HB Joel Lam also training with the crusaders.

@Bones said in Why do the Crusaders win?:

I'll be pretty surprised if Foster stays on after the rwc regardless of the outcome.

I’d tend to say I’d we win the RWC it will be in spite of Foster rather than because of him, but maybe I’m callous.

@Nevorian said in Final: Blues vs Crusaders:

At least one thing we learned about BB and RM in the last couple of weeks is they can both slot drop goals in pressure situations. May come in handy in coming weeks.

Not if Beauden is shitting the bed getting out of his own half 😉

@pakman said in SF Crusaders v Chiefs:

@kiwi_expat said in SF Crusaders v Chiefs:

@Canes4life said in SF Crusaders v Chiefs:

Can Robertson just take Foster’s place already.

Yep, Incredible defense. Every Crusaders player knew what to do in every situation. Their line speed in defence, the outside defender coming up quicker to shut wide play down, only three max in the tackle, another defensive line quickly forming behind the ruck, and great communication. Then rinse and repeat. Brilliant coaching, Robertson surely has the best defensive set-up in the Southern Hemisphere.

A big part of this is ruck judgement. If ball not obvious to be won, Chch is excellent at clearing their players out so arguably the ruck has ended. I'm not sure where the offside line is in such instances but they appear to line up parallel with the foremost opposition player. So in practice, perhaps 2m downfield from where the halfback picks up the ball.

By the time the ball gets to the oppo first five Chch defense is over the advantage line.

Really makes it difficult to impossible to get go forward from slow ball.

My gut tells me the offside line needs to be moved further back, but not sure exactly how to achieve that.

Maybe make it 5m back from front of first oppo player at the ruck which was?

5m gaps are very hard to police and would end up with lots of debatable calls. I thought that interpretation they tried of being 'clearly onside' rather than 'clearly offside' worked well. It wouldn't stop good ruck management defence like that you describe but it made a very clear method for the AR to identify those small half steps that make a big difference in these situations.

(I'm not complaint about anything in this game here just discussing the offside line topic)

@Bones LOL

@cgrant said in Blues U20 v Crusaders U20:

@Bovidae
Palmer (Chiefs) is a big munter. Not very tall (around 1.95) but bigger than most NZ locks.

He gives away stupid penalties so will need to sort that out. Palmer often alternated between lock and prop for TBC, but wasn't very good at the latter due to his height.

It would be good to have another lock like Lord in the U20s this year.

@Dan54 said in Crusaders. v Reds:

@Derpus said in Crusaders. v Reds:

@taniwharugby the inconsistent application of the laws by the SR refs and the general thuggery of the SR players (how many tip tackles have we seen now? all in the space of about three weeks) have killed off any chance of the 20 minute card getting up.

And we now see the ref is absolutely correct according to WR laws which is what the game is played under. Matera has not been cited because the tackle did not meet the red card threshold. It's probably not the inconsistency of the refs the probelm, but perhaps we see things differently on perhaps who we support etc.
And shows what I know I thought it was red, but after seeing replayes he lands on arm, then shoulder etc so not a red card. I not arguing whether it should be or not, but it was correct decision re the laws of game.

Yes perfectly summed up @Dan54

As I understand it Brial is available for NZ U/20 selection that is why he is playing in this tournament for the Crusaders.

Just an add on the Family Michael Brial etc have been living in Queenstown since Joe was 9.So as I understand it the whole family has moved permanently to NZ.Even though Joe went back to Australia for secondary school.

@Nevorian said in Crusaders v Fijian Drua:

Did anyone notice there was some guy called Blacklock playing for the Crusaders at about the 50 min mark?

Easily done, we had two main formation callsigns at 43(F), blacksmith & gamecock. Always embarrassing when you called yourself blackcock on the radio!

@taniwharugby said in Brumbies v Crusaders:

@Machpants and different people watch for different things...some people will watch for every error a player makes, or every good thing another player does...

It's Hunt's fault

Some of that Crusaders defence in the second half was very impressive.

Series of dominant tackles driving the Force ballcarriers backwards.

