White welcomes Reds’ rugby battle tactics
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Queensland’s cagey delay in naming their team for Saturday’s pivotal Super Rugby clash might form part of their battle tactics, but to Brumbies’ coach Jake White, it suggests they’re on their way to losing the war.
White on Thursday was buoyed by news that Reds’ counterpart Ewen McKenzie opted to name a 23-man squad and hold off on revealing his starting team until Friday afternoon.
With an injury cloud hovering over utility back Ben Lucas, who is still struggling with a groin problem, and much intrigue over the Reds’ back-row composition, McKenzie won’t unveil his 22 until the Reds train in Canberra.
The cloak-and-dagger routine also included a closed-house Thursday morning training session, but it all brought a smile to White’s face.
“It’s a massive compliment,” White said in Canberra.
“There’s an Art of War book by Sun Tzu that says if your enemy reacts to you, then you’re in a position of strength.
“So it’s wonderful that people are delaying things and taking their time to work things out according to our strengths.
“I don’t know about whether it’s got them on the back foot, but it is an indication that things have turned.
“The Brumbies are seen as different from what they were in the beginning of the season.”
White believes the clash will be an all-or-nothing encounter for both sides with the Brumbies aiming to cement their spot on top of the Australian conference, while the defending champions can close the eight-point gap and continue their late-season momentum.
It’s no huge surprise McKenzie is keeping his cards close to his chest after successfully adopting the same ploy before the Reds’ 20-13 Good Friday victory at Suncorp Stadium.
Then, he picked a dynamic loose-forward combination with both ball scavengers Liam Gill and Beau Robinson starting and running amok after Michael Hooper was left on the bench.
McKenzie is spoilt for choice again with Robinson (ankle), rested for the Reds’ victory over the Lions to ensure he’s 100 per cent fit, in the frame to start at No.6 ahead of an in-form Jake Schatz.
Either way, the Reds will have a more mobile back-row than the Brumbies who have tall-timber Peter Kimlin replacing Fotu Auelua to star beside skipper Ben Mowen and Hooper.
“We’ve got some good competition going on there … Jake has had a very good season and he’s very much unsung,” McKenzie said.
Brumbies’ halfback Nic White has regained his No.9 jersey from Ian Prior, and will team with rookie playmaker Zack Holmes who enjoyed an impressive run-on debut against the Hurricanes.
While he faces another steep learning curve against Quade Cooper, who made a successful return from knee surgery against the Lions, Mowen was adamant the 21-year-old Holmes will be up for the challenge.
“He’ll take a lot of confidence out of how he played last week and that’s what you want,” Mowen said.
Lucas’ injury could mean a reshuffle for Queensland’s backline defence as likely fullback replacement Luke Morahan would defend on the wing rather than No.10 like Lucas.
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May 25th 2012 @ 3:45am
Shungmao said | May 25th 2012 @ 3:45am | Report comment
Jake, these are the interviews you need to watch out for, the context of this story based on your 4 comments will make you look like fool if you lose. Come on crystal at no stage is he suggesting Qld is on its way to losing, all he referring to is now being respected as a team.
May 25th 2012 @ 4:01am
kingplaymaker said | May 25th 2012 @ 4:01am | Report comment
Surely in the entire history of literature, philosophy and military writings there is another book a sports coach could refer to aside from the Art of War by Sun Tzu? Is this the only book they have ever read or learnt from?
May 25th 2012 @ 10:27am
Tissot Time said | May 25th 2012 @ 10:27am | Report comment
The text and message therein remains relavent after all these years and one should not change a proven formula…. a little like the All Black centre combination?
May 25th 2012 @ 4:21am
Johnno said | May 25th 2012 @ 4:21am | Report comment
Good point KPM. maybe they should watch the Al pacino movie any given sunday for some tips too.
But i have watched some documentaries on Sun Tzu book very wise but it can be overdrive at times about Sun Tzu, and apperaing to look smart by reading Sun Tzu .
May 25th 2012 @ 9:54am
Markus said | May 25th 2012 @ 9:54am | Report comment
First you get the tactics, then you get the power, then you get, the women…
May 25th 2012 @ 11:10am
kingplaymaker said | May 25th 2012 @ 11:10am | Report comment
That sounds like it belongs to a different discussion board Markus
May 25th 2012 @ 11:17am
jeznez said | May 25th 2012 @ 11:17am | Report comment
I’m with Markus, I’d like more coaches quoting Homer Simpson as well.
