Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Some links
http://www.tv3.co.nz/VideoBrowseAll/SportsVideo/tabid/317/articleID/53961/cat/71/Default.aspx#video Richie about the match vs. Munster
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4500426a1823.html Early All Blacks camp planned
http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/news/news/loyal-opposition-deans-lauds-tahs-but-finals-come-first/2008/04/28/1209234760725.html Loyal opposition: Deans lauds Tahs but finals come first
and don't forget your RGs duty : http://marylanceron.blogspot.com/2008/04/baby-richie-turns-2-in-month.html
Monday, April 28, 2008
Interview in Rugby News
Available if you email me at marykoala@hotmail.fr
subject "Rugby News itw"
--and only if you are not from NZ
subject "Rugby News itw"
--and only if you are not from NZ
day 11. Results and Ranking
http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/news/
Ranking
Crusaders ; Waratahs ; Sharks ; Chiefs ;
Hurricanes ; Stormers ; Brumbies ; Blues ; Western Force ; Reds ; Bulls ; Highlanders ; Cheetahs ; Lions.
Results
Crusaders v Blues 26 - 22
Brumbies v Lions 28 - 21
Chiefs v Reds 32 - 20
Waratahs v Sharks 25 - 10
Cheetahs v Hurricanes 10 - 38
Stormers v Highlanders 26 - 16
Brumbies v Lions 28 - 21
Chiefs v Reds 32 - 20
Waratahs v Sharks 25 - 10
Cheetahs v Hurricanes 10 - 38
Stormers v Highlanders 26 - 16
Ranking
Crusaders ; Waratahs ; Sharks ; Chiefs ;
Hurricanes ; Stormers ; Brumbies ; Blues ; Western Force ; Reds ; Bulls ; Highlanders ; Cheetahs ; Lions.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Crusaders deny gallant Blues
http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/news/super14/crusaders-deny-gallant-blues/2008/04/25/1208743248014.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
The Blues, who sprang a surprise by lining out with Nick Evans at fullback and Isa Nacea at first five, would not have been the unhappiest to go into the break trailing just 7-12 after the first 40 minutes of a fairly intense encounter.
Skipper Richie McCaw and hooker Corey Flynn scored the first-half tries for the Crusaders, helping them spring out to a 12-0 lead after 25 minutes, but Rudi Wulf replied with a seven-pointer to close the gap to within reaching distance by the end of the opening stanza.
In an electrifying, and contentious, second 40 both teams threw the kitchen sink at each other, with the Crusaders over the moon to hang on for a four tries to three victory that also earned them the bo
nus point.
Flynn, who had a high-profile match to say the least, grabbed a second try five minutes into the second spell to answer Nick Williams' early score that got the Blues into the lead, 14-12, just a couple of minutes into the renewal of skirmishes.
With both teams creating opportunities aplenty over the second spell, replacement hooker Ti'i Paulo made probably the most crucial (and talked-about) play of the game 14 minutes from the end.
With Flynn having been despatched to the sinbin for a second high hit and Evans having banged over the resultant penalty from 50m to close the Blues to within two, Paulo's score -- which should never have been -- put the Crusaders back out to 26-17.
Replays later showed that Crusaders wing Sean Maitland had put a foot in touch before making the key pass to McCaw who set the score up by making the final delivery to Paulo's for a stunning seven-pointer that rocked the Blues back on their heels.
But David Nucifora's men were far from done in a splendid contest that pulsated right to the very end.
But perhaps it was not meant to be for the Blues who are having one of those seasons.
Within a couple of minutes of Paulo's score, Blues captain Troy Flavell looked to be over for a try that would have really put the cat among the pigeons.
But this time, as Flavell lunged with a meaty pay in the left corner, the try decision went to the TMO and it was ruled that Flavell's hip had hit the line a fraction of a millisecond before he grounded.
Fair call. But it would be slim compensation to the Blues that this knife-edge call went against them when a clear foot in touch before Paulo's try was not able to be referenced.
By this stage the Blues had finally got their attacking game into full flow -- after about two months of trying -- and the Crusaders spent most on the last 10 or 11 minutes hanging on by their fingertips.
Anthony Tuitavake, who had a stunning match, launched a brilliant attack 11 minutes from the end, running off the electrifying David Smith, and looked like he might have scored possibly the try of the season before the TMO again denied him on the line. Outrageously, the Crusaders were awarded a relieving free-kick, which was evidence alone that at least one of these ELVs is well wide of the mark.
Still, seven minutes from the end Smith, who really should have been given this chance much, much earlier, was over to get the Blues within striking distance. Justin Collins had made the break from a lineout snatch and replacement back Isaia Toeava set his wing up perfectly for another close call that finally went the Blues' way.
The Blues had their chances over the closing minutes, but their season was perhaps summed up when, less than two minutes from time, Evans kicked a touch-finder from a penalty dead to squander what would have been a royal chance for the Blues to go for the match-winning try.
And that was that, the Crusaders having to survive one more Blue wave before they eventually forced the breakdown turnover to hang on for possibly the most hard-earned five points they've earned this season.
It's hard to know whether the Blues would have had a chance of a short lineout try near the end, for they lost four on their own throw to a sharp Crusaders set piece, but it summed their season up to see them fall victim to their own shortcomings.
This was a vastly improved performance from the Blues, who monstered the Crusaders at scrum time and looked much more of an attacking threat behind the constant threat of Tuitavake in midfield, but in the end they took just one point from this splendid encounter from which they probably deserved more.
They weren't out-fought on a night of high drama. But they were definitely out-thought.
April 25, 2008 - 8:07PM
Crusaders 26 Blues 22
The Crusaders have prevailed 26-22 over the Blues in a magnificent Anzac Day Super 14 battle in Christchurch on Friday night.
The Crusaders have prevailed 26-22 over the Blues in a magnificent Anzac Day Super 14 battle in Christchurch on Friday night.
The Blues, who sprang a surprise by lining out with Nick Evans at fullback and Isa Nacea at first five, would not have been the unhappiest to go into the break trailing just 7-12 after the first 40 minutes of a fairly intense encounter.
Skipper Richie McCaw and hooker Corey Flynn scored the first-half tries for the Crusaders, helping them spring out to a 12-0 lead after 25 minutes, but Rudi Wulf replied with a seven-pointer to close the gap to within reaching distance by the end of the opening stanza.
In an electrifying, and contentious, second 40 both teams threw the kitchen sink at each other, with the Crusaders over the moon to hang on for a four tries to three victory that also earned them the bo
nus point.Flynn, who had a high-profile match to say the least, grabbed a second try five minutes into the second spell to answer Nick Williams' early score that got the Blues into the lead, 14-12, just a couple of minutes into the renewal of skirmishes.
With both teams creating opportunities aplenty over the second spell, replacement hooker Ti'i Paulo made probably the most crucial (and talked-about) play of the game 14 minutes from the end.
With Flynn having been despatched to the sinbin for a second high hit and Evans having banged over the resultant penalty from 50m to close the Blues to within two, Paulo's score -- which should never have been -- put the Crusaders back out to 26-17.
Replays later showed that Crusaders wing Sean Maitland had put a foot in touch before making the key pass to McCaw who set the score up by making the final delivery to Paulo's for a stunning seven-pointer that rocked the Blues back on their heels.
But David Nucifora's men were far from done in a splendid contest that pulsated right to the very end.
But perhaps it was not meant to be for the Blues who are having one of those seasons.
Within a couple of minutes of Paulo's score, Blues captain Troy Flavell looked to be over for a try that would have really put the cat among the pigeons.
But this time, as Flavell lunged with a meaty pay in the left corner, the try decision went to the TMO and it was ruled that Flavell's hip had hit the line a fraction of a millisecond before he grounded.
Fair call. But it would be slim compensation to the Blues that this knife-edge call went against them when a clear foot in touch before Paulo's try was not able to be referenced.
By this stage the Blues had finally got their attacking game into full flow -- after about two months of trying -- and the Crusaders spent most on the last 10 or 11 minutes hanging on by their fingertips.
Anthony Tuitavake, who had a stunning match, launched a brilliant attack 11 minutes from the end, running off the electrifying David Smith, and looked like he might have scored possibly the try of the season before the TMO again denied him on the line. Outrageously, the Crusaders were awarded a relieving free-kick, which was evidence alone that at least one of these ELVs is well wide of the mark.
Still, seven minutes from the end Smith, who really should have been given this chance much, much earlier, was over to get the Blues within striking distance. Justin Collins had made the break from a lineout snatch and replacement back Isaia Toeava set his wing up perfectly for another close call that finally went the Blues' way.
The Blues had their chances over the closing minutes, but their season was perhaps summed up when, less than two minutes from time, Evans kicked a touch-finder from a penalty dead to squander what would have been a royal chance for the Blues to go for the match-winning try.
And that was that, the Crusaders having to survive one more Blue wave before they eventually forced the breakdown turnover to hang on for possibly the most hard-earned five points they've earned this season.
It's hard to know whether the Blues would have had a chance of a short lineout try near the end, for they lost four on their own throw to a sharp Crusaders set piece, but it summed their season up to see them fall victim to their own shortcomings.
This was a vastly improved performance from the Blues, who monstered the Crusaders at scrum time and looked much more of an attacking threat behind the constant threat of Tuitavake in midfield, but in the end they took just one point from this splendid encounter from which they probably deserved more.
They weren't out-fought on a night of high drama. But they were definitely out-thought.
CRUSADERS 26 (Corey Flynn 2, Richie McCaw, Ti'i Paulo tries Stephen Brett 3 cons) bt BLUES 22 (Rudi Wulf, Nick Williams, David Smith tries Nick Evans 2 cons, pen) at AMI Stadium. Referee: Lyndon Bray (Nzl).
Blues 'hooked' as Crusaders pass the character test (crfu)
http://www.crusaders.co.nz/match-report/blues-hooked-as-crusaders-pass-the-character-test/406/match-report.aspx
If the Crusaders advance from this point to annex the third Rebel Sport Super 14 title, it may be that the players and management look back on tonight’s courageous 26-22 win at AMI Stadium as the team’s defining moment.
For, in overcoming the adversity and distractions which had plagued their lead-up to all but extinguish the Blues hopes of featuring in the semi-finals, the Crusaders have also made a sizeable deposit in their own bank of self belief.
While there was an element of luck involved for sure, with television replays later casting doubt over the legality of the fourth of the Crusaders’ tries; good teams tend to make their own luck – and the Crusaders were unquestionably good tonight.
“Certainly the level of effort was back where we wanted it to be after last week’s let down,” Crusaders coach Robbie Deans acknowledged, after the four-try-to-three win. “We weren’t able to play our game against the Chiefs, instead being sucked into a one out grind up the middle of the park. Tonight we were able to play using the full width despite being confronted by a committed and determined opposition who were playing for their season. It’s a credit to the confidence of the guys that they didn’t allow last weekend to put them off, and continued to back themselves.”
That the Crusaders did – possibly more so than the Blues – which was no mean feat in itself, given the circumstances.
While tonight’s line-up featured three players – fullback Leon MacDonald, centre Caleb Ralph and prop Greg Somerville – who number in excess of 100 appearances for the franchise; the relative greenness of some of the troops around them, especially in the backline, was inescapable.
Setting the career statistics of MacDonald and Ralph to one side, the rest of the Crusaders backline could cobble together just 71 appearances between them, heading into tonight’s contest.
It was that inexperience, and the anxiety that accompanies it on the big occasions, that the Blues counted on exploiting to keep their season alive.
The Crusaders’ younger brigade stood firm.
Although both sides were guilty of some nervous touches in the opening moments, starting from the kick off when Blues lock and skipper Troy Flavell spilled the ball; the Crusaders were the first to find their poise.
After Blues flanker Daniel Braid had been pinched for repeatedly slowing down Crusaders ruck ball, the home side opted to scrum an attacking free kick, before breaking blind where MacDonald breached the first line of defence.
As the Blues swept across in cover, MacDonald found Richie McCaw on his inside, and the Crusaders skipper broke through the remaining defenders to post the game’s first try.
Stephen Brett’s conversion made it 7-0 after 10 minutes, and the score remained that way until the 25th minute, when the home side went further ahead.
Prior to that point, however, the Crusaders’ thinning resources had been further stretched when a strained hamstring forced No 8 Mose Tuiali’i to retire, leaving his 19-year-old replacement Nasi Manu with 65 minutes to play against a top flight opposing loose trio.
“No way, beforehand, would I have thought that I’d have been ready to play for so long against those guys,” a breathless Manu said just after the final whistle. “The game, it just seemed to go so fast, and they just seemed to keep coming at us. You just had to keep getting up to make tackle after tackle.”
Manu did that, and was among the Crusaders’ special heroes, alongside his fellow national Under-20 representatives Sean Maitland and Kade Poki, who also both came up with significant plays.
Before the youngsters took centre stage, hooker Corey Flynn threatened to steal the show after posting the 11th and 12th tries of his Super rugby career.
The Canterbury Air New Zealand Cup captain’s first try came after 25 minutes when he ran onto a short pop pass from blindside flanker and Crusaders man of the match Kieran Read, and raced 20 metres to score, carrying two desperate Blues defenders across the goal-line with him.
