11 February 2007

Boringball fails for the Brumbies 17-15

| johnboy
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And so we sat in the rain for the first Brumbies game of the season having stupidly turned up early to see MEATBEE do the pre-game entertainment. Only with all that lightning and rain there wasn’t going to be anything like that.

As we cycled all the way up O’Connor ridge Nik The Pig kept saying, “the rain’s going around the stadium”, even as the lightning crashed down on our destination.

Such wishful thinking was soon dispelled, but the upside to turning up early was that there were still some ponchos for sale.

Planet Rugby reports on how the match went.

It’s all very well to play to the conditions and try and grind out a win with penalties and drop goals. But when you miss three penalties and all three drop goal attempts the crowd has some right to feel disappointed by the decision to go negative. Especially when the more expansive Auckland side manages to score two tries.

Matters were not improved by the gangs of teenies cluttering up the queue to the bar as they tried to get out of the rain and thinking they could push past decent beer drinking folk to get to where their mates were.

Not a great way to start the home season, but it’s still early days.

However the Canberra Times is undeterred by the actual result and is busy fellating the Brumbies with tales of them being the better side despite losing on the scoreboard, the try tally, and having the captain, Al Campbell, sin binned. The CT’s Peter Fitzgerald is also at a loss to understand sin binning for a professional foul on the goal line. Personally I think Brumbies fans are smart enough to not need this sort of guff, especially after a night getting soaked.

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Kramer, I was going to something to that effect yesterday, but was too polite…

I was going to post that Kramer – excellent work!

“Not too mention that even while Gregan is skipping a bit with the ball in hands he can still deliver a pass to Larkham while he is going forward, as a good half back should.”

Bollocks. The skip gives the defence the opportunity to rush the 5/8 giving him the only option to run forward, as he is too cramped to pass.

“As for the Gregan comments, anyone who has ever played would realise that a halfback often does have to take a step or two particularly when NZ sides are continually infringing around the ruck and maul”

Thanks, must have just been in my dreams that I played all those 1st grade and rep games

“I guess we all look the same to you Costanza…”,/i>

Jazz,

I think you’ll find that Huxley attempted a dropgoal from his own half following a 22 drop by the Blues. The ensuing 22 drop wasn’t marked up properly by the brumbies players, and the Blues got a quick one away and retained possession.

Not too mention that even while Gregan is skipping a bit with the ball in hands he can still deliver a pass to Larkham while he is going forward, as a good half back should.

to correct a couple of other erroneous statements about the game.

It was Larkham who attempted a field goal from with the brumbies half. FG’s were also attempted by Huxley (but from much closer but also missed) and Gregan which went through but the penalty had already been awarded. no advantage was played.

Al Campbell was sinbinned for a professional foul for attempting to swat the ball from the blues halfback whilst on the ground in the ruck, not collapsing a maul. As far as i could tell the Brumbies were not warned for such infringments at any other time in the game so should feel rightly miffed about the sinbinning (may or may not have had any impact on the result).

Having read some of the posts about last nights game from people with an obvius lack of knowledge of the game I feel I have to respond. It’s already been said but Samo was not on the field last night. To blame one person because of one mistake for the loss also shows a complete lack of knowledge, and yes “SAMO” did drop the ball, but name me one player who has ever played a game and not dropped a ball, that’s rugby. The Brumbies didn’t have a good night and didn’t make the most of their opportunites and appeared to play with a negative attitude in the final 20 minutes, and as a result lost the game. As for the Gregan comments, anyone who has ever played would realise that a halfback often does have to take a step or two particularly when NZ sides are continually infringing around the ruck and maul

Yah, I think it was tawake.

Campbell went off for collapsing the maul, he was lucky it wasn’t a penalty try there and then. Not that it would have made a difference.

“If it’s pissing down rain, the last thing I want to see is the ball being flung all over the place.”

-Especially as far as Radike Samo in France!

Al Campbell was sent for whacking the ball out of the Blues halfback’s hands whilst lying on the ground as part of the ruck. Pure bone-head stuff, especially from the captain.
Laurie had a point about the number of penalties given away by the Blues without a sinbinning, and Kaplan warned the same guy (can’t remember who) a couple of times.
I’m not sure what the hell Huxley was thinking a couple of times, especioally with that dropgoal attempt from his own half. Run it up, bang it to the corners and pressure their lineout. At least you’ve got the territory.

As for the tactics, they were fine. I wouldn’t really say that the Blues were too much more expansive than the Brumbs, but they had MacAlister, and we were missing Mortlock badly.
If it’s pissing down rain, the last thing I want to see is the ball being flung all over the place.

Of course, it’s possible you were all watching from a pub in Paris:

“ACT Brumbies lock Radike Samo has signed a two-year deal with top French club Stade Francais, the Parisian rugby club said on Friday.

The Fijian-born 29-year-old, who had six seasons with Canberra, played in six internationals with the Wallabies in 2004.

But he missed the squad the following year before fracturing a leg playing for the Canberra Vikings.”

-ABC, 24/06/2006.

That’s strange, I looked everywhere at the ground for Samo, but couldn’t see him.

Sure you aren’t talking about Tawake??

What was the final penalty for? We couldn’t work it out.

For one of our locks to be sent off just before a line out and maul was either incredibly stupid on our part, or the ref was being paid.

He wasn’t, but the timing of his, coupled with the fact that he coughed it up under a regulation tackle with crucial field position at a crucial time, essentially lost the game.

He was a one season wonder, and his performances over the last couple of years have been less than average to be kind.

It was refereshing to finally see an Australian scrum take a tight head from a NZ scrum, but it took getting rid of Guy Shepherdson, the 2nd worst prop in Aussie S14 teams after ‘Huff and Puff’ Baxter, to do it

Samo was not exactly robinson crusoe in the ball dropping department on the night.

But he certainly does try and do too much, leading to coughed up ball.

I have never said the work ‘f*ck’ in front of my in-laws. Last night I let it out at the top of my voice as the Blues scored after the hooter. Everyone said it was a tough conversion, we’d get the draw. I said this kick will never miss.

All Samo (and God knows how he still has a Brumbies contract) had to do 90 secs out was hang onto the ball on the half way, the the Brumbies would progress downfield with a kick and game would be safe. I’ve never seen a team give the opposition so many chances to win a game.

And if I see Gregan take a step or 2 and then pass it from the base of a scrum/maul/ruck and therefore again allow the defence to pressure the inside backs or ball runners then I will scream. he is the best running half back Australia has ever seen. His ball distribution from the base of set pieces is what sees the Sydney media baying for his head on a stick. Sometimes you can’t help but see why.

If the brumbies can’t beat one of the lesser All Black-less NZ sides (and Flavell isn’t one right now) then it will be the season that management have dreaded

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