The Silver Fern

@mikedogz I chuckled when I saw him running. Such a low centre of gravity aye.
Bench firepower unashamedly won that for the Saders. Some really good cameos and nice touches from the likes of Moananu, McLeod and Goodhue. And the subbing of Drummond who was a real handbrake.

@TheMojoman said in Rebels v Blues:

@Bones said in Rebels v Blues:

@KiwiMurph said in Rebels v Blues:

Second week in a row where I've thought Blues haven't missed much with Plummer at 12.

Doesn't bode well for RTS' AB hopes.

I thought Plummer was a bit of a lynchpin really. Tidied up a lot and really helped keep the backline running smoothly.

The “glue man” all good back lines need. I do think Rieko looks better with RTS beside him though ie, straight running 2nd five who can bend the line and give him some more space to operate.

I think the jury is still out on that combination. I don't think it has looked comfortable. I'm not sure how many times it has happened and perhaps it was as a bench replacement last season(?), but the Heem/Ioane combo looked dangerous and a little more fluent.

@Mattasaurus said in Drua v Rebels:

Love the crowd over there,

Thought it amusing the line between the cheap ground admission and the side on terrace seats

@Stargazer said in Chiefs v Rebels:

@KiwiMurph said in Chiefs v Rebels:

Late change

DMac in for Ioane on the bench

Not because of an injury. Sad to read on Ioane's instagram that his father passed away (cancer).

The black armbands suggested someone had died.

@Bovidae said in Rebels v Waratahs:

The Rebels will have some confidence before playing the Chiefs in Hamilton next weekend.

They'll get smoked.

@canefan said in Rebels v Hurricanes:

@Crucial said in Rebels v Hurricanes:

Hopefully the hearing asks what blue 10 was even doing where he was for Ardie to pull him out of it. If anyone escalated the situation it was him. Comes from 20 metres away to push his way through a melee and get over the top of players on the ground.
He is the aggressor here and gets rightly pull out before doing something even stupider than he already has.
Refs first line of thought should have been to see who was mixed in there that shouldn’t have been.

He and the assistants had a pow pow didn't they? They just reached a different conclusion. Strayans... 🙄

It’s always a problem when the ref calls in the ARs and before asking them what their view was says “I see this. Do you agree?” They never contradict.

@Tim said in Force v Rebels:

@KiwiMurph how did Ekuasi go?

Didn't do much. Got on second half but couldn't make much of an impact.

A Smith-Fakatava combo offers a nice contrast. Fakatava used to run too often and tried to take on the opposition by himself, but he has learnt to temper his enthusiasm and when he has a snipe. That makes him a much more dangerous halfback.

How annoyed must the Canes be about having to set a scrum with 2 mins left?

Had the ball and momentum. Injury stoppage meant time ticked along as scrum was set and reset, and then got hit with a penalty. Don’t begrudge stopping as that Force player looked stuffed. A real sliding doors moment for the game and season.

@Canes4life said in Rebels v Chiefs:

@ACT-Crusader atleast we beat the Tahs. 😂

We’ve been underdogs all season.

@Dice I noticed that live. Funny.

@Donsteppa said in Rebels v Pasifika:

@Kirwan said in Rebels v Pasifika:

Oh fuck. Didn’t kick it out.

Terrible play to finish the game with. Got too greedy on the territory possibilities...

CF having to leave the field was crucial.

@TheMojoman said in Rebels v Crusaders:

@ACT-Crusader said in Rebels v Crusaders:

@Bones said in Rebels v Crusaders:

@Old-Samurai-Jack said in Rebels v Crusaders:

Havili and Goodhue as the midfield FFS!

I will be mildly surprised if Razor selects that midfield after steadfastly sticking to today's one the last couple of years. Best coach can't be wrong!

Razor has played Havili and Goodhue together a couple of times. I think it will be an easier decision now that Jordan has cemented the fullback position.

I wonder if he will have a dabble and try
12-Goodhue
13-Fainga'anuku

Fainga'anuku played more like a centre on the weekend anyway.

I don't think he'll leave out either Goodhue or Havili. Probs Goodhue to 13? Not sure if Havili has ever played 13.

I expect 12. Havili, 13. Goodhue, too.
Havili has played at 13 before, next to Crotty, but I doubt he'll be moved again (other than to fullback, if needed).
No way Razor will leave him out of the starting XV.

Game was ok but QLD dropped away too much ball.

Was very light on the physicality after watching Crusaders Blues.

Can not believe that the Force elected to kick the penalty, and then keep kicking the ball away when they're behind on the scoreboard.

@crucial said in Rebels v Drua:

@duluth said in Rebels v Drua:

The Rebels attack actually looked competent there

They did and the Drua look to on a down night in their up and down journey

6 handling errors in the first 15 minutes.

@nta Came across that way in a few interviews/articles I read about him.

@mikethesnow said in Rebels v Brumbies:

Banks was on fire

Got some serious wheels

Looks like he's running from zombies 🙂

He was playing against the Rebels. He's awfully average against competent players - just look at his efforts at fullback last year for the Wallabies.