The first Flynn try provoked an immediate response from the Blues, with flanker Jerome Kaino breaking in behind the Crusaders defensive line to set winger Rudi Wulf up for the visitor’s first try.
That try made it 12-7 at halftime, but the Blues struck again immediately after the break, going ahead 14-12 when No 8 Nick Williams rammed his way across to plant the ball on the goal-post pad.
While there appeared to be some doubt as to whether Williams had controlled the ball as he scored, the rub of fortune went the Blues way on that occasion, although it was to even itself out before the end.
If going behind, after having appeared in control, dented the Crusaders’ confidence at all, it definitely didn’t show as they responded with an audacious break out try that spanned 80 metres, and ended with Flynn plonking the ball down near the posts.
The movement was initiated by second-five-eighths Tim Bateman, but featured contributions from Caleb Ralph and Andrew Ellis, before Flynn arrived to provide the final act, which put the Crusaders back in front.
Ahead 19-14, the Crusaders pressed for further points, but were denied when Brett twice missed narrowly with penalty goal attempts.
This failing looked set to be punished when Nick Evans, who’d been named at first-five-eighths but wound up playing at fullback after a late tactical switch with Isa Nacewa, goaled a 62-minute penalty to draw his side back to 17-19.
Flynn was penalised and sent to the sin bin in the preceding action that led to the penalty, but his absence only served to spur the Crusaders towards their fourth, and bonus point sealing, try.
It came after Bateman put in a kick which Maitland retrieved.
While television replays later suggested that the young winger’s foot had grazed the touch line as he fought to keep two defenders at bay while releasing the ball; his enthusiasm was rewarded, as his pass found the ever-present McCaw, who found hooker Ti’i Paulo, who crossed for his third try of the campaign.
The try came with Paulo’s first touch after he had come on while Flynn was banished, and it was pivotal.
With Brett’s conversion, the Crusaders had a nine-point buffer at 26-17; 12 minutes from time, and they needed it.
Playing for their season, the Blues threw everything they had at the home side during the final stanza of the game, repeatedly drawing last ditch heroics out of the Crusaders.
Flavell looked to have scored in the corner, only to have the effort denied due to his body striking the sideline as it collided with a desperate defender.
Centre Anthony Tuitavake then broke through the middle of the Crusaders defence and appeared certain to score, only to be dramatically pulled down from behind and thwarted by a grand smothering tackle from Poki.
“I didn’t know whether I could stop him or not, but I had to have a crack,” Poki said later.“I could feel the momentum taking us both towards our goal-line as we went down but, fortunately, he couldn’t get the ball down.”
Such is the selflessness Deans has demanded from his players and Poki, who has had his share of personal challenges to face in recent times, responded as a Crusader should!
To their credit, the Blues continued to press, and finally cracked the Crusaders again with six minutes remaining when speedy winger David Smith was worked over in the corner.
Smith clipped the corner flag as he scored the try, but that is okay in the brave new world of ELVs, so the try stood, although Evans couldn’t add the difficult conversion from the corner.
Even so, with four points in it, a grand stand finish followed, with the Blues briefly threatening to pull their season back from the dead.
Their last chance came when awarded a penalty in midfield, but Evans went for too much territory in trying to find the sideline, kicking the ball dead in goal, which ended their challenge.
The five points the Crusaders have gathered tonight further stretched their advantage at the top of the Rebel Sport Super 14 standings, with the side now 11 points clear, pending the outcome of the other matches to follow this weekend.
The Sharks, who play the NSW Waratahs in Sydney on Saturday evening, are the next visitors to AMI Stadium on Friday night.
Tuiali’i is in doubt for that match after suffering his hamstring injury tonight, but the Crusaders appear to be otherwise okay in terms of new battle damage.
Centre Casey Laulala could come back into contention for that match, after missing tonight, but Daniel Carter and Reuben Thorne will be out of action for a wee while longer.
If the Crusaders advance from this point to annex the third Rebel Sport Super 14 title, it may be that the players and management look back on tonight’s courageous 26-22 win at AMI Stadium as the team’s defining moment.
For, in overcoming the adversity and distractions which had plagued their lead-up to all but extinguish the Blues hopes of featuring in the semi-finals, the Crusaders have also made a sizeable deposit in their own bank of self belief.
While there was an element of luck involved for sure, with television replays later casting doubt over the legality of the fourth of the Crusaders’ tries; good teams tend to make their own luck – and the Crusaders were unquestionably good tonight.
“Certainly the level of effort was back where we wanted it to be after last week’s let down,” Crusaders coach Robbie Deans acknowledged, after the four-try-to-three win. “We weren’t able to play our game against the Chiefs, instead being sucked into a one out grind up the middle of the park. Tonight we were able to play using the full width despite being confronted by a committed and determined opposition who were playing for their season. It’s a credit to the confidence of the guys that they didn’t allow last weekend to put them off, and continued to back themselves.”
That the Crusaders did – possibly more so than the Blues – which was no mean feat in itself, given the circumstances.
While tonight’s line-up featured three players – fullback Leon MacDonald, centre Caleb Ralph and prop Greg Somerville – who number in excess of 100 appearances for the franchise; the relative greenness of some of the troops around them, especially in the backline, was inescapable.
Setting the career statistics of MacDonald and Ralph to one side, the rest of the Crusaders backline could cobble together just 71 appearances between them, heading into tonight’s contest.
It was that inexperience, and the anxiety that accompanies it on the big occasions, that the Blues counted on exploiting to keep their season alive.
The Crusaders’ younger brigade stood firm.
Although both sides were guilty of some nervous touches in the opening moments, starting from the kick off when Blues lock and skipper Troy Flavell spilled the ball; the Crusaders were the first to find their poise.
After Blues flanker Daniel Braid had been pinched for repeatedly slowing down Crusaders ruck ball, the home side opted to scrum an attacking free kick, before breaking blind where MacDonald breached the first line of defence.
As the Blues swept across in cover, MacDonald found Richie McCaw on his inside, and the Crusaders skipper broke through the remaining defenders to post the game’s first try.
Stephen Brett’s conversion made it 7-0 after 10 minutes, and the score remained that way until the 25th minute, when the home side went further ahead.
Prior to that point, however, the Crusaders’ thinning resources had been further stretched when a strained hamstring forced No 8 Mose Tuiali’i to retire, leaving his 19-year-old replacement Nasi Manu with 65 minutes to play against a top flight opposing loose trio.
“No way, beforehand, would I have thought that I’d have been ready to play for so long against those guys,” a breathless Manu said just after the final whistle. “The game, it just seemed to go so fast, and they just seemed to keep coming at us. You just had to keep getting up to make tackle after tackle.”
Manu did that, and was among the Crusaders’ special heroes, alongside his fellow national Under-20 representatives Sean Maitland and Kade Poki, who also both came up with significant plays.
Before the youngsters took centre stage, hooker Corey Flynn threatened to steal the show after posting the 11th and 12th tries of his Super rugby career.
The Canterbury Air New Zealand Cup captain’s first try came after 25 minutes when he ran onto a short pop pass from blindside flanker and Crusaders man of the match Kieran Read, and raced 20 metres to score, carrying two desperate Blues defenders across the goal-line with him.
The first Flynn try provoked an immediate response from the Blues, with flanker Jerome Kaino breaking in behind the Crusaders defensive line to set winger Rudi Wulf up for the visitor’s first try.
That try made it 12-7 at halftime, but the Blues struck again immediately after the break, going ahead 14-12 when No 8 Nick Williams rammed his way across to plant the ball on the goal-post pad.
While there appeared to be some doubt as to whether Williams had controlled the ball as he scored, the rub of fortune went the Blues way on that occasion, although it was to even itself out before the end.
If going behind, after having appeared in control, dented the Crusaders’ confidence at all, it definitely didn’t show as they responded with an audacious break out try that spanned 80 metres, and ended with Flynn plonking the ball down near the posts.
The movement was initiated by second-five-eighths Tim Bateman, but featured contributions from Caleb Ralph and Andrew Ellis, before Flynn arrived to provide the final act, which put the Crusaders back in front.
Ahead 19-14, the Crusaders pressed for further points, but were denied when Brett twice missed narrowly with penalty goal attempts.
This failing looked set to be punished when Nick Evans, who’d been named at first-five-eighths but wound up playing at fullback after a late tactical switch with Isa Nacewa, goaled a 62-minute penalty to draw his side back to 17-19.
Flynn was penalised and sent to the sin bin in the preceding action that led to the penalty, but his absence only served to spur the Crusaders towards their fourth, and bonus point sealing, try.
It came after Bateman put in a kick which Maitland retrieved.
While television replays later suggested that the young winger’s foot had grazed the touch line as he fought to keep two defenders at bay while releasing the ball; his enthusiasm was rewarded, as his pass found the ever-present McCaw, who found hooker Ti’i Paulo, who crossed for his third try of the campaign.
The try came with Paulo’s first touch after he had come on while Flynn was banished, and it was pivotal.
With Brett’s conversion, the Crusaders had a nine-point buffer at 26-17; 12 minutes from time, and they needed it.
Playing for their season, the Blues threw everything they had at the home side during the final stanza of the game, repeatedly drawing last ditch heroics out of the Crusaders.
Flavell looked to have scored in the corner, only to have the effort denied due to his body striking the sideline as it collided with a desperate defender.
Centre Anthony Tuitavake then broke through the middle of the Crusaders defence and appeared certain to score, only to be dramatically pulled down from behind and thwarted by a grand smothering tackle from Poki.
“I didn’t know whether I could stop him or not, but I had to have a crack,” Poki said later.“I could feel the momentum taking us both towards our goal-line as we went down but, fortunately, he couldn’t get the ball down.”
Such is the selflessness Deans has demanded from his players and Poki, who has had his share of personal challenges to face in recent times, responded as a Crusader should!
To their credit, the Blues continued to press, and finally cracked the Crusaders again with six minutes remaining when speedy winger David Smith was worked over in the corner.
Smith clipped the corner flag as he scored the try, but that is okay in the brave new world of ELVs, so the try stood, although Evans couldn’t add the difficult conversion from the corner.
Even so, with four points in it, a grand stand finish followed, with the Blues briefly threatening to pull their season back from the dead.
Their last chance came when awarded a penalty in midfield, but Evans went for too much territory in trying to find the sideline, kicking the ball dead in goal, which ended their challenge.
The five points the Crusaders have gathered tonight further stretched their advantage at the top of the Rebel Sport Super 14 standings, with the side now 11 points clear, pending the outcome of the other matches to follow this weekend.
The Sharks, who play the NSW Waratahs in Sydney on Saturday evening, are the next visitors to AMI Stadium on Friday night.
Tuiali’i is in doubt for that match after suffering his hamstring injury tonight, but the Crusaders appear to be otherwise okay in terms of new battle damage.
Centre Casey Laulala could come back into contention for that match, after missing tonight, but Daniel Carter and Reuben Thorne will be out of action for a wee while longer.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Anzac Weekend. Super 14 2008 Day 11.
http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/news/news/s14-where-your-team-is-at/2008/04/22/1208742941072.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2
In the news: Locks Ali Williams and Ross Filipo relive their childhood as Spiderman and The Phantom, but deny they still collect rare comics and stamps or play Dungeons and Dragons together.
Physio's table: Casey Laulala (concussion), Dan Carter (high ankle strain).
The good: A loss is probably what the Cantabs needed to rev them up for the Blues this week. Stephen Brett may have been scratchy after his injury layoff, but he got through 80 minutes.
The bad: Finally, something to fill this spot. Skipper Richie McCaw looked jaded against the Chiefs and is being counselled this week after suffering from recurring Sione Lauaki nightmares.
In the news: Isa Nacewa escapes, I mean signs, with Leinster for next season.
Physio's table: George Pisi (hamstring), next week; Tom McCartney (hamstring), next week; Joe Rokocoko (wrist surgery), recovery time unknown.
The good: Former Hurricanes wing David Smith is found alive and well in Auckland.
The bad: "We've got a lot of confidence in David, so there has been no suggestion of [change] at all," said Blues chief executive Andy Dalton. Enough said.
CRUSADERS
In the news: Locks Ali Williams and Ross Filipo relive their childhood as Spiderman and The Phantom, but deny they still collect rare comics and stamps or play Dungeons and Dragons together.
Physio's table: Casey Laulala (concussion), Dan Carter (high ankle strain).
The good: A loss is probably what the Cantabs needed to rev them up for the Blues this week. Stephen Brett may have been scratchy after his injury layoff, but he got through 80 minutes.
The bad: Finally, something to fill this spot. Skipper Richie McCaw looked jaded against the Chiefs and is being counselled this week after suffering from recurring Sione Lauaki nightmares.
BLUES
In the news: Isa Nacewa escapes, I mean signs, with Leinster for next season.
Physio's table: George Pisi (hamstring), next week; Tom McCartney (hamstring), next week; Joe Rokocoko (wrist surgery), recovery time unknown.
The good: Former Hurricanes wing David Smith is found alive and well in Auckland.
The bad: "We've got a lot of confidence in David, so there has been no suggestion of [change] at all," said Blues chief executive Andy Dalton. Enough said.
Friday 25/4 17:35
!!!! Match diffusé sur C+ Sport
vendredi à 22 h 20 !!!
