Thursday, May 20, 2004
A Rugby rant
If you are not a Rugby fanatic, you can skip this post! (I know that Rugby, or even my thoughts on it, are not hugely significant in the great thingyness of the universe, but sometimes it's fun just to pontificate.)
Nailing my colours to the mast, straight up: I would love to see the Crusaders beat the Brumbies in Saturday night's Super 12 final, but it's not going to happen. (Actually, I would have loved even more to see the Chiefs in the final - but then, I have a soft spot for the underdog.) Here's why I think the Brumbies will win, and probably why the Aussies will win the Tri-Nations later in the season.
1. The Crusaders have not been consistent this season. Apart from one bad lapse (ironically, against the Crusaders), the Brumbies have been consistent.
2. Many of the Crusaders' wins have been downright lucky. On several crucial occasions, opposition players have spilled the ball metres from the goal line, denying themselves a deserved victory.
3. More importantly, the structure of the Crusaders game is a recipe for defeat. My Dad (who was an All Black trialist, true) said all his life there are 2 golden rules in Rugby: You have to be moving at speed when you receive the ball; and don't pass to someone who is in a worse position than yourself. Last Saturday, the Crusaders backs were consistently flat-footed when they received the ball, while the Stormers were nearly always moving at pace. Consequently, the Stormers broke the line of defence more consistently. The Crusaders (and Carlos Spencer is even more guilty of this) were ballooning passes to each other most of the game, giving the opposition time to get up in their faces, and increasing the potential for intercepts. It was noticeable that the Crusaders only started to gain an edge when they began using short, flat passes.
4. The Crusaders had no answer to the Stormers' frequent use of the chip through. It constantly pushed them back on their own 22, and it was only Stormers mistakes which kept them from finishing off. Why NZ teams don't use the chip through more often in the face of flat defence I cannot fathom. Larcombe is very accomplished at it. Expect to see the Crusaders on the back foot once again - but don't expect to see the Brumbies fumble at the finish.
5. We won't even talk about the number of times we fail to secure the ball from the opposition kick-off, or our own lineouts.
Sure, the Crusaders are very clinical, and remarkably composed under pressure. But you have to be clinical about the right things.
Here endeth the lesson!
If you are not a Rugby fanatic, you can skip this post! (I know that Rugby, or even my thoughts on it, are not hugely significant in the great thingyness of the universe, but sometimes it's fun just to pontificate.)
Nailing my colours to the mast, straight up: I would love to see the Crusaders beat the Brumbies in Saturday night's Super 12 final, but it's not going to happen. (Actually, I would have loved even more to see the Chiefs in the final - but then, I have a soft spot for the underdog.) Here's why I think the Brumbies will win, and probably why the Aussies will win the Tri-Nations later in the season.
1. The Crusaders have not been consistent this season. Apart from one bad lapse (ironically, against the Crusaders), the Brumbies have been consistent.
2. Many of the Crusaders' wins have been downright lucky. On several crucial occasions, opposition players have spilled the ball metres from the goal line, denying themselves a deserved victory.
3. More importantly, the structure of the Crusaders game is a recipe for defeat. My Dad (who was an All Black trialist, true) said all his life there are 2 golden rules in Rugby: You have to be moving at speed when you receive the ball; and don't pass to someone who is in a worse position than yourself. Last Saturday, the Crusaders backs were consistently flat-footed when they received the ball, while the Stormers were nearly always moving at pace. Consequently, the Stormers broke the line of defence more consistently. The Crusaders (and Carlos Spencer is even more guilty of this) were ballooning passes to each other most of the game, giving the opposition time to get up in their faces, and increasing the potential for intercepts. It was noticeable that the Crusaders only started to gain an edge when they began using short, flat passes.
4. The Crusaders had no answer to the Stormers' frequent use of the chip through. It constantly pushed them back on their own 22, and it was only Stormers mistakes which kept them from finishing off. Why NZ teams don't use the chip through more often in the face of flat defence I cannot fathom. Larcombe is very accomplished at it. Expect to see the Crusaders on the back foot once again - but don't expect to see the Brumbies fumble at the finish.
5. We won't even talk about the number of times we fail to secure the ball from the opposition kick-off, or our own lineouts.
Sure, the Crusaders are very clinical, and remarkably composed under pressure. But you have to be clinical about the right things.
Here endeth the lesson!
