Super Rugby - 2011 season

Starts this Thursday at 7:30, with Hurricanes taking on the Highlanders. Will be followed by the game where we'll see the new side Rebels.

I'm looking forward to this season. The Blues have a settled look about them and I really want them to win this season. And I think they can deliver.

Big call - Reds to take out the comp.

The dark horse - Rebels. Purely due to the unknown factor. Although a lot of players are well known.

We'll see how SBW goes against both Aussie and South African sides this year. Surely it will be a preview of the things to come during the RWC?

Anyway, regardless of the fact that this is still the cricket season, I can't wait till Friday!

Disclaimer - if you don't like the fact that the season starts this early, or any other reason you would like to bitch about rugby, fuck off and leave this thread alone. Thank you.

They have the new country based system to decide the playoffs this year don't they? Is it still a top 4 (i.e. the winner of each country and then I'd assume the best second placed team out of the three)? Or have they expanded the playoffs?

No surprise that Aussie were the ones pushing for the system given they've definitely been the weakest country over the last few years so having one team guaranteed a playoff spot will help them.

Yeah, the comp is broken down into conferences. 3 conference winners, plus 3 runner ups will go through the "finals", so now it will be decided between 6 teams. Each team will play 8 games against home teams (their respective conferences), plus 8 games against other conference teams.

Wait, so are you saying that each country gets 2 finalists -- a winner and a runner up? I thought it was winner from each conference and then the next top three, regardless of where those other 3 teams come from..?

Yeah, that's what I mean. Runner ups will be measured on the amount of points, regardless of conference.

Edit: to answer your question (), no, I don't mean that the each country gets two finalists. It will all depend on the points. Each country will get at least one finalist tho.

Friday

That's a bit better, would be terrible if we saw some second placed Aussie side make the playoffs with 10 points less than a couple of South African or Kiwi sides. To be honest I can only see the Rebels making the Aussie sides even worse, they simply don't have the depth - even with the imports they're bringing in.

*snore*

As usual I am annoyed that it's starting so early, but obviously this is an important year for rugby in this country, so will probably be keeping a lazy eye on it. Don't know much about the teams leading in to it to be honest, haven't found much in the way of pre-analysis online.

I'm doing Virtual Picks on Fotty Tips (same place as we do the NRL) if anyone is keen.



gc.

The feeling that rugby starts too early is magnified this year by the cricket world cup starting at literally the same time. I’m vaguely interested… particularly in the Blues and Highlanders, but I will probably read more reports on here/in the paper than actually watch games

On that note….. Roman, as biggies supposed resident expert on rugby it would be nice if you actually knew what the fuck you are talking about! Just sayin

hahaha... fuck you Maestro.

hahaha... fuck you Maestro.

hahaha... fuck you Maestro.

hahaha... fuck you Maestro.

hahaha... fuck you Maestro.

heh heh just fking with you mate

Woah, Groundhog Day posting.

Umaga to start for the Chiefs on the weekend. At 37 years old - that's very impressive.

Blues team for the first game:

Isaia Toeava, Joe Rokocoko, Jared Payne, Benson Stanley, Rene Ranger, Stephen Brett, Alby Mathewson, Chris Lowrey, Daniel Braid, Jerome Kaino, Ali Williams, Anthony Boric, John Afoa, Keven Mealamu (captain), Tony Woodcock.

Reserves: Tom McCartney, Charlie Faumuina, Filo Paulo, Luke Braid, Toby Morland, Lachie Munro, Sherwin Stowers.

It is a concern that our back up 1st 5 is Lachie Munro, when we have Ascombe in the development squad...

People keep saying that. Brad Thorn is 36 and is still arguably the best lock in the world.



gc.

So where are people gonna watch the Blues game?

I don't have Sky

I am going to watch it from the new stand at Eden Park.



gc.

How is Dagg playing for the Crusaders? Surely the Canes would've snapped him up?

You're welcome to mine bro. I have my boy this weekend, so not doing much else in the evening.:>

Smf, I think these guys just know how to look after themselves. It takes longer to recover for an older person.

Reaction, please note the word 'arguably' absolves me of any debate in this matter.



gc.

Probably best at everything except lineout jumping
which is a little important

Hurricanes lost to a below average Highlanders team.

Rebels looked good.... for about 15 minutes. I'm sure they'll improve. They looked very disjointed, as it would be expected from a new team.

The Hurricanes/Highlanders game only got 11,000 spectators, which is about 10,000 more than the spectacle deserved. The Hurricanes forwards were a bunch of soft city pussies - they let the hard men of the South push them around and the Highlanders dominated the close stuff.

