Great write-up Chiragg!
Taefu is so underrated - he is right up there with the best. I definitely think Kuridrani should be rested, with Taefu and Kahui (if fit) as the centre pairing for the Brumbies.
My jury is still out on Macauley.
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Great write-up Chiragg!
Taefu is so underrated - he is right up there with the best. I definitely think Kuridrani should be rested, with Taefu and Kahui (if fit) as the centre pairing for the Brumbies.
My jury is still out on Macauley.
I thought Petaia was clear but lucky, I saw the contact was high but not head, so I thought the penalty was sufficient, I thought there was the appearance of an attempt to wrap arms so I was happy with the penalty.
Salakia-Loto on the other hand, twice, in reasonably rapid succession hit the chin with a swinging forearm, based upon the interpretations I've seen all year the first one was a red and he was lucky to get away with it, the second one (maybe wasn't as bad) showed a clear desire to attack the head.
I haven't heard about any citation after the game either.
Also, I wonder if I'm the only one who sees some of Tupou's clean-outs as pretty much a flying head butt, charging at speed into rucks with little attempt to wrap the arms. One turnover led directly to a Reds try. Looks a helluva lot like foul play to me. Maybe I'm biased too.
I am sick and tired of losing graciously with excuses and platitudes.
Can we have a bit more agro please? Tupou the only one with agro, he hit 2 rucks which turned over our ball. We need our guys to get in their faces, no raised hands or fists but let them know we are there.
Let's also create a bit of Theatre. My mantra in coaching was always that Rugby is like a great piece of theatre. it's the small things like asking your opposite openside - "mate why are always losing your bind?" Never ask the ref or yell forward or high tackle, no soccer style theatrics, but smart bits. No sledging or insults, perhaps instead of standing still behind 5/8th in scrum run from side to side just make sure you are in position when ball is put in, but get your opposite guessing. Where are the days backs used to pint directly to their opposite number and yell " I got you" .. O.K. that was school boy stuff... but I can assure you it plays on the opposite numbers mind. Lets get into their heads. So, if they miss a kick for touch, no need to go yeah loser!!! be smart say " I did that once, know how you feel"
Can we also look at our pick and drives. 20m out from the try line, we retain possession, we make ground, 5m out and we get white line fever. Can we have some plan when 2 minutes left in each half to play?
Chances are we will always lose a front rower to a yellow card ahead of any other position. How much training does it take to teach a back hoe to bind and push as a flanker and what defensive line to hold.
Can we also teach the blindside winger to throw in at the lineouts? crash ball with an extra forward could be good. If we are to maul, then yes get hooker back throwing in.
Can we teach our captain to be very smart in communicating with the ref. " excuse me sir, may I have a word regarding Safety?" and time the question to defuse opposition momentum. Loud enough so mics pick it up?
Lots of silly suggestions I know, but lets get smarter, get in their face, agro and STOP LOSING.
Some interesting stuff there Hansie.
I didn't rate the two performances before the Reds match very highly, but there did seem to be some things in the Reds game that sparked my interest/enthusiasm again. To me it was a much improved showing.
Certainly the (controlled) aggression could be better displayed and this could well have the by-product of opening some space for the backs. Everyone knows Kuridrani is dangerous and he is likely to run it. Imagine if he runs it with a bit more space (created by some agro) or, even more imaginatively, passes the pill to the wing who has even more space.
My line to Toomua when he was lining up the first kick on the Eastern side of the ground
"Try to put the last two out of your mind mate, You know you're not going to miss three important kicks to the left"
He pushed it right
And the second time
"Come on mate, you're better than this, make sure you don't overcorrect"
He shanked it left HARD
I don't know whether he realised it, but I'd set up camp in his head
Genuine question: do you think those 2 no arms "flying head butts" were legal? I'm up for more aggression for sure - I follow the Mungos as well - the game's based on it. But I thought that type of entry to the ruck was illegal. Especially with the current emphasis of attacking the head.
Wouldn't mind your take on it Ecky.
We need to try and get Ralston more involved and he should be given more of a roaming commission. As we saw last year, he's a very dangerous runner, but hasn't been able to be involved as much as we'd like this year. Hopefully Pulu is available this week as he's looked very dangerous whenever he's been able to play. If not, surely we have to give Olofowela or Placid a go, because Brache and Kahui on the wing aren't all that dangerous.
I think we also greatly need a second playmaker, as we've looked at our most dangerous this year when we've had 2 on the field, and the number 10 options tried so far appear to not be able to unlock our backline on their own. Taefu and Kahui do have some abilities in this area, but we don't seem to see them popping up at 1st receiver much. Would love to see Miotti given a proper amount of game time at either 10 or 15 to see what he can do.
Thankfully our forward pack is coming along nicely. Kaitu'u, Timani, Anstee and FLW are all strong ball runners that have been able to break tackles and/or push through the line with post contact metres. With the front row injury / suspensions problems the brumbies have at the moment, we can hopefully turn our scrum into an attacking weapon in the second half also.
As Stander said in the post game interview, I believe we are nearly there. The table topping Reds have been rampant all season against the other teams, and the Force forwards went toe to toe with them, and a try at the end would have given an unexpected win to the Force.
Against the Rebels, we made a lot of mistakes in the first 3/4 of the game and were also pushing for a perhaps undeserved win at the end.
If we can get a couple of wins and bonus points out of the next four games, we could be in with a chance of third spot and a shot at the finals.
missed out on most of the game because I was at Wedge and the reception on my phone was RS,so stan kept cutting out,so gave up climbing the biggest sand dune for reception and returned to the boys at the shack for a few quiet beers and red wines
apparently we lost!
Kyle must be just about there with recovery if its gone ok. That would certainly help the Kuridrana issue in gett8ng him to involve his arse more.
What's the issue with Godwin? I thought it was a shoulder injury. But last home game he was sporting a right foot moon boot.