Rebels v Blues
-
I presume Tuipulotu should be back given he was close to starting the last couple of games?
Like every week since round 2 I'm hoping to see a backrow of Papali'i/Ioane/Robinson. Unlikely given Coventry's comments about wanting to keep players in certain roles.
Backline is probably the most interesting. Which flawed halfback starts? Does TJ return? Which young winger gets a run?
Hard to know how the Rebels react to the coaching changes. Wessels is gone as head coach and an interim coach has been appointed.
Perhaps a bigger change is Shaun Berne is sacked as attack coach and the Wallabies coaching staff will be assisting in that area.
They really struggled to get tries this year. They went for more tough goalkicks and less lineouts but their attack was the main reason. Averaged 2 tries per match and didn't score a try in 3 of their 8 matches.A slight improvement in attack would make them very competitive. They hung in most games because of Toomua's boot (and some freakish play from Koroibete) but bombed so many chances.
The last time these teams played was when Umaga was still coach. It was terrible. Rebels won 20-10 at Eden park
Check out the last play of the match from Collins
-
-
@kiwimurph said in Rebels v Blues:
This is a huge game for the Blues.
it's going to be very telling in their selections whether they've learnt anything from the SRA season.
My gut tells me Leon will be conservative and will see the likes of Perofeta coming back to fullback.
This is one game where the NZ team won't be mucking around much with selections. Agree that Blues have to make a statement here if they don't want to amble through the TT comp in the same manner as SRA.
-
-
@kiwimurph said in Rebels v Blues:
@crucial That could be the problem though - what the Blues have selected up until now hasn't worked this season - so going conservative could very well backfire.
Probably didn't explain well. What I meant is that there will be no resting or using this game to try and manage the squad with time/travel etc as may happen in other games (eg Chiefs/ Force).
-
@duluth said in Rebels v Blues:
The last time these teams played was when Umaga was still coach. It was terrible. Rebels won 20-10 at Eden park
Jesus I remember that game. Their No 8 was excellent, but we were just terrible. I left early. My mate left early and walked down sandringham road in the dark waiting for a pickup rather than watch the rugby. It was that bad.
Whenever I hear 'same old Blues', I just smile quietly inside ... we're probably the second best team in NZ right now, and compared to what we were then, it's chalk and cheese
-
Yes the disallowing of one try against the Chiefs cost the Blues heaps.But that was the luck the Chiefs didn’t have last year. I think the Crusaders still top dog obviously ,but not much between the rest.The Blues get the most criticism,and continue to be labelled arrogant and under achievers. In my mind the holes in the squad are there for all to see ,but in spite of that impress at times.
-
I think the best policy is to insert the younger talent in amongst the older heads during the Trans Tasman.Not all at once but ,in my experience they rise to the opportunity and play well,like Choat,Darry,Lam,and Sullivan.Certainly the Chiefs youngsters gave a great account of themselves in the dead rubber.
-
@trodthesod said in Rebels v Blues:
In my mind the holes in the squad are there for all to see
Unless you are a Blues coach apparently.
-
Didn't realise the Rebels had a few players suspended for this match:
The Rebels have three big names suspended for the match. Newly re-signed lock Trevor Hosea will miss, as well as No.8 Isi Naisarani and prop Pone Fa'amausili who were both sent off in their last outing.The rest of the article just talks about an innovative change in the attacking setup - pass the ball to Koroibete more
-
The Blues will open their transtasman Super Rugby season in Melbourne on Saturday night without captain Patrick Tuipulotu and in-form All Blacks loose forward Dalton Papalii.
Fresh off a week break, after they failed to reach the Super Rugby Aotearoa final, the Blues are preparing to travel to Australia for the first time in over year where they will meet the Rebels as intrigue in the cross-over matches builds.
While the Blues are expected to win against a side that recently pushed their head coach out the door, they will board the plane without two influential forwards in Tuipulotu and Papalii.
Rookie lock Sam Darry sported heavy protection over his ear at Tuesday training and is expected to miss the Rebels match, while wing Emoni Narawa suffered a serious high ankle sprain playing club rugby in Tauranga last weekend and will be sidelined for up to two months.
It's cruel timing for Narawa, with Caleb Clarke's decision to join the New Zealand sevens team opening a spot on the left wing.
Tuipulotu hasn't played since injuring his neck/shoulder against the Chiefs on March 27. After six weeks of nursing the nagging blow he's now making positive progress, but needs time to rebuild contact conditioning and is therefore targeting a round three return when the Blues host the Brumbies at Eden Park.
In Tuipulotu's ongoing absence, Tom Robinson will retain the Blues' captaincy and seek to improve his two-from-two leadership record this season.
"Paddy was in a position where we didn't know when he would be back but we've had some really positive signs I've just watched him put a few shots on and build up his contact work so that's exciting for us," Blues assistant coach Daniel Halangahu said after All Blacks coaches Ian Foster and Scott McLeod attended training.
"When these guys take time out they need to build their bodies back up again."
Papalii continues to progress the medial ligament damage he suffered to his knee in the loss to the Crusaders in Christchurch two weeks ago.
"Dalton is close but he's someone we can't risk so we'll give him another week to come right," Halangahu said.
"Sam is close this week but as a guy in his rookie season we've got to look after him as well. He's going to play a lot of rugby for this club over the next few years so we're picking our moments when we use these young guys."
Halangahu, a product of Belmont, New South Wales, played 74 matches for the Waratahs from 2006-12. Now charged with running the Blues attack, he has been impressed by the Super Rugby AU competition won by the Reds in dramatic fashion over the Brumbies last week.
"There's been a lot of excitement around Australian rugby because they're starting to play a brand that suits them and they're developing their own style.
"The criticism over the best part of a decade is they've copied a lot of what New Zealand teams do and now they're doing their own thing."
Melbourne Rebels coach Dave Wessels jumped before he was pushed two weeks ago after guiding his team to three wins from eight matches this season and a 44 per cent win rate in his four years at the helm. Attack coach Shaun Berne was also let go. Rebels defence coach Kevin Foote has since assumed the interim head coach role.
"There's been a huge upheaval at the Melbourne Rebels. I know their coaching team and they've been working hard but they didn't reach the final so they've made changes. We know they're dangerous because any team that changes head and assistant coaches respond pretty strongly.
"It's exciting for everyone to be going up against something different. You bang your heads against your brother for long enough it's always great to go to the park and play against guys you don't know." -
-
-
@dice said in Rebels v Blues:
I'd like to see AJ Lam and JRK on the wings.
I like that combo (I’ve always had doubts about Mark Telea’s skillset… his 2020 form is unlikely to be repeated)
Marking Koroibete will be hard though. He was probably the best winger in both SR competitions. The selection on that wing will probably be conservative.
Rebels out to utilise Koroibete strengths | Latest Rugby News | RUGBY.com.au
All Blacks duo out: Blues down on troops for transtasman opener
