Super XV 2015 General Discussion Thread

sydthebeat

SOB does it a lot too.

Hosea gear having a good impact here, don't think he's anywhere near an ab shirt though with the class that's ahead of him.

But good to see him back

sydthebeat

Chiefs individual errors in the canes 5m area is really killing tthem

Buer

Perenara's passing is far too loopy, no zip at all and is killing his backs.

Buer

Oh sweet Jesus. That's a season ender for Allardice by the looks of it. Awful looking injury through the side of the knee.

matthew8

No second rows left for the Chiefs. 2 back rows in second row now.

stl.ire

Horrible injury there. 2 guys diving in at the clearout pincering on his legs.

Canes starting to get back into this. The Chiefs had so much territory and dominance in the forwards but somehow only picked up 6 points.

sydthebeat

Great break and try for chiefs.

Sam cane carrying them a bit at the moment

matthew8

Try right on half time for the Chiefs. Deserved, they've been the better team. Scrums could get very tough in the second half though with no second rows.

Buer

Great try from the Chiefs at perfect time to go in with noses in front.

They'll need to keep it very high tempo, ball in hand and quick movement from the ruck now. May as well play to their strength with 4 flankers on the pitch. The flankers they've brought on aren't exactly small men, though; 112kg and 113kg respectively.

stl.ire

Chiefs deserve their lead. They're doing a great job pressuring the Canes and holding them back in their own half. Eventually that's been rewarded. Will be an interesting 2nd half for sure.

LuckyGent88

Finally getting back to seeing some super rugby after a hectic few weeks.

Iv lost my way a little in the predictor competition can't belive the Reds beat the rebels after there performance in christchurch the previous week.

Enjoyable game here. Big test for the Hurricanes in this second half to prove they have the strength to win the competition. Really like Mackenzie playing at 10 for the Chiefs.

LuckyGent88

Had to score a try after all that pressure and refusing to take the 3 points.

Buer

Well organised maul try but I absolutely hate the tactic of holding the jumper up in the air for a second or two in the hope that the defending team will try and take the lifters out and potentially concede a yellow card. Putting your own player at risk through cynical play should be an automatic penalty to the defending team.

stl.ire

Canes going right after the Chiefs on the lineout. Chiefs will need to figure out how to survive with 1 lock. Would be a shame to see this game won by injuries but it's sensible for the canes

LuckyGent88

Ah that's a harsh yellow imo but you run the risk anytime you lift a player. Chiefs were due a yellow card though

Buer

A lot of double movements in this game not being called. Player is tackled, goes to deck and held, tries to regain his feet and move forward before placing ball.

LuckyGent88

Hope that counts. What a try

Ah that's a pity. Some lovely passes in that piece of play

matthew8

Referees should never call advantage over in that situation. The team's only doing something risky because they have the advantage.

LuckyGent88

Great intercept from nonu. Great hands. 50 tries in super rugby is superb

No doubt about that one

Buer

That's a 14 point intercept. Chiefs had a couple of men over and a load of space to work with. Fantastic take from Nonu to pick it off his knees at the second attempt.

stl.ire

What hands by Nonu! Sonny Bill watching in the stands won't be too pleased with this performance.

LostArt

Really enjoyable game, glad I was up for this.

LuckyGent88

Some turn around here

Poor call. That was knocked out of his hands

LostArt

Played on the ground, no?!

matthew8

Ball definitely came off Cane but it was clearly played on ground by Hurricanes.

bilston

The ball was clearly played by the Hurricanes player on the ground.

Another terrible end of match decision by Glen Jackson.

LuckyGent88

Wow. What a bloody scrum response from the canes. Chiefs down locks but still weren't concentrated on the scrum

stl.ire

Great win for the Canes but very, very lucky. The chiefs probably deserved it and some of the ref calls at the end were pretty debatable if not plain wrong. Good game though and great that thy meet again in a few weeks!

Very fortunate for the Canes young 10 Black, he came on and almost blew the game with a couple of poor kicks not finding touch. Would have been a nightmare start to his super rugby career.

Tough to pick a mtom out of Nonu and Sam Cane. Both supreme.

sydthebeat

Worst game I've seen perenara play all season, add to that an inexperienced 10 and that's why the Canes were So stop start today.

But still managed to win mainly due to chiefs injuries and panic in the red zone.

