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Waratahs vs Crusaders 2014 Super Rugby Grand Final

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Lindommer

Simon Poidevin (60)
Staff member
I had the pleasure of enjoying a feed with Pfitzy (and Hawko) before the match and his company during it. We've known each other for yonks and I've come to the conclusion he knows a bit about rugby. He was very, very apprehensive about last night's game, I wasn't. When asked why I opined the Saders were a team on the wane (how many more times can McCaw and Carter perform like champions before age takes its toll?) while the Tahs were a team on the rise, as shown by their position on the table, points for/against, tries scored/let in, etc. And they'd earned the priceless leg up in the final of home ground advantage (yes, Toddy, it's our home ground, we play there quite often. Forgotten about beating us there in 2009?).

The game: one word, magnificent. To be honest I felt the same after this match as I did after the Great Test in 2000, it was an honour to be there for such magnificent games of rugby. I shook every Kiwi's hand within reach after that game and I did the same last night to everyone wearing a red jumper whom I could grab. Some left at full-time, a shame.

The match. After attending the match and then reading comments here the notion of warring Middle Eastern villages comes to mind: those other savages can do no right and any amount of retribution's justified while my village can do no wrong and any action they take against us is criminal to the highest degree. Thank goodness in rugby there's a referee to take care of these things. After the first brace of penalties against the Saders in the Tahs' red zone the locals were calling for a card after the "cynical" penalties, that was in addition to the constant red offsides; others around me wearing red saw it differently. From a former ref's point of view I reckon Joubert did an excellent job last night, no one could complain the outcome was affected by a poor refereeing decision. Now for the TMO, that's a different matter..... :mad:

The result. The last 15 minutes saw both sides at their best. The Saders got their cross-field defence sorted out and met the Tahs' ball-carriers in numbers. I was a back and could never work out what those fat bastards do when they aren't pushing or jumping, this is when Pfitzy comes in handy: he suggested the Tahs needed to attack through the #1 channel as there were too many Saders forwards meeting our ball-carriers out wide. "#1 channel", que?" Anyways, what I saw was the Saders defending as well as anyone against the Tahs this year, but, crucially, in those last four minutes the Tahs never gave up attacking with ball in hand. They should be loudly applauded for sticking to their principles, well done, Tahs, and well done, Cheika. Pfitzy thought the Tahs weren't making any progress at the 78 minute mark, I corrected him when they went to their right for the second time and noticed they were about 10m further up than the last time. Those 10 metres were the most crucial 10 metres of the Tahs' whole season as it put them within Foley's kicking range (thank you, Mehrts, for working with Bernard and adding a smidgeon of length to his kicks). I hesitate to comment about that last penalty other than to say justice would seemed to've been done when a back-rower was penalised for pushing the limit of the law. McCaw's lived by the sword his entire rugby career, he's got to wear a few wounds for his actions occasionally.

On another note, it was extremely sad to see Carter hobble off. If it's just a cork well and good. He was down my end when when he tried to stay on, it looked more like knee than thigh to me. I was one of those in blue who, sadly, clapped him off. A true champion of the game, have the miles on his clock started to catch up with him?

On another, other note: my son took one of his best mates to the game, a fella who's a rabid Western Sydney Wanderers supporter. After the match they were incandescent with joy at the occasion and the Tahs' victory. If last night's game gets a few blokes like him at least talking about our great game we're looking good.
 
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waiopehu oldboy

George Smith (75)
Nah the Wallabies is always the great unifier so I reckon we'll stick together, collectively take this momentum and hopefully roll your ABs.

..... and if not, I predict the post-match thread will be overrun by bandwagon abandoners blaming the loss on there being too many 'tahs, we've all seen it before so you know it's true & this time it'll be worse 'cos you won't have a kiwi coach to wear a large % of the blame.

August 16 & 23 cannot come soon enough!

@Lindommer..... your post above is why there should be something more than a "like" button, sometimes it's just not enough.
 

Dismal Pillock

Michael Lynagh (62)
Australian rugby fans have been letting Kiwis know that his lack of pilfering skills and offside offences are a joke and he has been gettig away with it far to long. And now the world best 7 that plays 6 just gave away a super rugby GF. Classic example of what goes around come around.
Next it will be the beldisole and World Cup he will fuck up for them.

Jeez it was a top feeling when he got pinned, any decent player would have just defended the line.

any other battered rugby wives - foreign or otherwise - seeking shelter from online people like this are more than welcome here: http://rugby.boards.net/
 

Hugh Jarse

Rocky Elsom (76)
I was one of 109874 folks at Stadium Australia in 2000, and what a game that was.

I reckon last nights 61823 made more noise than we did in 2000.

This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Michael Chieka shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that cheered their team on with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in Sydney now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not at Homebush,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That barracked with us upon Saint Chieka's day.
 

Pfitzy

Nathan Sharpe (72)
Its the fact that the fucking snob c**ts who go to the rugby for networking opportunities and not RUGBY stayed the fuck away, thinking themselves too good for Homebush.

Well fucking suck a steaming load of horse cock you stuck up wankers! Hope your servants rioted and burned down your chalet.

Pfitzy was most gratified when he started a cheer and the crowd ACTUALLY JOINED IN!!! Go you fucking true blood blue bloods!
 

Lee Grant

John Eales (66)
Excellent post Lindommer, but you should keep away from that bad company.

From a former ref's point of view I reckon Joubert did an excellent job last night, no one could complain the result was affected by a poor refereeing decision.

Well, some of the guys on the Silver Fern were foaming at the mouth about the cynical play of the Waratahs and how Joubert dudded the Crusaders. One had to smile.

Others were more gracious.