May 25th 2012 @ 12:44pm
Markus said | May 25th 2012 @ 12:44pm | Report comment
Scarface, jez! Classic Pacino
May 25th 2012 @ 1:09pm
jeznez said | May 25th 2012 @ 1:09pm | Report comment
I know where the original comes from – I just prefer the Simpsons version. First you get the sugar!
May 25th 2012 @ 4:57am
kingplaymaker said | May 25th 2012 @ 4:57am | Report comment
Johnno the whole of philosophy, literature, sociology, anthropology critical thought of any kind provides ideas that could be useful, and if we’re talking about military tactics or psychology what about Clausewitz ‘on war’ or Julius Caesar’s conquest of gaul, Plutarch’s lives etc…and surely there’s useful psychology in writing that is not directly on the subject of war?
May 25th 2012 @ 5:30am
Johnno said | May 25th 2012 @ 5:30am | Report comment
Well KPM good points you make and very intellectual and fascinating subject areas you have used as examples to examine . The mind could go for hours or years on KPM to be honest but cramming it in a comment one sadly will have to .
The point with war and sport i think is this KPM. Sport and war are seen to be linked more than say sociology or literature. In sport it is not about societies values, ethics or morals or socially acceptable behaviour, .
The only rule or goal in sport is to win , like in war. There is no democracy in sport, it is a dictatorship attitude a monopoly attitude , where there can only be 1 winner and coming 1st is the only thing, coming 2nd is as bad as coming last, losing by 1 point eg the courageous french is as heartbreaking and annoying as losing by 50, as you still didn’t win. Like death cancer is death , just as having tripping over an ice cream is , or a car crash still death no matter how one looks at it.
And sport has that winner takes all attitude, and so does military wars mostly, compromises and treaties are misleading by nature and victory has been achieved by the country thats gets the best treaty.
So war and sport are linked the most KPM in there theory and by there practice at the elite level as people can die in sport due to concussion or physical exhaustion eg marathons, boxing, contact sports, . And same in war .
ANd yes SUn Tzu gets too much of the market in sport movitaion at the expense of other great military generals or conquests.
genreral Zhukov of russia gets ignored too another 1 KPM like your examples.
And now in sport i am getting tired of Grahame Henry spin. He now walks on water has done know wrong in his coaching he only won by 1 miserable point, and got the ref Craig Joubert having not his best ref performance and I am being really diplomatic and being nice . I could use far harsher words but will not, and the world cup at home in NZ .
Hnery fiailed in france remember away , and AB’S lost to aussies in 2003 away, and france in 2007 in france.
So yes by that 1 point win and all the winds of ovary concivevable luck going his way Henry is now a legend.
Few forget how close he came too losing his job to Deans in 2007. The NZ rugby fan public wanted Deans badly but the NZRU only just wanted Hnery , it was a massively unpopular desicon at the time, and turned man kiwis of rugby even. There was this perception that henry was out of touch tired and failed, a chocker like the lion series loss in 2001 , the rotation nonsense, and deans crusader record so strong.
If ever there was a sociological experiment KPM on human nature and how such dislike of an individual can be forgotten and turned to such love and only just by a thread of 1 lousy point and all the rest of that final match, then sociologists should examine Grahame Henry tide and wind changing as a case study . ANd also how quickly the NZ public have turned on Deans after him not winning the world cup and losing to Henry at the 2011 semi final of the world cup, which of course was in NZ not in Australia unlike 2003 where we won. All the stars aligned for graham henry in the world cup , and he still only crossed the finish line by 1 miserable lousy point.
May 25th 2012 @ 5:59am
Thurl said | May 25th 2012 @ 5:59am | Report comment
Give it a rest mate.
