Waratahs vs Crusaders 2014 Super Rugby Grand Final

[Braveheart81]

I really don't think Folau was quiet. He always got on that outside shoulder of the defender and either beat the first tackler or made a lot of metres.

Almost every time the ball got out to him in those wide channels he made 15-20 metres over the advantage line and I think produced 5 offloads in the game (of varying degrees of advantage for the Tahs). I believe he topped the Tahs run metres in the final.

His try scoring has certainly dried up but his decision making has generally been really good and he definitely draws defenders away from others.

Against a poor team he will score tries at will again. He's still hugely valuable against the best teams though.

 

[chasmac]

I really don't think Folau was quiet. He always got on that outside shoulder of the defender and either beat the first tackler or made a lot of metres.

Almost every time the ball got out to him in those wide channels he made 15-20 metres over the advantage line and I think produced 5 offloads in the game (of varying degrees of advantage for the Tahs). I believe he topped the Tahs run metres in the final.

His try scoring has certainly dried up but his decision making has generally been really good and he definitely draws defenders away from others.

Against a poor team he will score tries at will again. He's still hugely valuable against the best teams though.

Do you think he got enough ball / touches in the game ? ( from a coaches perspective ?)

 

[Braveheart81]

Do you think he got enough ball / touches in the game ? ( from a coaches perspective ?)

I'd say so.

34 touches (1 kick, 13 passes, 20 runs).

By comparison, Beale had 49 and Foley had 48.

 

[BPC]

Further to my previous post, I predicted the crusaders would play a game where they kicked to the corners and used the lineout to create pressure and ultimately penalty goals.
I thought the final would be a game where there wasn't alot of football played.
Was it the presence of IF that stopped them from playing the territorial game?

Probably that and, when Carter went off, they lost their best tactical kicker.

 

[boyo]

In reflecting on the game I can't help but feel that Izzy was a bit quiet.
However, before this is taken as a negative, I would like to hear some thoughts from others on the matter.
My thoughts are along the lines that the Crusaders had a definite tactic of keeping him out of the game. I have not had a look at any stats to confirm this though.
Stats such as kicks from Crusaders, kicks to a lineout, deep kicks v's contested kicks.
Also Izzys run metres, possessions etc.
I did notice that for each of AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)'s tries, Izzy was the next man in the line and that he attracted alot of defenders which indirectly helped AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) to the tryline.
If he has to keep operating as a decoy because of the oppositions tactics, will he ultimately get stale / lose some of his mojo ?
Having been a slow, lightweight, unskilled, frontrower these things interest me in a perverse sort of a way.
Is his try scoring frequency through the regular season a good sort of a proxy for how opponents attempt to nullify him. Beale, Foley, etc seemed to be the biggest beneficiaries of the Folau factor.
Nice conundrum for EM - How do you keep a strike player like IF from getting nullified.

IMO Izzy keeps defenders guessing, thus he is a magnet. This gives other payers the opportunity to make breaks, score tries, etc.

 

[Pfitzy]

After a lightning try scoring start to the year, there was a bit of a hue and cry when Izzy didn't score a try in a couple of games this year. But he was so busy making space for everyone else that it didn't matter. Teams had learned that you need to cover the guy with at least 2 men or you're in danger.

While the leaguies would have us believe that Izzy is the only reason the Tahs won the title, it was this ability for him to understand his role as a weapon, and THEN a distributor, that assisted the Tahs with winning the title.

Also true of AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), who was given a reputation by a lot of fans from a particular team (who I won't name, but come from a small country town where they believe their bloke deserves first shot) as someone who can't pass. This was borne on the back of our support play at Tahs and Wallabies level being poor, ergo there was no-one to recieve the pass, but has since been proven utterly false by some of his excellent work this year.

 

[Rob42]

And Izzy is 100% reliable under the high ball. So reliable it's getting hard to remember the years and years we wished that fullbacks could master that basic skill. I reckon he's been teaching Kurtley that skill also.

 

[chasmac]

I'd say so.

34 touches (1 kick, 13 passes, 20 runs).

By comparison, Beale had 49 and Foley had 48.

34 touches is good involvement

 

[Hawko]

For fuck's sake mate the team just won the fucking grand final and you still want to put the boot in.

Jason Allen should be applauded for the team he has assembled both on and off the field, and turning around rugby in NSW. They have had their share of fuck ups over the years, but this is something they got VERY right and haven't got the plaudits they deserve.