I agree with you: the difference between Joubert this week, and Peyper last week, was like chalk and cheese. He let the game flow whereas Peyper was panicky and spoiled the game.

I am sure that Joubert was even-handed as you indicate. I haven't seen the replay yet. I said to someone at the ground that I will probably get as nervous watching my recording as I was seeing it live.

At the press conference Blackadder said he thought that the last penalty was 50/50. It probably was, as were many others.

Congrats to Foley on that kick. When asked at the presser why Foley took the kick from so far out, Cheika said it was Foley's decision and he stepped up to take it.

Well done that man.
.
 

Quick Hands

David Wilson (68)
You can always rely on a banjo picker to keep it classy..

Found this on GAGR's front page:

"4. The final penalty…

… was marginal. Richie was probably in from the side but it was far from obvious and Joubert had been largely ignoring entry for most of the preceding 78 minutes (which definitely favoured the Tahs). BUT Richie was a little bit off the pace all night and this was a key example of that. Back in his prime Richie could give away penalties with the best of them, but he did it in a smart way. He’d pick the right time and more importantly the right place to push the boundaries. Last night in the closing minutes he did neither. He decided to have a crack in the 78th minute on the 40m line right in front of the sticks. If the ruck was on the sideline it would be a different story. But it was within Foley’s range and he duly converted… just."

Pretty much sums it up perfectly IMO.

Although he'd largely ignored the defensive backline being offside all night as well, which made the final Crusaders penalty hard to stomach.
 

Badger

Bill McLean (32)
Thrilled with the win. Not much to add to what's been said.

It's been a good year, but let's see what happens in the next couple of years. No good if the Tahs don't go on and get even better as there are still areas to improve upon (line out).

The Reds provide the cautionary tale of what could happen in a couple of years time, if the culture and succession planning are not managed.

So I hope the Tahs board ramp up their efforts to sign Cheiks to a long term deal (end of 2019 season?). One title is great, but with the foundations of this team, at least another one should be on the cards.

Time for some sober reflection on opportunities missed.

Where was the Tahs Merch Tent last night?

- The biggest ever crowd, the first ever home GF, and there was no merch available for the Bandwagoners to purchase. Did they sell out of everything at the semi final?

Where was the blue freebie on the seat or handed out by unpaid interns?
Something, anything, even a sky blue A3 card with "Try" on one side and Volvo Tahs on the other. If you didn't bring anything from home (a couple of HSCB Tahs flags) then there was nothing flash/wave when the Good Guys scored.

Your're probably on the right track about selling out. The official Tahs website shop and the Canterbury website is pretty sparse in terms of Waratahs gear. Many of the sizes are sold out, especially in the home jersey.

It's disappointing that the only items they have come up with (so far?) to commemorate the victory is a polo shirt and cap. When the Reds won, they had a limited edition jersey etc. I would be keen to buy a 2014 Champions jersey if they made one.

Yeah, should have at least had the cardboard clappers. Tahs HQ haven't set the world on fire in terms of marketing since HSBC left as sponsor. Makes me consider if HSBC were the impetus behind much of the Tahs marketing in years past.

Also hard to fathom why the "victory celebration" is on a Tuesday in the CBD. When they lost in 2008, they managed to get back from Christchurch on the following Sunday morning to meet with the fans at the SFS.

As the final was in Sydney this time, it would have been easier to arrange than in 2008. By having it on a work and school day, it means many people would not be able to make it which is especially disappointing for the kids.

How many of the team will be there as the Wallaby squad will be in Orange?
 

sevenpointdropgoal

Larry Dwyer (12)
Fucking hell. i've still got an irregular heartbeat. Awesome win by the boys, and an absolutely barnstorming game of rugby. Saders really took it to us. I was at the far end of the ground and I completely thought Foley had missed that the winning penalty by dropping it short.

Ive been getting drunk and screaming non-sensical crap at the Waratahs for years, and I've often felt like I was disrupting a library. The whole crowd came to the party last night. Straight up blue belligerence. Please refer to last nights game if you have any questions about what a home crowd is meant to look and sound like in the future.

Also; that try by Nemani Nadolo was in no way shape or form a try. Didn't have control, foot was clearly over the line.
 

wamberal

Phil Kearns (64)
Its the fact that the fucking snob c**ts who go to the rugby for networking opportunities and not RUGBY stayed the fuck away, thinking themselves too good for Homebush.

It was reported somewhere or other that the corporate boxes all sold out remarkably quickly.


I will accept support from the big end of town, very gladly, thank you. It is one of the few quantitative advantages we have over loig.


It's a bit late in the day to worry about snobs in our game.
 

sevenpointdropgoal

Larry Dwyer (12)
Time for some sober reflection on opportunities missed.

Where was the Tahs Merch Tent last night?

- The biggest ever crowd, the first ever home GF, and there was no merch available for the Bandwagoners to purchase. Did they sell out of everything at the semi final?

Where was the blue freebie on the seat or handed out by unpaid interns?
Something, anything, even a sky blue A3 card with "Try" on one side and Volvo Tahs on the other. If you didn't bring anything from home (a couple of HSCB Tahs flags) then there was nothing flash/wave when the Good Guys scored.

How good was the crowd support? What was the peak Georgibel reading on Sean Maloney's Greganometer? Would have gone close to 11.

The Merch tent thing was particularly irritating; My members scarf and jersey were out of action, and I would have gladly flung money at them from something properly themed. As it happened the best I could do was a blue hoody and a Wallabies scarf.
 

p.Tah

John Thornett (49)
The merch stand was still open inside the stadium after the players had finished their victory lap. Picked up a program because it's bad luck if I buy it before the game.

In regards to championship merch, I want a DVD of the Tahs season and signed commemorative stuff for the wall. Preferably a signed jersey.
 
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