A great deal more enthusiasm and intent than the previous week.

@kiwi_expat said in Waratahs v Crusaders:

@Billy-Tell said in Waratahs v Crusaders:

Terrible display. The forward pack is a mixture of journeymen and once-great players past their peak. Best forward was newell, that guy has a big future. Best back imho was Jordan. Thought goodhue did ok but Havili was poor. I think he’s a busted flush as a midfielder. This is the weakest crusaders side in along while. No way they win the comp.

I highlighted this at the end of last year in the 2022 squad naming's thread and was promptly labelled a nut-case.

Hilarious that you all have suddenly changed the narrative, in the SR squads thread it was deluded misinformed surface level comments along the lines of: 'Crusaders have all the best talent, look how stacked they are!' while I calmly pointed out that the Blues & Chiefs squads were at least on par & if you studied them closely actually significantly better in multiple areas.

My recollection was more that the Saders had a potential 13 AB starting XV with another on the bench.
Point was correct that the next layer of Saders didn’t look so flash and the next level of players in the country were sitting in other teams.
Depth has been the key to NZ teams this year. Previously the Saders had some but maybe the cycle has finally changed a little. This happens usually when positions 1 and 2 are filled and up and comers opt to be number 2 elsewhere rather than 3 with a blocker.
Remarkably the Saders management have dealt with that for a long time but it can’t sustain forever.

@TheMojoman said in Rebels v Crusaders:

@ACT-Crusader said in Rebels v Crusaders:

@Bones said in Rebels v Crusaders:

@Old-Samurai-Jack said in Rebels v Crusaders:

Havili and Goodhue as the midfield FFS!

I will be mildly surprised if Razor selects that midfield after steadfastly sticking to today's one the last couple of years. Best coach can't be wrong!

Razor has played Havili and Goodhue together a couple of times. I think it will be an easier decision now that Jordan has cemented the fullback position.

I wonder if he will have a dabble and try
12-Goodhue
13-Fainga'anuku

Fainga'anuku played more like a centre on the weekend anyway.

I don't think he'll leave out either Goodhue or Havili. Probs Goodhue to 13? Not sure if Havili has ever played 13.

I expect 12. Havili, 13. Goodhue, too.
Havili has played at 13 before, next to Crotty, but I doubt he'll be moved again (other than to fullback, if needed).
No way Razor will leave him out of the starting XV.

@Crazy-Horse said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:

@kiwi_expat said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:

@Kirwan said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:

@Damo said in How many Crusaders in your AB 23?:

Is there any glee? I hadn't noticed any.

But in any event a competition where the results are predictable makes for a boring watch.

The Crusaders losing occasionally is no bad thing.

One person’s reputation that improved yesterday was Richie Mounga. He’s been papering over some pretty large cracks by the looks of things.

The real problem for the Crusaders is that their forward pack is made up of players who are all fairly ordinary and lack any real point of difference (Jager, Grace, Bower, Klein, Christie, McAlister, Gardiner, etc..) in addition to experienced campaigners who are quite obviously past it & have lost their edge (Taylor, Moody, Whitelock, Barrett). this all without mentioning the long list of supremely average backs making up the remainder of their squad (Ennor, Havili, Bridge, Drummond, McLeod, Burke, TTT, Hickey, Punivai, etc..)

And yet somehow, as if by magic, the Crusaders are not the last placed NZ team. Thank God for all the help they get from the refs.

And by a minor miracle could still finish 2nd for the play offs.
Amazing considering we have no decent players.

Q4 Rewatch.

First thing to say is that both teams played some very good footy in the period, but Blues were just a bit better when it counted.

Some specific points:

Blues kicking. After the game I was very critical of BB and by association Sullivan for poor kicking. But on analysis there was only one poor kick in period, BB's chip kick around 67 which went to Drummond on Chch 10m line, and he passed to Jordan who took advantage of the misaligned Blues 'D' (they hadn't expected chip). He made a good 30m, and this led quickly to Reece try, albeit via an earlier regather, having knocked ball 5 feet forward and with hint of Blues touch which would have made it a knock on.
Other big Chch gain off a kick was where they spread it wide to edge near their 22 and Lester chipped to Blues 10m line. That one was allowed to bounce (wickedly) and Chch regathered going deep into Blues 22. Then BB charge down with Jordan knock in goal which wasn't checked. But Blues kick itself was actually good!
All that said, it was the case that Ritchie was getting more distance on punts than BB.

