The Springboks have been described as the “challenge Ireland needs” after earning the name of the Six Nations in their history with a 17-13 win over Scotland.
Scotland’s resilience will be tested against the warring sides who have won their last few games.
The Crusaders’ third straight defeat at the start of the season proved that the dynasty is okay and indeed ended. It is evident that the Mo’unga magic is gone, the power of Razor has left the building. The youthful aspect is there to see.
Losing to the Drua at home is an embarrassing defeat. They proved to be an internal force opposed to all New Zealand groups and had been unfairly ignored by bookmakers and had too much religion in the Crusaders’ reputation.
But with a record now 0-3, they want to salvage their season next week against the undefeated Hurricanes in their first home game of the year. Tough decisions must be made to turn the tide and win now, which requires a significant body. of workers’ changes.
Willy Heinz
Luatoka proved to have a 37-year-old runner. Veteran Willi Heinz is too slow to play the Super Rugthrough Pacific and, after settling through England, gains no advantage for the All Blacks.
At the start of the first half, Cullen Grace chased down full-back Drua Ilaisa Droasese, forcing a poor pass and a turnover of more than 20 yards. Dom Gardiner secured the fumble, giving the Crusaders the first ball with his front foot in transition.
Heinz wasn’t visually around to recycle that bullet quickly. Prop George Bower had to play the role of full-back and switched straight to number 9 to review and enter the ruck.
In the chaotic passage, Heinz dropped the ball and the Crusaders then lost ownership when Taha Kemara spat out the tablet on contact.
Big groups attack in those windows of opportunity and the Crusaders controlled slightly to string together two combined passes, lost 15 yards and returned the ball.
With Heinz’s old legs roaming the park combined with a postal pass, it’s hard to imagine how they could get to this area.
Here’s the spectacular statistic: nearly a third (28%) of Crusaders rucks took six seconds or more to recycle. At this level, it feels like super slow motion.
Mitchell Drummond starts if Noah Hotham isn’t. Hotham is still in development, but Drummond can bring the pace and precision needed at this level.
Georges Bell
Hooker George Bell’s shots are a chronic disadvantage lately despite his reliable paint speed and effort in the park.
He was eliminated several times against the Waratahs and failed to locate his goals against the Drua. The line-up ran at 64 per cent in Fiji, which is well below the demand required in Su for rugby.
Bell is a strong mobile rake with a lot to love, but if you can’t pitch, you have to go. The Crusaders need the return of Codie Taylor as soon as possible to stabilize the most important key piece.
Taha Kemara
It’s tough for the young No. 10 with so much on his shoulders at the start of the season. Last year, the first five players of New Zealand’s U-20 squad were not expected to start, but Fergus Burke is still out and Rivez Reihana is out.
Kemara’s execution did not take place. Passes fall to the ground when giving and receiving, kicks don’t make contact, kicks go out at full speed, it’s a demonstration of unforced errors.
Even when his moment five doesn’t relieve the pressure, David Havili has not been just as deficient and random. There is limited chemistry between 10-12-13.
Reihana, although she was not the best in the first round, will have to relieve Kemara of her duties. The 20-year-old wants to stay confident, work hard and be in a position to make his next move.
He is not fit to play Super Rugby at the moment and what is evident is that the Crusaders are not fit for him.
Putting a 20-year-old No. 10 on a team facing so much disarray is a recipe for disaster. If the Crusaders continue to get him into this messy mess, they will ruin his confidence.
David Havili
The rested All Blacks squad is not up to scratch at the moment, which is a challenge for the Crusaders as they want their stars to lead the way. Havili was quite the opposite.
He had a team-high 3 turnovers against the Waratahs, a loaded kickoff that yielded seven runs and two linear meters on seven carries.
Against the Drua, they committed two more turnovers and their defensive channels were like Swiss cheese with a lack of outside and inside communication, leading to line breaks for the Fijians.
They don’t have other in-form full-backs, so Chay Fihaki can’t be moved to midfield, but Ryan Crotty can bring stability and accuracy to the position as an experienced All Black. Dallas McLeod is also more than capable. Levi Aumua can be moved to 12 to simplify the Crusaders’ gameplay.
