Saturday night out at Eden Park coming up, and the chance for three in a row for the mighty Blues. Saw a bit of the Canes Stormers at the weekend; they looked pretty good in the first half. Going to take a bit for the Blues to get up.

How the Stormers win:
Smash the Blues physically, kick for corners, maul tries, capitalise on poor Blues kicks, win penalties from set pieces

How the Blues win:
give the ball some air, put it in the hands of Rieko and Melani, forwards go forward enough to give some quality ball to the backs.

Going to be good fun, I'm looking forward to it.

Yep, we are going to get massively targeted by the maul. Time for Coventry to step up there.

@Kirwan said in Blues Stormers:

Yep, we are going to get massively targeted by the maul. Time for Coventry to step up there.

It's only been years and years of shit maul defence.

I find it so frustrating - last weekend we stuffed up the two mauls we attempted. The second one we got well set, and then just didn't seem to push ... it's just weird.

@nzzp said in Blues Stormers:

Saturday night out at Eden Park coming up, and the chance for three in a row for the mighty Blues. Saw a bit of the Canes Stormers at the weekend; they looked pretty good in the first half. Going to take a bit for the Blues to get up.

How the Stormers win:
Smash the Blues physically, kick for corners, maul tries, capitalise on poor Blues kicks, win penalties from set pieces

How the Blues win:
give the ball some air, put it in the hands of Rieko and Melani, forwards go forward enough to give some quality ball to the backs.

Going to be good fun, I'm looking forward to it.

The rush defence of the Stormers was pretty effective too. If their midfield get decent ball they can be a real handful.

@Kirwan said in Blues Stormers:

Yep, we are going to get massively targeted by the maul. Time for Coventry to step up there.

I always had the impression that Patty T and Ioane were, at least individually, pretty good at defending mauls. Throw in another couple of AB tighties, and there really should not be an issue.

Just don't take the 'canes approach of standing there and watching.

This should be a comfortable Blues win, but expectation can be a bitch.

@Kirwan said in Blues Stormers:

Yep, we are going to get massively targeted by the maul. Time for Coventry to step up there.

Put a call to BBBT and ask how they nullified the Brumbies' maul.

Yeah, Akira is particularly good with his maul defence. Whatever the issue is, it looks more like a team cohesion/understanding issue than individual ability.

Their lineout drive scares me. We'll need to be extra good with our discipline this week and keep the ball in play as much as possible.

Rieko might be rested this week. If that happens, I'm guessing Duffie comes in on the right wing and Telea moves over to the left.

SBW probably comes back to start at 12. Nonu should then go to the bench in place of Aumua. The coaches don't seem to trust Aumua much.

I would like to see a lot more work on our Red Zone exit,make them play from deep as to negate lineout drive opportunities..
You would hope given that we know what’s coming,this will be a good test case for the forwards coach especially.

@ACT-Crusader said in Blues vs Stormers:

@nzzp said in Blues Stormers:

Saturday night out at Eden Park coming up, and the chance for three in a row for the mighty Blues. Saw a bit of the Canes Stormers at the weekend; they looked pretty good in the first half. Going to take a bit for the Blues to get up.

How the Stormers win:
Smash the Blues physically, kick for corners, maul tries, capitalise on poor Blues kicks, win penalties from set pieces

How the Blues win:
give the ball some air, put it in the hands of Rieko and Melani, forwards go forward enough to give some quality ball to the backs.

Going to be good fun, I'm looking forward to it.

The rush defence of the Stormers was pretty effective too. If their midfield get decent ball they can be a real handful.

They are good at staying in a line, so even if they are a yard offside it is hard for the ref to pick up.

@ACT-Crusader said in Blues vs Stormers:

The rush defence of the Stormers was pretty effective too. If their midfield get decent ball they can be a real handful.

How good is the defense though. They conceded 5 tries and should've conceded more if not for horrendoes errors from the Canes

@Duluth Easy decision to make. Leon would have seen what the Tahs did to the Crusaders, so he'd be writing that fixture off and targeting the Stormers while they're vulnerable.

@antipodean said in Blues vs Stormers:

@Duluth Easy decision to make. Leon would have seen what the Tahs did to the Crusaders, so he'd be writing that fixture off and targeting the Stormers while they're vulnerable.

I agree - but because if we have to travel to face the Tahs, it's a damn sight easier than going to SA

@antipodean said in Blues vs Stormers:

@Duluth Easy decision to make. Leon would have seen what the Tahs did to the Crusaders, so he'd be writing that fixture off and targeting the Stormers while they're vulnerable.

I see what you've done there Tahs fan......

@KiwiMurph said in Blues vs Stormers:

@antipodean said in Blues vs Stormers:

@Duluth Easy decision to make. Leon would have seen what the Tahs did to the Crusaders, so he'd be writing that fixture off and targeting the Stormers while they're vulnerable.

I see what you've done there Tahs fan......

Why is it that the maul is pretty much anathema to NZ Super rugby and All Black teams.

Down there with the drop goal.

ABs have never been good at the maul.

I love a good maul, an art form, very hard to stop when done well.

@infidel said in Blues vs Stormers:

Why is it that the maul is pretty much anathema to NZ Super rugby and All Black teams.

Down there with the drop goal.

ABs have never been good at the maul.

I love a good maul, an art form, very hard to stop when done well.

Not sure I agree that the ABs have never been good at the maul. We’ve scored our fair amount of tries from it.

Doesn’t take away from the fact I fucking hate them as it goes against the principles of rugby.
Let’s just re-name it legal obstruction.

Left wing Ioane has started all five of the Blues matches this year but took a very active part in training for the Blues today which suggests he will be starting once again against a South African side who narrowly lost to the Hurricanes last weekend.

Matt Duffie's return from a severe hamstring strain could mitigate a little against this risk.

@infidel said in Blues vs Stormers:

Why is it that the maul is pretty much anathema to NZ Super rugby and All Black teams.

Down there with the drop goal.

ABs have never been good at the maul.

I love a good maul, an art form, very hard to stop when done well.

Crusaders score plenty from mauls, as did the Blues 12 years ago. Auckland through the 90s hammered teams with it.

AB teams have often been good with the Maul, Keven Melaumu scores plenty from them. Older ferners can mention teams from before the 80s as well.