On a positive note, I have never seen so many people making comments in the Crusaders thread from other franchises before. Crusaders 2024, bringing people together
Old Samurai Jack
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@antipodean said in NZ Politics:
@booboo a 100 person brawl because two uninvited people turned up to a party? WTF?
It's Gizzy
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The Crusaders are a mess and some players are just not up to this level and the others are floundering about headless. Lineout was an absolute disgrace. Even the commentators were dumbfounded by their decision to keep doing the same lineout formation failure after failure. The coaching box is not up to it, pure and simple.
Sad to see Moody's form. Reece and Newell were pretty good.
Blues on the other hand, doing the basics well esp. in the forward pack. Basically, did a Crusaders on the Crusaders, attacked the set piece, great maul defense, and bollocked them at the breakdown. -
Pretty good game but are Health and Safety going to go after the Tahs for putting two or three redheads out in that heat!
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@akan004 said in Chiefs v Drua:
DMac is still far too loose. Wouldn't want him starting for the ABs at 10.
What? I am trying to comprehend this. Who in Super Rugby would you have instead? In my opinion, if Dmac goes down, the ABs are in a world of trouble.
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@ACT-Crusader said in Waratahs v Blues:
@nzzp said in Waratahs v Blues:
that's a good game to miss most of by the sound of it. Still, winning ugly is winning right????
And any road win is also worth gold when it comes to building team confidence
Esp. in Aussie where everything seems to be against you.
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@Bones said in Highlanders v Brumbies:
@Old-Samurai-Jack said in Highlanders v Brumbies:
The Clan never fail to frustrate. Only the Clan can gift the Brumbies a 5-metre lineout with a few minutes to go. You couldn't make that shit up. WTF!
Bullshit. I reckon the canes definitely could too.
I guess this year's crusaders would've been too far behind already....
I dunno........
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The Clan never fail to frustrate. Only the Clan can gift the Brumbies a 5-metre lineout with a few minutes to go. You couldn't make that shit up. WTF!
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@booboo said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
1 . Grace falls down my rankings. Didn't offer much.
What game were you watching?
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Canes deserved the win. Numia seems to have come of age scrumming wise. Always had the flash Harry stuff but now seems to be doing the core stuff well. Starting Canes front row strong. Brad Shields needs to come back to bring a bit of starch to the loosies,
For the Crusaders a few older heads fronted, Grace, Havili, and Bower esp. in defence. Was Grace's job to nullify Aumua? Certainly seemed that way. Lots to build on. -
Nah, Canes forward doing an "Ireland" there. Reverse penalty.
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@Billy-Tell said in Crusaders vs Hurricanes:
@Tim said in Crusaders vs Hurricanes:
That does look like a pretty weak team, but come the playoffs they might be able to put out a pretty solid 23:
1 Williams
2 Taylor
3 Newell
4 Barrett
5 Gallagher
6 Blackadder
7 Christie
8 Lio-Willie9 Drummond
10 Burke
11 McLeod
12 Havili
13 Crotty
14 Reece
15 Fihaki16 McAlister
17 Bower
18 Franks
19 Strange
20 Grace
21 Hotham
22 Aumua
23 SpringerHalves are decidedly weak, and the team lacks ball carriers and hitters, but that forward pack could upset some teams.
The crusaders are the new highlanders. All good things come to an end. Crusaders need to do some serious recruiting. And by that I donβt mean recalls for ex-ABs from a bygone era.
Pretty similar to the Clan I agree. Parts of the "spine" of the team are missing. Taylor will come back at hooker but Bell is struggling, they have capable No.8s but halfback, first-five and fullback are green as f$%k or not up to it. The scary part is that the Clan have been struggling to solidify these positions for years.
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I thought Gardiner was one of the few positives (huge effort). The loosies have been good in defense (mostly) but the complete lack of team direction is affecting everything. I was hoping for Grace to step up more this year but everyone seems caught up in the mire. Disappointing, but things have to improve from now on.
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@Bovidae said in Reds v Chiefs:
McMillan's selections and sub decisions were poor.
I'm watching the game and thinking...WHY? Why put DMac at the back and JI in at first receiver? No beef with JI but why put the best first-five in the comp at the back at Ballymore with a strong Reds team?
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Love announces himself to NZ. Before this, you saw the flashes of potential amid some flaky plays. Last night he really was excellent! I thought, "Arrrr.... this is what people have been harping on about for the last few seasons, I see it now".
The Roigard and Cameron duo are in control (keep the traditional Cane back brain farts to a minimum), they have a very strong tight-five that lays the base, and they keep rolling on.
Getting smashed in Chch next week would be great for the competition but you'd have to think they'd steamroll the hapless Crusaders with ease. -
@African-Monkey said in Waratahs v Highlanders:
Breathe now Highlanders fans.
You just can't breathe with the Clan. They are as stressful as fuck. I am not sure I enjoy watching them anymore. I spend more time looking away in disgust than actually watching the game.
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It is going to be a good indication of where the teams are at I think. Which tight five is going to stand and deliver? Looking forward to it.
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The Chiefs are so good to watch. Protect DMac at all costs! How good was Jacobson? That man has concrete in his shoulders. As an opposition player, you'd think twice about hitting it up with Finau and Jacobson in front of you.
Anyway, the Chiefs looking like a well-oiled machine again. Would feel better if McMillian was in the AB coaching setup. His tactical battles with Razor have been games within games in the last few years. -
@Tim said in Highlanders v Blues:
@Old-Samurai-Jack People seem to forget that the Blues forwards were fucking good in 2022 all the way up to the final. Then Eklund choked. 14 wins in a row didn't happen by accident.
They were good and would have been "fucking" good if the Crusader's forwards didn't do a number on them in the final in 2022. Not being an arse, but the Blues forwards have capitulated in the past when it mattered. Early days but they battered a handy Clan tight five and some things like supporting the ball carrier and protecting the ball at the breakdown were very obvious in this game. They seem to be playing as a unit and not as individuals this season.
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Yep, looked a bit like the ole Clan out there. Some good players but not in the positions that count. Young halves found wanting, midfield malfunctions, some dire self-harm decisions...When Drummond comes on and looks sharp...cripes! Long season ahead. Feel the north-south-island will need to be humble this year.
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