One of the ones on the left is bringing back David Havili at full-back, a position he knows well after many seasons at No. 15 in the early years of the Robertson dynasty.
There are a lot of options, but they want to get Havili out of the number 12 shirt.
Dom Gardiner
The 22-year-old was inspired by outfits and outings, but he wasn’t without his mistakes either. He received a yellow card against the Waratahs and returned the ball against the Drua. It would be a tactical change, as someone has to give in. Ethan Blackadder.
The Crusaders desperately want the return of Blackadder, who will bring more line gain than Cullen Grace at No. Blackadder’s body is something none of his existing forwards, Barrett, can provide. The comfortable group of Crusaders wants a little more explosive power.
Grace has been one of the players, but he can transfer to the blind side, which means Gardiner gets the win on the early side.
The Good
It’s not all doom and gloom in the land of the Crusaders. There were some bright fixtures despite the poor results.
Scott Barrett is notoriously world-class. Jamie Hannah has been a revelation as a player off the bench. Quinten Strange started showing good form during the holidays in Fiji.
Sevu Reece has been sensational and has been almost a one-man band when he comes back from injury. He scored two goals against the Waratahs and in Fiji with an amazing game that required Reece to do just about everything.
Levi Aumua has been smart the past two weeks after the Crusaders didn’t give him the ball in the first round. Macca Springer seems to have elite-level speed on the edge while adding length to its structure.
There’s enough to get around and get the season back on track.
However, the festival has been waiting for this opportunity for seven years, adding the 4 New Zealand teams.
If the Crusaders don’t take drastic action, the Hurricanes will take all the credit and hold a dinner over the remnants of the deceased dynasty next weekend in Christchurch.
No mercy will be granted or shown.
The Queensland Reds capped off a series of thrilling upsets by beating the previously unbeaten Chiefs 25-19.
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Scotland’s resilience will be tested against the warring sides who have won their last few games.
The Irish center has devastated the biggest and baddest opponents.
Houdinis and clairvoyants converge in the city of love as the European Rugby Championship ends in style.
Ha, even as Ben Smith writes about the Six Nations, he still can’t troll Bok’s supporters. Pathetic in its predictability.
. . . and England didn’t lose the Six Nations or the World Cup, they ran out of time too!Before each game, Borthwick is asked how many minutes he lasts. It is precisely because of this kind of stupidity that we like to beat them. .
Ireland beat Scotland. Scotland ran out of time.
Ireland is the team of the aggregate. We almost beat them, because they scored soft tries against us. We were the second team in the world championship at the time.
It is a consistent technique of some media and other 6N players, not Irish players, that IRE is still the biggest team. I think there’s some bitterness here about the fact that the bathrooms don’t go to the NH. It’s not a smart look. A lack of respect towards the Boks and ABs when they haven’t yet entered the box. We’ll see how smart IRE will be when they take on the Springboks at Highveld in July.
People love to write checks that they can’t cash.
One last point on the ERI. ENG remains the largest rugby country in NH, as it is the only team from there to win a World Championship. IRE can win all six countries in the next 3 years, but until they are crowned world champions, they are ENG in the pecking order.
Finn close behind, the Bokke are still the best. . .
The defeat had nothing to do with the clock or the referee. This was due to English errors, probably similar to French physical dominance. When England broke free from French forced play, they looked good. But that day, France had too much for them.
If Scotland checks out against France, they will finish in second place
Mdr, in professional sports, it’s all about World Cup victories. The ratings are destined for the big screen every four years. Why Brazil is the most productive in soccer. An undeniable explanation as to why they have maximum World Cup wins. Until IRE wins a world championship, they won’t be in the same league as the Boks or AB.
Happy☺️
The only thing I can hope for is for Borthwick to complete half of the team’s conversion. What I can assure you is that once again, an English coach will forget about England U20, about the French, Irish and Welsh who donate blood to players when they are there. young and enthusiastic. It’s time for Slade, Daly, Care and Coles to be permanently replaced.
Room
If Scotland hadn’t been robbed of their game against France at the end via TMO, they would have beaten a very smart Irish side in N6 who they almost beat at home. Maybe they would have if they had that drive, that confidence, and that incentive.
Does Borthwick know the length of a rugby match?
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