Super Rugby Round 5, Waratahs vs Rebels - Sunday 18 March @ 4pm
- Thread starter Braveheart81
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I'm saying I think they have framed the market incorrectly and the Tahs shouldn't be favourite. I have piled on to the Rebels. I think it will be close and I won't be surprised if the Tahs pull out a dramatically better performance and win but I also don't think they should be favourites.
I think the Rebels should be fairly comfortable favourites all things considered (the travel being a not minor part of that).
I think the Rebels will be quite comfortable favourites by the time the match comes around because I am expecting people to pile on the Tahs.
The Lions were red hot favourites against the Blues as they deserved to be. If that game was replayed it wouldn't be any different. The fact that they got upset doesn't mean the odds were wrong.
Mr Wobbly
Alan Cameron (40)
Not sure if serious?
Genia + JD > Gordan + Foley
Hodge + English > Beale + Foketi
Sefa + Koribete (or Maddocks) > ?? + ??
DHP = Folau (at least pretty close)
The Rebels 9 and wingers are better. I think English and Foketi are pretty similar. I think the Tahs are better at 10, 12 and 15.
I think it's going to be a good game. I'm not expecting a blowout.
Tex
Greg Davis (50)
Agree, by and large.
Sefa looked a bit slow and under-cooked last week, particularly as Marika came on and monstered a few blokes. Wouldn't be surprised if there's a straight swap there as Maddocks still hasn't put a foot wrong.
Rebels went to the boot so many times against the Brumbies. Given Folau is almost untouchable under the high ball and can be devastating returning it by foot, I hope they're a little bit more patient with their execution.
KevinO
John Hipwell (52)
^^^Sefa had a quiet game cause the play stayed away. He was far from under cooked when his run average was 27 meters per run. I'd expect he will play the first 50 minutes again and then Koroibete will come on. Don't forget he only really played 40 minutes of this game as he spent the 10 min sin bin on the sideline as well.
Maddocks has not put a foot wrong in attack, his defense still needs a lot of work. His nearly missed as many tackles as his made this season so far, that stat is fine with the attack our opponents have offered but against some kiwi sides that would be costly.
Maddocks has not put a foot wrong in attack, his defense still needs a lot of work. His nearly missed as many tackles as his made this season so far, that stat is fine with the attack our opponents have offered but against some kiwi sides that would be costly.
What stats site you using? 13 made vs 6 missed according to Fox Sports stats which is pretty standard compared to other wingers and better than Naivalu's 6 made vs 4 missed.
Not built for the wing long-term though. Needs to go 10 or 15 soon for his career.
KevinO
John Hipwell (52)
ESPN 11-7
D
daz
Guest
Ok, so the Rebels have won comfortably and with a bonus point for the first three games. You don't do that unless you have a half-decent team.
Given they have put the Reds, Sunwolves and Brumbies to the sword, you (and I) would probably expect the boys to keep merrily rolling on.
Having said that, we need to remember that this team is still in it's infancy, and trip-ups are going to happen. I have a feeling that this game is going to be one of those. Call it a banana-skin if you like, but the Rebels are not experienced in being winners week in and week out, and that takes a certain mind-set and belief; an arrogance, even. The Reds in particular had it in their championship year; we aren't there yet.
I'm not 100% convinced that we have that embedded belief given our recent history. That will come in time, of course, but right now I think we are still in the "OMG, I can't believe we are winning!" phase. In that phase, it is occasionally a self-fulfilling prophecy.
It is difficult to measure the Rebels place in the Super Rugby standings simply by form, otherwise why would anyone pick against them? Fair call, but I need to see a bit more before I can claim the Rebels are the real deal. Maybe I am being harsh; after all, the boys cannot do better than they have done so far, but I'm cautious enough to keep the handbrake on expectation for the short term.
Win against the Tah's, and of course that gives us the right to claim a clean sweep of the Oz conference. But we all know that regardless of what happens on Sunday, no-one in the rugby world is going to consider any Oz team the real deal until we face off against the Kiwi's and place a few W's against the ledger.
Given they have put the Reds, Sunwolves and Brumbies to the sword, you (and I) would probably expect the boys to keep merrily rolling on.
Having said that, we need to remember that this team is still in it's infancy, and trip-ups are going to happen. I have a feeling that this game is going to be one of those. Call it a banana-skin if you like, but the Rebels are not experienced in being winners week in and week out, and that takes a certain mind-set and belief; an arrogance, even. The Reds in particular had it in their championship year; we aren't there yet.
I'm not 100% convinced that we have that embedded belief given our recent history. That will come in time, of course, but right now I think we are still in the "OMG, I can't believe we are winning!" phase. In that phase, it is occasionally a self-fulfilling prophecy.
It is difficult to measure the Rebels place in the Super Rugby standings simply by form, otherwise why would anyone pick against them? Fair call, but I need to see a bit more before I can claim the Rebels are the real deal. Maybe I am being harsh; after all, the boys cannot do better than they have done so far, but I'm cautious enough to keep the handbrake on expectation for the short term.
Win against the Tah's, and of course that gives us the right to claim a clean sweep of the Oz conference. But we all know that regardless of what happens on Sunday, no-one in the rugby world is going to consider any Oz team the real deal until we face off against the Kiwi's and place a few W's against the ledger.
Scrubber2050
Mark Ella (57)
Looks like you are conceding defeat this week.
Optimism is the spice of life (and that's from a Reds supporter).
Even I'm backing the Tahs for an upset win (mainly because I want to see the Rebs come back to the Aussie pack abit)
Derpus
George Gregan (70)
Not backing the tahs to win by 40 again this week?
Scrubber2050
Mark Ella (57)
Mr Wobbly
Alan Cameron (40)
I was just responding to the claim that the 'Tah's backline will dominate the Rebels
As far as comparing 12s, I think there are some things Hodge does better than Beale and some things Beale does better. The same goes for DHP vs Folau. I don't think it's straightforward that one is better than the other. I am looking forward to the match-ups though.
Mr Wobbly
Alan Cameron (40)
So, which team has the greater cohesion?
Scrubber2050
Mark Ella (57)
Beale is a special rugby player to me.Has been since school.
If he brings his "A" game, he'll slice the Rebs up.
"IF" is the operative word
If he brings his "A" game, he'll slice the Rebs up.
"IF" is the operative word
In the backs, the Tahs. It has been our only shining light
The Foley, Beale, Folau nexus is all we have at the moment
I suspect if the the Tahs backs were running behind the Rebels pigs there would be near twice as many points scored
The Rebels backs so far have so far been more about individual great efforts than team created opportunities
Ballboy
Chris McKivat (8)
The Rebels backs so far have so far been more about individual great efforts than team created opportunities[/quote]
Not sure i can agree on that ,, most of their tries have been created by moves combining the backs and sometimes a forward ,DHP and Hodge are combining well and Debra is floating some great passes to create space ,, will see on Sunday how well they can defend
Not sure i can agree on that ,, most of their tries have been created by moves combining the backs and sometimes a forward ,DHP and Hodge are combining well and Debra is floating some great passes to create space ,, will see on Sunday how well they can defend
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