Friday 25/4 19:40
Saturday 26/4 17:35
Saturday 26/4 19:40
Saturday 26/4 23:00
Sunday 27/4 01:05
-> As an e-friend of mine said yesterday, "attending one ANZAC remembrance service is something one must have lived in one's life for it's very moving". I can't this year (who knows about next year?) but if you are lucky enough to live this moment, feel free to share your feelings. Just to remind people that rugby may be very important in their lives but it's "only" a sport!
-> I will keep publishing the attack/defense articles against Richie but my thoughts are in my remark (published with the first "attack" article, http://richie-mccaw.blogspot.com/2008/04/henry-backs-mccaws-world-cup-leadership.html) ; and if anyone wants to share his/her views with the others, feel free to send it to me and I'll publish it :)
A pawn in the nasty old blame game
http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/post/-/maninthestand/1076/1
The Man In The Stand Sport Expert
April 22, 2008
I know from as reliable sources as I have, that Richie McCaw is still undecided as whether to follow his good mate, Dan Carter overseas at the end of next season or not.
That's why, amongst all the tears and tribulations contained in the comically-late World Cup report, it's truly mind-boggling that the New Zealand Rugby Farcical Union has so readily sanctioned dumping big heaps of the brown stuff on Richie McCaw.
Sadly, this band of marksmen from rugby's headquarters in Wellington, who have become so adept at shooting themselves repeatedly in their collective feet, could well have tipped our champion No.7 into a mindset to go.But why should we be surprised?
When an army is defeated and the battlefield is strewn with bodies, is it surprising that the generals are invariably nowhere to be seen?
After the calamity at Cardiff, Generals Moller,Tew and Hobbs have cleverly ducked every bullet that's come anywhere near them.At the same time, I bet my Colin Meads-signed jersey that they haven't minded seeing the hits that Richie McCaw has just taken, play a significant part in protecting their sorry backsides.
Funny isn't it how, in comparison to the vilification of McCaw in the document, only fleeting and indirect reference is made towards the guilty men who rubber-stamped all the reconditioning and rotation madness as well as the top-heavy number of support staff.
Not even the architect of these crazy experiments, Graham Henry himself, is made a villain to the extent that McCaw is.
And before you tell me that this report was an independent inquiry, let's remember that it was Messer's Tew and Hobbs themselves who kept emphasising that the report was not intended to become a personal witch-hunt.
At any stage of the report being produced, they could have reiterated that this directive must be upheld, especially when McCaw, a comparative innocent, was about to take the biggest volley of all. Of course, I'm not absolving McCaw of any blame in the disaster. His captaincy in the quarter-final was no more inspiring than it was against the Wallabies at Melbourne, earlier in the season.
But making him such the major fall-guy is dishonest at best.
In summary, the temptation for Richie McCaw to go overseas at the end of next season may well have just become enhanced even further.
As well as earning 2 million dollars plus a year and a break from the repetitive grind thrown up by the Super 14 and Tri-Nations tournaments, McCaw could understandably be angered enough by this ill-conceived blame to decide to go.
In light of the nonsense he's currently enduring, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if he did. Would you?
PS. To those who criticise me for criticising, remember that the only hope of not repeating mistakes of the past is to analyse how and why they occurred.
I also believe you can see them more clearly without your head in the sand.
I thank all of you who take the time to reply.
The Man In The Stand Sport Expert
April 22, 2008
I know from as reliable sources as I have, that Richie McCaw is still undecided as whether to follow his good mate, Dan Carter overseas at the end of next season or not.
That's why, amongst all the tears and tribulations contained in the comically-late World Cup report, it's truly mind-boggling that the New Zealand Rugby Farcical Union has so readily sanctioned dumping big heaps of the brown stuff on Richie McCaw.
Sadly, this band of marksmen from rugby's headquarters in Wellington, who have become so adept at shooting themselves repeatedly in their collective feet, could well have tipped our champion No.7 into a mindset to go.But why should we be surprised?
When an army is defeated and the battlefield is strewn with bodies, is it surprising that the generals are invariably nowhere to be seen?
After the calamity at Cardiff, Generals Moller,Tew and Hobbs have cleverly ducked every bullet that's come anywhere near them.At the same time, I bet my Colin Meads-signed jersey that they haven't minded seeing the hits that Richie McCaw has just taken, play a significant part in protecting their sorry backsides.
Funny isn't it how, in comparison to the vilification of McCaw in the document, only fleeting and indirect reference is made towards the guilty men who rubber-stamped all the reconditioning and rotation madness as well as the top-heavy number of support staff.
Not even the architect of these crazy experiments, Graham Henry himself, is made a villain to the extent that McCaw is.
And before you tell me that this report was an independent inquiry, let's remember that it was Messer's Tew and Hobbs themselves who kept emphasising that the report was not intended to become a personal witch-hunt.
At any stage of the report being produced, they could have reiterated that this directive must be upheld, especially when McCaw, a comparative innocent, was about to take the biggest volley of all. Of course, I'm not absolving McCaw of any blame in the disaster. His captaincy in the quarter-final was no more inspiring than it was against the Wallabies at Melbourne, earlier in the season.
But making him such the major fall-guy is dishonest at best.
In summary, the temptation for Richie McCaw to go overseas at the end of next season may well have just become enhanced even further.
As well as earning 2 million dollars plus a year and a break from the repetitive grind thrown up by the Super 14 and Tri-Nations tournaments, McCaw could understandably be angered enough by this ill-conceived blame to decide to go.
In light of the nonsense he's currently enduring, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if he did. Would you?
PS. To those who criticise me for criticising, remember that the only hope of not repeating mistakes of the past is to analyse how and why they occurred.
I also believe you can see them more clearly without your head in the sand.
I thank all of you who take the time to reply.
Don't blame Richie, but whose call was it?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4493863a2201.html
THE BALD FACTS
By TONY SMITH, The Press
Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Blame! It's a filthy five-letter word that has become as much a part of the sporting lexicon as "goal", "try" or "off-side".
A wise man once told me never to point the finger because there's always three pointing back, that the character defects we identify in others are the same shortcomings we loathe in ourselves.
It's a fine theory in principle, but much harder to adhere to in practice.
Last week after the the long- awaited World Cup review was made public All Blacks coach Graham Henry passionately defended his captain Richie McCaw's decision to chase a try or a penalty rather than a dropped goal to win the Cardiff quarter-final.
Henry's loyalty was laudable. "Don't blame Richie," he said.
The World Cup review talks, quite rightly, about a lack of leadership in the key quarterfinal. Hopefully, it will help sports fans to ditch the wrong-headed notion that leadership is confined to the captain.
A head-in-the-sand Henry vehemently denied last week that leadership was lacking. Yet I can understand how Don Tricker, one of the review's two authors, would reach that conclusion.
Tricker did something no New Zealand rugby coach has done for 20 years – win a world championship title. Two of them, to boot.
He led the Black Sox to the gold medal in South Africa in 2000 when the players had to bunk down in a cockroach-infested hostel in East London.
When the Black Sox retained their crown in Christchurch in 2004 they stayed in mini-motel accommodation rather than five-star hotels.
Could you imagine an All Black "leader" enduring digs like that? They almost mutinied when former manager Andrew (Colonel) Martin dared to suggest it.
Leadership is all about seizing the initiative, about taking individual responsibility for the collective good.
Did Anzac soldiers simply shoulder arms because there were no officers left to command them at Gallipoli, Passchendaele, Crete or Cassino?
Rugby's rank-and-file should never rely on the captain to make every crucial call.
Aaron Mauger was just 21 in 2002 when George Gregan's Brumbies were leading with time ticking away at Jade Stadium. The Crusaders were pressing for a try but young Mauger was taking no chances. He potted a field goal for a 33-32 win and the Crusaders went on to an unbeaten season.
Where was that calm head in Cardiff? Between Mauger's hands, as he shook in disbelief in the Millennium Stadium bleachers with the other non-playing All Blacks. Beside him was another follow-me- style leader, Reuben Thorne, omitted because of the coaches' obsession with a holus-bolus Hurricanes backrow.
Let me spirit you back even further into the mists of time.
Lancaster Park, 1970, the All Blacks had returned to the Ranfurly Shield arena from another ill-starred South African safari.
Shield-holder Canterbury was trailing challenger Wellington 3-0. An attacking scrum was set near the Wellington line. A dropped goal would mean a draw which would keep the shield from the Wellingtonians' desperate clutches. Canterbury first five-eighths Doug Bruce gasped like a firing squad victim drawing on his last cigarette.
Second-five "Baker" Cottrell also appeared anxious that he might not get the recipe right on a high- pressure occasion.
A clear, gruff voice rang out behind them. "Give the @#%^&* thing here." Fullback Fergie McCormick swung a square-toed boot and sent the ball spiralling between the uprights.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
I remember quizzing Todd Blackadder after the Crusaders conceded a short-side try from a scrum in a home defeat against the Hurricanes in 2001. Giant Jonah Lomu seized the ball and his midget- sized marker Afato So'oalo seemed to disappear into the second tier of the No. 3 stand at Jade Stadium. Who can blame him? It was a mismatch made in hell. "Did you think about detaching a flanker to stop Lomu?" I asked Blackadder next day."Yes I did," he said, quick as a flash. "About 4.30 this morning."
It's easy for a sports hack with his well-padded posterior on a padded press box seat to second-guess a skipper. It's even easier for a spectator. But, no-one inside or outside the All Blacks can deny should have slotted a field goal in Cardiff. It's called a percentage play.
I don't blame McCaw, Luke McAlister, Henry or anyone, individually. The game is gone, the World Cup still eludes us. The key now is how much the All Blacks have learned from it.
But I'm sure at some stage they will wake up from the nightmare and have a 4.30 in the morning moment.
THE BALD FACTS
By TONY SMITH, The Press
Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Blame! It's a filthy five-letter word that has become as much a part of the sporting lexicon as "goal", "try" or "off-side".
A wise man once told me never to point the finger because there's always three pointing back, that the character defects we identify in others are the same shortcomings we loathe in ourselves.
It's a fine theory in principle, but much harder to adhere to in practice.
Last week after the the long- awaited World Cup review was made public All Blacks coach Graham Henry passionately defended his captain Richie McCaw's decision to chase a try or a penalty rather than a dropped goal to win the Cardiff quarter-final.
Henry's loyalty was laudable. "Don't blame Richie," he said.
The World Cup review talks, quite rightly, about a lack of leadership in the key quarterfinal. Hopefully, it will help sports fans to ditch the wrong-headed notion that leadership is confined to the captain.
A head-in-the-sand Henry vehemently denied last week that leadership was lacking. Yet I can understand how Don Tricker, one of the review's two authors, would reach that conclusion.
Tricker did something no New Zealand rugby coach has done for 20 years – win a world championship title. Two of them, to boot.
He led the Black Sox to the gold medal in South Africa in 2000 when the players had to bunk down in a cockroach-infested hostel in East London.
When the Black Sox retained their crown in Christchurch in 2004 they stayed in mini-motel accommodation rather than five-star hotels.
Could you imagine an All Black "leader" enduring digs like that? They almost mutinied when former manager Andrew (Colonel) Martin dared to suggest it.
Leadership is all about seizing the initiative, about taking individual responsibility for the collective good.
Did Anzac soldiers simply shoulder arms because there were no officers left to command them at Gallipoli, Passchendaele, Crete or Cassino?
Rugby's rank-and-file should never rely on the captain to make every crucial call.
Aaron Mauger was just 21 in 2002 when George Gregan's Brumbies were leading with time ticking away at Jade Stadium. The Crusaders were pressing for a try but young Mauger was taking no chances. He potted a field goal for a 33-32 win and the Crusaders went on to an unbeaten season.
Where was that calm head in Cardiff? Between Mauger's hands, as he shook in disbelief in the Millennium Stadium bleachers with the other non-playing All Blacks. Beside him was another follow-me- style leader, Reuben Thorne, omitted because of the coaches' obsession with a holus-bolus Hurricanes backrow.
Let me spirit you back even further into the mists of time.
Lancaster Park, 1970, the All Blacks had returned to the Ranfurly Shield arena from another ill-starred South African safari.
Shield-holder Canterbury was trailing challenger Wellington 3-0. An attacking scrum was set near the Wellington line. A dropped goal would mean a draw which would keep the shield from the Wellingtonians' desperate clutches. Canterbury first five-eighths Doug Bruce gasped like a firing squad victim drawing on his last cigarette.
Second-five "Baker" Cottrell also appeared anxious that he might not get the recipe right on a high- pressure occasion.
A clear, gruff voice rang out behind them. "Give the @#%^&* thing here." Fullback Fergie McCormick swung a square-toed boot and sent the ball spiralling between the uprights.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
I remember quizzing Todd Blackadder after the Crusaders conceded a short-side try from a scrum in a home defeat against the Hurricanes in 2001. Giant Jonah Lomu seized the ball and his midget- sized marker Afato So'oalo seemed to disappear into the second tier of the No. 3 stand at Jade Stadium. Who can blame him? It was a mismatch made in hell. "Did you think about detaching a flanker to stop Lomu?" I asked Blackadder next day."Yes I did," he said, quick as a flash. "About 4.30 this morning."
It's easy for a sports hack with his well-padded posterior on a padded press box seat to second-guess a skipper. It's even easier for a spectator. But, no-one inside or outside the All Blacks can deny should have slotted a field goal in Cardiff. It's called a percentage play.
