@shark yep, as long as Razor can keep his boys grounded and ignoring all the talk that the title is thiers, it will be.

I think the Crusaders could end up putting 50 on the board after 80 mins.

@booboo said in Super Rugby Final 2018:

@chris-b said in Super Rugby Final 2018:

What does he mean 10 metres at the scrum, anyway- the cheating Jaapie.

There should be at least 15 metres - more with those giant SA locks!

Actual genuine question ... isn't it 5m?

Five metres each, but also the width of the scrum.

Crusaders

1 Joe Moody
2 Codie Taylor
3 Owen Franks
4 Scott Barrett
5 Sam Whitelock (c)
6 Heiden Bedwell-Curtis
7 Matt Todd (vc)
8 Kieran Read
9 Bryn Hall
10 Richie Mo'unga
11 George Bridge
12 Ryan Crotty (vc)
13 Jack Goodhue
14 Seta Tamanivalu
15 David Havili

Reserves
16 Sam Anderson-Heather/ Andrew Makalio
17 Tim Perry
18 Michael Ala'alatoa
19 Luke Romano
20 Pete Samu
21 Mitchell Drummond
22 Mitchell Hunt
23 Braydon Ennor

Looks shit. Lions by plenty

@mariner4life yep, only 12 capped players in the starting lineup, they should default now, save everyone the embarrassment.

Lions a real chance with a disrupted starting lineup and a debutante at backup hooker. Crusaders without experienced All Blacks Wyatt Crockett and Israel Dagg.

@act-crusader

Lions chances given a further boost with the Crusaders being far too emotional this close. Should be more business as usual like.

@act-crusader We should take heed at Shag's warning.

No-one thought the ABs would lose in 1999, 2003 or 2007 until they did.

I feel sorry for Wyatt Crockett, this long serving and faithful player, and even more when you know that the preferred option is far from being an outstanding LHP. Is it because WC is a penalty magnet at scrum time ?

@taniwharugby said in Super Rugby Final 2018:

@mariner4life yep, only 12 capped players in the starting lineup, they should default now, save everyone the embarrassment.

And some Ferners firmly believe that number is too low.

@cgrant It is a bit sad for Wyatt, but on the other hand - if Razor believes that Perry is better and given that Perry will be with the Crusaders next year - I'm going to applaud his ruthlessness.

I have a recollection of Toddy, early in his tenure, giving Ben Franks a start in a play-off game when he wasn't the No.1 option, on the grounds that he "deserved it". Pretty sure we lost.

@chris-b said in Super Rugby Final 2018:

@act-crusader We should take heed at Shag's warning.

No-one thought the ABs would lose in 1999, 2003 or 2007 until they did.

Eh? 2003? The holes in that team were well known.

The way we lost was gut-wrenching. But we'd been flakey all season.

@chester-draws We'd beaten the Wallabies twice that year, though. Once was a thumping.

@chris-b and if we hadn't given an intercept we might have won again.

I didn't say we were bad. We were flakey.

@chester-draws Though the Aussies were even more-so.

@chris-b said in Super Rugby Final 2018:

@chester-draws We'd beaten the Wallabies twice that year, though. Once was a thumping.

And it was perfectly obvious after the reverse fixture in Sydney that Eddie had worked out the gameplan - stop kicking it to the All Black's back three, boot it out into row Z.

@antipodean said in Super Rugby Final 2018:

@chris-b said in Super Rugby Final 2018:

@chester-draws We'd beaten the Wallabies twice that year, though. Once was a thumping.

And it was perfectly obvious after the reverse fixture in Sydney that Eddie had worked out the gameplan - stop kicking it to the All Black's back three, boot it out into row Z.

Yeah that second match was pretty close too.

Oh nooo - it's the return of the 2003 holocaust.

Let's sub in 1995 for 2003.

I just checked back in time and the calendar has a 10 day jump in it. I can find no evidence of the game you allude to. The ABs won every game in that year comfortably from what I can see.

@crucial 1582 all over again.

But which year are you referring to?

I think there were some Groundhog Days!

@chris-b said in Super Rugby Final 2018:

@crucial 1582 all over again.