May 25th 2012 @ 6:43am
Darwin Stubbie said | May 25th 2012 @ 6:43am | Report comment
Is it possible to get a completely separate Johnno and Kpm tab on this site – so they can bang on and on and on about their same favorite topics and not continually hi-jack every bloody rugby column on this site – and then whoever wants to can then go and visit it and engage in a circular argument whenever the feels they want to … This site used to be worth coming to for a diverse range of ideas, banter and columnist … But it’s being dragged down but the same old repetitious posts
May 25th 2012 @ 6:51am
kingplaymaker said | May 25th 2012 @ 6:51am | Report comment
It would good frankly if your posts DS were invisible as they are always bad-tempered, one-sided, dedicated not to an open discussion but the neverending repetition of the same doctrine i.e. that NZ coaches/management do everything perfectly. But worst of all they are always written in the most violent temper, significantly more aggressive than almost anyone else: it would be ok just to give the same NZ is perfect line if were done more pleasantly.
May 25th 2012 @ 7:38am
darwin stubby said | May 25th 2012 @ 7:38am | Report comment
Well this at least is sort of a new topic for you …. but you can’t help yourself – still making things up to fit an argument – if you bother to look back – you’d find no such bias … and if you think that’s written in a violent temper you lead a pretty sheltered life …. I’m merely pointing out that in my opinion your continued hi-jacking of nearly ever rugby blog on this site to push you standard 3-4 overly simplistic points was initially mind numbingly boring, now its killing what was a good rugby discussion site
May 25th 2012 @ 7:45am
kingplaymaker said | May 25th 2012 @ 7:45am | Report comment
Well you hardly ever contribute anything, and when you do it’s just ‘NZ are everything right’ which isn’t particularly new as a thought or illuminating: for such an occasional contributor you seem to think you should determine what’s written on here-perhaps if you contributed more often you would have a right to say what should be written. Then you participate in discussions and blame the person you’re discussing for your doing so. What’s more if you don’t agree with a point just don’t reply to it: try exercising that freedom.
You are also along with one other the most bad-tempered. Almost everyone else is at least moderate-tempered or even good-tempered but you always show up in a furious mood about anything.
May 25th 2012 @ 9:23am
stillmatic1 said | May 25th 2012 @ 9:23am | Report comment
when has d.s every said “NZ are everything right”? KPM ( oh wait, you dont have the inclination to back up what you’ve said, funny that!!). or is it just another of your made up fantasies to prop up your posts. the fact that you also dont seem to see or care that your agenda is for the most part nonsense and completely unbalanced, is an indictment of you. we all know that you are a plant to generate hits for the site, but cant you find anything original to have a conspiracy about. your comment about D.S being the most bad tempered is also not new, and has been bandied about by you at almost every roarer who takes umbrage at your consistant highjacking of threads.
you also seem to forget the lessons from a mr smith telling you off not so long ago, maybe a child would!?
i once met a man from nantucket………………..
oh yeah, from a kiwi point of view, go the brumbies!! no one wants to play a darn reds side at suncorp in a finals match, no matter what!!
May 25th 2012 @ 10:13am
Rugby Diehard said | May 25th 2012 @ 10:13am | Report comment
x 2 DS – I’m still waiting for an answer from KPM from last week even after prompting him 3 times. I take it from his lack of response that he lost the argument and took his bat and ball and went home.
May 25th 2012 @ 10:56am
Justin2 said | May 25th 2012 @ 10:56am | Report comment
Said the same thing weeks ago. The “roar editors” worry about inane things yet let threads be hijacked and turned into crap which leaves many of us leaving to other more insightful sites.
May 25th 2012 @ 11:04am
kingplaymaker said | May 25th 2012 @ 11:04am | Report comment
Funny, Justin, you seem to be involved in an enormous number of these supposed highjackings and instead of apparently condemning them you are taking full part.
I would also say some people’s ideas of highjackings are simply ideas they don’t agree with.
May 25th 2012 @ 7:34am
Jerry said | May 25th 2012 @ 7:34am | Report comment
“ovary concivevable luck”
Well, that’s a surprise. I thought Mrs Henry was a bit too old, but congratulations to Sir Graham and family on the impending arrival….
May 25th 2012 @ 9:05am
Rusty said | May 25th 2012 @ 9:05am | Report comment
Gold
May 25th 2012 @ 6:43am
kingplaymaker said | May 25th 2012 @ 6:43am | Report comment
Johnno the NZ public’s reactions are like a yo-yo: Henry is evil, Henry is God, SBW is public enemy number one, actually maybe not. They are also like sheep in that they are led wherever the media takes them. This is to some degree true in other countries, but not to the extreme extent in New Zealand where the NZ media just need to say ‘this coach is good’ for the public to believe it like divine revelation and defend it like fanatics.
