Semi Final 1: Crusaders vs Hurricanes
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The Crusaders are massive favourites for this game and the title. Lots of battlers in that Canes squad, but the gulf in the quality of the tight forwards is enormous.
I wonder if Razor is practising any new moves to include in his victory breakdance once the Crusaders pick up their third title?
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@sparky said in Semi Final 1: Crusaders vs Hurricanes:
The Crusaders are massive favourites for this game and the title. Lots of battlers in that Canes squad, but the gulf in the quality of the tight forwards is enormous.
I wonder if Razor is practising any new moves to include in his victory breakdance once the Crusaders pick up their third title?
All going well he'll do this one, take it from me this is a real crowd pleaser provided you're sober enough to pull it off.
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"There's a lot of champion mindsets here with Kieran Read and Sam Whitelock, so that's a big advantage for us," O'Gara said.
ROG hits the nail on the head. It is the mindset that is the big advantage for the Crusaders. Their minds are minds of champions. That's the champion mindset.
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@sparky said in Semi Final 1: Crusaders vs Hurricanes:
The Crusaders are massive favourites for this game and the title. Lots of battlers in that Canes squad, but the gulf in the quality of the tight forwards is enormous.
I wonder if Razor is practising any new moves to include in his victory breakdance once the Crusaders pick up their third title?
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@Chester-Draws said in Semi Final 1: Crusaders vs Hurricanes:
@Canes4life said in Semi Final 1: Crusaders vs Hurricanes:
The old saying where "forwards win you matches and backs dictate by how much" will most likely determine this scoreline.
It's a stupid saying.
The Crusaders had a magnificent forward pack through the Blackadder years yet didn't win titles because their backs couldn't capitalise on the ball they were given.
We only had Sonny Bill for one of those Blackadder years. I suspect McCaw and Carter had long injury spells during that era also
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Fuck this. Canes are going to smoke the saders.
However... I have some conditions...
Entire crusaders squad to have a mare
Every 50/50 (even 70/30) chance goes the Canes way.
Fifita wakes up on Sat morning and suddenly realises he does enjoy hitting rucks and shifting bodies - goes on to deliver on new self image
BB gets 2 intercept tries
JB makes it through the game without having to make a defensive decision
Ben Lam starts smashing fools on DIn the bag!!
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@taniwharugby dude!! Couldn't you wait till 9.35pm on saturday!
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Crusaders
1 Joe Moody
2 Codie Taylor
3 Owen Franks
4 Scott Barrett
5 Sam Whitelock (c)
6 Whetukamokamo Douglas
7 Matt Todd (vc)
8 Kieran Read
9 Bryn Hall
10 Richie Mo'unga
11 George Bridge
12 Ryan Crotty (vc)
13 Jack Goodhue
14 Sevu Reece
15 David HaviliReserves
16 Andrew Makalio
17 George Bower
18 Michael Alaalatoa
19 Luke Romano
20 Jordan Taufua
21 Mitchell Drummond
22 Mitchell Hunt
23 Braydon EnnorThe BNZ Crusaders are preparing for the Investec Super Rugby Semi Final on Saturday night, and Head Coach Scott Robertson has named an unchanged side from the team that took the field in their 38-14 Quarter Final victory over the Highlanders. The match day side includes 27-year old loose forward Jordan Taufua, who has been named on the bench for this game in what will be his 100th appearance for the BNZ Crusaders. Tim Perry, who was ruled out of last week's Quarter Final, is once again unavailable for this match due to an arm injury. Robertson said the team has shown the Hurricanes plenty of respect with their preparation for the Semi Final: "We've really enjoyed this week, the group came in excited to have earned another opportunity to play at home, and we've prepared accordingly for this quality Hurricanes side. They're well-coached, with genuine attacking threats across the park, so we know there is a massive challenge ahead of us this weekend. "We're also really proud of Jordan, who'll become the 18th Crusader to play 100 games for the club. He's been a loyal Crusader for a number of years now and sharing this milestone with him on Saturday night will certainly add to the occasion for our squad, and our fans. "The game has been well supported, and we're going to need every single one of our fans to get behind this team on Saturday night - we look forward to seeing them there in numbers!" Robertson said. -