But I thought that the difference between the sides in a very rusty display was that the two key All Blacks in the Highlanders - Cowan and Thompson - stood up and did their job, whereas the All Black Stars were invisible (well, Gear showed a glimpse or two) in the Hurricanes, except for Nonu, who was (as usual when it doesn't go his way) a one-dimensional thug. If Nonu doesn't sort it out Sonny-Bill can relax about his starting spot in the All Blacks.

The two NZ teams on display last night look very similar in their mental and physical preparation to the way they were in last years Super 14 - which is to say, rusty and mentally distracted. I wonder if Henry and co deliberately under-prepare the All Black players for the start of the Super competition, letting them take extended injury/holiday breaks, in order to get them peaking for the international season?

They are talking about getting over 30,000 fans to Eden Park tonight for the Crusaders/Blues game, and it seems interest in rugby is on an (cyclical?) up-swing in the 09. But the NZRFU has got to be worried about the dwindling crowds in Wellington (comeptition from the Phoenix is fierce, the best thing that could happen for us all will be for the Serepisos to go bankrupt and take his stupid club and silly game down with him!), Christchurch and Dunedin, where the rancor over the new roofed stadium has undermined rugby's popularity.

I thought Conrad Smith was outstanding, but other players around him seemed to fall a sleep.

It's hard to say what was going through Nonu's head. It was clearly deliberate, because he saw Cowan already got rid of the ball. I doubt this one incident would effect his chances for AB's tho. Before that happens, SBW needs to perform well, while Nonu needs few of these brain explosions. A mate I was watching a game with last night commented about it, saying that Nonu might be getting a little arrogant because he's an All Black and behaves this way because he thinks that he's above the law.

Go the Highlanders! Good to see them win but ffs I only watched the highlights package and what a bunch of turgid rubbish!

Conrad was rusty as was CJ??

Nonu was up in the air already for a charge down? Cowan milked the fuck out of it the greasy little prick.


There is no way SBW has cemented the number 12 for the AB's for the World Cup- anyone that thinks so is seriously deluded.

Yeah, Jane had a quite game too. I thought Cowan just smiled because he is a prick, but he was hurting. He got Nonu's hip to the head after all. Pretty hard to milk being hurt. hahaha...

Lolz at the Chiefs yet again

Forest!

And yup, borched four or five tries. No good.

I thought Blues did really well to come back. I enjoyed their forwards being able to stand up to Crusaders, which says a lot. If our forwards continue to perform like they did in the second half, our backs will not have trouble scoring.

So after one game Tana is dropped. heh

Highlanders were impressive. Robbie Robertson is starting to shine at 10 too.

Rebels did well to win against Brumbies too. Media thought that the Rebels will be a team to get easy bonus points against. heh...

Blues were terrible.

I TOLD YOU BRO!

HIGHLANDERS!!! Roman looks like you picked them as a dark horse team one season too early

I think the BLUES will suck again and this will be Lams last season in charge. Ive met Pat Lam.. he helped ran a work conference I attended so i had a goo chance to examine and chat with him, hes a good bloke but imo not a high enough level thinker to succeed at this level. he also probably too nice and unable to make brutal calls in terms of culling and sticking his neck out as well

Fuck you gummi.

Maestro, one always has hopes up for their team.

hahahahahahahaha just saw the "penalty" that gave the Rebels a win over the Brumbies -- how do refs get away with that shit?

heh, I know right?

SBW is starting against Waratahs on Friday night. :>

Watching at your place bro? :>

Sure am. You're welcome over.

Sweet bro -- will text tomorrow.

Is Nacoa that filthy Cantab still in town?

Hmm... not sure. Will facebook him and see if he's keen. :>

Haven't really hoped a Crusaders team would win before.



gc.

Yeah, tis a strange feeling!

Crusaders found their form in the second half. Good on them.

Blues also did well. McAlister tho have not learned that tackling with the head leads to concussions:

Here is a simple question. Who is more likely to win you a game - Nonu and Smith or Williams and Fruen?

If the best Australian team by far so far is the Warratahs, then Australia has not got a chane of winning the RWC. Their forwards are a paper-thin layer of journeymen, and beneath that the MAGS 3rd XV forward pack would dominate their teams around the paddock.

Nonu/Smith imo. Williams and Fruen are different type of players to those two (maybe Nonu is somewhat like Fruent, but without the pace). Smith is the rock in AB's defense, there isn't a question about it. But if you had options, you could pair up Williams and Smith together and have a similar outcome.

Holly molly! Highlanders are on the roll!

C'mon the Chiefs!...they were robbed by the ref in the last game.

Been quite impressed by Fruen so far.

Blues were fucking horrible, again. Apparently Mealamu had a real go at the team after the game for the lack of performance. heh..

Obviously the former.

Williams/Smith would be an awesome combo though.

Fruean > Smith
Fruean > Nonu
Fruean > Williams

In terms of current form in NPC & Super 15? Probably.

As an All Black prospect? No.