Now Henry is beginning to pontificate and thinks he is like the bible as an authority: sadly the same is true of Bob Dywer who continually spouts ferocious and destructive views on everything he can without the slightest regard for the truth, all on the basis of a world cup win in the amateur era. Rod Macqueen’s cataclysmic near-destruction of the Melbourne Rebels is another example.
Nor did Henry exactly bear himself with dignity. He savaged Quade Cooper, implictly supporting the vile assaults made on him by every New Zealand crowd, and mocked Robbie Deans whenever he was losing. Deans in contrast, never uttered a single negative word about Henry: true dignity.
I agree that sport has the absolute finality of ‘death’ within its own context, every week and in every contest which concentrates the mind greatly and makes it a different kind of life struggle, more akin to war.
The NZ public sold Deans out: not only did they reject him for the All Black job, but they pour unrelenting venom on him at every opportunity for ‘betraying’ them.
May 25th 2012 @ 7:36am
Jerry said | May 25th 2012 @ 7:36am | Report comment
How exactly did the public reject Deans for the All Black job? Rugby is pretty big in NZ, sure, but we don’t actually hold elections to decide the AB coach.
May 25th 2012 @ 7:47am
kingplaymaker said | May 25th 2012 @ 7:47am | Report comment
Splitting some hairs here: the NZRU did, and the public endorsed it, although of course they would have endorsed anything the NZRU did or New Zealand media told them to.
May 25th 2012 @ 8:02am
Jerry said | May 25th 2012 @ 8:02am | Report comment
Some of the public agreed, many didn’t. And many in the media disagreed with the decision, for the record.
Maybe, just maybe, the reason the public is behind Henry is cause he’s the most successful coach in rugby history and just won the RWC? And I don’t know where all this venom is, most people in NZ don’t give Deans much thought, including rugby fans.
May 25th 2012 @ 8:34am
kingplaymaker said | May 25th 2012 @ 8:34am | Report comment
I most certainly would not call him the most successful coach in rugby history considering the superior playing resources he had to work with all his career, the fact that the RWC was at home and other things which I won’t mention.
May 25th 2012 @ 8:40am
Jerry said | May 25th 2012 @ 8:40am | Report comment
You can deny or nitpick it all you want, but I’m talking about the general perception and it comes down to runs on the board and Henry has more of them than anyone else.
May 25th 2012 @ 8:42am
kingplaymaker said | May 25th 2012 @ 8:42am | Report comment
Anyone in charge of the All Blacks, especially in the years he was when England and Australia were doing badly, South Africa fitful, should have done what he did and more. He should never have been eliminated by France in 2007.
May 25th 2012 @ 8:56am
Jerry said | May 25th 2012 @ 8:56am | Report comment
You’re missing the point, KPM.
Henry gets support in NZ cause he was successful. Not because of the media and not cause people blindly support the NZRU. Because the AB’s were very successful under him – more so than under any previous coach for such a sustained period.
It doesn’t matter that you think anyone would be successful with the same resources, he was the guy in charge and he gets the kudos. Even if you’re right, all that would mean is that whoever else had the job would have got equal support.
When the AB’s weren’t winning, like in 07 or 09, there were many people criticizing him (rotation is basically a swear word in NZ still for instance). But, for the vast majority of the time, they weren’t losing so he didn’t get a lot of criticism, other than some minor quibbles over selections.
May 25th 2012 @ 9:06am
kingplaymaker said | May 25th 2012 @ 9:06am | Report comment
Let’s see how it goes with Hansen then, though I don’t hold a great outlook for Hansen. Yes I thought aside from the RWC final he put together a very good pack last year, well-selected and well-coached, but I wonder if he can coach the whole team.
May 25th 2012 @ 9:28am
stillmatic1 said | May 25th 2012 @ 9:28am | Report comment
is phil jakson the greatest coach in nba history? what of sir alex ferguson? arsene wenger? wayne bennett?
fact is, a coach needs great players to have consistant success and all of the above did have almost once in a generation type personnel to work with. it seems you too often get caught up in your own hyperbole and forget that you often contradict yourself mid post!!
