SF Crusaders v Blues

chchfanatic

Never lost a home playoff game. That’s some stat.

SBW1

Last game the Blues played in Christchurch really went down to the wire. How are the Saders going troopwise?

1kiwi

Last game the Blues played in Christchurch really went down to the wire. How are the Saders going troopwise?

Tamaiti Williams is their biggest concern after coming off in the win against the Reds with a knee problem. Don't believe there has been any news as to what the issue is but it didn't look good. Would be a big loss.

African Monkey

Good position for the Blues to be in. Heavy underdogs, a horrible record in Chch, barely scraped to the playoffs after a very mediocre round robin, already gone a lot further than anyone thought they would say 6 weeks go so yeah, a free hit here for the Blues with nothing to lose (apart from the game of course).

Duluth

@African-Monkey said in Crusaders v Blues (SF):

a free hit here for the Blues with nothing to lose (apart from the game of course)

Yup. Exactly like it was vs the Chiefs this week

canefan

@African-Monkey said in Crusaders v Blues (SF):

Good position for the Blues to be in. Heavy underdogs, a horrible record in Chch, barely scraped to the playoffs after a very mediocre round robin, already gone a lot further than anyone thought they would say 6 weeks go so yeah, a free hit here for the Blues with nothing to lose (apart from the game of course).

And a few players with chips on their shoulders. They are playing with house money

ACT Crusader

Saders have already overachieved this season by just being in the finals after finishing 9th last year with pretty much the same team.

And now we face the defending champions in a semi final.

No expectations from here on in.

African Monkey

@ACT-Crusader said in Crusaders v Blues (SF):

Saders have already overachieved this season by just being in the finals after finishing 9th last year with pretty much the same team.

And now we face the defending champions in a semi final.

No expectations from here on in.

I thought last year never happened......

brodean

@ACT-Crusader said in Crusaders v Blues (SF):

Saders have already overachieved this season by just being in the finals after finishing 9th last year with pretty much the same team.

And now we face the defending champions in a semi final.

No expectations from here on in.

Crusaders have never lost a home semi. There will be an expectation to win for the team.

Frank

Blues would have taken a shit ton of self belief from the Chiefs game. They'll believe they can do it again.

nzzp

hahaha, Crusaders supporters starting to talk down their team's chances.

We've won once there in forever.
Never lost a home playoff game.
Blues have stunk up the joint this year.

Seriously, stop the race to the underdog ... TAB has Blues at $2.70 to win and that seems about right

brodean

I think this could be a very big match for Christian Lio-Willie. I suspect if he plays well in this game and the Crusaders win then he could be named on the 23rd.

taniwharugby

@brodean same should apply to Sotutu, who started slowly but has built into things nicely, playing a key role on Saturday.

reprobate

@taniwharugby said in Crusaders v Blues (SF):

@brodean same should apply to Sotutu, who started slowly but has built into things nicely, playing a key role on Saturday.

I still hold out hope that his slow start to the season (although there were both injury and suspension) was due to the ABs telling him he was in and to pace himself to peak late like the incumbent ABs do, rather than going hell for leather all Super season and standing out but then being knackered at test time (and yeah I do know I'm delusional).

Hoping to see a strong performance from Lam to push his case too. And Blackadder so I can enjoy the wailing of the naysayers on here.

ACT Crusader

@nzzp said in Crusaders v Blues (SF):

hahaha, Crusaders supporters starting to talk down their team's chances.

We've won once there in forever.
Never lost a home playoff game.
Blues have stunk up the joint this year.

Seriously, stop the race to the underdog ... TAB has Blues at $2.70 to win and that seems about right

I fully expect a Blues win.

nzzp

@ACT-Crusader said in Crusaders v Blues (SF):

@nzzp said in Crusaders v Blues (SF):

hahaha, Crusaders supporters starting to talk down their team's chances.

We've won once there in forever.
Never lost a home playoff game.
Blues have stunk up the joint this year.

Seriously, stop the race to the underdog ... TAB has Blues at $2.70 to win and that seems about right

I fully expect a Blues win.

Loss insurance!!!

brodean

Any news on Williams injury?

He's basically the Crusaders and the ABs best player. Well there is Savea for the ABs.

Canes4life

@brodean said in Crusaders v Blues (SF):

Any news on Williams injury?

He's basically the Crusaders and the ABs best player. Well there is Savea for the ABs.

And Blackadder

nostrildamus

Blackadder must have the highest ratio of times he is mentioned on here to minutes "actually" playing of any current player.
Good luck to him.

Chris B.

@nostrildamus ChatGPT throws up some interesting results...

Who are the most criticised All Blacks on thesilverfern.com website?

ChatGPT said:
Here's a summary of some of the most heavily criticised All Blacks on the thesilverfern.com forums:

1. Beauden Barrett
Often lambasted for form issues and confidence:

In a 2023 thread, one user declared:

“Beauden Barrett should not be near an AB 10 Jersey. The older he gets, the worse he gets.”
en.wikipedia.org
+15
forum.thesilverfern.com
+15
forum.thesilverfern.com
+15

Another lamented his decline, noting he’s “never been the same since he moved to Japan and/or got married”
forum.thesilverfern.com
.

2. Fihaki & Bell
Specifically called out as dubious selections:

In a 2025 selection thread, one poster argued:

“Fihaki and Bell are shaping up as two of the most biased AB selections of all time… Bell is not even the best hooker at the Crusaders and Fihaki has the worst stats of any NZ winger… by some distance.”
en.wikipedia.org
+15
forum.thesilverfern.com
+15
forum.thesilverfern.com
+15

3. Blackadder (Akira Blackadder)
Mentioned alongside Fihaki by users unhappy with his inclusion:

Forum comment: “Havilli and Blackadder want you to hold their beers,” sarcastically comparing their picks
forum.thesilverfern.com
.

4. Richie McCaw
Though less frequent, he’s criticised for exploiting referee leniency on the breakdown:

Wikipedia notes he was “labelled a ‘cheat’ by…” opponents and accused of “testing the referee early to know what you can get away with”
en.wikipedia.org
+13
en.wikipedia.org
+13
en.wikipedia.org
+13
.

5. Coaches (Graham Henry, John Mitchell)
Though not players, they are often scrutinised harshly—especially for coaching choices and team selection:

Graham Henry faced heat for rotating players during the 2005 Grand Slam and controversial World Cup tactics
reddit.com
+2
en.wikipedia.org
+2
en.wikipedia.org
+2
.

John Mitchell drew criticism for dropping Christian Cullen before the 2003 World Cup
theniche-cache.com
+1
forum.thesilverfern.com
+1
.

🧭 Summary of Most Criticised
Name Reason for Criticism
Beauden Barrett Declining form and increasingly error-prone performances
Fihaki & Bell Questionable squad selections cited as biased and statistically weak
Akira Blackadder Perceived as a poor selection relative to other options
Richie McCaw Accused of violating breakdown laws and testing referees
Graham Henry, John Mitchell Strategic decisions and non-transparent team management

The Silver Fern

SF Crusaders v Blues