Youre wasting your breath vs a guy who doesnt understand the difference between the two, or more accurataly perhaps, thinks NPC > INTERNATIONAL > SUPER

Lam drops Rokocoko all together from the squad, while playing Benson on the wing... I'm not sure what he's up to tbh. Anyway, will be a huge game, with a lot of tries I reckon.

HURRICANES: 15 Cory Jane, 14 Julian Savea, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Andre Taylor, 10 Daniel Kirkpatrick, 9 Chris Eaton; 8 Victor Vito, 7 Jack Lam, 6 Faifili Levave, 5 Jason Eaton, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Neemia Tialata, 2 Andrew Hore (capt), 1 John Schwalger. Reserves: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Anthony Perenise, 18 James Broadhurst, 19 Mark Reddish, 20 Tyson Keats, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Jayden Hayward.

BLUES: 15 Isaia Toeava, 14 Rene Ranger, 13 Jared Payne, 12 Luke McAlister, 11 Benson Stanley, 10 Stephen Brett, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Peter Saili, 7 Luke Braid, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Kurtis Haiu, 4 Anthony Boric, 3 John Afoa, 2 Keven Mealamu (captain), 1 Tony Woodcock. Reserves: 16 Tom McCartney, 17 Tevita Mailau, 18 Filo Paulo, 19 Matt Luamanu, 20 Chris Smylie, 21 Lachie Munro, 22 Sherwin Stowers.

yawn chiefs. yawn. yawnnnn

I thought it was quite a good game, but then i am a chiefs fan...the chiefs hands let them down at times, but their ability to recycle possession was impressive. sharks defence out wide didn't give the chiefs backs much opportunity either.

I'll post this here, because I don't think that 6-Nations deserves its own thread - - but did anyone catch Ireland vs England on Sunday morning?

Ireland played like a team possessed and absolutely smoked England! Definitely the best I've seen them perform, ever. England were shell-shocked, though I must say Jonny Wilkinson was looking the goods when he came on.

Yeah, but really, shit competition regardless. The quality of rugby was really crap this year.

Looking forward to the Crusaders' game against Sharks at Twickenham.

LOL at the Hurricanes. The Melbourne Rebels are not a very good team. But the Hurricanes are fucking useless. Brittle, inaccurate, and mentally lazy and stupid just about sum them up. They can't hang onto the ball, they kick aimlessly, they try and force stupid passes, they don't seem to now what anyone else is doing.

The Hurricanes are not a rugby team, they are an ill-disciplined rabble of wannebe rock stars who are each trying to win the game from every move, and they are nowhere as good as they think they are. In short, they are everything that New Zealand rugby is not about.

For that reason alone I hope they finish last.

heh, I rather enjoyed their thrashing. Never was a Hurricanes supporter. Was rather watching this game than the Blackcaps, who started to crumble with their batting (who would have thought that the final result would be so sweet for them tho! ). But in all honesty fb, Rebels played out of their skin. Their forwards basically pwned Hurricanes. Good game.

Crusaders mostly dominant this morning. Should have scored another 3 tries but basic handling let them down. I think if they hadn't fluffed that couple before half time it would have been all over, but the Sharks fought back for a while there.

Sonny Bill looking awesome again. Line breaks, accurate off loads and pin point grubber kicks. Then even finished the game in the forwards on the side of the scrum.

Great game!

A lot of positives, especially from SBW's ability to off load against the top SA side. That shoulder tackle tho could have cost him and Crusaders. Nevertheless, I think he's a clever bloke and he will not repeat anything stupid like that again. One would hope so anyway.

Dagg had a bad game. From not finishing (apart of course for his try) several tries by not being able to catch the ball (), defensive blunders which cost Crusaders a try, not being able to pass accurately and generally running like a headless chicken. I'm pretty sure he's better than that, but a poor game from him.

As much as I think Maitland is a dooshbag (he actually is), he scores tries. He knows how to be in the right place at the right time. Has tones of speed too.

Problem is with union's faggy rules and not with SBW imo :>

lol.

Nobody is competing with you at sucking SBW's cock bro, ease off.

The man is something to behold! :>

heh, just saw the tackle -- was a beauty!

Highlanders are keep on rolling! heh

In other news, both Chiefs and Hurricanes are utter rubbish. Seriously, with all that fire power in both sides, they produce nothing. Very disappointing.

I thought Blues did well. I mean Cheetahs managed to get a win over Waratahs (granted they're shit) and got within 7 points against top SA teams. I reckon next year they will be even stronger.

I'm closely following Rebels. For a team that was written off by all Aussie media, they're doing very well for their first season. Even more so compared to a side like Brumbies, who are now established team in the comp and can't string good performances. Go the Rebels!