Red card period ran through to 67. At 63 Blues awarded penalty and took the 3. At the time I thought that was feeble, and after rewatch I'm convinced. Blues still had the momentum, and with the extra man ought to have kicked to corner. Another try would have been match winner. They got the 3, but failure to press the advantage exposed their mental frailty, which wouldn't have gone unnoticed and offered ray of hope to oppo.
Once the Red card period finished Chch were reinvigorated, whereas Blues looked like they were in 'hold on' mode.

Last 8 minutes. It was 23-27 and all to play for. At 73.30 Christie knocked himself out and that definitely weakened Blues. At 74 Sullivan kicked 22 to 22, and close to touch (see above), but Chch with the lucky bounce off Lester chip went the length of the field back. From there they threw the proverbial kitchen sink at Blues, as one would expect. To their immense credit Blues D was indomitable and legal. The Ioane/Paps tackle got the raps, but the last 4 minutes were a case of they shall not pass: bravo!

So Blues better than I thought, but IMO key lesson was not to become too tentative when Chch were still man down. That said, BB is no closer. That chip was a totally unnecessary gamble and had he just nudged the ball into the corner I very much doubt we'd have seem the Chch fightback.

Kudos, though, to Chch. Outplayed for most of match, at the point when the oppo showed a lack of confidence, and gave them a chink of light, they stormed back like the champions they've been.

Can only hope for more such derbies from here...

@hydro11 said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:

@gt12 said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:

@antipodean said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:

@hydro11 said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:

@antipodean said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:

@hydro11 said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:

@antipodean said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:

@hydro11 said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:

@antipodean said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:

@hydro11 said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:

@antipodean said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:

@hydro11 said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:

@antipodean said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:

@bones said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:

@cgrant said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:

It was a very kickable penalty. How many chances to get the 3 points : more than 70% IMO. How many chances to score a try via the lineout ? 20% maybe ?

I'm struggling to understand this concept that it's impossible for the canes to win in normal time, yet so much more acceptable they'd win in extra time. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

Trying to score from something they're bad at (lineout - maul) against a team excellent at defending a maul. Extra time provides unstructured opportunities which is something the Canes are reasonable at.

It's not just a maul though. Even if you don't score from the maul, you should be able to recycle and get an unstructured opportunity 5 metres out.

Did they..?

Going for the lineout has less than a 50% chance of success, so can't use the fact it failed to prove your point. It has to be based on the likeliness at the time.

Let me get this logic right: A Canes lineout has more chance of losing possession that winning it, so it's better to attempt that to its inevitable conclusion (as we saw), than to force other opportunities?

No. The lineout has less than 50% chance of leading to a try. Obviously, we have more than 50% chance of winning the ball back.

Ok. A Canes lineout has more chance of not leading to a try than scoring one, so it's better to attempt that to its inevitable conclusion (as we saw), than to force other opportunities?

Yes. Going to golden point also has more chance of losing than winning.

There's only two teams competing in golden point...

Yes, but the Crusaders are a far better team, thus giving them a greater than 50% chance of winning in golden point. I don't believe you think the Hurricanes are as good as the Crusaders, or would be as likely to win from that point.

Even if you think golden point is a 50/50, Jordie still has to kick the goal to take us there. Unless you give him a 100% chance of doing so, there was a sub 50% the Hurricanes won from that position.

I understand now. You weren't going to win so why delay the inevitable, get it over in normal time!

That’s exactly what I’m reading too.

We’ll only get one chance as we aren’t good enough. Fair enough.

What I find hilarious is that the Canes were 6/10 against the Saders for line outs won.

But the kick is the risky option.

Our lineout is much better than that normally though.

