I know I'm supposed to be talking about the Quarter finals this week ... Is that what they're called? Can they be called Quarter finals when only 2 games were played? I'm still trying to get my head around this new format .... And I will, I just want to start with a couple of buts and pieces from my time away.
Apologies for late, and absent, blogs. Internet access in China was not as accessible as I had, perhaps foolishly, anticipated - this is a google blog after all. The Shanghai Shangrila was the first, and only time I had full access, and I think that was because they ran a VPN out of Hong Kong.
In an apparently misguided attempt to let you all know I was AWOL, AFR, I, naively, gave my password to the boyfriend and asked him to post 2 entries I'd written. I apologise for the fact that you got 3 ......
While unauthorised, I do however feel no small degree of pride in the wooden spoon post. Not bad for someone who watched his first game ever just three years ago, in a pub, to which he brought a newspaper. I feel a bit like Obi Wan, the force is strong in this one.
I have taught you well grasshopper.
Anyway, that is not to say I didn't actually manage to see the Rebels last game of 2011. I did, in an Irish pub, in Shanghai, and it turned out to be kiwi night! Very surreal. Tui, hoki poki, pav and lamb, it was all good ay.
But now, back to the games that matter. I'm proud to say I called em both, not that you'd know since I haven't been able to make my picks in three weeks .... But I did.
The Blues v Warratahs, I actually watched second. I was in the air while it was played and upon returning home opted for a nap before the Crusaders game.
So, while watching on Monday morning, I knew who won, but not the score.
Conditions weren't pretty at Eden Park which kept fans away and made for some tricky handling. The 15,000 who did show up certainly looked very small in the recently expanded 50,000 seat stadium.
It was scrappy rugby with crooked throwins, some shocking passes and abysmal kicks from both sides.
The Blues missed a lot of tackels, 11 to the Tahs 4 in the first half, and Brett missed 5 of 6 attempted during the match.
If the Blues were struggling a bit in defence, it was discipline letting down the Warratahs, who's bad luck with injury continued, including some 'friendly fire', a lock and a winger knocking heads while attempting to tackle a rampaging Joe Afoa storming down the wing in his 100th game for the Blues.
If they weren't 6 feet under already, the Ali Williams try was the nail in the Sydneysiders coffin and Phil Wagh ended his long career with the Tahs leaving the field in the 65th minute.
The Blues just never gave the Warratahs any ball in the second half. Putting on 16 unanswered points before Lachie Turner went over in the 74th minute, after Pat Lam rung in the changes and pretty much emptied the bench, including brining Daniel Braid back on the park for the first time in 14 weeks.
On to game number two.....
Before the 2 sides even ran onto the pitch, there were two things I was happy to see:
1, the Crusaders were playing in their 'proper' strip, and 2, it looked bloody cold in Nelson, the Sharks bench were sitting under duvets, not blankets, DUVETS (donnas for the Australians amongst us).
The Crusaders were first on the board, courtesy of a Willem Alberts infringement right in front of the sticks after 18 seconds. Yep, 18 seconds. The only change to the Sharks line up from the team that beat the Bulls was certainly making his presence felt. He 'redeemed' himself shortly afterwards crossing the line for the first try of the match and giving the boys from Durban the lead.
The Crusaders know how to play 'finals football' though, and the most successful team in super rugby history was always going to be tough to beat. Once Sonny Bill Williams went over, the Crusaders never lost the lead.
It wasn't all sunshine and lollipops though. The Sharks outmuscled the Cantabrians at the break down effectively cleaning out the rucks and making life difficult for Andy Ellis as the Crusaders just didn't commit the numbers in the first half.
Ok- sidebar. An ad for Hahn Super Dry that screened during half time ... Who gave a sub standard Aussie beer permission to usurp the theme tune from knight rider?
The game wasn't as pretty as the one played at Twickenham during the regular season - that one was spectacular - but the second half got a lot better for the red and blacks and the Sharks never really looked in it.
So, despite the multitude of 'extra' challenges faced by the Crusaders this season, the crew will add to their massive tally of air miles - over 80,000 this season already, travelling to Cape Town to face the Stormers. They will get Richie back for the semi final, but might have lost Kieran Reid .....
Monday, June 27, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Rugby Grrrl AWOL and AFR
For the next few weeks this blog will be in hiatus while I am globetrotting in Asia.
While I will have access to the blog, via ipad and internet café, I will not have regular access to a very necessary ingredient: Super XV rugby games.
To tweak an internet acronymn learned from Dr Sheldon Cooper, I will be A (away) F (from) R (rugby).
Feel free to share your thoughts about the next three rounds with me and each other via the Comments section.
Hui jian
Rugby Grrl
Saturday, June 11, 2011
And the wooden spoon goes to......