Stormers looking like the most complete team of them all. Very good performance against Sharks last night. Doubt very much any sides can now get knock them off their top spot in SA conference. Bulls are nowhere near as good as they were last season.

ummmm I watched the last 5 mins of the Blues game and was puzzled by something. Why did they kick out a penalty to end the game when they could have kicked for goal and denied the cheetahs a bonus point? Are they worried they would miss from out in front and then lose possesion at the restart and then somehow go on to concede a try as well?

Yeah, I assume not to take risk of Cheetahs drawing the game.

Nits! The kick was out in front and we have Lukey Mac! Totally a -EV play right there

Well, maybe if it was another kicker, the captain would have trusted them more to close off the game.

Ice is proving what I always tell wipeout... YOU CANNOT COACH SPEED.

He has to be in the ABs! Dynamite I tell you.

Actually you can coach speed.

Does he mean acceleration? I thought that was mostly all about te fast twitch

You can develop/retrain the muscles. I'm sure it does mater what genetics you have, but only as a kick start.

yeah but im saying speed is speed is speed. no white 100m champs.

Sure sure. But it takes more than just pure speed mate. What I'm saying is that if you have a player that is really skilled and knows the game well, you can make them quick. The other player might be super quick, but is useless in all other aspects of the game. Teaching rugby skills is harder than teaching speed. Plus you only need to teach explosiveness, not hard out techniques of a 100m sprint, because you hardly ever run 100 m during the game. I don't even know why I have to explain this to you. Your man crushes are getting on the way of clear thinking mate.

SHUT UP AND AGREE WITH ME.

Highlanders keeeeep on rolling!

Can't wait for SBW to crush some Vaalies tonight!

SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADE



!!

gummi, traitor much?

Slade was very good, especially considering this was his second game back.

Horrorcanes strike again.....

I like watching the Highlanders - you know they'll give it 100% and they look like they are enjoying themselves. The Crusaders are just awesome, SBW and Fruen had the Bull's mid-field petrified in a most un-South African way. As the old joke goes, the Bulls were lucky to get nil. To me, the Bulls look a team reflection of Victor Matfield - on the wrong side of the form hill and slowly declining in power.

The Hurricanes are complete jokes. Last night the Hurricanes didn't seem to have a clue. Again. So many over-rated players in the Hurricanes - only Smith and Jane would even make the Crusaders line up, never mind the All Blacks. Nonu is simply terrible. Why was the totally inexperienced Hammet picked as coach when Rennie and Russell were available? Looking at the Crusaders, three of their backs last night - Berquist, Guilford and Dagg - came from Hawkes Bay, players who couldn't get regular play in the Hurricanes so moved. There are heaps of Taranaki, Hawkes Bay and Manawatu players in other NZ Franchises who are there because the Hurricanes are run out of Wellington with scant regard for the other teams in the franchise area. The Hurricanes are now actually just a very mediocre Wellington team coached by a Cantabury bumpkin promoted to Super rugby far to early. Hurricane crowd numbers have plummeted and the team is fresh out of talent and coahcing ideas.

It's crazy that on paper Hurricanes don't look too bad. Their forwards are mud and Nonu is obviously responding to the pressure in the negative way. Smith is by far the best centre in the world tho, imo. I would agree with Hammet call too.

I don't think on closer examination the Hurricanes paper reputation stack ups - they are headlined as having a heap of All Blacks, but only Weepu (long term injury), Nonu, Smith and Jane are really regular All Blacks. Hore is looking past it and Gear is not yet proven as a regular All Black. The rest of them - Eaton, Schwalger, etc etc may have once worn the black jersey but really are in the "tried and discarded" category.

I don't like Nonu but he is a better player than his current form. While I think some of the problems can be sheeted home to the mis-management of the franchise partners (have the Wellington based administrators harnessed the enthusiasm of Manawatu, the financial nous of Hawkes Bay and the grit of Taranaki? I don't think so!) I think their biggest problem is they are just not being coached to the level required for this competition. Look at the difference a good coach has made to the Highlanders. I think Hammet was parachuted in to stop him going to the Rebels, not because he was the best coach available for the Hurricanes.

I give no fuck about Northern Transvaal bro :>

RACIST.

Rebels are actually doing well. Seriously, while I picked them as dark horses, I didn't expect them to lift of the bottom of the table. I doubt Rebels would have taken Hammet over Macqueen too, so this is just a pure speculation. And when I said they look good on the paper, I meant when comparing with a side like Highlanders, who have only Cowan and Thompson as current ABs.

This!!


....



I have no idea what Im talking about!

genetics matter hugely for any sprint events, not just for a 'kick start' as you call it. genetics also matter hugely for any endurance event as well (nick willis was running around 12 sec 100m as a 12 year old or something), but it is easier to train for those if you don't have 'natural ability'.

Highlanders rampage continues - Slade Goneburger FUCK!!!!

Rennie coach for Chiefs 2012/2013