Super XV 2014 General Discussion Thread

Swiwi.

sydthebeat wrote: »

Yeah not a bad result and sounds like the performance was something to build on.
If we can keep injury free we will be well in the hunt

An injury to Ben Smith and it's season over for the Landers. The wee Japanese scrumhalf could replace A.Smith at a stretch, but Ben is just immaculate at FB, and the fulcrum of their attacking play. Hopefully Sopoaga will be OK. Fekitoa had another pretty good game, although got caught out for one of the Stormers tries.

Swiwi.

Morf wrote: »

Who was the 7s chap with red hair with an Irish first name? Possibly red hair too!

You got me there Morf

sydthebeat

Marty mckenzie?

Swiwi.

Got it! Is it Declan O'Donnell? You can't get a more Irish name than that and the picture tells a thousand words...

Morf

That'd be him!

Gold star for Swiwi!

hahashake

A few big games this weekend. The biggest being the top of the table Sharks against the second placed Brumbies in Canberra. One is the team formerly coached by Jake White and the other is currently coached by the RWC winning coach. This game could be a preview of the final.

Chiefs v Blues on the "neutral" ground of New Plymouth is sure to be entertaining. Chiefs are top of the NZ conference but are injury-stricken, while the Blues are bottom of the NZ conference (9th on the overall table) but on an upward curve following the departure of Benji Marshall, and the fine form of Jerome Kaino and Ma'a Nonu. Oklahoma City Thunder centre Steven Adams wore his Chiefs jersey in the post match interview following his teams round 1 NBA playoff series win which will hopefully bring some luck or motivation to the defending champs.

Swiwi.

There are lots of good games this weekend

- Chiefs v Blues: favour Chiefs, Blues can't seem to win away from Eden Park
- Rebels v Canes: should be entertaining ++, hope Canes win to stay in the hunt
- Landers v Lions: mainly to see Malekai in action again, but I hope the Southerners pick up 5 points here
- Brumbies v Sharks: want a Brumbies win a) because they play better footie b) don't want Sharks to be ranked 1
- Cheetahs v Force: doubt I watch it, but if the Force are the real deal they should beat the Cheetahs (favour Cheetahs here)
- Bulls v Stormers: not a masochist, so won't watch this. Hope Stormers win, want to see 3 Kiwi teams in the knockout stages
- Reds v Saders: Crusaders should win this, they have a decent enough record in Brisbane, and seem on the rise

Did you see Adams' salary: as a rookie he's on US$2,000,000 :eek:

CatFromHue

How come the Chiefs Blues game is in New Plymouth?

Swiwi.

CatFromHue wrote: »

How come the Chiefs Blues game is in New Plymouth?

Well CatFromHue, it's can of worms time. Traditionally, Taranaki has sided with the Canes. However, they got sick of playing 2nd fiddle to Wellington, so successfully applied to the NZRFU to transfer to the Chiefs. So it's "neutral" territory this year, but Chiefs territory next year. Chiefs will now have Waikato, Counties, Bay of Plenty and Taranaki in their territory, while the Canes will have Wellington, Hawkes Bay and Manawatu.

hahashake

Swiwi. wrote: »

There are lots of good games this weekend

- Chiefs v Blues: favour Chiefs, Blues can't seem to win away from Eden Park
- Rebels v Canes: should be entertaining ++, hope Canes win to stay in the hunt
- Landers v Lions: mainly to see Malekai in action again, but I hope the Southerners pick up 5 points here
- Brumbies v Sharks: want a Brumbies win a) because they play better footie b) don't want Sharks to be ranked 1
- Cheetahs v Force: doubt I watch it, but if the Force are the real deal they should beat the Cheetahs (favour Cheetahs here)
- Bulls v Stormers: not a masochist, so won't watch this. Hope Stormers win, want to see 3 Kiwi teams in the knockout stages
- Reds v Saders: Crusaders should win this, they have a decent enough record in Brisbane, and seem on the rise

Did you see Adams' salary: as a rookie he's on US$2,000,000 :eek:

Agree with all this and Steven Adams will be on a lot more in years to come.

CatFromHue wrote: »

How come the Chiefs Blues game is in New Plymouth?

Taranaki transferred from being in the Hurricanes franchise area to the Chiefs recently. Geographically it is right in the middle but culturally it probably has more in common with the Chiefs. Main reason for the change I think was the lack of Hurricanes games played there. Still pretty ridiculous if you ask me and you can see why older rugby fans prefer the provincial game to super rugby.

Swiwi.

Have you ever been to Taranaki hahashake? New Plymouth and Wanganui are about the only 2 major outposts I have never set foot in. I should make the effort one day...I guess. Sort of like an Irish person saying they really must see Longford or Leitrim one of these days...

hahashake

Went there once growing up, can't remember much other than it being a fairly typical NZ scene. Rugged coastline, farmland and the conical mountain overlooking it all. All I really remember from New Plymouth was the festival of lights in the park. Don't think I have ever been to Wanganui though.

Yeah_Right

Swiwi. wrote: »

Have you ever been to Taranaki hahashake? New Plymouth and Wanganui are about the only 2 major outposts I have never set foot in. I should make the effort one day...I guess. Sort of like an Irish person saying they really must see Longford or Leitrim one of these days...

New Plymouth is a great little town. Good surf and good pubs.

Wanganui a major outpost..... now there's a sentence I never thought I'd hear.

Anyone got a link to the interview of Adams where he is wearing the Chiefs jersey? Couldn't find it on Youtube.

stephen_n

Swiwi. wrote: »

Have you ever been to Taranaki hahashake? New Plymouth and Wanganui are about the only 2 major outposts I have never set foot in. I should make the effort one day...I guess. Sort of like an Irish person saying they really must see Longford or Leitrim one of these days...