Ahhh that poor display must have contributed to J. Blackwell's dropping from the side that fronted against Moana Pasifika.

@frank said in Crusaders v Highlanders:

@chris said in Crusaders v Highlanders:

@crazy-horse said in Crusaders v Highlanders:

Some random thoughts from a Crusader point of view after finally watching this game

Zach Gallagher is a mean looking kid. Maybe it's his thick neck, he looks like a fighter to me.

Loose forward has become a strength after being a weakness the last few years. Grace, Blackadder and Christie are pretty bloody handy at this level.

I was disappointed to see Ennor go straight to centre and LF move to the wing. I think there is more potential the other way around.

It will be interesting to see how the backline looks once Goodhue is back and hopefully firing. I think (hope) Bridge will be left out.

I rate Gallagher highly tough young bugger only 20.
Very physical player good size at 117kg and 197 c/m
He can also play 6.

Crusades website says 117 kg, Wikipedia and All Blacks .com say 102kg.
I assume the Crusaders website is more up to date but that's some weight gain!!

That was the first time I had laid eyes on him and to have the confidence to get up and take a line out one minute into being on the field was really good to see. Hope he has a great future.

@shark said in Chiefs vs Crusaders:

@shark said in Chiefs vs Crusaders:

@duluth said in Chiefs vs Crusaders:

Saying "He'll go well back at 6" is writing him off

What a retard

Fuck off. You said: I think he disappointed at 8 because he lacks the skillset.

Yeah, looked very lacking in skillset last week, for sure.

Apologies for the language, seems a bit OTT upon reflection 😉

At least you didn't slap anyone 🙂

@daffy-jaffy said in Crusaders v Blues - Postponed:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/300543358/crusaders-and-blues-eye-easter-weekend-for-postponed-match
The Crusaders and Blues are likely to scrap their Easter break and play their postponed match in Christchurch next month.

While the rescheduled fixture hasn't yet been confirmed, it’s understood organisers are lining up the weekend of April 16-17, when both sides were scheduled to take their bye week.

Good solution

During the last ten minutes, the Crusaders front five was : Bower - Klein - Pole - Gardiner - Whitelock, barely NPC level. Easy task for the Chiefs to outmuscle them.

I'm happy to give him a week to get back into it.

@kiwiwomble said in Highlanders v Crusaders:

for what was actually a reasonably enjoyable game

I thought it was enjoyable to watch too. Although not being a cricket, US sports, soccer etc fan I'm just happy to have the rugby back so have enjoyed most games I've watched (even if I have been pointing out shit stuff too 🙂 - stupid league rules in rugby).

@act-crusader said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:

@pakman said in Crusaders v Hurricanes:

Just watched first half. Canes right on top. Crazy score at 16-12. Chch didn't do much right, one try ought to have been ruled out for forward pass, lucky only to have one in bin. Canes should have had at least 6 more on board. Canes 16 - Chch 5 would have been fairer reflection. Amazing!

So we came from 16-5 down to win? Makes the win that little bit more sweeter. Onwards and upwards. Get on the bandwagon, Tony Johnson certainly has 😉

Second half 26-20 to Chch. Hard to argue with too much with it. That said, had Ardie's try stood (thought the decision of no try was correct) doubt Canes would have leaked those quick tries.

Had Canes taken their chances they would have won, but that's rugby.

Take aways for me:

Canes backline play electric;

Jordie MOTM for me; but

Chch pack (maul especially) is their matchwinner.

Match highlights:

Yeah, living outside of NZ and enthusiastically support any NZ side against "the others". Couldn't imagine doing otherwise even if it suits the teams I support more.

@nevorian Good recruiting by the Force thanks to Forrester's 💰 ; several of them older players, which shows the importance of experience. Unfortunately to them, they're also going to lose some of their players after this season. For example, IIRC both Cubelli and Miotti have signed in France. But maybe they'll manage to sign some of this year's returnees to take their place.

@higgins said in Waratahs v Crusaders:

@kiwimurph A indictment on the Australia education system perhaps? Obviously cultural/sexual sensitivities take just as much presendence over traditional education learning skills over there as they do here.

