Highlanders vs Reds: Super Rugby live scores, blog

Again, the OP was comparing Apple's to oranges or lemons in this case. There is no focus

the former in a comp with bonus points

he should have gone for that knock down though unless we do totally away with that rule, pretty blatant example (more than happy to do away with that rule)

if you define ok as average then yes thats true. most people use average as a negative description tho and thats not what i said. i went to a fair bit of detail there to express myself fully so dont need you to make up statements on my behalf. i thnk 95% predictions would have had them losing (and were right) but wouldnt have had much specific detail on how the team was going to go about it and were therefore reserved on their predictions. if they predicted the 10 would struggle they probably hadnt anticipated thorn would pass all his traditional 10 duties onto the fullback. they did do better than expected and got reward in the bonus points but there were errors highlander errors closely involved in 2 of their tries off the top of my head, had 36 points against so while being pleased enough where they got to im going keep a bit of perspective for a few weeks if thats ok with you. my opinion is by no means definitive so fee free to not get too upset if you feel i disagree with you.

S.Kerevi is a mack Truck in attack and is now hitting hard in defence also, however he is not that deceptive nor that good with passing and field kicks. For the RWC2019 I would like to see IC R.Hodge, OC T.Kuridrani, wings Sefa and J.Petaia and Izzy at fb. An all-rounder on the bench such as J.Maddocks. 5/8th is B.Foley or Q.Cooper (1 to start and 1 in reserve?) as long as they are in good form at the time and willing to spill blood for the team in defence. Non-tackling centres need not apply although K.Beale's attacking prowess and cover of various positions could get him the nod on the bench.

I take your point TM and certainly agree that M.Faddes is an "old head" at centre play and made the whippersnapper DP look foolish, but Faddes has never been that fast and the way he "turned" then ran around Paia'aua was pretty bad to watch for an old ex-centre. I haven't seen a repeat of the match but it looked like DP just gave up once Faddes rounded him. Was not a good look at all.

@ Rhys Bosley why was that red 2nd rower Rodda so pissed off all thru the match. he was either shouting or shaking his head as if he wanted to be somewhere else....

had it been last week's ref - it will have been a penalty try !!! i mean a 3: 1 overlap yielded Highlanders 2 trys later in the game :D

Prior to the game ... "reds halves are hopeless" or "they dont know how to score tries"...."Highlanders by 40"..."Reds for spoon". Hey it's only one game, they lost, and there's heaps to work on, but against 95% of predictions on here, they almost won by playing entertaining and enterprising attacking rugby against a team that hasn't lost at home for 12 games. Now its "they were actually just average and they only looked good cause the Highlanders were poor".

Just watched the match this morning, plenty to like from both teams. Thought Faddes, Frizell and Hunt were exceptional for the Highlanders. Petaia was brilliant for the Reds, I love TK but this young man will be the Wallaby 13 in the near future. Some great set piece work from the starting pack. They looked flat in the middle of the game but worked back into it, they'll get better for having their first match under their belt. The set piece really dropped off when the starting front row was switched. Scrum went from going forward to under pressure and Mafi gave up two over throws and a not straight when asked to hit the back of the lineout. Mafi, Hoopert and Smith really contributed in the loose though. Hegarty will need to look at his kicking options - he made some poor choices in an otherwise good game. I think the Reds are no where near their potential in relation to what they should be able to do from the lineout maul and on the counter ruck. Some really positive signs there and excited to see how they build. Great new find at loosehead in Fotuaika, and great story about being spotted in club rugby, shedding 15kgs and making the starting side. That was an excellent debut from him.

I thought that it was pretty obvious if you are balanced in your opinion then you don't fall into that category. Oh well, point taken.

Paul: I understand what you are saying but think you are being a bit conservative. I am guessing he will play in the RWC and at centre, maybe not the big games, which will disappoint me and maybe a few others but not you. I don't think it is a time to be conservative regarding talent in the Wallabies. Would you rather see Beale in the centres? I think Hodge maybe O/C but it is impossible to guess what Cheika might insist on. I am hoping Johnson and O'Connor put some common sense into selections

Personally, I think he’s still our best 12 option, like I have for a couple of years now. But I also see the argument for all of Hodge, Hunt and Toomua.

The reality is that if you play Kerevi, you are better going to give up a little in defence to get a lot in attack. That is the payoff for having a centre built like a forward, he lacks agility to be a reliable tackler in space. Like with Cooper, Foley and Beale it isn’t as big an issue at Super Rugby level, but it could put him at a disadvantage in selection contests for the Wallabies.

You seem very confident in what M O’Connor will do. Personally I doubt anyone in their right mind would throw an 18 year old into the most complex defensive position on the field in a RWC. Especially when we have 2 excellent and experienced weapons in TK and Kerevi already at our disposal who look to both be in the form of their lives at just the right time.

fionn: its been going on for years, the idea that we run the ball a la Randwick has stopped our development of a tactical kicking game. Strangely in the 70's we were a kicking team because we had weak forwards. It is an all round game and we are not playing it. Just hope we don't go from running at all expense team to a kick-a-thon team.

I like the Reds scrum. Looking forward to seeing the scum clash when they play the Brumbies

Riddler he is a great fullback but an average to below average winger. His bad press here is to do with selections out of position - AGAIN! god, it makes me mad.

Paul: It should be Maddocks at 15 and Petaia at 13, if they are good enough they are old enough. Both of these guys are good enough.

Paul: He doesn't look as if he is dumb and he will have learnt a lot from that game. I say stick with him, great wingers are fairly easy to find great centres not so. Michael O'Connor will override you and Fionn on this, if I am not mistaken. O'Connor was 19 when he started playing for the Wallabies. From memory, he started in the centres.