Every great entertainment show has it's guest format - guest presenter, guest writer, guest singer. And this week, you lucky lucky people, you get a guest blogger, as Rugby Grrrl is still running around China taking a great leap forward. Now, obviously one cannot compete with the Grrrl in many areas - to quote a certain judge, 'Your vision of her probably will never disappear. Has she elegance? Has she fragrance?"
Actually, probably not a good quote, as the judge then went on to talk about something not very nice at all in the case he was commenting on, but I won't bring the tone down. er.....that looks like Rugby Grrrl was on trial, so I should clear that up -no, she has never been charged with a felony.
Not easy this guest blogger stuff. Don't think I'll be invited back.
So - this week the Rebels reached for the wooden spoon for the Australian conference and firmly wrested it from the Brumbies. The rejoining of Danny Cipriani to the starting lineup gave supporters hope that they might repeat the performance of week two, this time in an away format much more chilly - in all senses of the word - than Melbourne had been.
Rebels watchers have learned to dread the 20 minute burn - that initial 20 or so minutes when the brains of the team havent yet warmed up, and opposing teams slam 15-30 points away before a slow fightback begins. true to form, the Brumbies dominated the first half, with 13 points in the first 20 and another 12 before the mid-term whistle. 25-3 was not the score hoped for at this juncture.
And then......once again, a different team walked out in the second half. Quick balls, flicking back and fowards between multiple blue jerseys, fast breaks, and a willingness to drive hard up the middle (at one point I am sure there was a 18 phase attack!) gave the Rebels two unanswered tries, bringing them within one converted try and a penalty to win. Rousing stuff....especially as Prettyboy Danny actually made a couple of tackles without looking like he was trying to save on the washing powder.
But, in the end, the Brumbies pushed another try over, and the whistle cemented the spoon; nice for them, as it was the final game in the stadium for a number of their key players who are moving on. For the Rebels, the question now must be how can they prepare for the next season to avoid another spoon for the dressing room wall.....
One more thing before I hand back to the Grrrl - congrats on Gareth Delve on getting a Welsh jersey for the World Cup in just a few months. I for one will be cheering him on from the sidelines of at least a couple of the games.....
right, I am off to find a lawyer who can protect me from vengeful kiwi wimmin......
Actually, probably not a good quote, as the judge then went on to talk about something not very nice at all in the case he was commenting on, but I won't bring the tone down. er.....that looks like Rugby Grrrl was on trial, so I should clear that up -no, she has never been charged with a felony.
Not easy this guest blogger stuff. Don't think I'll be invited back.
So - this week the Rebels reached for the wooden spoon for the Australian conference and firmly wrested it from the Brumbies. The rejoining of Danny Cipriani to the starting lineup gave supporters hope that they might repeat the performance of week two, this time in an away format much more chilly - in all senses of the word - than Melbourne had been.
Rebels watchers have learned to dread the 20 minute burn - that initial 20 or so minutes when the brains of the team havent yet warmed up, and opposing teams slam 15-30 points away before a slow fightback begins. true to form, the Brumbies dominated the first half, with 13 points in the first 20 and another 12 before the mid-term whistle. 25-3 was not the score hoped for at this juncture.
And then......once again, a different team walked out in the second half. Quick balls, flicking back and fowards between multiple blue jerseys, fast breaks, and a willingness to drive hard up the middle (at one point I am sure there was a 18 phase attack!) gave the Rebels two unanswered tries, bringing them within one converted try and a penalty to win. Rousing stuff....especially as Prettyboy Danny actually made a couple of tackles without looking like he was trying to save on the washing powder.
But, in the end, the Brumbies pushed another try over, and the whistle cemented the spoon; nice for them, as it was the final game in the stadium for a number of their key players who are moving on. For the Rebels, the question now must be how can they prepare for the next season to avoid another spoon for the dressing room wall.....
One more thing before I hand back to the Grrrl - congrats on Gareth Delve on getting a Welsh jersey for the World Cup in just a few months. I for one will be cheering him on from the sidelines of at least a couple of the games.....
right, I am off to find a lawyer who can protect me from vengeful kiwi wimmin......
Ravenous Brumbies storm the thin Red line
ok, now this time the extreme tardiness really isn't my fault ... I blame delayed flights and inconstant Internet access ....
Well I'm writing this week's entry somewhere fairly unique. Seat 40A, 38,000 feet somewhere above the Molucca Sea (I didn't even know there was such a thing).
Needless to say I've had some things other than rugby on my mind this weekend, but I still managed to squeeze in a game or two.
Two that I wish had seen, but didn't, were the Blues v Chiefs and the Sharks v Cheetahs. The highlights I saw on Fox Sports' Inside Rugby made both look like crackers. That, almost, full length of the field run by Joe Rokothoco, only to end up, almost, at the other end if the park courtesy of Mills Mulinia looked pretty exciting.