I don't blame McCaw, Luke McAlister, Henry or anyone, individually. The game is gone, the World Cup still eludes us. The key now is how much the All Blacks have learned from it.
But I'm sure at some stage they will wake up from the nightmare and have a 4.30 in the morning moment.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
McCaw defends option
http://www.stuff.co.nz/thepress/4491554a6429.html
Crusaders coach Deans and All Blacks boss Henry spent around 10 minutes chatting after training at Rugby Park yesterday as McCaw fronted with his views of the independent review of the World Cup.
The report, commissioned by the New Zealand Rugby Union, revealed Henry instructed McCaw to set up for a drop goal with 10 minutes remaining of the World Cup quarter-final against France but he chose to continue with the tactic of attempting to score a try or get a penalty.
It also stated that in the dying minutes the "leadership model" failed to deliver and the team failed to ensure the right decisions were taken.
When the report was publicly released last week Henry backed McCaw's decision not to attempt the drop goal.
"You always think about those things. The next time you are in that situation you might do something different," McCaw said of the drop goal. "But that is the decision you make on the day and you just have to live with them."
Henry, who watched yesterday's training with the NZRU's high performance manager, Mike Chu, also defended his decision not to inform McCaw that referee Wayne Barnes had not awarded a penalty in the second half.
At full time the penalty count favoured France 10-2.
Henry has already stated McCaw will remain as his skipper and the openside flanker said he was eager to continue.
Despite criticism since the report, McCaw maintained playing at No. 7 and also having to call the shots should not affect the way he led the team.
"I guess I am like anyone, no matter what position – you have got to learn as you go. I have never said that I have stopped learning. You are learning every time you go out onto the field. I don't see it as being a problem but I guess everyone has got their opinion."
McCaw had not read the report that was compiled by Auckland lawyer Mike Heron and former Black Sox coach Don Tricker and cost the New Zealand Rugby Union $130,000.
Instead he maintained he had been preparing for the Crusaders' match against the Chiefs in Hamilton last Friday night.
"No mate, there's been enough talking about that. But from my point of view it was obviously the day before the game (when it was released) and I just got on with that," McCaw said."I have been away for the weekend and I have not read anything about it. And that is probably the way it should stay, I think."
RICHARD KNOWLER, The Press
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
As Richie McCaw defended his All Blacks captaincy, Robbie Deans and Graham Henry looked on from a distance.
Crusaders coach Deans and All Blacks boss Henry spent around 10 minutes chatting after training at Rugby Park yesterday as McCaw fronted with his views of the independent review of the World Cup.
The report, commissioned by the New Zealand Rugby Union, revealed Henry instructed McCaw to set up for a drop goal with 10 minutes remaining of the World Cup quarter-final against France but he chose to continue with the tactic of attempting to score a try or get a penalty.
It also stated that in the dying minutes the "leadership model" failed to deliver and the team failed to ensure the right decisions were taken.
When the report was publicly released last week Henry backed McCaw's decision not to attempt the drop goal.
"You always think about those things. The next time you are in that situation you might do something different," McCaw said of the drop goal. "But that is the decision you make on the day and you just have to live with them."
Henry, who watched yesterday's training with the NZRU's high performance manager, Mike Chu, also defended his decision not to inform McCaw that referee Wayne Barnes had not awarded a penalty in the second half.
At full time the penalty count favoured France 10-2.
Henry has already stated McCaw will remain as his skipper and the openside flanker said he was eager to continue.
Despite criticism since the report, McCaw maintained playing at No. 7 and also having to call the shots should not affect the way he led the team.
"I guess I am like anyone, no matter what position – you have got to learn as you go. I have never said that I have stopped learning. You are learning every time you go out onto the field. I don't see it as being a problem but I guess everyone has got their opinion."
McCaw had not read the report that was compiled by Auckland lawyer Mike Heron and former Black Sox coach Don Tricker and cost the New Zealand Rugby Union $130,000.
Instead he maintained he had been preparing for the Crusaders' match against the Chiefs in Hamilton last Friday night.
"No mate, there's been enough talking about that. But from my point of view it was obviously the day before the game (when it was released) and I just got on with that," McCaw said."I have been away for the weekend and I have not read anything about it. And that is probably the way it should stay, I think."
Over and out for McCaw
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4489548a1823.html
By RICHARD BOOCK, Sunday Star Times
Sunday, 20 April 2008
Decision-making. It hasn't been one of the All Blacks' greatest success stories, admittedly. Whatever you might think about the improvement in basic skills and athleticism, the same cannot be said of the top two inches. In fact, not to put too fine a point on it, it seems the stronger they've become physically, the weaker they've become mentally.
They wouldn't be alone in this, of course. Whatever benefits sports science has brought to the New Zealand theatre of operations, it must be said that initiative is not one of them. Our cricketers run around cluelessly until re-programmed by computer-bearers. Our league players are transformed after statistical briefings. Hardly anyone seems to think on their feet any more. Carry on regardless.
The world cup review report only reinforced this. It wasn't the fact that a coach's message had to be sent out to Richie McCaw 10 minutes from the end of the quarter-final that should worry us. Nor even McCa
w's decision to disregard the plea for a drop-goal and to keep pushing for a try or a penalty. That was his prerogative as captain, surely.
No, what was truly astonishing was the revelation that, at the time McCaw and his remaining deputies made their decision, they were apparently unaware that the All Blacks had not received the benefit of a penalty for the entire second half. For 70 minutes they'd been subjected to Wayne Barnes' incompetence and they still hadn't deduced he was the problem.
It's barely conceivable. The suggestion seems to be that no one tried to confront the highly impressionable and inexperienced referee; to pressure him about the penalty-count or to remind him of his responsibilities, because no one knew they were being shafted. The senior All Blacks didn't know what to do, because they didn't understand what was happening.
Why is this important? Well, there are ways and means of getting a message across to match officials. Shrewd leaders know how to make a point within earshot of referees, without necessarily speaking directly to them, or confronting them. Pressure can be built, the weight of logic brought to bear; minds concentrated.
The All Blacks lost because of weak leadership; that much now is clear. Even if McCaw had identified the problem, which he obviously didn't, it's doubtful he possessed the persuasive powers to influence Barnes. Martin Johnson, Lawrence Dallaglio, Sean Fitzpatrick, George Gregan, John Eales, Nick Farr-Jones; they were good captains for different reasons, but they all knew how to engage referees; manipulate them even.
The sad truth for McCaw is that he is only a brilliant openside flanker. Nothing more, nothing less. It isn't his fault; the poor blighter probably grew up thinking that would be enough. In hindsight, the decision to appoint him captain was a crucial mistake. That, however, is one conclusion the report steers well clear of.
Neither does it touch on the fact that, when reality bit in world cup sudden-death elimination (where McCaw invariably found himself first to the breakdown, last to get up, and accused of all kind of skulduggery in between) his clout as team spokesman was severely reduced. He was not so much the All Blacks captain, as a suspect in an investigation. The No7 shirt was, to him, kryptonite. He cannot remain as skipper.
Where have all our leaders gone? If you ask the Final Whistle, they are crushed under a blanket of minders, assistant coaches, amateur psychologists, computer analysts, agents, player association representatives, and self-acclaimed team leadership and peer assessment programmes. Initiative is being swamped by conformist protocol. Rebellion, so often the springboard to sporting success, is frowned upon.
The All Blacks adopted an elitist mantra along the lines of "better people make better players", and cobbled together their own leadership programme. It failed miserably. The fear now is that, rather than recognising that true leadership has many faces and cannot be found with a one-size-fits-all template, they will simply waste their time on another classroom model.
If that's their aim they might as well copy the New Zealand cricket team, who use the Leading Teams programme and can apparently report excellent harmony between squad members and a reduction in Chris Martin's smoking habit. But their batting is still a mess, they languish at No7 in the test rankings and struggle to win anything away from home.
On the other hand, if the All Blacks genuinely want to become a more successful rugby team, then their administrators might want to abandon the idea that good people have anything to do with good leadership. If anything, history insists the opposite. The best leaders are not only astute but also shrewd and crafty. They're resourceful and creative; experts at trouble-shooting and problem-solving, people who know their environment and can sniff an opportunity.
Good leaders may be dictatorial or arbitrary, they don't necessarily need to be the most popular or even likable. Which is where today's cloistered and manufactured team leadership programmes seem to go astray. You get the feeling that, if Winston Churchill had been in the Black Caps peer assessment programme, he would have been told to go away, take a long look at himself, and to cut out the cigar smoking.
The problem is that these leadership forums operate first and foremost on an equal playing field. Personalities are not allowed to dominate; everyone has a fair chance to speak their mind, and any hint of emotional intimidation is immediately quashed. Sounds great, but it doesn't relate at all to reality, where personalities do dominate, and where people who can persuade and incite often do hold sway.
Reality for the All Blacks arrived at Cardiff last year in the form of a rogue referee who simply needed to be challenged in the right way. As Dwight Eisenhower once said: "Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it".
That's something you can't teach in a classroom.
By RICHARD BOOCK, Sunday Star Times
Sunday, 20 April 2008
Decision-making. It hasn't been one of the All Blacks' greatest success stories, admittedly. Whatever you might think about the improvement in basic skills and athleticism, the same cannot be said of the top two inches. In fact, not to put too fine a point on it, it seems the stronger they've become physically, the weaker they've become mentally.
They wouldn't be alone in this, of course. Whatever benefits sports science has brought to the New Zealand theatre of operations, it must be said that initiative is not one of them. Our cricketers run around cluelessly until re-programmed by computer-bearers. Our league players are transformed after statistical briefings. Hardly anyone seems to think on their feet any more. Carry on regardless.
The world cup review report only reinforced this. It wasn't the fact that a coach's message had to be sent out to Richie McCaw 10 minutes from the end of the quarter-final that should worry us. Nor even McCa
w's decision to disregard the plea for a drop-goal and to keep pushing for a try or a penalty. That was his prerogative as captain, surely.No, what was truly astonishing was the revelation that, at the time McCaw and his remaining deputies made their decision, they were apparently unaware that the All Blacks had not received the benefit of a penalty for the entire second half. For 70 minutes they'd been subjected to Wayne Barnes' incompetence and they still hadn't deduced he was the problem.
It's barely conceivable. The suggestion seems to be that no one tried to confront the highly impressionable and inexperienced referee; to pressure him about the penalty-count or to remind him of his responsibilities, because no one knew they were being shafted. The senior All Blacks didn't know what to do, because they didn't understand what was happening.
Why is this important? Well, there are ways and means of getting a message across to match officials. Shrewd leaders know how to make a point within earshot of referees, without necessarily speaking directly to them, or confronting them. Pressure can be built, the weight of logic brought to bear; minds concentrated.
The All Blacks lost because of weak leadership; that much now is clear. Even if McCaw had identified the problem, which he obviously didn't, it's doubtful he possessed the persuasive powers to influence Barnes. Martin Johnson, Lawrence Dallaglio, Sean Fitzpatrick, George Gregan, John Eales, Nick Farr-Jones; they were good captains for different reasons, but they all knew how to engage referees; manipulate them even.
The sad truth for McCaw is that he is only a brilliant openside flanker. Nothing more, nothing less. It isn't his fault; the poor blighter probably grew up thinking that would be enough. In hindsight, the decision to appoint him captain was a crucial mistake. That, however, is one conclusion the report steers well clear of.
Neither does it touch on the fact that, when reality bit in world cup sudden-death elimination (where McCaw invariably found himself first to the breakdown, last to get up, and accused of all kind of skulduggery in between) his clout as team spokesman was severely reduced. He was not so much the All Blacks captain, as a suspect in an investigation. The No7 shirt was, to him, kryptonite. He cannot remain as skipper.
Where have all our leaders gone? If you ask the Final Whistle, they are crushed under a blanket of minders, assistant coaches, amateur psychologists, computer analysts, agents, player association representatives, and self-acclaimed team leadership and peer assessment programmes. Initiative is being swamped by conformist protocol. Rebellion, so often the springboard to sporting success, is frowned upon.
The All Blacks adopted an elitist mantra along the lines of "better people make better players", and cobbled together their own leadership programme. It failed miserably. The fear now is that, rather than recognising that true leadership has many faces and cannot be found with a one-size-fits-all template, they will simply waste their time on another classroom model.
If that's their aim they might as well copy the New Zealand cricket team, who use the Leading Teams programme and can apparently report excellent harmony between squad members and a reduction in Chris Martin's smoking habit. But their batting is still a mess, they languish at No7 in the test rankings and struggle to win anything away from home.
On the other hand, if the All Blacks genuinely want to become a more successful rugby team, then their administrators might want to abandon the idea that good people have anything to do with good leadership. If anything, history insists the opposite. The best leaders are not only astute but also shrewd and crafty. They're resourceful and creative; experts at trouble-shooting and problem-solving, people who know their environment and can sniff an opportunity.
Good leaders may be dictatorial or arbitrary, they don't necessarily need to be the most popular or even likable. Which is where today's cloistered and manufactured team leadership programmes seem to go astray. You get the feeling that, if Winston Churchill had been in the Black Caps peer assessment programme, he would have been told to go away, take a long look at himself, and to cut out the cigar smoking.