But which year are you referring to?

I think there were some Groundhog Days!

2003 was mentioned, but I think that similar calendar anomalies occur in 1999 and 2007. Must be something to do with black holes or something as there is a pattern there.
If Stephen Hawking was still wheeling around we could ask him. In lieu of scientific explanation I will put it down to 'unexplained mystery'

@crucial We should have a new national holiday called "Stephen Hawking Day".

Celebrated several times a year to commemorate unmentionable days that have been lost into the space-time continuum.

Chief Scientist Brian Lochore can propose the dates to be celebrated.

@chester-draws said in Super Rugby Final 2018:

@chris-b and if we hadn't given an intercept we might have won again.

I didn't say we were bad. We were flakey.

No we weren’t. Our games against Oz and the Boks saw us turn a corner.

What happened is that our best centre got injured and our second best centre was played at fullback

Do we really think Perry is that much better than Crockett??

Not convinced myself.

@act-crusader said in Super Rugby Final 2018:

@chester-draws said in Super Rugby Final 2018:

@chris-b and if we hadn't given an intercept we might have won again.

I didn't say we were bad. We were flakey.

No we weren’t. Our games against Oz and the Boks saw us turn a corner.

What happened is that our best centre got injured and our second best centre was played at fullback

And our second best fullback played at centre ...

@billy-tell said in Super Rugby Final 2018:

Do we really think Perry is that much better than Crockett??

Not convinced myself.

IMO it's a close call. I thought Razor was giving Perry the semifinal so that Wyatt would get the final.

But, since sentiment says you'd give the game to Wyatt if it's even, you'd have to think Razor thinks Perry is better - and he's the man on the spot.

Leon MacDonald cost us two world cups

@mariner4life Carlos Spencer, Luke MacAlister.

@mariner4life said in Super Rugby Final 2018:

Leon MacDonald cost us two world cups

Yet he will be the saviour of the Blues

@mariner4life said in Super Rugby Final 2018:

Leon MacDonald cost us two world cups

Reuben Thorne.

@majorrage Rodney So'oialo

@canerbry said in Super Rugby Final 2018:

@majorrage Rodney So'oialo

So overrated

@act-crusader said in Super Rugby Final 2018:

@chester-draws said in Super Rugby Final 2018:

@chris-b and if we hadn't given an intercept we might have won again.

I didn't say we were bad. We were flakey.

No we weren’t. Our games against Oz and the Boks saw us turn a corner.

What happened is that our best centre got injured and our second best centre was played at fullback

I've seen an awful lot of "corners turned" that were merely wishful thinking. England thought they'd turned one under Eddie Jones just recently, for example.

I'm not a big believer in teams being able to make sharp turns (especially when coach and players and game plan haven't changed much).

We didn't lose the game in 2003 at centre or fullback.

@chester-draws said in Super Rugby Final 2018:

@act-crusader said in Super Rugby Final 2018:

@chester-draws said in Super Rugby Final 2018:

@chris-b and if we hadn't given an intercept we might have won again.

I didn't say we were bad. We were flakey.

No we weren’t. Our games against Oz and the Boks saw us turn a corner.

What happened is that our best centre got injured and our second best centre was played at fullback

I've seen an awful lot of "corners turned" that were merely wishful thinking. England thought they'd turned one under Eddie Jones just recently, for example.

I'm not a big believer in teams being able to make sharp turns (especially when coach and players and game plan haven't changed much).

We didn't lose the game in 2003 at centre or fullback.

It certainly didn’t help.

But 2003 we won the Bledisloe back and I’ll take that any day.

@chester-draws said in Super Rugby Final 2018:

We didn't lose the game in 2003 at centre or fullback.

We can't have, as we didn't lose a game in 2003 at all (according to my recollection).

If we did it would have been because of an evil wizard, Deans or the TMO. Probably all three.

Frankly, I blame Deans.

@mariner4life said in Super Rugby Final 2018:

Leon MacDonald cost us two world cups

I have him down for one, but the 2002 Bledisloe and 2000 3N as well.

I think we can pretty much blame Tana and the Blues for everything now!