Its not just a case of "putting the boot in". There were some pretty poor decisions made and some really bad stuff-ups. I'll list out some of them that I know about:

• The final ticketing fiasco, where members special code numbers to get them the best seats did not work for a lot of members. Some members got straight through, others had to wait up to an hour and a half. That meant they missed out on the better seats and I know a number of members who settled for gold when they should have been sitting in platinum. It was 45 minutes till I could log in, the worst 45 minutes of my life (well almost). I rang three numbers at the Tahs at that time and got no answer at two of them and one answer that was "don't know, can't help". I know Allen didn't key the codes in, but he's the CEO and takes ultimate responsibility for that.
• The poor use of free publicity. I thought the media coverage over the finals weeks was poor and its the CEO's job to make sure stories get written and published/played on radio or television. That's a whole of season responsibility; even if he doesn't do it, he has to make sure that its done.
• I don't do twitter/facebook/whatever so I don't know about social media. But I do know how much of a struggle it has been to get Tahs players on the podcast. And when we finally got Dave Dennis on the podcast it was a bottler of an interview. Knocking back free publicity to Rugby tragics is just plain nuts!
• The minimalist plan for celebratory sale items if we won was just short-sighted. I, for one, would love some more choice in 2014 CHAMPIONS apparel and memorabilia than a polo shirt and a hat with a sewn-on badge. A good commemorative DVD would be just a start. I bought a program on the way out of the ground as a keepsake (I never buy programs).

I don't want to waste the opportunity of a Super Rugby win. Unless you are the Crusaders it doesn't come round very often. After 2016 it will get even harder to win unless you are a SA team, because of the new structure. We need to seize the chance while we have it. Today's rooster is tomorrow's feather duster.
All that just covers the last eight weeks and is what I know about. And I'm an outsider. I suspect that an insider would know a whole lot more.

 

[Sully]

I can't believe the amount of whining from Tahs supporters just days after winning their first title. I'm glad I'm off the bandwagon and back with real rugby supporters.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

 

[cyclopath]

I can't believe the amount of whining from Tahs supporters just days after winning their first title. I'm glad I'm off the bandwagon and back with real rugby supporters.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

We have to play to our strengths, mate.
Some fans default to outrage, some to deflecting and some just say "der derka der", but we have a proud tradition of malcontent which shall not be silenced!!!!

 

[Pfitzy]

You don't stay successful sitting on your laurels.

Maybe if the Reds appreciated that a bit more, they wouldn't have finished in thirteenth

 

[Braveheart81]

GAGR t-shirt idea.

NSW Waratahs finally won Super Rugby and all I got was this stupid t-shirt... but only after a lot of whinging.

 

[cyclopath]

GAGR t-shirt idea.

NSW Waratahs finally won Super Rugby and all I got was this stupid t-shirt... but only after a lot of whinging.

They'll deliver it in 2104! BOOOOOOOM!

 

[daz]

Holy fucking moly. How miserable do some of you lot have to be? Not even a Super Rugby championship is enough to stop the bleating for a few minutes.

I don't even know how some of you can even keep the analysis of the game going. Who fucking cares? Here is a secret - YOU WON and there is NO NEXT WEEK ANYMORE!

This thread should really be closed, with the final words:

The Tahs won the 2014 Super Rugby final and are extremely well deserved champions. All Tahs fans should be milking this for everything they have. No-one in Tahland should give a fuck about anything else Super Rugby related until about November.

 

[Richo]

Holy fucking moly. How miserable do some of you lot have to be? Not even a Super Rugby championship is enough to stop the bleating for a few minutes.

I don't even know how some of you can even keep the analysis of the game going. Who fucking cares? Here is a secret - YOU WON and there is NO NEXT WEEK ANYMORE!

This thread should really be closed, with the final words:

The Tahs won the 2014 Super Rugby final and are extremely well deserved champions. All Tahs fans should be milking this for everything they have. No-one in Tahland should give a fuck about anything else Super Rugby related until about November.

Totally agree. But I hope the people paid to market the Waratahs (presumably also part of Tahland) are giving a pretty serious fuck about keeping the team in the public eye over the next few months.

And that's all I have any interest in saying on the matter.

 

[Badger]

I wonder how hard it would be to convince the city council to hang some celebratory banners from the fittings on the street lights in the CBD. And in some.other regional spots like Parramatta? Just keep the team in front of people's noses for a few weeks at least.

These (plus KB (Kurtley Beale), AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) and Folau) were up on George Street between Bathurst and Liverpool Streets the week before the Brumbies game.

Photo from Tahs Facebook page.

 

[Pfitzy]

How do I get hold of one? I need a banner for my keep.

 

[Badger]

Good luck with that Pfitzy. I emailed Tahs HQ about it when I saw them firsthand and they never replied.

The govt agencies listed are just as helpful as they re-direct you to the event organisers.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

How do I get hold of one? I need a banner for my keep.

Ladder, hi-viz & hard hat (no-one EVER questions what a guy up a ladder wearing hi-viz & a hard hat is actually doing) & some kind of cable cutter should do the trick.