O’Connor, Pusey back for Force

[jargan83]

@ james: Palesasa did drop one cold just as he was about to hit a hole in the Chiefs line, probably would have led points if he hung onto it

@ beejay: game is Saturday, 13:30 kick off i think
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[Cookie]

Cowan has been holding his own in the scrums and will improve with every game he gets.He does offer some agression at the breakdown and his defence is pretty solid he makes quite a few tackles for a prop,can also pass pretty well which is a bonus for a prop and is mobile.
If the front row can get the right support from the other 5 forwards the scrum will improve.Having Horua and Stanford there will hopefully offer more weight in the scrums and should offer more options in the lineout.I have noticed that our forward pack has been lighter than the opposition in these opening rounds.
Its a shame for Hodgo because he has been playing pretty well.Good to see Pusey get another chance.I just hope that bam bam gets some support around the field from the loosies at the breakdowns.
I'm looking forward to this game,and I think the boys should go pretty well.I'm not expecting too many missed tackles this week.It will be tight but I think that we can do it.

[blueandblack]

...
@ beejay: game is Saturday, 13:30 kick off i think
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tis so

[brokendown gunfighter]

not according to the West

[Cookie]

Any opinions from those that know better than me about scrummaging on Pek at 1?? My uninformed opinion is he isn't making the grade??

Believe or not scrumaging is more technical than a lot of people think.You need to size up your opposition real carefully and quickly in order to combat or counter attack.Every prop has their own strengths and weaknesses thats why you need to adjust quickly and focus on your oppositons weakness and counter their strengths.

Good props will take careful note on how their oppositon props perform,work them out quickly and make a mental note for whenever they come up against them again.

Al Baxter while not being the best prop around actually plays quite smart,when he is getting done or is struggling he will take a scrum down and will only stay up when his scrum is dominating.NZ props like to attack scrums head on and stay up ,just watch John Afoa he goes straight in and uses technique and strength to dominate opponents.

The tighthead is also the cornerstone of the pack,that is why it is so important to have a very strong tighthead,because if he struggles then the loosehead will also be on the backfoot as they have to go back as well.

The hooker also plays a big part in the scrums with binding well with his two props and putting pressure on the opposition tighthead and hooker.They also lead the charge on the hit.

The aim of all scrums is to get the hit on first,that is an advantage.This is where the timing on the hit is very important for the whole pack.Also you should never swap a loosie for a halfback it will never work.

[blueandblack]

not according to the West

http://www.rugby.com.au/matches/tour...ce,125226.html

"AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Kick off times:
5:30pm (Local) Sat 14 Mar
3:30pm (AEDT) Sat 14 Mar"

1.30pm AWDST.

Stupid "Worst".

[jargan83]

not according to the West

don't believe everything you read in the papers gunny

[normie]

Any green leaves in your cigarettes, Normie?

DOH! maybe I should have said turf! ....what a dopey thing to say...

[normie]

http://www.rugby.com.au/matches/tour...ce,125226.html

"AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Kick off times:
5:30pm (Local) Sat 14 Mar
3:30pm (AEDT) Sat 14 Mar"

1.30pm AWDST.

Stupid "Worst".

@#$%%^&*@

The other day I looked at my MBF wallet sized fixture and read "1730 local time" thinking local time meant the local time of PERTH.... somebody must be putting green leaves in my smokes again ...

[normie]

still no spanner?

Does anyone know if spanner playing club rugby in Sydney (or anywhere for that matter) this weekend? Its strange that he isn't getting a spot in the 22 if he's not injured.

[RuckNMaul]

http://www.rugby.com.au/matches/tour...ce,125226.html

"AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Kick off times:
5:30pm (Local) Sat 14 Mar
3:30pm (AEDT) Sat 14 Mar"

1.30pm AWDST.

Stupid "Worst".

AMI? AKA Jade stadium?
arnt they playing in queenstown?

[AndyS]

No, just training there.

[mudskipper]

Its a good match for James O'Connor to start in, The Crusader backs are young and not so large... A good choice by the Match Committee... giving the Kid a start....

We can all see what he's got in 2009 with Gits... Their will be a lot of interested rugby fans and rugby administrators watching all over Australia...

[zimeric]

IMHO Pelesasa had just as bad a game as any of the other backs.. he dropped an important tackle that led to a breakaway try and dropped a sitter of a pass as well. Noone really stood out in the game last week except Horua and his nice shimmy through the pack to score his try..
lets hope the guys will have picked up their game this week ey!

[Burgs]

Unfortunately Junior doesn't have that great a conversion rate of good matches over bad matches on the occassions he does get on the park, when he's hot he is really good, just needs to be more often.