Hurricanes
15 Jordie Barrett
14 Salesi Rayasi
13 Peter Umaga-Jensen
12 Ngani Laumape
11 Ben Lam
10 Beauden Barrett
9 TJ Perenara
8 Gareth Evans
7 Ardie Savea
6 Reed Prinsep
5 Isaia Walker-Leawere
4 James Blackwell
3 Jeff To'omaga-Allen
2 Dane Coles (c)
1 Toby SmithReserves
16 Asafo Aumua
17 Xavier Numia
18 Ben May
19 Kane Le'aupepe
20 Vaea Fifita
21 Richard Judd
22 James Marshall
23 Jonah LoweHugely popular halfback TJ Perenara will become the most capped Hurricanes player when he starts in the Investec Super Rugby semi-final against the Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday night. Perenara will go ahead of former Hurricanes team-mates Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith when he makes his 127th appearance, eight seasons after he made his debut against the Stormers in Cape Town. Since then the 27-year-old has gone on to score 53 tries, including five in 2019, for the Hurricanes, second only to the great Christian Cullen. He will again partner fellow centurion Beauden Barrett in the inside halves, the 101st time they will combine in those positions. The pair were instrumental in helping the Hurricanes edge the impressive Bulls 35-28 in their quarter-final win at Westpac Stadium and the performance of the side has prompted head coach John Plumtree to make just one confirmed change to the starting side. That change is on the wing where Salesi Rayasi replaces Wes Goosen who aggravated a hamstring injury against the Bulls. The bench features the return of utility forward Vaea Fifita from suspension while James Marshall has recovered from an elbow injury which ruled him out of the quarter-final late. The other change sees Xavier Numia replace Fraser Armstrong. Plumtree said it was fantastic for Perenara to bring up such an important milestone in such a significant match. "TJ has been a remarkable player and leader for the Hurricanes for such a long time and we know he shows that every time he goes out with the jersey on," he said. "He will relish the challenge of going down to play the Crusaders and having a chance to play in a Super Rugby final. As a group we are all excited about the opportunity to go up against a side with such a proven history." -
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@cgrant said in Semi Final 1: Crusaders vs Hurricanes:
Jonah Lowe ? A few ferners will be delighted !!!!!!!!!!!!!
More like completely surprised. A Magpie in the staring lineup, a soon to be Magpie in the staring lineup, AND Jonah Lowe on the bench - shit there must have been a lot of injuries this week.
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A full strength Crusaders (at least the starting 15 I think) vs an injury depleted Canes. Add in some odd selections from Plumtree (I still don't get his love for Blackwell. Or Princep. Or Lam). then poor defending backs. Esp Lam. But others too. The Canes haven't a hope of winning. If they can keep the score within 30 points it will be a great achievement. It could be a 50+ point thrashing. Hope not but if the Crusaders turn up it could be. They will just walk through the Canes.
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1 Here's what we already know about Plumtree. In December he stated he was considering putting his name forward for the All Blacks coach's job when Steve Hansen retires after the World Cup.
Plumtree is a good coach. But this year has clearly shown what his limitations are. And these limitations make a difference between a winning coach and one who makes up the numbers. Plumtree can turn a poorly performing side into a good side that almost wins. But his limitations means he will never win a title unless he has a massive amount of luck. He's a Blackadder compared to a Robertson
If he was involved with the ABs it would only ever be as an assistant coach.
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The other change sees Xavier Numia replace Fraser Armstrong.
Numia is a promising prop. But not ready yet . Is Armstrong injured. Could Fidow play LH?
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@Winger Numia demolished the Highlanders scrum when he came on earlier this year but it will be a big task packing down against one of the best in Owen Franks.
I think the Canes will have a very good tight five going forward, they just need a year or two in the saddle before they start to reach their potential.
Yeah it doesn't look promising for the Canes. You add in the fact that Rayasi and Umaga Jensen are green as grass, you know it's going to be a long night.
Simple game plan for the Crusaders: attack the Canes set piece and kick to Lam and Rayasi all night.
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Hurricanes name strong squad for semi-final challenge
