Waratahs v Blues. Sydney.

[spectator]

It was good to see the Tah's keeping ball in hand and having a crack. Poor old Berrick really does look out of sorts but a few of the other guys stood up a little better. Blues have been a good side this year, so to beat them and snaffle a four try bonus point is a pretty fair effort.

 

[fatprop]

He's deceptively strong in contact - they were 2 good efforts to get over the line last night.
Mumm's palm-off when he scored was nice too!

Hangers had to have a go, it was 5 on 3 out wider

 

[Newb]

It was good to see the Tah's keeping ball in hand and having a crack. Poor old Berrick really does look out of sorts but a few of the other guys stood up a little better.

IMO, since hangers has been in the starting jersey he's blown berrick off the park, especially running the ball. and now he's doing the kicking too.

the only area barnes has the better of him in is the sook face department. here barnes is world class.

 

[cyclopath]

They are Assistant Referees after all. We've been waiting for the AR's to tell the referee of blatant infringements.

Just watching the game again, the ARs did have a lot to say.

 

[cyclopath]

It was good to see the Tah's keeping ball in hand and having a crack. Poor old Berrick really does look out of sorts but a few of the other guys stood up a little better.

IMO, since hangers has been in the starting jersey he's blown berrick off the park, especially running the ball. and now he's doing the kicking too.

the only area barnes has the better of him in is the sook face department. here barnes is world class.

Hangers is just no-nonsense; no Monkey-Magic celebration after scoring a try, or rooster impersonations a la Rene Ranger. Just gets on with it.

 

[louie]

The turner try was a 14 point turn around, but the blues earlie try should have eben disallowed as Barnes was taken out and he was almost certain to tackle the blues player (Afoa?).

go back and watch the tape. The guy ran into barnes (who was very close to him) and the feel into each other. it's a contact sport. that's not being taken. phil kearns is a fucking dickhead sometimes.

 

[Newb]

cyclo, since you mentioned ranger's celebration...

he's got to be one the most split-personality players in the game. off the field he looks so damn uncomfortable answering questions on tv. put him in a pair of cleats and he's completely different. all aggression, that rooster thing, hopping all over the place.

allegedly he's like that in the pub too O0

 

[Pfitzy]

off the field he looks so damn uncomfortable answering questions on tv.

Its an age thing. He's young and probably hasn't had access to any of the media coaching that established Test players get. Footy is what he does. Compare that to .. I dunno - me - brilliant off the field, shit on it.

go back and watch the tape. The guy ran into barnes (who was very close to him) and the feel into each other. it's a contact sport. that's not being taken. phil kearns is a fucking dickhead sometimes.

It looked a bit like he actually grabbed Barnes on the way down which may have been reflex action. I'll have to watch the whole game back. The two pillars as Williams ran the ball back looked more blatant.

 

[cyclopath]

The turner try was a 14 point turn around, but the blues earlie try should have eben disallowed as Barnes was taken out and he was almost certain to tackle the blues player (Afoa?).

go back and watch the tape. The guy ran into barnes (who was very close to him) and the feel into each other. it's a contact sport. that's not being taken. phil kearns is a fucking dickhead sometimes.

Yeah, it looked worse on replay than real time. At the time it just looked like players all colliding rather than intent. Kearns is THE most biased commentator out there. But at least he admits it!

 

[louie]

yeah newb all i could think last night was fuck that guy is mental. awesome rugby talent tho.
i thought the blues lost when the took stephen brent off with 10-15 to go. New Zealand rugby has some awesome young fly half talent going round. The canes young fellow (dan crewdon, spelling?) looks REALLY good

 

[Newb]

aaron cruden

but yeah i agree, they have a few young talented ones. i still have doubts though as to whether or not they can make the jump to international play. some don't have the experience yet - cruden, hobbs, and some are just flaky sometimes - brett. but they all have potential. more than donald duck anyways.

 

[Pfitzy]

Cruden looks good but needs to know when to show-n-go and when to just dish it. Three crucial times he had to make that decision last night. One was right, to get the Canes back in the game. The other two were dead wrong and he got pummelled, putting the Canes back under pressure.

Might I dwell for a second on two golden moments:

1) Any scrum - where on the Tahs' feed the Blues had NOTHING and on our feed where we beat them senseless, even if we didn't win the ball.

2) That try of TPN's. Good defensive effort by Wulf no doubt, but just watching the big fella at full speed, with his left arm swinging back and forth like a track sprinter, is magic. MAGIC!

 

[Reddy!]

The question is: Has Barnes ever been good at Super rugby level?

Apart from the odd decent game every season, he has on the whole been pretty unspectacular during his Super rugby career.

Having said that, he is worse than usual and is no doubt in a form slump. I thought moving to Sydney was the best decision for his rugby? :

 

[Pfitzy]

Getting away from the Reds was probably a smart move if you were talking pre-Link days. In any case, its done now and not much we can do about it except avoid re-signing him for next season... ah... hmmm...

I still remember him doing wonderful things for the Wallabies in 2007 and that delightful pop pass he gave for the Reds v Crusaders, despite knowing Richie McCaw was going to smash him. Put ?Hynes? in for a try that did.

 

[Reddy!]

Oh I'm not doubting his Wallaby contribution. Anyway I hope he comes good; dropping him for Tommy Carter might do both of them some good. And the Tahs can afford to do this next week against the Cheetahs.

 

[Lee Grant]

It was good to see the Tah's keeping ball in hand and having a crack.

That's what we have been wanting to see for two years speckie. Not counting the Lions game, they haven't shown any endeavour in Sydney. Had they lost last night I wouldn't have criticised them because they had a go.

Some folks may come out and say that the Blues match demonstrates that earlier criticism, including criticism last year, was unfair. I take the other view and say that it confirmed the censure.

Let's hope that the Tahs keep going at that style, win or lose. If they do, Oz rugby will be the better for it.

 

[Pfitzy]

At least it now looks like the silly buggers can catch AND pass during the game, not take one over the other.

 

[fatprop]

It was good to see the Tah's keeping ball in hand and having a crack.

That's what we have been wanting to see for two years speckie. Not counting the Lions game, they haven't shown any endeavour in Sydney. Had they lost last night I wouldn't have criticised them because they had a go.

Some folks may come out and say that the Blues match demonstrates that earlier criticism, including criticism last year, was unfair. I take the other view and say that it confirmed the censure.

Let's hope that the Tahs keep going at that style, win or lose. If they do, Oz rugby will be the better for it.

I would like the Tahs to view the Bulls match as well, they had pods of forwards hitting the ball pace with support driving at pace.

The Tahs Pigs are just too one out in the pick and drive

 

[Pfitzy]

We were soft around the ruck generally. Blues carved huge metres there and scored their tries off that sort of play - go forward, then wide.

 

[Lee Grant]

fatprop

Yeah that Bulls game was the best game they played this year, but I was talking earlier more about the Sydney games which we punters trek out to see.

The Tahs would have won that Bulls game at home but I reckon the altitude got to them. Well, that and a few misreads on their goal line.

Although the Tahs were better they should have played more in the style you mentioned fatprop. It was how the Blues played. But too often the Tahs didn't have a 2nd or 3rd pod wave as they did at Loftus and even not a back up in support of the ball runner on occasion.

But all is excused because they had a crack.

NTA

Correct. I mentioned that in a blog in the early hours of the morning but I don't seem to have transmitted it right. Forward then wide. You said it better.