May 25th 2012 @ 7:54am
Thurl said | May 25th 2012 @ 7:54am | Report comment
I don’t know who to believe here…KPM tells me the public sold deans out but Johnno reackons we wanted him badly
May 25th 2012 @ 9:39am
stillmatic1 said | May 25th 2012 @ 9:39am | Report comment
they are the same person, thurl. it all makes sense now. i saw it in the heavens as i was waiting for the upcoming venus eclipse and i could hear god whispering to me ” the two of the same will be seen as one under the roar and the neverending story shall enlighten thee”, or something like that. my corneas were burning at the time and was getting quite frantic at the idea that i couldnt read anymore. but all is well………….
May 25th 2012 @ 10:16am
Rugby Diehard said | May 25th 2012 @ 10:16am | Report comment
Great laugh SM1. Made my morning.
May 25th 2012 @ 11:29am
kingplaymaker said | May 25th 2012 @ 11:29am | Report comment
You must have pretty awful mornings then.
May 25th 2012 @ 11:37am
Riccardo said | May 25th 2012 @ 11:37am | Report comment
Comical still.
Are you a Blues supporter by any chance?
My Occular Specialist has identified the condition you specify as being peculiar to those that continue to stand by the Auckland franchise.
The fact said injuries are usually self inflicted by eating utensils is besides the point!
May 25th 2012 @ 11:43am
stillmatic1 said | May 25th 2012 @ 11:43am | Report comment
death to the blues, riccardo. im a southland boy from invergiggle, but support the saders more than otago nowadays (due to the old man living and breathing in canterbury after leaving dunedin).
it gets weird when even phil kearns starts to feel sorry for your team, riccardo. will auckland act the spoiler now? same goes for the tahs aswell? both frankly are still capable of ruining the run home for a couple of teams.
May 25th 2012 @ 3:01pm
Riccardo said | May 25th 2012 @ 3:01pm | Report comment
Death the Blues?
Their final throes are glaringly apparent for all to see Still.
I’ve picked them to upset for a few weeks now (may as well as they have already killed my Super picks) but they continue to plumb new depths.
I’ve been calling for Pat’s head for some time but now I’m just sorry for the poor bar steward!
The weird thing is that somewhere… deep inside… “a little boy waits”…
May 25th 2012 @ 9:52am
Riccardo said | May 25th 2012 @ 9:52am | Report comment
KPM,
After your reaction to DS this post does you a disservice.
I believe you’ll fine find yesterday’s columnist Alan Jones and Bob Dwyer were also castigated by media and public alike during ther dethronings. As they are successful Wallaby coaches it would seem this is part of the job. Ask John Hart. He was so hated that as Jerry pointed out on another thread, the horse he had part ownership was spat on and had cans of beer thrown at it!
How did Ted vilify Cooper? I can recall only one interview which suggested Quade was bringing some of the public negativity on himself during the RWC and in fact added that Quade had made up some ground during the tournament. There have been quotes taken out of context during private functions since but that’s irrelevant. The person who vilified Cooper was Cooper.
“The NZ public sold Deans out: not only did they reject him for the All Black job, but they pour unrelenting venom on him at every opportunity for ‘betraying’ them.” You seem to forget that Deans had already had a shot at the AB’s under Mitchell’s unsuccessful campaign. It could be argued that Ted’s success outside the quaddrennial farce that is the RWC made him a better candidate than Dingo. The fact that some of the rugby public lambasted Deans’ move to the Wallabies was primarily kneekerk and talks more to the Wallaby All Black rivalry than anything else.
If you do some homework Ted’s overall success is 2nd only to “the Needlle” (God bless Fred Allen) at around 86%. He has won IRB Coach of the year 5 times KPM and has been knighted. He deserves your respect.
May 25th 2012 @ 10:11am
kingplaymaker said | May 25th 2012 @ 10:11am | Report comment
Riccardo he’s obviously a fairly good coach but I didn’t approve firstly how when the Wallabies were losing a lot one year recently he declared how terribly disappointed he would be if he was losing so much, not a very decent remark to make, almost spiteful, certainly not gentlemanly or sporting.
Then he should never have been backing up the public in their treatment of Cooper. Every second of every match QC played he was subject to the most vile and personal abuse, something implictly condoned by Henry with that interview.
Nor do I remember any credit by Henry to his beaten RWC opponents.
Robbie Deans in contrast had not said anything derogatory about the ABs, Henry or All Black players.