The games I did see ... My last trip to AAMI Park for the Rebels, then the highlanders v Force and the Reds v Brumbies.
I'll start with the Highlanders as they played first even if I saw them second.
Now I'm not going to pretend to know the full story or all the arguments for and against the new strip. I just wasn't sure why they didn't choose to e d an era by playing Carisbrook's last Super Rugby game in the old jerseys.
Tradition runs deep at the house of pain and, to me, it would have made sense to retire the stadium and the strip at the same time and start over with a new look and a new home next season.
But, like I said, that's just me.
The Rebels v Stormers was just the sort of game no rugby fan wants to see - BORING.
When the members are reading the newspaper and cracking jokes about the feasibility of sailing to New Zealand for the World Cup, you know you've lost a key demographic.
Personally, I spent most of the game translating the Afrikaans banners brought along by the many Stormers fans in attendance. I don't think they all made the trip especially for the occasion. Previously, I had supposed that the Rebels fan-base was rooted across the Tasman, now I'm not so sure. Over 15,000 in attendance and I think a significant number of those were from much further afield (originally).
The Reds v Brumbies was an interesting proposition, playing for the wonkiest trophy I've even laid eyes on. I guess most of the blame for that should go to the Brumbies since they've held it most of the time.
The Brumbies were hungry, and it showed. They shut down the Reds, who didn't seem to be able to adapt and come up with anything new in response.
The Queenslanders frustration was obvious, they were losing the game and started to lose it with each other as well. Anthony Fa'inga threw his twin brother the mother of evil looks, and a bit of strong verbal when he put down a pass from the Hooker that could have been a real try scoring opportunity.
There were some nasty injuries: Digby Ioane unwittingly contributing to the planking craze sweeping the nation when he was knocked out cold, Ben Lucas taking a trip to la-la land (although he returned to the field and played on), and Mark Chisholm hobbling off with a bung knee.
All in all the Brumbies were the better side on the day and 13 knocked off the top dog. They played well, but as the commentary team pointed out, "They should have a few (good games) stored up, they've been rubbish all season!"
Touché.
Well I'm writing this week's entry somewhere fairly unique. Seat 40A, 38,000 feet somewhere above the Molucca Sea (I didn't even know there was such a thing).
Needless to say I've had some things other than rugby on my mind this weekend, but I still managed to squeeze in a game or two.
Two that I wish had seen, but didn't, were the Blues v Chiefs and the Sharks v Cheetahs. The highlights I saw on Fox Sports' Inside Rugby made both look like crackers. That, almost, full length of the field run by Joe Rokothoco, only to end up, almost, at the other end if the park courtesy of Mills Mulinia looked pretty exciting.
The games I did see ... My last trip to AAMI Park for the Rebels, then the highlanders v Force and the Reds v Brumbies.
I'll start with the Highlanders as they played first even if I saw them second.
Now I'm not going to pretend to know the full story or all the arguments for and against the new strip. I just wasn't sure why they didn't choose to e d an era by playing Carisbrook's last Super Rugby game in the old jerseys.
Tradition runs deep at the house of pain and, to me, it would have made sense to retire the stadium and the strip at the same time and start over with a new look and a new home next season.
But, like I said, that's just me.
The Rebels v Stormers was just the sort of game no rugby fan wants to see - BORING.
When the members are reading the newspaper and cracking jokes about the feasibility of sailing to New Zealand for the World Cup, you know you've lost a key demographic.
Personally, I spent most of the game translating the Afrikaans banners brought along by the many Stormers fans in attendance. I don't think they all made the trip especially for the occasion. Previously, I had supposed that the Rebels fan-base was rooted across the Tasman, now I'm not so sure. Over 15,000 in attendance and I think a significant number of those were from much further afield (originally).
The Reds v Brumbies was an interesting proposition, playing for the wonkiest trophy I've even laid eyes on. I guess most of the blame for that should go to the Brumbies since they've held it most of the time.
The Brumbies were hungry, and it showed. They shut down the Reds, who didn't seem to be able to adapt and come up with anything new in response.
The Queenslanders frustration was obvious, they were losing the game and started to lose it with each other as well. Anthony Fa'inga threw his twin brother the mother of evil looks, and a bit of strong verbal when he put down a pass from the Hooker that could have been a real try scoring opportunity.
There were some nasty injuries: Digby Ioane unwittingly contributing to the planking craze sweeping the nation when he was knocked out cold, Ben Lucas taking a trip to la-la land (although he returned to the field and played on), and Mark Chisholm hobbling off with a bung knee.
All in all the Brumbies were the better side on the day and 13 knocked off the top dog. They played well, but as the commentary team pointed out, "They should have a few (good games) stored up, they've been rubbish all season!"
Touché.
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