The problem is that these leadership forums operate first and foremost on an equal playing field. Personalities are not allowed to dominate; everyone has a fair chance to speak their mind, and any hint of emotional intimidation is immediately quashed. Sounds great, but it doesn't relate at all to reality, where personalities do dominate, and where people who can persuade and incite often do hold sway.
Reality for the All Blacks arrived at Cardiff last year in the form of a rogue referee who simply needed to be challenged in the right way. As Dwight Eisenhower once said: "Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it".
That's something you can't teach in a classroom.
Monday, April 21, 2008
In defence of the All Blacks captain
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4490659a1823.html
By MARC HINTON - RugbyHeaven
Monday, 21 April 2008
Back the truck up a minute. Skipper Richie McCaw did not personally unhinge the All Blacks' World Cup campaign and to portray him as the villain of the piece is outrageous, grossly unfair and potentially damaging for New Zealand rugby.
At a time when the New Zealand game is in crisis in terms of retaining our leading players, it beggars belief to think that McCaw has been hung out to dry by his own organisation, not to mention segments of the media who have jumped all over the brilliant openside worse than any mugging he's received on the field.
Dan Carter is probably going offshore to play his rugby (and at nearly $2 million a year, who could blame him?). So is Nick Evans. We're told Jerry Collins will also follow suit before too long. They're just the tip of the iceberg, too.
McCaw has committed to stay in New Zealand, yet there seems to have been an unhealthy eagerness by all concerned to make him the headline act in the ridiculous finger-pointing exercise that the badly belated World Cup review has thrown up.
It is just another factor in the lack of faith I now have in the people running the New Zealand game – a general attitude that is becoming increasingly prevalent.
What on earth has this review achieved, other than to regurgitate the whole blame game over what was one bad performance by a team poorly prepared to play in a World Cup? Has anybody seen Australia's review of their equally shoddy quarter-final effort? No, because they're too smart to waste their time and money over a PR disaster like this?
Then to have the captain publicly undermined in the report which rightly raised some serious questions over the lack of leadership in the All Blacks, while the coach and his offsiders have been reappointed carte-blanche, seems like a little bit of a double-standard.
I just don't get what any of this is achieving. Any critic worth his salt could have told them the guts of what's come out in this review within hours, if not minutes, of the Cardiff capitulation. There were lessons to be heeded. But did we need a public humiliation to do so?
It's hard not to sympathise with McCaw who must feel at the moment as though the world's against him. His body language over the weekend indicated it was all getting on top of him.
The whole thing angers me.
Making McCaw the scapegoat for the All Blacks' pathetic World Cup exit last October may suit the NZRU and its misguided desire to deflect blame over the whole shambles, but it is another negative issue the game could have done without.
Sure, the leadership could have been better over the closing stages of the quarter-final in Cardiff, but to hang, draw and quarter one bloke because his team wasn't good enough to get up and nail a score with about 99% of the possession is just plain unfair.
I'm not exonerating McCaw from any culpability on the strength of the fact that we want to keep him in New Zealand, so he should be untouchable.
All I'm saying is let's get real here. Richie probably made a bad call in not organising his team to go for the dropped goal as was supposedly ordered by his coaches.
But that was just one ingredient in the whole sorry recipe that cooked up the All Blacks' worst ever World Cup exit.
Some people have called for McCaw to be dropped as All Blacks captain because of this whole mess.
I don't see that happening, though Graham Henry's public defence of his skipper after the report's release did seem a tad contrived to me.
McCaw is a capable enough captain most of the time, though it does seem to be a responsibility that is weighing heavily upon him.
Probably a more salient question we should ask ourselves is are the All Blacks best served by having McCaw as their skipper? Or more importantly why this pre-conceived notion that you best player should be your captain?
McCaw is a fantastic bloke and a solid sort of citizen. Plus he's one heck of a rugby player. But should a No 7 captain any rugby side given the sort of game an openside now plays? He spends much of his time buried at the bottom of rucks and tends to run a constant battle to stay on the right side of a fine line with the referee.
He is also battered from pillar to post throughout the course of 80 minutes and plays such a high-intensity, instinctive game, that the cool, calm, detached demeanour required to make key captaincy decisions just can't be made from that position.
Plus, another school of thought is that you should let your standout player do what he does best, and not burden him with extra responsibilities. Kobe Bryant is the best player in the LA Lakers (not to mention the whole NBA) and their spiritual guiding force. Yet he is probably not their voice of reason in a tight situation. He's thinking about what HE needs to do to win his team a game, and lets others take on the mantle of calm and measured leadership.
Perhaps McCaw should be left to dominate the breakdown, continue his running haggle with the referee and provide the sort of inspirational touches for which he is known, without having to bother with setting on-field tactics.
The first five sitting back in the pocket, or even the halfback as the intermediary between forwards and backs, seem much more measured positions from which to devise tactics.
If it's to be a forward, hooker, lock or No 8 all seem to be better positions from which to take a degree of detachment.
But when you're an openside at the very cutting edge of a game as big as a World Cup quarter-final, it's almost impossible to recall that you haven't even been given one penalty in an entire half where you've dominated possession. Let alone debate the merits of it with a rookie ref.
So if McCaw is to go as All Blacks captain, it should be a proactive move based not on a report pointing the finger, but recognition by his coaches that it's not the best way to use him.
To be honest I don't even see that happening this year. Henry and co will rally round their skip and say all the right things publicly. But they'd do him an enormous favour by at least giving him a right-hand man to take some of the pressure off.
By MARC HINTON - RugbyHeaven
Monday, 21 April 2008
Back the truck up a minute. Skipper Richie McCaw did not personally unhinge the All Blacks' World Cup campaign and to portray him as the villain of the piece is outrageous, grossly unfair and potentially damaging for New Zealand rugby.
At a time when the New Zealand game is in crisis in terms of retaining our leading players, it beggars belief to think that McCaw has been hung out to dry by his own organisation, not to mention segments of the media who have jumped all over the brilliant openside worse than any mugging he's received on the field.
Dan Carter is probably going offshore to play his rugby (and at nearly $2 million a year, who could blame him?). So is Nick Evans. We're told Jerry Collins will also follow suit before too long. They're just the tip of the iceberg, too.
McCaw has committed to stay in New Zealand, yet there seems to have been an unhealthy eagerness by all concerned to make him the headline act in the ridiculous finger-pointing exercise that the badly belated World Cup review has thrown up.
It is just another factor in the lack of faith I now have in the people running the New Zealand game – a general attitude that is becoming increasingly prevalent.
What on earth has this review achieved, other than to regurgitate the whole blame game over what was one bad performance by a team poorly prepared to play in a World Cup? Has anybody seen Australia's review of their equally shoddy quarter-final effort? No, because they're too smart to waste their time and money over a PR disaster like this?
Then to have the captain publicly undermined in the report which rightly raised some serious questions over the lack of leadership in the All Blacks, while the coach and his offsiders have been reappointed carte-blanche, seems like a little bit of a double-standard.
I just don't get what any of this is achieving. Any critic worth his salt could have told them the guts of what's come out in this review within hours, if not minutes, of the Cardiff capitulation. There were lessons to be heeded. But did we need a public humiliation to do so?
It's hard not to sympathise with McCaw who must feel at the moment as though the world's against him. His body language over the weekend indicated it was all getting on top of him.
The whole thing angers me.
Making McCaw the scapegoat for the All Blacks' pathetic World Cup exit last October may suit the NZRU and its misguided desire to deflect blame over the whole shambles, but it is another negative issue the game could have done without.
Sure, the leadership could have been better over the closing stages of the quarter-final in Cardiff, but to hang, draw and quarter one bloke because his team wasn't good enough to get up and nail a score with about 99% of the possession is just plain unfair.
I'm not exonerating McCaw from any culpability on the strength of the fact that we want to keep him in New Zealand, so he should be untouchable.
All I'm saying is let's get real here. Richie probably made a bad call in not organising his team to go for the dropped goal as was supposedly ordered by his coaches.
But that was just one ingredient in the whole sorry recipe that cooked up the All Blacks' worst ever World Cup exit.
Some people have called for McCaw to be dropped as All Blacks captain because of this whole mess.
I don't see that happening, though Graham Henry's public defence of his skipper after the report's release did seem a tad contrived to me.
McCaw is a capable enough captain most of the time, though it does seem to be a responsibility that is weighing heavily upon him.
Probably a more salient question we should ask ourselves is are the All Blacks best served by having McCaw as their skipper? Or more importantly why this pre-conceived notion that you best player should be your captain?
McCaw is a fantastic bloke and a solid sort of citizen. Plus he's one heck of a rugby player. But should a No 7 captain any rugby side given the sort of game an openside now plays? He spends much of his time buried at the bottom of rucks and tends to run a constant battle to stay on the right side of a fine line with the referee.
He is also battered from pillar to post throughout the course of 80 minutes and plays such a high-intensity, instinctive game, that the cool, calm, detached demeanour required to make key captaincy decisions just can't be made from that position.
Plus, another school of thought is that you should let your standout player do what he does best, and not burden him with extra responsibilities. Kobe Bryant is the best player in the LA Lakers (not to mention the whole NBA) and their spiritual guiding force. Yet he is probably not their voice of reason in a tight situation. He's thinking about what HE needs to do to win his team a game, and lets others take on the mantle of calm and measured leadership.
Perhaps McCaw should be left to dominate the breakdown, continue his running haggle with the referee and provide the sort of inspirational touches for which he is known, without having to bother with setting on-field tactics.
The first five sitting back in the pocket, or even the halfback as the intermediary between forwards and backs, seem much more measured positions from which to devise tactics.
If it's to be a forward, hooker, lock or No 8 all seem to be better positions from which to take a degree of detachment.
But when you're an openside at the very cutting edge of a game as big as a World Cup quarter-final, it's almost impossible to recall that you haven't even been given one penalty in an entire half where you've dominated possession. Let alone debate the merits of it with a rookie ref.
So if McCaw is to go as All Blacks captain, it should be a proactive move based not on a report pointing the finger, but recognition by his coaches that it's not the best way to use him.
To be honest I don't even see that happening this year. Henry and co will rally round their skip and say all the right things publicly. But they'd do him an enormous favour by at least giving him a right-hand man to take some of the pressure off.
Richie's response (and Ali W. as Spiderman)
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/video_popup_windows_skin/1730695
McCaw wants captaincy
McCaw responds to criticism
Apr 21, 2008
Richie McCaw has expressed his desire to remain as the All Blacks on-field leader. 
The 27-year-old's copped plenty of criticism in the wake of the World Cup report with some calling for him to be replaced as captain and questioning his leadership abilities.
After Monday's Crusaders post-training press conference, McCaw confirmed that he hasn't read the review and doesn't intend to.
However, he says that doesn't mean he won't take the lessons from Cardiff on board.
McCaw says he's like anyone and learns something every time he steps on the field.
McCaw says he enjoys the captaincy and doesn't believe his position as flanker hinders his ability to do the job.
The Crusaders go up against the Blues on Friday night in Christchurch.
The 27-year-old's copped plenty of criticism in the wake of the World Cup report with some calling for him to be replaced as captain and questioning his leadership abilities.
After Monday's Crusaders post-training press conference, McCaw confirmed that he hasn't read the review and doesn't intend to.
However, he says that doesn't mean he won't take the lessons from Cardiff on board.
McCaw says he's like anyone and learns something every time he steps on the field.
McCaw says he enjoys the captaincy and doesn't believe his position as flanker hinders his ability to do the job.
The Crusaders go up against the Blues on Friday night in Christchurch.
****
video Tess mentionned in the chatterbox :
Spiderman - Ali style (1:56)
An unusual finish to the Crusaders' Super 14 rugby training session this afternoon when Ali Williams emerged to the waiting media dressed as Spiderman and offered little in terms of answers to questions
An unusual finish to the Crusaders' Super 14 rugby training session this afternoon when Ali Williams emerged to the waiting media dressed as Spiderman and offered little in terms of answers to questions
An unusual finish to the Crusaders' Super 14 rugby training session this afternoon when lock Ali Williams emerged to the waiting media dressed as Spiderman and offered little in terms of answers to questions.
The Crusaders face the Blues this weekend and many were keen to hear Williams' insights into how his former team prepares for a Crusaders match.
But he appeared before the media dressed as Peter Parker's alter-ego and proceeded to answer questions imitating the comic book hero. In other news, Graham Henry attended the session as Robbie Deans put his team through an extra hour of training.
Leon MacDonald trained and looked more comfortable as he eyes up a comeback from a thigh injury.
The Crusaders face the Blues this weekend and many were keen to hear Williams' insights into how his former team prepares for a Crusaders match.But he appeared before the media dressed as Peter Parker's alter-ego and proceeded to answer questions imitating the comic book hero. In other news, Graham Henry attended the session as Robbie Deans put his team through an extra hour of training.
Leon MacDonald trained and looked more comfortable as he eyes up a comeback from a thigh injury.