SuprSi

The ref definitely said it was half time there!

SuprSi

What a try by the Sharks!! Brilliant vision and execution.

SuprSi

Oh wow what a try again from the Sharks

SuprSi

Ah balls, he's out...

sydthebeat

That's a disaster for the sharks, it wasn't even that bad of a pass

matthew8

Super 15 refereeing has been a bit of a joke. Referee completely did the Sharks in there. First Waratahs try was a crooked throw, their second try he insisted there was nothing wrong with the maul despite clear obstruction and you couldn't even see the grounding afterwards. Then I thought Beale definitely shoulder charged Sithole as he dived for the corner, even at that I couldn't see the leg out of play that the officials could see. Sharks much better the last 2 weeks, Reds-Sharks will be really interesting with a look to next year.

.ak

Enjoyed the Sharks game as a neutral, some really good tries. Did think the ref was hard on the Sharks tho

Swiwi.

stl.ire wrote: »

Tough to pick a mtom out of Nonu and Sam Cane. Both supreme.

Was pleasantly surprised by Hosea Gear. Thought he was finished TBH.

NMS also showed great positioning today at 15 and has s good punt. He's an outside chance to displace Dagg in an AB squad I reckon.

Chiefs were shifted by Jackson at the end there with that knock-on call.

Bit of a meh game overall I thought.

SuprSi

matthew8 wrote: »

Super 15 refereeing has been a bit of a joke. Referee completely did the Sharks in there. First Waratahs try was a crooked throw, their second try he insisted there was nothing wrong with the maul despite clear obstruction and you couldn't even see the grounding afterwards. Then I thought Beale definitely shoulder charged Sithole as he dived for the corner, even at that I couldn't see the leg out of play that the officials could see. Sharks much better the last 2 weeks, Reds-Sharks will be really interesting with a look to next year.

His knee was definitely in touch, which was really unfortunate, but it should have been a penalty try as it was the shoulder charge that that caused his knee to go into touch.

matthew8

Sopoaga's goal kicking has been absolutely outstanding. Playing his way into the squad for the world cup.

SuprSi

Stupid Sky are showing the Women's Sevens rugby on Sky Go rather than either the HSBC Sevens or Super Rugby.

Swiwi.

Landers on fire. That's the 4 try BP wrapped up already.

matthew8

38-3. An absolute rout by the Highlanders. Cheetahs injury situation is desperate.

SuprSi

That's some scoreline

skippymac6

A bit of hard ground and the Highlanders are so exciting to watch

Swiwi.

Ben Smith with a perfectly weighted grubber of his left foot. That is a nice bit of skill. Where was this Cheetahs team in the first 40?

Swiwi.

http://i.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/68609050/Clermont-relents-Waisake-Naholo-to-stay-with-Highlanders-in-New-Zealand-report

No complaints from me if it proves correct.

sydthebeat

Swiwi. wrote: »

http://i.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/68609050/Clermont-relents-Waisake-Naholo-to-stay-with-Highlanders-in-New-Zealand-report

No complaints from me if it proves correct.

ill be delighted myself

great game today against a poor cheetahs side, loved the mix of skills involved though to score the trys

stl.ire

Swiwi. wrote: »

Was pleasantly surprised by Hosea Gear. Thought he was finished TBH.

NMS also showed great positioning today at 15 and has s good punt. He's an outside chance to displace Dagg in an AB squad

Gear was impressive. Perhaps he didn't deserve some of the criticism he's gotten this season. He has been stuck behind 2 of the form wingers in NZ in Lowe and Heem so hasn't had much opportunity to redeem some early season performances.

NMS was solid at fullback. He got to show off his monster boot which covered some of his inexperienced defensive positioning. But he proved he's an option there which is huge for his AB hopes. His place at the WC will be based on how he goes in the warm ups but he's on the right track long term.

The naholo news is big for the WC. I reckon Cory Jane's penciled in as the 2nd wing opposite Savea but naholo is a huge threat to that with the form he's in. The fact Hansen seems to have intervened to keep him in NZ should ensure he's at least on the plane to England.

sydthebeat

http://www.superbru.com/superrugby/pool_leaderboard.php?p=11353585

we're down to on 3.33 points between 1st and 6th ..... this is going to go down to the wire
4 rounds to go before the playoffs