Semi Final 1: Blues vs Waratahs

[biggsy]

If you left at 7.30pm to get to the game, you'd probably get to your seat about 8.30pm or later....after you finally got to the park, found somewhere to park, walked the 1.5km's to get back to the stadium and bought your ticket.

And there is a lot in Australia.

 

[whatty]

If you left at 7.30pm to get to the game, you'd probably get to your seat about 8.30pm or later....after you finally got to the park, found somewhere to park, walked the 1.5km's to get back to the stadium and bought your ticket.

Its that bad.

Bruce having commuted regularly in a lot of big cities, Auckland for its relatively small size is a mare. Plenty of bottlenecks and Eden park/ dominion road area is one of them.

 

[Bullrush]

Its that bad.

Bruce having commuted regularly in a lot of big cities, Auckland for its relatively small size is a mare. Plenty of bottlenecks and Eden park/ dominion road area is one of them.

And there's something about rain causes people's driving skills to to amazingly disappear.....

 

[Gagger]

How confident you feeling after that performance Bullrush?

 

[TOCC]

As much as i agree about the rain etc...

By all reports, ticket sales throughout the week were also quite poor, which cant be accredited to the rain. On top of that the patronage throughout the year at Auckland has been pretty abysmal, its rather concerning one would think in a RWC year when interest in rugby is supposed to peak.

 

[matty_k]

I think they said they only sold 10000 tickets during the week.

 

[Sully]

The way Bullrush said it most people just rock up and buy a ticket. Is that right?

Then if it looks like crap weather it's off to the pub Cuz

 

[Groucho]

Why are you insisting one being a dickhead?

You're doing a fucking great job.

The Tahs injuries is like a work of satire. A fool can see that.

They played dumb tonight yes but the pill was like a piece of soap, Kurtley had a crap game (had to have on at some stage) and the Blues played a good tactical game.

No need to put the boot in.

I don't see that Kurtley had a crap game. He was by some margin the most dangerous player on the field. How many breaks and half breaks did he make? What about the monumental try-saving tackle? What about the booming kicks for touch? But he did make some errors.

 

[vidiot]

I was disappointed in the lack of monkey cloud action from TC after his try. I felt it robbed the occasion of some of it's magic.

 

[Groucho]

Bull shit with injuries, tars were shit.
Injuries are just an excuse for losing. The tars had there chances and kicked the ball away with there stupid chips kicks. Both teams couldn't hold onto the pill but the blues did at times and scored.
Excuses excuse tonight.
Maybe there should have been another NSW Rugby forum before this game. They might have played a touch better.

:lmao: Suicide by mod.

 

[Bruce Ross]

A highlight of this game for me was how systematic the Blues were in stripping the ball. It is a very effective tactic particularly when the ball is slippery.

 

[Red Rooster]

In my opinion the tahs were happy to just make the finals - lets not give them too much kudos by call in this thread "Semi Final 1" as it is actually a qualifying final. Therefore for me the tahs have gone backwards and if you want to be realistic they have done so since 2008 when they last hosted a final and actually made some money. The banner outside the Tahs headquarters says it all - "Thanks to all our supporters HSBC Waratahs - Super Rugby Finalists" the ambition was low and thats why Phil announced his retirement this week as the prospect of going on was questionable - just thinking out aloud

 

[Sully]

I thought Beale had a pretty good game. But I too question his choice of shoes in those conditions. Why are backs scared of big hulking studs. Are they worried the weight will slow them down? or is too much grip a bad thing.

 

[rugbysmartarse]

Yes and no. They made their kpis, but there would be some unhappy with the way it ended

 

[matty_k]

Beale's major problem tonight was that he was trying to play a fullback's game with a 5/8's space. He looked good but really missed that space needs.

 

[qwerty51]

I couldn't understand why Ulugia wasn't plucked after the 2nd not straight. I realise the guy on the bench is an amateur but clearly Ulugia wasn't up to it.

 

[rugbysmartarse]

Did Elvis get to throw? He had a scrum that looked stronger, but that may also have been tilse

 

[Sandpit Fan]

Did Elvis get to throw? He had a scrum that looked stronger, but that may also have been tilse

I think he had one throw - which looked to be an overthrow, although the Tahs retained possession.

 

[yourmatesam]

Ulugia's had issues with throwing from when he was a Brumbie.

I think that game was highlighted by poor selections, poor options and poor handling from the Waratahs. Geez they are a frustrating team to watch. On paper, they have such a skillful side and the players have the ability but just can't manage to bring it all together when it counts.

 

[ACT Crusader]

In my opinion the tahs were happy to just make the finals - lets not give them too much kudos by call in this thread "Semi Final 1" as it is actually a qualifying final. Therefore for me the tahs have gone backwards and if you want to be realistic they have done so since 2008 when they last hosted a final and actually made some money. The banner outside the Tahs headquarters says it all - "Thanks to all our supporters HSBC Waratahs - Super Rugby Finalists" the ambition was low and thats why Phil announced his retirement this week as the prospect of going on was questionable - just thinking out aloud

Agree they've gone backwards but for me that's more around a view that IMO they have an average squad.

They have some excellent players in TPN, Beale, Mitchell that are world class players when fit, but then around those guys they have a few decent super level players - Palu, Baxter, Robinson, Waugh, Burgess, Barnes - but other than that they have toilers at best. Man ate they crying out for at least one decent experienced lock. This can't be underestimated as it has been shown time and time again that a quality lock with some nous can lift a pack especially a jnr lock that doesn't necessarily have all the ingredients.

The biggest problem I see is that when there are injuries they simply don't have quality to cover. It's not an excuse, it's a plight on the staff and management. They need to recruit better and get developing players better up to this level.

Tonight they were mediocre in a fairly hohum game. Didn't really feel like a final at all.