****
other videos
A woeful Super 14 weekend (2:14)
The top four is looking most elusive for the New Zealand teams after round 10 with only the Crusaders remaining and two absolute hidings in South Africa
The top four is looking most elusive for the New Zealand teams after round 10 with only the Crusaders remaining and two absolute hidings in South Africa
Distracted Crusaders fade (2:05)
The Crusaders were brought back to reality with a defeat at the hands of the Chiefs on Saturday ONE Sport reporter Andrew Saville looks at where it went wrong for the Cantabs
The Crusaders were brought back to reality with a defeat at the hands of the Chiefs on Saturday ONE Sport reporter Andrew Saville looks at where it went wrong for the Cantabs
Chiefs vs. Crusaders.
http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/news/super14/chiefs-end-undefeated-crusade/2008/04/18/1208025471304.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
W
ith just one play-offs appearance in the previous 12 years of Super rugby the Chiefs fans have been suffering more than just a weather drought in their region.
But like the welcomed rain to the district earlier in the week, the Chiefs performance here suggests things are on the up.
This was their fourth consecutive win now as their campaign gathers serious momentum. They have jumped momentarily up to third and they look comfortable in those heady surroundings.
They host the Reds next weekend and then head to South Africa for three matches there to try to seal the deal. For a city hosting the V8 extravaganza this weekend, things are off to a roaring start as the capacity crowd of 25,000 loved every minute of this victory. Any thoughts that the Chiefs effectiveness may have been blunted by last week's bye quickly evaporated.
The simply picked up where they had left off in Canberra, with a hungry pack and backline that was putting together some crisp passing to constantly test the Crusaders. Big Chiefs loose forwards Sione Lauaki and Liam Messam were fired up. Playmaker Stephen Donald, operating off some swift work from halfback Brendon Leonard persistently sparked the Chiefs attacks.
And the Chiefs showed some control as well as their eagerness to counter-attack. Their kicking game was clever and accurate as they looked to get into the right areas of the park to
really apply some pressure to the visitors. Among all this was some good old fashioned defensive steel that helped keep the Crusaders scoreless for 46 minutes.
The Crusaders, struggling for composure in their backline particularly, had nothing to show for their first half endeavours where they trailed 0-18 at the break. They say they are a better second half team but despite having a ton of possession all they could come up with this week was one second-half try. Their proud run of eight wins is now at an end.
They managed to deny the Chiefs any second-half points but they simply couldn't haul in the home side who had too much hustle and bustle on the night.
There was plenty of feeling in this match as you'd expect, especially after the Chiefs had produced a similarly impressive performance to beat the Crusaders last year in Christchurch.
It as fair to say that on the night the Chiefs had the better of the many personal battles that made up this clash.
The Chiefs took advantage of Stephen Brett putting the kickoff into touch by attacking from the resulting scrum and nearly scoring. The Crusaders, under pressure conceded a penalty close to their posts and Stephen Donald landed the points.
The Crusaders had a good spell pressing for points but got nothing and the Chiefs struck back when they got down the attacking end. Sione Lauaki gave them some good go-forward ball and as they worked it left Donald got in two clever passes to eventually free Sitiveni Sivivatu for the try.
The Crusaders continued to get enough ball and territory but couldn't turn either into points.
Meanwhile just about every time the Chiefs got on attack they struck. Some Donald genius with a kick and regather allowed him to slip a pass to charging prop Simms Davison who fended off Caleb Ralph and burst 20m to the posts for a thrilling try on the half hour that gave the home side a 15-nil lead.
There was still time for Donald to confidently land a long range penalty to extend that lead at halftime. The Crusaders, importantly for them, struck first in the second half when they turned over ball through some sloppy work at the back of a Chiefs ruck and Stephen Brett picked it up and took over to send Andy Ellis in for the try.
The Crusaders kept on attacking and the Chiefs kept on tackling. The visitors' hopes of salvaging something from this took a severe blow when replacement loose forward Nasi Manu failed to force the ball when diving over the line.
From there the Chiefs managed to hold on. They will be in a confident mood as they get set to host the Reds while the Crusaders head home knowing they will have to improve next week when their old rivals the Blues come to Christchurch on Friday night.
CHIEFS 18 (Sitiveni Sivivatu, Simms Davison tries; Stephen Donald 2 pen con) bt CRUSADERS 5 (Andrew Ellis try) at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton. Referee: Craig Joubert (RSA).
****
That allowed the home side to get on the front foot in a hotly contested match which provided just three tries; two to the Chiefs, and one to the Crusaders. Both of the Chiefs tries were scored in the first half, blowing the game open after the first 10 minutes of play had yielded just a penalty goal scoring opportunity apiece.
The Chiefs took theirs, with first-five-eighths Stephen Donald opening the scoring in just the second minute, while the Crusaders missed out when Stephen Brett couldn’t convert from a handy angle in the eighth minute.
While the game maintained a fast pace throughout, the Chiefs gained an element of luck in their opening try, which was supplied by All Black winger Sitiveni Sivivatu. The try came after the ball spewed free on the blindside from a ruck. It could have gone anywhere, but found its way into Chiefs’ hands, for Donald to draw in the two remaining defenders, prior to setting up Sivivatu for an easy run to the goal-line.
“It was frustration in the main,” Crusaders skipper Richard McCaw explained afterwards. "Sometimes, when things aren’t going well, you can just try too hard and make it worse. That’s what we did tonight. We just got a bit too individual in our focus and approach under pressure. They gained the momentum in the game by being physical in the contact area, and we just couldn’t get back into it.”
The level of the Crusaders’ error-rate was such that not even the sin-binning of lock Toby Lynn in the 26th minute could change the balance of the game. Instead, while a man down, the Chiefs went further ahead on 30 minutes, with Donald again the provider.
The talented but occasionally erratic Chiefs first-five-eighths was the star man when his side rocked the Crusaders 30-24 at the now AMI Stadium last year, and his contribution proved to be telling again, when he popped a kick in behind the defence after 30 minutes.
Not only was Donald swift enough to follow up and re-gather, he also had the vision to successfully link with his support – in this case, Chiefs tighthead prop Ben Castle – who roared up the centre of the field and over the goal-line, for what was a memorable try.
Donald fittingly converted to take the Chiefs out to a 15-0 advantage, which he then extended to 18-0 with his second penalty goal of the night, just before halftime. The fact that the Chiefs had made far more of their opportunities in the opening half than had the Crusaders was highlighted by the missed tackle statistics for the period: the Chiefs closed the opening forty having missed with more tackles than the Crusaders had, but still lead 18-zip on the scoreboard.
The resumption of play offered the Crusaders hope that the game could be turned around, especially when halfback Andrew Ellis claimed his fifth try of the 13th Crusade, five m
inutes in.
The Ellis try came after the Crusaders had turned the ball over, but had then reacted quickly forcing the Chiefs into error trying to clear the ball.
As Chiefs halfback Brendan Leonard struggled to claim the ball, Brett pounced to fly kick the ball through and gather it, before linking with Ellis who strode clear to score. The points provided the possibility of an escape, but the subsequent required blows were not forthcoming.
Instead, the Chiefs continued to show their willingness in the contact area, slowing down the Crusaders’ ball flow, which allowed their defensive line to then swarm all over the static Crusaders attack.
While the Chiefs never really threatened to advance their own scoring tally after the break, they rarely appeared to be on the back foot either, save for one superb length of the field break out which nearly resulted in a try for the 19-year-old ‘super’ sub Nasi Manu. Manu appeared to ground the ball successfully to complete the attacking raid, but the subsequent television replays provided enough doubt for the television match official to rule no try. It was that kind of night… the breaks went the Chiefs way, but they played very well, and generally made their own luck.
“It was a tough experience for some of our younger players, and for our group as a whole, but we’ll all be better for it,” was Crusaders coach Robbie Deans’ succinct post-match summation.
“We’d been traveling along fairly well, but have hit a bit of a bump against a committed and determined opposition who got stuck in and earned everything they achieved. The character test for our group now, both as individuals, and as a team, is to absorb the lessons, work even harder and, most importantly, bounce back.”
Tonight’s loss won’t knock the Crusaders off their perch at the top of the Super rugby championship table regardless as to how the other results over the weekend transpire. It has, however, terminated the current winning sequence at eight. This run has been bettered by the side only three times previously in the franchise’s history: 13 in 2002, 9 in 1998, and 9 in 2006.
The Crusaders wound up winning the Super rugby title on all three of those previous occasions.
Next up for the Crusaders is a Friday night home tie against the Blues at AMI Stadium on ANZAC Day, April 25. All Black fullback Leon MacDonald should be fit to play in that match after missing the last two games due to his thigh muscle tear.
Centre Casey Laulala is now in doubt after he sustained a knock to the head late in tonight’s match, and had to be assisted from the field in the medical cab. The plus side on the player injury front was that both Brett and lock Ross Filipo, who came off the bench in the second half to feature in his first representative match since August 11 last year, came through their respective assignments showing no ill-affects.
Chiefs end undefeated crusade
Duncan Johnstone, www.rugbyheaven.co.nz
Duncan Johnstone, www.rugbyheaven.co.nz
April 18, 2008 - 7:29PM
The Chiefs announced themselves as serious semifinals contenders in this year's Super 14 as they ended the Crusaders' unbeaten run with a deserved victory in Hamilton on Friday night.
The Chiefs mixed their increasingly potent attack with some resolute defence to claim a three-tries-to-one 18-5 victory in this 10th round encounter.
The Chiefs mixed their increasingly potent attack with some resolute defence to claim a three-tries-to-one 18-5 victory in this 10th round encounter.
W
ith just one play-offs appearance in the previous 12 years of Super rugby the Chiefs fans have been suffering more than just a weather drought in their region.But like the welcomed rain to the district earlier in the week, the Chiefs performance here suggests things are on the up.
This was their fourth consecutive win now as their campaign gathers serious momentum. They have jumped momentarily up to third and they look comfortable in those heady surroundings.
They host the Reds next weekend and then head to South Africa for three matches there to try to seal the deal. For a city hosting the V8 extravaganza this weekend, things are off to a roaring start as the capacity crowd of 25,000 loved every minute of this victory. Any thoughts that the Chiefs effectiveness may have been blunted by last week's bye quickly evaporated.
The simply picked up where they had left off in Canberra, with a hungry pack and backline that was putting together some crisp passing to constantly test the Crusaders. Big Chiefs loose forwards Sione Lauaki and Liam Messam were fired up. Playmaker Stephen Donald, operating off some swift work from halfback Brendon Leonard persistently sparked the Chiefs attacks.
And the Chiefs showed some control as well as their eagerness to counter-attack. Their kicking game was clever and accurate as they looked to get into the right areas of the park to
really apply some pressure to the visitors. Among all this was some good old fashioned defensive steel that helped keep the Crusaders scoreless for 46 minutes. The Crusaders, struggling for composure in their backline particularly, had nothing to show for their first half endeavours where they trailed 0-18 at the break. They say they are a better second half team but despite having a ton of possession all they could come up with this week was one second-half try. Their proud run of eight wins is now at an end.
They managed to deny the Chiefs any second-half points but they simply couldn't haul in the home side who had too much hustle and bustle on the night.
There was plenty of feeling in this match as you'd expect, especially after the Chiefs had produced a similarly impressive performance to beat the Crusaders last year in Christchurch.
It as fair to say that on the night the Chiefs had the better of the many personal battles that made up this clash.
The Chiefs took advantage of Stephen Brett putting the kickoff into touch by attacking from the resulting scrum and nearly scoring. The Crusaders, under pressure conceded a penalty close to their posts and Stephen Donald landed the points.
The Crusaders had a good spell pressing for points but got nothing and the Chiefs struck back when they got down the attacking end. Sione Lauaki gave them some good go-forward ball and as they worked it left Donald got in two clever passes to eventually free Sitiveni Sivivatu for the try.
The Crusaders continued to get enough ball and territory but couldn't turn either into points.
Meanwhile just about every time the Chiefs got on attack they struck. Some Donald genius with a kick and regather allowed him to slip a pass to charging prop Simms Davison who fended off Caleb Ralph and burst 20m to the posts for a thrilling try on the half hour that gave the home side a 15-nil lead.
There was still time for Donald to confidently land a long range penalty to extend that lead at halftime. The Crusaders, importantly for them, struck first in the second half when they turned over ball through some sloppy work at the back of a Chiefs ruck and Stephen Brett picked it up and took over to send Andy Ellis in for the try.
The Crusaders kept on attacking and the Chiefs kept on tackling. The visitors' hopes of salvaging something from this took a severe blow when replacement loose forward Nasi Manu failed to force the ball when diving over the line.
From there the Chiefs managed to hold on. They will be in a confident mood as they get set to host the Reds while the Crusaders head home knowing they will have to improve next week when their old rivals the Blues come to Christchurch on Friday night.
CHIEFS 18 (Sitiveni Sivivatu, Simms Davison tries; Stephen Donald 2 pen con) bt CRUSADERS 5 (Andrew Ellis try) at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton. Referee: Craig Joubert (RSA).
****
The Crusaders unbeaten run in the 2008 Rebel Sport Super 14 is over. In front of a sell out crowd of 25,000, the Crusaders have fallen 18-5 to a passionate Chiefs side 
which out-muscled their rivals in the critical contact area.
which out-muscled their rivals in the critical contact area. That allowed the home side to get on the front foot in a hotly contested match which provided just three tries; two to the Chiefs, and one to the Crusaders. Both of the Chiefs tries were scored in the first half, blowing the game open after the first 10 minutes of play had yielded just a penalty goal scoring opportunity apiece.
