2013 Super Rugby Final - CHIEFS v BRUMBIES

[Ruggo]

Congratulations Chiefs. Quality side and well deserved.

Commiserations Brumbies fans. This may be a bit empty but shit your boys turned it on. That would have to be one of the proudest displays from a rugby team I've seen and they gave it all and them some. I am sure any genuine rugby fan would feel nothing but respect for them after that effort. The bodies gave up with 10 minutes to go and a few little eras the result of fatigue. Unfortunately the Chiefs are the side that takes those opportunities.

That was a great final and highlighted everything I love about the game. It was played in a fantastic spirit in my view.

I knew Jake White was a good coach but how he has spoken about his players and staff in the last few weeks has me having even more respect for him. There was nothing diplomatic about his praise for them and struck me as genuinely straight from the heart. Good coach and a bloody good bloke also.

 

[Ruggo]

I go along with Sully, I don't think the travel got to Brumbies as much as Chiefs changing to more direct rugby that did it!!

I think it was all a very well thought out tactic based on patience. They ran them around in the first half to take the legs out of them knowing in the second half they could get easy meters over the advantage line by gong more direct. It worked a treat.

 

[Bullrush]

Luckily the former Reds coach doesn't agree with you. Giving his statements on The Rugby Show. He points out how The Brumbies do much better when White is at half.

I second your first para though and think it was a good game.


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Biggest game of his life and he was poor. Big time players get up for big time games and White was found very wanting.

 

[No4918]

Biggest game of his life and he was poor. Big time players get up for big time games and White was found very wanting.

Bad logic. How good was D Carter in his first final? Did McCaw make a few mistakes in his first test? Cruden had a mare but I was one of many applauding his maturity and control last week, is it only this one that counts because it was the bigger game?

 

[louie]

Bulleush is being very unfair to Nic White. Last week was a massive game for him and he didn't go wanting. Cruden kicking was shocking last night, he's played in WC finals and Super Rugby finals before, so do we rule him out completely.
Give the kid a chance. He's only been playing Super Rugby for two years. He's developing nicely. Big games are all about experience. Let him gain some before being to harsh.

 

[Bullrush]

No.....as I said earlier, I've had doubts about White for a while now. And I think McCaw was MOTM in his first Test.

Cruden wasn't outstanding but it's a stretch to say he had a mare. White was terrible....

 

[cyclopath]

There is a difference between saying "White had a poor game" - which he did, and "White is a poor player", which I don't think many would say he is. His perceived strengths of kicking, sniping etc. were not executed well.
In no way should this tarnish him overall - he's young, he'll get better for it.
Mogg, too, made quite a few errors in the "strong" parts of his game.
Both too talented to be ignored.

 

[Bullrush]

I just think a lot of people here have put White as the clear No.2 half-back in the country and I don 't think it's so obvious

 

[aeneas]

I just think a lot of people here have put White as the clear No.2 half-back in the country and I don 't think it's so obvious

I've only really watched the brumbies for the last two games. Based on that small sample set i'd not be looking at white for higher honours any time soon. Maybe as the backup to the backup on the end of year tour.

 

[louie]

Nic White is far better then any other contender for back up to Genia. Simple as that.

 

[wamberal]

Nic White is far better then any other contender for back up to Genia. Simple as that.

Simple, as in simple-minded, maybe.

 

[Dam0]

Although I'd generally been impressed by White this season, he was utter pants last night. Dunno enough about the other contenders to know if he is still the number 2, but if so I reckon Genia is gonna have to play a lot of 80 minute tests this season.

That ginga kid from Melbourne looked pretty good in the few goes I have seen. Stirzaker or whatever his name is. Maybe a prospect for next year, although I guess he will struggle to get game-time behind Burgess (?).

 

[Scotty]

I wonder if it was a tactic for the Brumbies to slow the ball down from the ruck though? White looked a bit slow to react to situations at times, but I'm not sure all of the slowness could be laid at his feet - the other White might have been instructing it.

It didn't work either way though - especially when they had a lot of possession in the first half they should have been looking to leverage it more.

 

[The Red Baron]

Wow one bad game and the punters are lining up to sink the boot in! Come on guys, cut nic white some slack. yes, he had a shocker, but his form over the last two seasons is enough to show that he is the best man to be genia's backup.

 

[Brumby Jack]

Firstly, well done to the Chiefs on back-to-back titles. They seemed to lift in the last 15-20 minutes when the substitutions of Robinson, Pulu and Aki were made.

The Brumbies can be proud of their season, despite coming up short. The vibe around Hamilton and NZ in general is that they were a tougher match than they anticipated and made the Chiefs work really hard for their win.

The Chiefs fans were good sports and applauded the Brumbies as runners-up and even gave a louder cheer for George Smith when he made his way up to the stage. There was good banter from all fans leading up to the game and that can't go unnoticed after the recent booing saga with other players.

Apart from the subs, the difference was the Chiefs were able to exploit the few chances they were given and adjusted to the rush defence of the Brumbies, especially after the intercept try, which looked inevitable it must be said.

But as the game wore on, the Brumbies starting missing tackles and making mistakes that put them under pressure that they couldn't sustain. How many times have you seen Henry Speight kick the ball? I'm guessing not many, and it was strange that he would do that after making metres from restarts during the match.

Onwards to 2014!

 

[louie]

Simple, as in simple-minded, maybe.

It's simple minded because the answer is clear for everyone to see. There's no contender.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

White is better than any other second choice half back in Australia right now, end of story. He had a poor game last night, but the bulk of his performances over the last two seasons have been up to the appropriate standard.

 

[Ruggo]

Regarding Nick White, didn't he look like he had a problem physically during the warm up? What effect did this have on his performance? I don't think this is a simple case of "he cracked under the pressure". I think given the travel the Brumbies have gone through it is a bit rich to pass judgment on performance without acknowledging these factors.

Put a bit of historical context into things and the last three years the runner up has done a shitload of travel before the final and some of the best players currently playing have been below par as a result in the final.

 

[Dave Beat]

George Smith had another great game, he'd be my first Wallaby picked if eligible.

 

[Tex]

Thought Tameifuna was luck to escape penalty for his shoulder charge on Kuidrani and the no-ball tackle on Speight.

Brumbies were great but ultimately ran out of gas in the last 15-20 minutes. Ben Mowen would've made the cover tackle on Robinson but was dead on his feet. Thems the breaks!