SR Final - Blues v Chiefs
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Last year Schmidt wasn't available, and it seemed that MacDonald was too busy securing his AB assistant coach position.
Huge difference with Cotter this year was his 100% commitment. Which had to compensate for O’Halloran's early season withdrawal due to illness. They got Tony Brown in for a few weeks as attack coach, but they basically didn't have one for much of the season.
Was necessity the mother of invention?
Did Cotter go super-minimal to compensate?
How much of an un-sung hero was skills coach Halangahu?
How ridiculous is it that Akira Ioane is the best six by a mile in NZ and has to go overseas?
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@KiwiMurph Funnily enough, I ran past one yesterday in Chch which I found strange but funny at the same time.
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The result I feared but the Blues certainly deserved the win and made the Chiefs look very ordinary.
Happy for the Blues fans as it's been a long time between drinks.
The Blues forward pack was just far too good and the marginal tight 5 of the Chiefs just really took a battering. TT starting his first match of the season in the final showing what a mess the Chiefs made of things with their tight 5 development through the season.
Credit to Vern, he had a gameplan in mind at the start of the season with several Blues forwards bulking up and being much more physical and direct. He's got a forward dominated game but they can tick the scoreboard over in increments of 7 instead of 3.
Wayne Smith said that rugby is a complicated game and the best coach's make it simple and that's what Vern's done. It all looks simple but it's extremely effective, teams can't just flood the ruck as that leaves space out wide that the Blues have the weapons and plays to put away and score points, nor can any team seem to be able to stop them going up the middle and making yards. Brutal but effective.
The Chiefs just got beaten up in the tight and seemed to be this year the DMac show without much more substance than that. Yes DMac is a fabulous attacking weapon but there didn't seem much else attack pattern wise the Chiefs used, they need something else and to develop some depth in the tight 5.
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The result I feared but the Blues certainly deserved the win and made the Chiefs look very ordinary.
Happy for the Blues fans as it's been a long time between drinks.
The Blues forward pack was just far too good and the marginal tight 5 of the Chiefs just really took a battering. TT starting his first match of the season in the final showing what a mess the Chiefs made of things with their tight 5 development through the season.
Credit to Vern, he had a gameplan in mind at the start of the season with several Blues forwards bulking up and being much more physical and direct. He's got a forward dominated game but they can tick the scoreboard over in increments of 7 instead of 3.
Wayne Smith said that rugby is a complicated game and the best coach's make it simple and that's what Vern's done. It all looks simple but it's extremely effective, teams can't just flood the ruck as that leaves space out wide that the Blues have the weapons and plays to put away and score points, nor can any team seem to be able to stop them going up the middle and making yards. Brutal but effective.
The Chiefs just got beaten up in the tight and seemed to be this year the DMac show without much more substance than that. Yes DMac is a fabulous attacking weapon but there didn't seem much else attack pattern wise the Chiefs used, they need something else and to develop some depth in the tight 5.
@Windows97 said in SR Final - Blues v Chiefs:
teams can't just flood the ruck as that leaves space out wide that the Blues have the weapons and plays to put away and score points, nor can any team seem to be able to stop them going up the middle and making yards. Brutal but effective.
yep, this. Smash up front and either make metres or suck in defenders. Then go wide. If teams start drifting, then smash up front and make metres.
It is simple, but done right it is very very effective. The old rugby saw 'you gotta earn the right to go wide'
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I haven't seen the game but there has been a bit of talk about Lam. I have read he beat a number of tackles, put in a decent kick and generally played well but there has been no mention of his passing. Did he get the opportunity to show whether he has a decent passing game?
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I haven't seen the game but there has been a bit of talk about Lam. I have read he beat a number of tackles, put in a decent kick and generally played well but there has been no mention of his passing. Did he get the opportunity to show whether he has a decent passing game?
@Crazy-Horse said in SR Final - Blues v Chiefs:
I haven't seen the game but there has been a bit of talk about Lam. I have read he beat a number of tackles, put in a decent kick and generally played well but there has been no mention of his passing. Did he get the opportunity to show whether he has a decent passing game?
It was a monsoon, but he has shown good passing when he's played centre in the past.
Pass of the night was Christie's cutout ball for Clarke's hattrick.
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@Crazy-Horse said in SR Final - Blues v Chiefs:
I haven't seen the game but there has been a bit of talk about Lam. I have read he beat a number of tackles, put in a decent kick and generally played well but there has been no mention of his passing. Did he get the opportunity to show whether he has a decent passing game?
It was a monsoon, but he has shown good passing when he's played centre in the past.
Pass of the night was Christie's cutout ball for Clarke's hattrick.
@Kirwan said in SR Final - Blues v Chiefs:
Pass of the night was Christie's cutout ball for Clarke's hattrick.
I'm not a huge fan but I thought Christie had a very good game, yes was an armchair ride but he organised the forward pack well, made good decisions, got turnovers on defence and set Clarke up with an excellent pass. It was a very well rounded game from him.
As a Chiefs fan I was hoping he'd be awful but he was a real strength that night.
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@Kirwan said in SR Final - Blues v Chiefs:
Pass of the night was Christie's cutout ball for Clarke's hattrick.
I'm not a huge fan but I thought Christie had a very good game, yes was an armchair ride but he organised the forward pack well, made good decisions, got turnovers on defence and set Clarke up with an excellent pass. It was a very well rounded game from him.
As a Chiefs fan I was hoping he'd be awful but he was a real strength that night.
@Windows97 said in SR Final - Blues v Chiefs:
I'm not a huge fan but I thought Christie had a very good game, yes was an armchair ride but he organised the forward pack well, made good decisions, got turnovers on defence and set Clarke up with an excellent pass. It was a very well rounded game from him.
..and his kicking from the base
I'm not his biggest fan (I wanted Funaki to start throughout the knockout stages) but he had a strong game when it mattered
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Yeah - Christie's kicking and defence was very strong.
Ironically despite throwing the best pass of the night his passing was up and down (understandable given the conditions but I think it's fair to say he doesn't have a consistent pass in any conditions)
He nearly got caught behind the base a few times but he played his best in a final and that's all you can ask.
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@Kirwan said in SR Final - Blues v Chiefs:
Pass of the night was Christie's cutout ball for Clarke's hattrick.
I'm not a huge fan but I thought Christie had a very good game, yes was an armchair ride but he organised the forward pack well, made good decisions, got turnovers on defence and set Clarke up with an excellent pass. It was a very well rounded game from him.
As a Chiefs fan I was hoping he'd be awful but he was a real strength that night.
@Windows97 his biggest weakness is accuracy of passing - so many balls went up instead of across. I think that's fixed with coaching, but I am no 9 so have no idea.
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@African-Monkey said in SR Final - Blues v Chiefs:
@Dice Hey mate where have ya been?!?
Welcome back!
And up the fucken Blues!!!!
Just got a bit busy a while back and then forgot to post. Hope you've been good bro.
Thanks. Might be a brief appearance though. If I don't post during the NPC, I'll be back next year when we do the back to back :grinning_face:
Up the Blues!
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In case you want to relive the full game -