The Chiefs took theirs, with first-five-eighths Stephen Donald opening the scoring in just the second minute, while the Crusaders missed out when Stephen Brett couldn’t convert from a handy angle in the eighth minute.
While the game maintained a fast pace throughout, the Chiefs gained an element of luck in their opening try, which was supplied by All Black winger Sitiveni Sivivatu. The try came after the ball spewed free on the blindside from a ruck. It could have gone anywhere, but found its way into Chiefs’ hands, for Donald to draw in the two remaining defenders, prior to setting up Sivivatu for an easy run to the goal-line.
This represented the third year in a row that Sivivatu had hurt the Crusaders by scoring a try in this game: last year, he got two. Donald couldn’t convert, but the Chiefs continued to enjoy the better of the game, being aided by a Crusaders outfit that was unusually plagued by error.
“It was frustration in the main,” Crusaders skipper Richard McCaw explained afterwards. "Sometimes, when things aren’t going well, you can just try too hard and make it worse. That’s what we did tonight. We just got a bit too individual in our focus and approach under pressure. They gained the momentum in the game by being physical in the contact area, and we just couldn’t get back into it.”
The level of the Crusaders’ error-rate was such that not even the sin-binning of lock Toby Lynn in the 26th minute could change the balance of the game. Instead, while a man down, the Chiefs went further ahead on 30 minutes, with Donald again the provider.
The talented but occasionally erratic Chiefs first-five-eighths was the star man when his side rocked the Crusaders 30-24 at the now AMI Stadium last year, and his contribution proved to be telling again, when he popped a kick in behind the defence after 30 minutes.
Not only was Donald swift enough to follow up and re-gather, he also had the vision to successfully link with his support – in this case, Chiefs tighthead prop Ben Castle – who roared up the centre of the field and over the goal-line, for what was a memorable try.
Donald fittingly converted to take the Chiefs out to a 15-0 advantage, which he then extended to 18-0 with his second penalty goal of the night, just before halftime. The fact that the Chiefs had made far more of their opportunities in the opening half than had the Crusaders was highlighted by the missed tackle statistics for the period: the Chiefs closed the opening forty having missed with more tackles than the Crusaders had, but still lead 18-zip on the scoreboard.
The resumption of play offered the Crusaders hope that the game could be turned around, especially when halfback Andrew Ellis claimed his fifth try of the 13th Crusade, five m
inutes in.The Ellis try came after the Crusaders had turned the ball over, but had then reacted quickly forcing the Chiefs into error trying to clear the ball.
As Chiefs halfback Brendan Leonard struggled to claim the ball, Brett pounced to fly kick the ball through and gather it, before linking with Ellis who strode clear to score. The points provided the possibility of an escape, but the subsequent required blows were not forthcoming.
Instead, the Chiefs continued to show their willingness in the contact area, slowing down the Crusaders’ ball flow, which allowed their defensive line to then swarm all over the static Crusaders attack.
While the Chiefs never really threatened to advance their own scoring tally after the break, they rarely appeared to be on the back foot either, save for one superb length of the field break out which nearly resulted in a try for the 19-year-old ‘super’ sub Nasi Manu. Manu appeared to ground the ball successfully to complete the attacking raid, but the subsequent television replays provided enough doubt for the television match official to rule no try. It was that kind of night… the breaks went the Chiefs way, but they played very well, and generally made their own luck.
“It was a tough experience for some of our younger players, and for our group as a whole, but we’ll all be better for it,” was Crusaders coach Robbie Deans’ succinct post-match summation.
“We’d been traveling along fairly well, but have hit a bit of a bump against a committed and determined opposition who got stuck in and earned everything they achieved. The character test for our group now, both as individuals, and as a team, is to absorb the lessons, work even harder and, most importantly, bounce back.”
Tonight’s loss won’t knock the Crusaders off their perch at the top of the Super rugby championship table regardless as to how the other results over the weekend transpire. It has, however, terminated the current winning sequence at eight. This run has been bettered by the side only three times previously in the franchise’s history: 13 in 2002, 9 in 1998, and 9 in 2006.
The Crusaders wound up winning the Super rugby title on all three of those previous occasions.
Next up for the Crusaders is a Friday night home tie against the Blues at AMI Stadium on ANZAC Day, April 25. All Black fullback Leon MacDonald should be fit to play in that match after missing the last two games due to his thigh muscle tear.
Centre Casey Laulala is now in doubt after he sustained a knock to the head late in tonight’s match, and had to be assisted from the field in the medical cab. The plus side on the player injury front was that both Brett and lock Ross Filipo, who came off the bench in the second half to feature in his first representative match since August 11 last year, came through their respective assignments showing no ill-affects.
Super 14 2008. Day 10. Results and Ranking.
http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/super-14/
Results
Ranking.
Crusaders ; Sharks ; Waratahs ; Stormers ;
Chiefs ; Hurricanes ; Blues ; Force ; Brumbies ; Reds ; Bulls ; Cheetahs ; Highlanders ; Lions.
Results
Chiefs v Crusaders Full Time 18 - 5
Reds v Force Full Time 29 - 12
Waratahs v Lions Full Time 26 - 3
Brumbies v Sharks Full Time 27 - 21
Bulls v Highlanders Full Time 47 - 17
Stormers v Hurricanes Full Time 20 - 12
Reds v Force Full Time 29 - 12
Waratahs v Lions Full Time 26 - 3
Brumbies v Sharks Full Time 27 - 21
Bulls v Highlanders Full Time 47 - 17
Stormers v Hurricanes Full Time 20 - 12
Ranking.
Crusaders ; Sharks ; Waratahs ; Stormers ;
Chiefs ; Hurricanes ; Blues ; Force ; Brumbies ; Reds ; Bulls ; Cheetahs ; Highlanders ; Lions.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Was it the white shirt?
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Clothing/Girls/Tops-tshirts/Size-10/auction-150711664.htm?p=25maybe they should have had this one -- don't you agree????
Friday, April 18, 2008
In awe McCaw (ch-ch mail)
Christchurch Mail.
Wednesday April, 16th, 2008.
Wednesday April, 16th, 2008.
Thank you to our favorite Local Spy!
Henry backs McCaw's World Cup leadership
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4484993a10.html
By TOBY ROBSON, The Dominion Post
Thursday, 17 April 2008
Graham Henry has leapt to the defence of All Blacks captain Richie McCaw in the wake of the long-awaited Rugby World Cup review.
Henry rejected suggestions in the report that there had not been enough on-field leadership during the closing stages of last October's 20-18 quarterfinal loss to France in Cardiff.
The All Blacks did not take a drop goal attempt when they were parked in the French 22m area in the closing stages despite the call coming from the coach's box.
"Carl Hayman got the message about the drop goal and he passed it on," Henry said. "Richie thought about the decision and made a decision on the park at the time to do what has worked in the past. He made a decision. He did not, not make a decision."
Henry said McCaw had decided that Luke McAlister, who had been thrust into the No 10 after injuries to Dan Carter and Nick Evans, did not have the experience to nail the defining goal.
Henry was happy with the decision to push on for a try.
"He [McCaw] had been involved in a number of games for the All Blacks where that process had been followed and we had won."
By TOBY ROBSON, The Dominion Post
Thursday, 17 April 2008
Graham Henry has leapt to the defence of All Blacks captain Richie McCaw in the wake of the long-awaited Rugby World Cup review.
Henry rejected suggestions in the report that there had not been enough on-field leadership during the closing stages of last October's 20-18 quarterfinal loss to France in Cardiff.
The All Blacks did not take a drop goal attempt when they were parked in the French 22m area in the closing stages despite the call coming from the coach's box.
"Carl Hayman got the message about the drop goal and he passed it on," Henry said. "Richie thought about the decision and made a decision on the park at the time to do what has worked in the past. He made a decision. He did not, not make a decision."
Henry said McCaw had decided that Luke McAlister, who had been thrust into the No 10 after injuries to Dan Carter and Nick Evans, did not have the experience to nail the defining goal.
Henry was happy with the decision to push on for a try.
"He [McCaw] had been involved in a number of games for the All Blacks where that process had been followed and we had won."
However, Henry said the coaching staff should have prepared more thoroughly for the drop goal option.
"As a team we should have gone through that scenario. Individually they practiced that as part of their routine, but as a team we did not practice it that much as part of our preparation for a test match."
Henry continued to defend the conditioning programme despite it being heavily criticised in the report, but said he regretted it's impact on the game.
"This report says the time frame was wrong. Conditioning is imperative, it's how we fit it in."
He had underestimated the impact on the public of taking players out of the Super 14.
"The impact on the game has been hugely negative and I didn't think it would be as great. Obviously it was a mistake in the way it was implemented."
***
Please, click on the direct link to the article to read the comments.
Personal remark : I'm pretty fed up with the 2007 RWC! As we have already said (and will probably say it all over again!), it's not the staff's fault, the players' fault, the captain's fault, ... it was just not their day, not their match, not their year!
Henry continued to defend the conditioning programme despite it being heavily criticised in the report, but said he regretted it's impact on the game.
"This report says the time frame was wrong. Conditioning is imperative, it's how we fit it in."
He had underestimated the impact on the public of taking players out of the Super 14.
"The impact on the game has been hugely negative and I didn't think it would be as great. Obviously it was a mistake in the way it was implemented."
***
Please, click on the direct link to the article to read the comments.
Personal remark : I'm pretty fed up with the 2007 RWC! As we have already said (and will probably say it all over again!), it's not the staff's fault, the players' fault, the captain's fault, ... it was just not their day, not their match, not their year!
Guys, for the sake of rugby (fans, players and mostly the game itself!), I know it's gonna be hard but we gotta move on, we have to forget and think about today's rugby and its new challenges!
PLEASE !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
McCaw returns to lead raiding party (crfu)
http://www.crusaders.co.nz/news/mccaw-returns-to-lead-raiding-party/211/news.aspx
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
There are four personnel changes, and seven positional alterations, in the Crusaders side which has been named today for Friday night’s keenly-anticipated Rebel Sport Super 14 match against the Chiefs in Hamilton.
Richard McCaw (pictured), Ross Filipo, Kade Poki and Kahn Fotuali’i have all been reintroduced to the squad after missing last week’s 31-6
win over the Lions. They take the places of George Whitelock, Michael Paterson, Reuben Thorne and Steve Alfeld respectively.
Fullback Leon MacDonald has been allowed another week to recover from the thigh muscle tear he sustained against the Hurricanes on March 28.
In his absence, Scott Hamilton will again start from fullback, with the only change to the back division from last weekend coming at first-five-eighths where Stephen Brett returns in the place of Hamish Gard.
Brett played 10 minutes off the bench at fullback against the Lions. That outing, and his subsequent work at training, has fully satisfied the coaching and medical staff that he has totally recovered from the AC (shoulder) joint injury he sustained against the Cheetahs on March 15.
The Tokoroa-raised Sean Maitland has held out the challenge of the now available again Kade Poki, to retain his position starting on the wing.
McCaw will once again captain the side. He is one of five changes in the forwards, from the eight which started in the last match. McCaw and fellow flanker Kieran Read, lock Brad Thorn, hooker Corey Flynn and prop Ben Franks, are all back, with hooker Ti’i Paulo and prop Wyatt Crockett moving back to the run on reserves bench, after starting against the Lions. Filipo also makes his return, being named on the bench after featuring for his Petone club in each of the last two weekends.
The 2007 All Black lock will be making his debut on the 13th Crusade, after being forced to undergo surgery on a neck injury which troubled him during the pre-season. His last full representative appearance was for Wellington against Manawatu on August 11 last year.
“It’s been a while, and Ross has had to be patient, but he’s ready to go and we need to get him started,” Crusaders coach Robbie Deans says.
While there are just four new faces from the unit which registered the Crusaders’ eighth consecutive win in the last round, the circumstance that prevailed in that match did allow Deans to withdraw a number of his most heavily worked players from the field early.
Others, who had their ‘loads’ lightened by being named on the bench, were also able to be used sparingly.
“The aim was to find the best balance, both in terms of the needs of the team for that particular game, as well as the needs of the individuals, and we’re pretty happy with where we got to,” Deans says.“We were able to share the work load around, which has allowed some to freshen up a little bit, while also getting the outcome from that match that we needed.”
In that regard, Deans made a point of recognising the contribution of the players who will not be directly involved on Friday night.
“The young guys that got an opportunity last weekend delivered in a big way,” he says.“They can be proud of what they achieved, and how they have added to the team.”
Poki and halfback Kahn Fotuali'i, who were both stood down from last week's selection due to a breach of the team's internal protocols, are now available again and have been included. The process regarding the pair's protocol breach was completed yesterday after a meeting with the NZRU which has cleared the way for the players to return to full duty with the Crusaders.The Chiefs return from their bye for this match having scored 18 tries (six per game) in winning their last three matches.
Deans acknowledged that playing them away from home represented a major challenge.
“They have some dangerous strike players and the ability to score tries from anywhere on the park, especially from turnover, so concentration, discipline and accuracy is going to be vital,” he says.“They’re confident, they’re playing well and they’ll have a big crowd behind them. It will be critical that we match the level of enthusiasm they bring to the contest.”
