win the game.

Invariably if you don't enforce the laws of your game then teams work harder and harder to push those laws for an advantage. Players not breaking the laws results in a faster, free-flowing game.

 

[Lindommer]

Yeah that's where our game just keeps shooting itself in the foot. We could've had a grandstand finish, but no, some fucking pissant rule for some indiscretion that wouldn't have impacted the game. Dear me. As long as the game keep adhering to its weighty rule book, not improve the spectacle and wonder why it's shrinking around the globe in many places.

Way found many, many pissant rules to adjudge on Saturday night. Must've been running in a new whistle. Shit game to watch, so stop/start.

 

[John S]

Way found many, many pissant rules to adjudge on Saturday night. Must've been running in a new whistle. Shit game to watch, so stop/start.

TO be honest, both teams found him ways to blow those penalties. Tahs were just more rubbish than the Blues.

 

[Froggy]

This was just a replay of Round 1 v the Reds. Plenty of effort, good D, a few pretty good attacking raids, but absolutely destroyed by just continually turning the ball over. The Tahs continue to be the most penalised team in Super rugby, they just don't seem to learn, and that combined with very poor kicking out of hand just keeps handing back possession. At one point we conceded eight penalties in a row, and had 30% possession! No team can win a professional rugby game like that. Whittaker said at half time they just needed to respect possession of the ball, clearly no-one took any notice of that. I don't know how you get this into their heads. Maybe it's captaincy, I don't know.

In addition, I think we are showing up two glaring positional weaknesses. For all his work around the paddock, HJH (Harry Johnson-Holmes) is getting worked over in the scrum match after match. Maybe Ross is the answer, maybe HTS, possibly we have to wait for Holtz to get back, but this is costing us scrum penalties every week. Secondly Edmed is just not at this level. He had a good game against the Saders, but one in every four just doesn't cut it. I'm not sure how Harrison is going with his comeback, but we need to be looking at either him or Bowen. Finally, Marky Mark (Nawaqanitawase) is not a 15, he just looked confused on Saturday night.

 

[Crashy]

Only trouble with that reasoning , is if it your team getting offended against, I wonder if you would agree. I don't disagree with the thoughts in general, but suspect we don't want OUR team penalised and opposition to be policed harshly?

I probably wouldnt have even noticed if we were on the receiving end but I digress.