Force tie one on against the Crusaders

[jargan83]

B&B gave me a "care package dvd" the other week and I thought the quality was brilliant
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[Elf1]

I thought they were still outside the 22 somewhere between 40 - 30 metre mark

Not from where I was sitting, they were just outside or within the 22 and could have had several shots.

[blueandblack]

just outside for a short time then into the 22.

[Elf1]

just outside for a short time then into the 22.

Thanks for confirming that B

[mudskipper]

Thanks for confirming that B

Well there needed some composure by the forwards then... so Valentine and Giteau could get set... its really a play which needs to be practiced by the team, players need to block the defense running threw... Valentine needs to know exactly where Gits is in the pocket.

I guess if someone has a copy of the match they can tell us all exactly what happened in those last players...

[laura]

I didn't think Mitchell did too bad (in comparison to last week). His defense was better than it has been and I actually think he has improved on last week's game. He should be put back on his wing, fullback is not proving to be as successful as wing was. Although that still leaves a gap and fullback...we need Spanner in the team and if the 'committee' aren't prepared to put him in the centres then fullback. He needs to be in the team!
Gits had an absolute pearler of a game. Hopefully he keeps this up, definately made the game more exciting to see him in full flight!
Horua didn't have such a good game and it definately showed that Brownie wasn't on the field. The 4, 5, 6 & 8 combination didn't really seem to mesh too well. Not sure if thats down to the players themselves or just where they were playing but something just didn't seem right there.
JO'C had a few good runs but not until the second half. A few instances in the first half and it seemed like he was a bit intimidated or maybe a bit overwhelmed and not sure enough to back himself but that was gone by the second half and I think that this game will have been a valuable experience for him.

Still way too much kicking for my liking, the opposition knew they were going to do it and pounced on it. But we drew so onwards and upwards from here hopefully!!

[robyn <3]

I didn't think Mitchell did too bad (in comparison to last week). His defense was better than it has been and I actually think he has improved on last week's game.

I agree, and it's good that he improved from last week if Cameron-a is out for a while, damn that ankle! However that improvement isn't enough and I really don't think Drew should be at FB, Dane Haylett Petty perhaps? He played fullback during the trial this year but I don't seem to recall how he went... Maybe he should be starting at 15 with Drew at 11 and if Cummins is also injured Haig on the other wing (assuming Cam has done his ankle poor guy)?

[Cookie]

Atfer watching the replay,I think we should have won that game.Two of the trie the saders tries were lucky,one was a lucky bounce near the posts and the second looked like a forward pass to the winger in the corner.

Otherwise I thought the defence was really good ,holding the saders to 3 points in the 2nd half was a great effort.

Some of our kicking was poor and wasted precious possession,the 8 and 9 combo wasnt great,Valo had a mixed game.But overall I thought we did really well to comeback like we did.Scrums and lineouts went well but need to continue to improve.We did well to retain possession for a number of phases but need to find more options to test the oppositions defence,instead of just going from one side of the field to the other.

Horua also had a mixed game and made some good runs,but without Brownie I think he is our best option.He will look at the replay and know exactly what he needs to do if selected in that positon again.

The kiwi comentators were terrible getting names mixed up, Occonor with Mitchell,cross with cummins,cowan with horua,pusey with stanford and sare with AJ.I'm surprised they never confused Sharpie with JM.It reminds me of a test match in NZ when the person singing the aus national anthem before a game forgot the words or got them wrong.Mind you most aussies wouldn t know their own anthem apart from the first line.An d most kiwis wouldnt know the Maori version of their anthem.

Anyway I thought it was a good game to watch,it would have been better if we had of won.

[Ecky]

I have it figured as to why we didn't win:

Blue jersey

We seem to play better in non-blue. Traditionally that means yellow, but I am expecting big things this week in the pink version of non-blue.

[Burgs]

Hopefully the crowd doesn't end up representing "Blood on the water" Ecky...

[blueandblack]

Hopefully the crowd doesn't end up representing "Blood on the water" Ecky...

Or the representing "Blood on the field"

[travelling_gerry]

Goal-kicking lapses tarnish Crusaders' zeal

By RICHARD KNOWLER - The Press

Last updated 06:04 16/03/2009

Forget Leon MacDonald's dodgy yellow card or Matt Giteau's NFL pass to Haig Sare, because they are just excuses.

If the Crusaders are looking for someone to slate after letting a 14-point lead slip in their 23-all draw to the Western Force on Saturday night, there is no need to go rattling around for referee Marius Jonker's phone number.

Their biggest enemy at AMI Stadium was in red and black and they could not have been more effective if they had dusted off a blunderbuss themselves, uncurled their trigger fingers and blown a hole in each foot.

This Super 14 match was there for the taking and that is what makes the final result all the more excruciating.

On paper the Force backline was far superior, yet it was a Crusaders' back division, one stacked with new combinations and fresh faces, that created all the play in the first half as they zipped out to a 23-9 lead with 28 minutes remaining.

There were tries to midfielders Ryan Crotty and Tim Bateman and another to lock Isaac Ross, the forwards were hungry to create clean ball at the breakdowns, the scrum was effective and the game plan of spinning the ball out wide had the Force defenders' eyes rolling with panic.

Starting Stephen Brett at first five-eighth in place of Colin Slade paid immediate dividends as he took the ball to the line before flinging wide passes or ghosting through gaps, while the new midfield pairing showed few signs of rust. The buildup to Ross's try involved the sort of quick handling, nifty footwork and astute decision-making that has been a trademark of Crusaders' counter-attacks.

But in the second half Force first-five Giteau took control and, unlike Brett, unerringly slotted all five shots at goal.

By giving Brett the kicking responsibilities ahead of Slade, who could convert only 33 per cent of his attempts in the opening four rounds, Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder was hoping for a change of fortune. No such luck.

Brett could convert only three of his eight shots at goal and the close-range penalty miss in the 72nd minute must have had Blackadder chewing his blazer sleeve in angst.

"The guys are working really hard on their goal kicking but we are just not getting those points to take us out of that pressure zone," Blackadder said. "I know Stevie and boys are putting the practice in ... we just have to keep working at it. It's certainly an area of concern at the moment."

He's not wrong.

Giteau left several defenders sprawling in the jinking run that set up Sare's try and was fortunate his long pass, which was about a metre forward, to the replacement wing Sare was not picked up by officials.

MacDonald's yellow carding 13 minutes later he was pinged for taking James O'Connor out in the air when competing for a high ball was dubious and left the Crusaders without their general at the back.

"I thought it was really hard ... Fair enough to be a penalty but it's pretty harsh when it's a yellow card," Blackadder said. "It certainly was a pivotal moment."

But as the clock wound down, the Crusaders abandoned their attacking game. The fumbles and poor passes that blighted their earlier performances returned. Captain Kieran Read also suffered the dropsies but his work rate could not be questioned.

For the Force, Giteau was outstanding, teenager O'Connor will one day play international rugby and openside flanker David Pocock showed why he was a Wallaby last year


http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/2...Crusaders-zeal

[JediKnight]

Perspective from the stadium:

Dodgy Crusaders try.....forward pass
Dodgy Crusaders try....Drew knock-on followed by a Crusaders knock-on....should've been Crusaders scrum
Dodgy Drew....he was appalling apart from the one cover tackle

After the Force drew level, they were never past the 10 metre line & therefore no chance of a drop-goal from the departing prodigal son (Gits).

[The Lone Hydrangea]

Also he was poleaxed by Franks. Dont blame him. We should of never been in that situation for a start.