@chris-b said in Crusaders v Stormers:

@stargazer said in Crusaders v Stormers:

Because of the Crusaders' depth, it's easy to forget how many first choice players they were already missing, but it's bound to affect their play. Moody, Franks, Todd, Read, in particular, were sorely missed.

We must have been fielding a front row of King, Makalio and Jager towards the end. Stood up better than I expected.

Mid-April and the return of Moody, Franks and Read is a long way off - we'll be drilling into the bottom of the barrell if we lose any more props. Hopefully Tim Perry isn't far away.

Aren't the All Blacks in the squad supposed to be playing capped minutes in the first three rounds? Sam Whitelock must be pushing his quota!

Makalia had a great Mitre 10 Cup. He is a powerhouse in the loose. I don't know much about his scrummaging but his LO throwing is one thing to get fixed.

@cgrant He's a big unit for a hooker and the Ta$man scrum goes pretty well with him in there.

@chris-b Another player rejected by Auckland Rugby as "not up to NPC standard" ...

@tim To be fair, when he turned up at Ta$man, my first reaction was, "Who is that fat fuck"!

He is looking less fat with his hair cut.

Watching the highlights now, and Mo’unga looks every it the 22 we’ve been looking for. Funnily enough, he might have shown enough that if he can get back in time, he’s probably shown enough.

Goodbye also looks like the 13 we’ve been looking for. I notice that Laumape was awesome for the Canes too...

@taniwharugby said in Crusaders v Stormers:

interesting that a deliberate knock back is seen different to a failed intercept knock forward, in that case was no way he was going to get the ball and was only slapping back to stop the pass.

I need to jump in here TR. This is a bugbear of mine.

It IS different as you're allowed to propel the ball backward at any time. It is not only legal it is encouraged.

You're actually allowed to propel ie., knock, the ball DOWN.

You are NOT allowed to propel the ball forward.

If you do so by accident it's a scrum. If you do so deliberately it's a penalty.

There's been a bit of someone saying something so often it becomes truth. Commentators go on about "deliberate knock downs" being penalty offenses. They're not. Deliberate knocks forward are.

@damo said in Crusaders v Stormers:

@taniwharugby said in Crusaders v Stormers:

@damo the action was deliberate knock, we see some genuine intercepts penalized yet he was never going to get the ball, IMO is just as bad as the other way.

Yes but it was a deliberate knock backwards, which is totally fine and within both the laws and spirit of the game. Playing the ball backwards is an integral part of rugby.

Might seem wrong, but it shouldn't.

Can I like this twice. Well at least the first paragraph. It seems and is 100% right to me.

@taniwharugby @Damo I blame Marshall

@gt12 Goodhue has looked bloody good the last two games.