Currently eighth on the Rebel Sport Super 14 standings, the Chiefs are just three log points outside of the semi-final qualifying positions, but face a demanding finishing schedule with a three-game overseas tour following their final two home fixtures.
As such, the significance of the Crusaders’ visit has not been lost on the home fans, with Chiefs officials expecting a sell out crowd of 25,000.
Last year, the Chiefs ended a 26-match unbeaten home sequence by the Crusaders when they snatched a 30-24 victory at what is now AMI Stadium.While that win represented the Chiefs’ first in Christchurch, the Crusaders have never had it easy in matches against the Chiefs.
Last year’s success might have been just the Chiefs’ third from the 12 matches played in this rivalry to date, but the record from games in Chiefs’ territory is much tighter – with the Crusaders having won four, and lost two.
Five of the six previous matches the Crusaders have played against the Chiefs away from home have been determined by the margin of a converted try or less. This includes the 1996 match (lost 26-27) which was the first competition match the Crusaders played. Current Chiefs coach Ian Foster appeared for the victors on that occasion.
Ironically the Crusaders biggest away win against the Chiefs – 36-15 – was secured during the only season thus far in which the NorthIsland franchise has qualified for the Super rugby semi-finals, 2004.
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
There are four personnel changes, and seven positional alterations, in the Crusaders side which has been named today for Friday night’s keenly-anticipated Rebel Sport Super 14 match against the Chiefs in Hamilton.
Richard McCaw (pictured), Ross Filipo, Kade Poki and Kahn Fotuali’i have all been reintroduced to the squad after missing last week’s 31-6
win over the Lions. They take the places of George Whitelock, Michael Paterson, Reuben Thorne and Steve Alfeld respectively.Fullback Leon MacDonald has been allowed another week to recover from the thigh muscle tear he sustained against the Hurricanes on March 28.
In his absence, Scott Hamilton will again start from fullback, with the only change to the back division from last weekend coming at first-five-eighths where Stephen Brett returns in the place of Hamish Gard.
Brett played 10 minutes off the bench at fullback against the Lions. That outing, and his subsequent work at training, has fully satisfied the coaching and medical staff that he has totally recovered from the AC (shoulder) joint injury he sustained against the Cheetahs on March 15.
The Tokoroa-raised Sean Maitland has held out the challenge of the now available again Kade Poki, to retain his position starting on the wing.
McCaw will once again captain the side. He is one of five changes in the forwards, from the eight which started in the last match. McCaw and fellow flanker Kieran Read, lock Brad Thorn, hooker Corey Flynn and prop Ben Franks, are all back, with hooker Ti’i Paulo and prop Wyatt Crockett moving back to the run on reserves bench, after starting against the Lions. Filipo also makes his return, being named on the bench after featuring for his Petone club in each of the last two weekends.
The 2007 All Black lock will be making his debut on the 13th Crusade, after being forced to undergo surgery on a neck injury which troubled him during the pre-season. His last full representative appearance was for Wellington against Manawatu on August 11 last year.
“It’s been a while, and Ross has had to be patient, but he’s ready to go and we need to get him started,” Crusaders coach Robbie Deans says.
While there are just four new faces from the unit which registered the Crusaders’ eighth consecutive win in the last round, the circumstance that prevailed in that match did allow Deans to withdraw a number of his most heavily worked players from the field early.
Others, who had their ‘loads’ lightened by being named on the bench, were also able to be used sparingly.
“The aim was to find the best balance, both in terms of the needs of the team for that particular game, as well as the needs of the individuals, and we’re pretty happy with where we got to,” Deans says.“We were able to share the work load around, which has allowed some to freshen up a little bit, while also getting the outcome from that match that we needed.”
In that regard, Deans made a point of recognising the contribution of the players who will not be directly involved on Friday night.
“The young guys that got an opportunity last weekend delivered in a big way,” he says.“They can be proud of what they achieved, and how they have added to the team.”
Poki and halfback Kahn Fotuali'i, who were both stood down from last week's selection due to a breach of the team's internal protocols, are now available again and have been included. The process regarding the pair's protocol breach was completed yesterday after a meeting with the NZRU which has cleared the way for the players to return to full duty with the Crusaders.The Chiefs return from their bye for this match having scored 18 tries (six per game) in winning their last three matches.
Deans acknowledged that playing them away from home represented a major challenge.
“They have some dangerous strike players and the ability to score tries from anywhere on the park, especially from turnover, so concentration, discipline and accuracy is going to be vital,” he says.“They’re confident, they’re playing well and they’ll have a big crowd behind them. It will be critical that we match the level of enthusiasm they bring to the contest.”
Currently eighth on the Rebel Sport Super 14 standings, the Chiefs are just three log points outside of the semi-final qualifying positions, but face a demanding finishing schedule with a three-game overseas tour following their final two home fixtures.
As such, the significance of the Crusaders’ visit has not been lost on the home fans, with Chiefs officials expecting a sell out crowd of 25,000.
Last year, the Chiefs ended a 26-match unbeaten home sequence by the Crusaders when they snatched a 30-24 victory at what is now AMI Stadium.While that win represented the Chiefs’ first in Christchurch, the Crusaders have never had it easy in matches against the Chiefs.
Last year’s success might have been just the Chiefs’ third from the 12 matches played in this rivalry to date, but the record from games in Chiefs’ territory is much tighter – with the Crusaders having won four, and lost two.
Five of the six previous matches the Crusaders have played against the Chiefs away from home have been determined by the margin of a converted try or less. This includes the 1996 match (lost 26-27) which was the first competition match the Crusaders played. Current Chiefs coach Ian Foster appeared for the victors on that occasion.
Ironically the Crusaders biggest away win against the Chiefs – 36-15 – was secured during the only season thus far in which the NorthIsland franchise has qualified for the Super rugby semi-finals, 2004.
Crusaders call in some star power
http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/news/super14/crusaders-call-in-some-star-power/2008/04/16/1208025249279.html
Duncan Johnstone, rugbyheaven.co.nz
April 16, 2008 - 12:24PM
The big boys - and the bad boys - are back in the Crusaders lineup for their testing trip to Hamilton to play the Chiefs with Robbie Deans naming a powerful lineup for Friday night's big New Zealand Super 14 derby. Deans
made four personnel and seven positional changes from his second-string side who beat the Lions 31-6 in Christchurch last weekend.
made four personnel and seven positional changes from his second-string side who beat the Lions 31-6 in Christchurch last weekend.Stephen Brett, who got 10 minutes off the bench against the Lions, will take over at first five-eighth as he makes his first start in a month due to a shoulder injury. Brad Thorn is over his calf niggle to be back in the second row and skipper Richie McCaw reclaims the No 7 jersey after a rare rest last week.
Lock Ross Filipo, wing Kade Poki and halfback Kahn Fotuali'i have all been returned to the 22.
Filipo is set for his first taste of action this year after being sidelined following neck surgery.
With All Blacks coach Graham Henry highlighting his locking concerns Filipo has everything to play for over the business end of the championship as the Crusaders look to continue their eight-match unbeaten streak.
Filipo is set for his first taste of action this year after being sidelined following neck surgery.
With All Blacks coach Graham Henry highlighting his locking concerns Filipo has everything to play for over the business end of the championship as the Crusaders look to continue their eight-match unbeaten streak.
"It's been a while, and Ross has had to be patient, but he's ready to go and we need to get him started," Deans said in announcing his team on the Crusaders' website.
Poki and Fotuali'i are back in favour on the bench after being stood down last weekend for disciplinary reasons after missing a training session.
All Black Leon MacDonald wasn't considered as he continues to be bothered by a thigh muscle tear from the win over the Hurricanes on March 28.
Deans is wary of the resurgent Chiefs who upset the Crusaders last year when they were in similar form over the second half of the championship.
All Black Leon MacDonald wasn't considered as he continues to be bothered by a thigh muscle tear from the win over the Hurricanes on March 28.
Deans is wary of the resurgent Chiefs who upset the Crusaders last year when they were in similar form over the second half of the championship.
"They have some dangerous strike players and the ability to score tries from anywhere on the park, especially from turnover, so concentration, discipline and accuracy is going to be vital," said Deans."They're confident, they're playing well and they'll have a big crowd behind them. It will be critical that we match the level of enthusiasm they bring to the contest."
CRUSADERS: 15 Scott Hamilton, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Tim Bateman, 11 Caleb Ralph, 10 Stephen Brett, 9 Andrew Ellis, 8 Mose Tuiali'i, 7 Richard McCaw (c), 6 Kieran Read, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Greg Somerville, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Ben Franks. Reserves: 16 Ti'i Paulo, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Ross Filipo, 19 Nasi Manu, 20 Kahn Fotuali'i, 21 Hamish Gard, 22 Kade Poki.
Day 10 Preview (RH Australia)
http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/fixtures/super-14/
After fielding a second-string outfit last week against the Lions, Crusaders coach Robbie Deans has recalled all his available big guns, including playmaker Stephen Brett and key forwards Richie McCaw and Brad Thorn, to protect his team's unbeaten record in what shapes as one of their biggest tests of season. In all, Deans has made four personnel and seven positional changes. The Chiefs are intact after notching 18 tries in a succession of impressive wins over the Bulls, Highlanders and Brumbies to climb to fourth on the ladder and emerge as genuine finals contenders. They slipped to eighth after missing round nine with a bye, but are a mere three points adrift of the top four.Lasseters Sportsbook: Chiefs $3.00, Crusaders $1.40Tip: Crusaders by 12
Chiefs: Mils Muliaina (captain), Lelia Masaga, Richard Kahui, Callum Bruce, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Stephen Donald, Brendon Leonard, Sione Lauaki, Tanerau Latimer, Liam Messam, Kevin O'Neill, Toby Lynn, Ben Castle, Tom Willis, Simms Davison.
Crusaders: Scott Hamilton, Sean Maitland, Casey Laulala, Tim Bateman, Caleb Ralph, Stephen Brett, Andrew Ellis, Mose Tuiali'i, Richard McCaw (captain), Kieran Read, Ali Williams, Brad Thorn, Greg Somerville, Corey Flynn, Ben Franks.
Hamilton Fri, 18 Apr 7.35pm
Last meeting: Chiefs 30-24 in Christchurch, round 13, 2007
After fielding a second-string outfit last week against the Lions, Crusaders coach Robbie Deans has recalled all his available big guns, including playmaker Stephen Brett and key forwards Richie McCaw and Brad Thorn, to protect his team's unbeaten record in what shapes as one of their biggest tests of season. In all, Deans has made four personnel and seven positional changes. The Chiefs are intact after notching 18 tries in a succession of impressive wins over the Bulls, Highlanders and Brumbies to climb to fourth on the ladder and emerge as genuine finals contenders. They slipped to eighth after missing round nine with a bye, but are a mere three points adrift of the top four.Lasseters Sportsbook: Chiefs $3.00, Crusaders $1.40Tip: Crusaders by 12
Chiefs: Mils Muliaina (captain), Lelia Masaga, Richard Kahui, Callum Bruce, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Stephen Donald, Brendon Leonard, Sione Lauaki, Tanerau Latimer, Liam Messam, Kevin O'Neill, Toby Lynn, Ben Castle, Tom Willis, Simms Davison.
Reserves: Aled de Malmanche, Ben May, Jay Williams, Faifili Levave, Jamie Nutbrown, Dwayne Sweeney, Sosene Anesi.
Crusaders: Scott Hamilton, Sean Maitland, Casey Laulala, Tim Bateman, Caleb Ralph, Stephen Brett, Andrew Ellis, Mose Tuiali'i, Richard McCaw (captain), Kieran Read, Ali Williams, Brad Thorn, Greg Somerville, Corey Flynn, Ben Franks.
Reserves: Ti'i Paulo, Wyatt Crockett, Ross Filipo, Nasi Manu, Kahn Fotuali'i, Hamish Gard, Kade Poki.
Brisbane Fri, 18 Apr 7.40pm
Sydney Sat, 19 Apr 5.30pm
Canberra Sat, 19 Apr 7.40pm
Pretoria Sat, 19 Apr 3.00pm
Cape Town Sat, 19 Apr 5.05pm
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Radio interview on Radiosport.co.nz
http://www.radiosport.co.nz/AudioBank/WeekOnDemand/
The chat "stops" at the end of that timeslot, but you then have to click on the 8.15 - 8.30am slot to hear the rest of it (the 2nd bit runs for most of that 15 minute timeslot), hope that makes sense & hope it works for you as it is an interesting chat. -- ends at 10'45
At the moment there isn't a more specific link to the chat via the Audio Bank - Featured Interviews."
Izzy's indications :
"Go to Wednesday, Midnight - Midday, timeslot 8.00 - 8.15am (the chat starts about 3/4 of the way thru). --starts at 11'20 ishThe chat "stops" at the end of that timeslot, but you then have to click on the 8.15 - 8.30am slot to hear the rest of it (the 2nd bit runs for most of that 15 minute timeslot), hope that makes sense & hope it works for you as it is an interesting chat. -- ends at 10'45
At the moment there isn't a more specific link to the chat via the Audio Bank - Featured Interviews."
Thank you to Tess for her "warning" and Izzy for her help.
If anyone feels ready to transcript (not completly, don't worry!) the interview, feel free to share your noting skills!
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