New Zealanders ritually attack every coaching decision Deans has made, to an absurd extent and with fanaticism. Moreover, I don’t think I have ever seen a positive remark made about Deans by an NZ poster. There’s a good reason for all that.
May 25th 2012 @ 10:25am
Riccardo said | May 25th 2012 @ 10:25am | Report comment
KPM,
Out of respect I have tried to reply to your post with some fact and constructive opinion.
I can accept that other Roarers have more knowledge than me as they appear to have been engaged in the game longer. This is usually evidenced by the facts they provide to support their argument and I am becoming enlightened although my wife would argue this vociferously.
Here however, not only do you not respond to the argument put to you, but you continue to wildly generalise with little or no substance to your argument.
Is this not what you accuse DS, OJ and other Roarers of when they take you to task?
Food for thought
May 25th 2012 @ 11:00am
kingplaymaker said | May 25th 2012 @ 11:00am | Report comment
I did reply: I told you why I didn’t approve of Henry’s conduct. He seems to be a bad winner.
May 25th 2012 @ 11:04am
stillmatic1 said | May 25th 2012 @ 11:04am | Report comment
and no one here approves of your conduct!! so why should your view on henry hold any weight?
May 25th 2012 @ 11:28am
kingplaymaker said | May 25th 2012 @ 11:28am | Report comment
Because I don’t rant as much as you.
May 25th 2012 @ 11:38am
stillmatic1 said | May 25th 2012 @ 11:38am | Report comment
great reply, if it made sense, or was relevant. only you can know, i suppose, ranting is your M.O.
so your view on henry should hold weight because you dont rant as much as me!? wow.
May 25th 2012 @ 11:45am
kingplaymaker said | May 25th 2012 @ 11:45am | Report comment
Read every post you’ve written on this thread and ask yourself if it isn’t a series of rants.
May 25th 2012 @ 11:52am
stillmatic1 said | May 25th 2012 @ 11:52am | Report comment
is that like others asking you to provide proof of your theories? or others asking you to actually answer the questions posed?
i used to be fond of asking myself questions but people would always be looking at me funny!!
May 25th 2012 @ 12:01pm
kingplaymaker said | May 25th 2012 @ 12:01pm | Report comment
stillmatic1 you always seem wired in these rants: do you take the white stuff to make the posting more fun?
May 25th 2012 @ 12:54pm
stillmatic1 said | May 25th 2012 @ 12:54pm | Report comment
well i did have a heap of sugar on my cereal this morning. so maybe you are right……
May 25th 2012 @ 12:55pm
stillmatic1 said | May 25th 2012 @ 12:55pm | Report comment
well i did have a lot of sugar on my cereal this morning. so maybe you are right………..
May 25th 2012 @ 1:03pm
kingplaymaker said | May 25th 2012 @ 1:03pm | Report comment
Maybe someone substituted something for the sugar..
May 25th 2012 @ 10:34am
Thurl said | May 25th 2012 @ 10:34am | Report comment
Now thats a stretch. What about all those Australians who ritually attack every coaching decision Deans has made, to an absurd extent and with fanaticism ??
C’mon KPM, your wild sweeping generalisations do not support the truth. The good reason for you not seeing positive remarks by NZ’ers about Deans is that you choose not to see them. Just as you choose to ignore arguments that don’t support your own views
May 25th 2012 @ 10:37am
kingplaymaker said | May 25th 2012 @ 10:37am | Report comment
Spot-on Thurl most Australians hate having a foreigner coaching the Wallabies, while most NZers hate the idea of one of their own coaching a foreign team: a lot of sporting support is violently nationalistic, unsuprisingly perhaps. So Deans gets it from both barrels.
May 25th 2012 @ 10:49am
Thurl said | May 25th 2012 @ 10:49am | Report comment
yes I agree, most Australians hate having a foreigner coach the Wallabys , just as many NZ’ers would also hate having a foreign coach, but you’re off the planet to suggest NZ’ers hate their own coaching foreign teams.
But you’re half right about Deans, in that he’s actually only getting one barrel. There are so many NZ’ers coaching foreign teams that your statement is absolutely absurd
May 25th 2012 @ 11:07am
kingplaymaker said | May 25th 2012 @ 11:07am | Report comment
Thurl I don’t think they’d care if was coaching Wales who would never remotely threaten NZ, or lesser teams even than that. But Australia? That’s a different kettle of fish. Deans may indeed be the first New Zealand coach to lead a team to defeat the All Blacks.