So you're saying they are kips?

skippymac6

Howya Lads big rugby fan and nice thread. I agree with the above post that it would be a shame if the Sharks were able to finish top of the pile and basically ruin the playoffs. I played over in Durban when I was younger and it's a crying shame the way they play rugby with the level of players that they have at their disposal.

Crusaders are bubbling nicely and with king Richie back they could take some stopping. Kieran Read to return to the fold too. Reds have been awful the past few weeks but you just get the sense that they are due a performance. Having a fully fit Liam Gill back will be a massive boost to them. He only got through 60 last week and if his try (prob 50-50 call) was allowed last week that might have been a different game.

Cheetahs should beat the Force if they plan an expansive game but the Force have some good players too if they allow them a bit of freedom. The Stormers have probably been the most disappointing team this year but they battled well last week. Can't see them having enough to beat the Bulls though.

Best game of the week (purely on tries and points) might be the Rebels vs Canes game -- that overs could be set in the mid to high fifties!!

hahashake

Yeah_Right wrote: »

New Plymouth is a great little town. Good surf and good pubs.

Wanganui a major outpost..... now there's a sentence I never thought I'd hear.

Anyone got a link to the interview of Adams where he is wearing the Chiefs jersey? Couldn't find it on Youtube.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/10010781/Playful-Adams-shows-his-Kiwi-side

Yeah_Right

Thanks for that. I always forget about Stuff.co.nz and never check it it.

Swiwi.

stephen_n wrote: »

So you're saying they are kips?

Depends whether you are from Leitrim or Longford stephen_n...

In fairness I haven't been to taranaki or wanganui and I probably have only passed thru those counties on the way to Donegal or such.

Swiwi.

I always like TeamTalk for a bit of a laugh

hahashake

Unsurprisingly Fekitoa has spoken with the AB coaches. Will not be surprised if we see him run out against England in a month.
http://tvnz.co.nz/rugby-news/highlanders-fekitoa-centre-attention-5966748

Also thought this was an interesting article on Mils, you might not want to read it if you are a Connacht fan.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/10014830/No-contract-extension-for-Muliaina

LuckyGent88

Positive start from the blues here.
Solid try in the corner with great work from nonu once again.
Cracking kick from hickey as well.

Awful stuff from the blues on the restart though and concede the try.

ScissorPaperRock

Well-taken Blues try again. Nonu keeping his run of form going, by the looks of things.

Swiwi.

Stop posting you're making me jealous...

danthefan

That is an unpleasant injury.

LuckyGent88

Doesn't look good for piatiu there. Knee crumbled in that tackle.
Chiefs took advantage of the situation and got the quality try.

matthew8

What a try right there.

pickarooney

Uh-oh, Bundee's not looking great.

LuckyGent88

Still a little fight in the blues here. Every competition point is vital in the NZ conference

LuckyGent88

Terrible from nonu at the end with the loosing bonus point a possability.
Blues lost there patience in the end but great defence from the chiefs.

Blues still can't win away from home so can't see them getting into the playoffs but that was a really convincing win for the chiefs

sydthebeat

rebels 10 - 25 Canes

15 mins left

sydthebeat

Ellison scores against his old club

conversion missed 15 - 25

sydthebeat

finished 15 - 25

Swiwi.

LuckyGent88 wrote: »

Doesn't look good for piatiu there. Knee crumbled in that tackle.
Chiefs took advantage of the situation and got the quality try.

pickarooney wrote: »

Uh-oh, Bundee's not looking great.

Sounds as if Piutau is serious ie knee reconstruction/6 months out of the game material - is this correct?

Did Aki get injured?

matthew8

Aki got a big cut from a stud. Looked very painful but of course shouldn't be anything long term.

Swiwi.

Piutau out for 6 to 8 weeks with medial ligament strain. Could have been worse, judging by the comments above. Still gutting though, was certain to pull on black against the men in white. That's the Blues season probably sunk if it wasn't already.

sydthebeat

Try already for the Highlanders! !!

sydthebeat

Hayden parker has scored a side line conversion, a half way penalty and a 35 meter drop goal.
Sopoaga who???

13 nil to Highlanders

LuckyGent88

Cracking start from the landers. Really need to be getting the try bonus win against the lions tonight and they are off to the perfect start

sydthebeat

Buckman second try! !

And Evans gets in as well!!

Highlanders looking extremely sharp today.

23 - 0

Swiwi.

Had to rely on the radio for the first 50 minutes. Now back home and in front of the "tele". C'mon Landers!

Shelflife

Prop lucky not to see red there, cheap and nasty shot!

Swiwi.

Snoop doggy gives away a Lions penalty.

phog

Shelflife wrote: »

Prop lucky not to see red there, cheap and nasty shot!

Cop out by ref, went to TMO, after TMO confirms shoulder to face, ref asks was it a penalty or more, TMO confirms more, then ref asks AR about a YC.

It was an elbow to the head, red card for me.

sydthebeat

Jeez

23 - 12 now

My -11 spread bet is looking under pressure.

12 mind left to get the Bonus point.

sydthebeat

Ridiculous

If Highlanders were boxers the towel would be thrown in. They're dead on their feat.

23 - 17

Swiwi.

sydthebeat wrote: »

Jeez

23 - 12 now

My -11 spread bet is looking under pressure.

12 mind left to get the Bonus point.

I'll take the win at this rate...

LuckyGent88

Brilliant stuff from the lions in this second half. Playing some attractive rugby. Brilliant lines and offloads happening.

Highlanders need to wake up quickly or this game could slipp away from them

sydthebeat

Way to many slipped tackles in open play, especially in midfield.

Must admit fekitoa has been anonymous in this game.

sydthebeat

knock on there?

Kiwi_knock

That is not a try for me