Indeed

Calls for teacher to be sacked over black lives matter posters Your browser does not support HTML5 video.

@frank said in Reds v Crusaders:

In regard to the young loosehead prospects the Saders have.

What's Williams' mobility like?
Has the other one (the one with the bench press record beating Owen Franks) played any games yet?

Newell has had a few games too, they’ve both been excellent. One of the Canterbury guys can give you more details but both of them will wear black, I’m sure of that.

@nevorian Just a natural phenomenon I think. Officials are human and whoever is at the top gets a negative narrative and the officials, as much as they try, have to be influenced by it all. The ABs in Europe during the end of year tours were subject to extra scrutiny especially around foul play where local players could get away with things the ABs couldn't.
The alternative is losing and the scrutiny (and whinging) transfers to the team that is winning.

@derpus It doesn't need to be - it just needs a better balance restored, where the spectators aren't being punished for player misdeeds - and sometimes just perceived misdeeds.

@nepia said in SRA Round 9: Crusaders v Blues:

@stargazer said in SRA Round 9: Crusaders v Blues:

@kiwimurph Or some people are just oversensitive when someone says something remotely critical of Akira (I guess that goes hand in hand with hyping up a player over the years 🎣 ). I've seen plenty of people commenting on Sotutu, Clarke and Rieko being lacklustre this season, and being outplayed in this game.

I don't think people care when Akira gets shit when he's playing average, but as this thread clearly shows no matter how well he plays posters will say he's playing shit or he's always shit.

The 2018 season clearly shows us this. He was class all that year yet we have have posters on here that are claiming otherwise.

Mate ,I didn't think he played that well in 2018, but I quite happy to say that is just my opinion, and some like different things in a 6 than me. I like them to have fairly good all round game. Doesn't mean I'm right though, just what I think.

Cameron Millar kicks it! Highlanders win!

Full time: Crusaders 23 - 25 Highlanders

There was really nothing between these teams. If you haven't watched it, try to catch a replay if there is one. Great game, with some great quality rugby!

@bovidae Cook Savage a Northland Boy from Kaitaia ,also Corey Evans from the Blues another Kaitaia lad .

@old-samurai-jack said in SRA round 8: Chiefs v Crusaders:

The way both teams dealt with the breakdown seemed completely different. The Crusaders were happy to concede a lot and fan across in defense. The Chiefs put numbers in there and there were numerous hands competing for the ball. I wonder if the Chiefs would have been penalized more with a different ref.

Maybe initially - but you always push the boundaries and see where the line is.

Problem is when the line changes mid-game 😁

Clip with all the highlights, not just those of the Blues:

That team was meant to have a player from each NPC province, and I think there is apart from Manawatu. Sweeney had a long career after this. 😉

@pakman said in Crusaders v Highlanders (2 April 2021):

@frank said in Crusaders v Highlanders (2 April 2021):

@pakman said in Crusaders v Highlanders (2 April 2021):

Couple of things I’ve not seen mentioned.

Highlander runners seemed for at least first 60 to back off/slow a tad/change line at last moment going into contact. Result was a bit like when a scrum fakes at hit. Oppo overbalanced and contact ineffective. Whatever it was it really threw Saders momentum at breakdown.

Clan seemed to target running one out and then angling back in behind ruck. Seemed that analysis may have identified space there, and good yards made.

Seemed also to result in Saders not getting the rub of the red and black, as per usual.

If I were Super coaches I’d be pouring over tape!

A bit of actual rugby analysis rather than endless moaning about the refereeing. Awesome stuff!!

Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

We don't like change.

@cgrant said in Blues v Crusaders:

Ofa cost the game against the Aussies a few months ago. His bad habits are a problem, but the ABs have only two THPs of international calibre so he should keep on be selected again and again. Lomax is not yet ready, Angus T and Fidow cannot scrum while Jager is irish and Moli always injured (and seen as a LHP). It's urgent to give Newell and T. Williams some game time.

Careful, that is going to upset Canes4Life.