By the way I’m not saying any other fans would be different. Doubtless Australian fans would demonise any Australian who went to coach NZ.
It’s amusing how the NZers who criticise Deans think that the All Blacks are justifiably number 1, and yet blame Deans for the Wallabies being number 2.
If the All Blacks are so good and well-coached why is it such a terrible failure for Deans not to beat them?
May 25th 2012 @ 11:37am
Thurl said | May 25th 2012 @ 11:37am | Report comment
Whats amusing is that you actually believe what you’re writing. Yes people here critice Deans, but it’s not for coaching Australia. People’s feelings towards Deans were formed long before he got your jig
And BTW, its not Deans failure to not beat the All Blacks, but it is a failure of Deans not to beat Scotland, Samoa and Ireland
May 25th 2012 @ 11:58am
Brendon said | May 25th 2012 @ 11:58am | Report comment
Could it be that a lot of NZ didnt agree with mitchell and deans and there clearing out of the older established all blacks? think of how cullen and the like got dropped
May 25th 2012 @ 12:29pm
Riccardo said | May 25th 2012 @ 12:29pm | Report comment
Fair play Brendon.
One of Mitchell’s legacies was the curtailing of the Paekakariki Express’ career.
For shame…
May 25th 2012 @ 7:44am
formeropenside said | May 25th 2012 @ 7:44am | Report comment
How about we get back to Reds v Brumbies and stop wasting time.
May 25th 2012 @ 8:19am
Dasher said | May 25th 2012 @ 8:19am | Report comment
Genia v White, Cooper v Holmes, Mowen v Higginbotham, Gill v Hooper. Should be great to watch and a great indicator of who should get a Wallabies look-in.
May 25th 2012 @ 10:05am
Riccardo said | May 25th 2012 @ 10:05am | Report comment
Dylan Cleaver over here has suggested the Chiefs and Bulls is the match of the round with this a close 2nd.
This derby will be immense Dasher and the match ups you have highlighted denote the same. I have been impressed by White and I am interested to see how Quade goes against an opponent that will offer him less space and time.
Love the Futurama moniker BTW
May 25th 2012 @ 11:28am
jeznez said | May 25th 2012 @ 11:28am | Report comment
There are good match ups right across the park. I think that if Link starts Daly the scrum will be in a lot of trouble, I’ve sung a lot of praise for Palmer but he would have to put some serious pressure on Daly if they pack against each other. I believe that Holmes is a better counter at scrum time – but Link does love his mobile front rowers.
Carter v Simmons is another one with two similar young players who have similar strengths and weaknesses. Will aslo be interested to see how Fardy up against Horwill goes, will the size differential be the determining factor or will Fardy be able to get his running game going.
Moore will be out to prove to Faingaa and Hanson that he is still the top dog.
My biggest concern for the Brumbies is the lack of passing that Holmes showed last week. The Brumbies backs hardly saw the ball last week and they are going to have to play a more complete match to get over Qld I would think.
In the end for Aussie rugby overall a Reds victory creates a better chance of having two teams make the final 6 but the Brumbies should give nothing away in this match. Indeed the Reds can take comfort that they have beaten some top contenders this season. The Brumbies haven’t managed the big scalps and really need to stand up in a high intensity pressure game like this one.
Cannot wait.
May 25th 2012 @ 12:27pm
Dasher said | May 25th 2012 @ 12:27pm | Report comment
Yes, a Reds win would be better for Australian rugby. If they lose, they can still qualify for the finals with the Brumbies, but it will be very, very, very tough for them.
May 25th 2012 @ 10:24am
kos1nsk1 said | May 25th 2012 @ 10:24am | Report comment
“There’s an Art of War book by Sun Tzu that says if your enemy reacts to you, then you’re in a position of strength.” says White
Yeah but didn’t he also say “Know your enemy” which is what Ewen is trying to spoil.
Which trumps which? I’m confused……..
May 25th 2012 @ 10:58am
Rugby Diehard said | May 25th 2012 @ 10:58am | Report comment
RUGBY DISCUSSION ANYONE?