If the Crusaders manage to score 4 tries against the Brumbies in the opening round, so will the Blues against the Chiefs.
If they improve their performance next week in South Africa scoring 7 tries against the Bulls, so will the Blues do at Lions' home.
If Daniel Carter is the Crusaders gear and a reliable kicker, Nick Evans has geared the Blues and proven that perhaps he should have been picked up as kicker for the All Blacks ahead of Luke McAlister.
Did we witness Leon McDonald's superb attacking abilities last week? What is to be said of Isa Nacewa's?
Round four match against the Sharks seems to be the first real test for the Blues.
5 comments:
I hope, if it is possible, to have the Crusaders play the Blues in the S14 final. I realize that this is only the beginning of the tornament and the pther sides can only improve, I strongly believe that Deans is the better coach than Nucifora. The irony of the coaching situation is that Nucifora is an Aussie coaching a Super 14 side and Deans is a Kiwi coaching the Wallabys. So the personal psychological confrontation is as much a part of the match as the match itself.
Miff
Yes, you are right. But don't expect a Blues-Crusaders game reveal who's the best coach. Was Meyer better coach than Deans just because the Bulls won? A number of external factors also determine who shall win.
I mean that losing Leon McDonald or Nick Evans could be more determinant than the value of the coach.
For my part, I admit Deans must be difficult to match as coach.
Sometimes coaching cannot be objective. I can give you a personal example. Jake White did nothing for me as a coach but to the players he seemed everything.
It did happen likewise with Henry in the All Blacks. The whole New Zealand press wanted him sacked and his players aligned all with him.
You could ask Mr. fair play Dallaglio what he does think of Mr Ashton :-)
In NZ the players are so tightly controlled by the NZRFU that for them to make any statement could be a death sentence. In South Africa for them to make any statement would open the door to racism. So both remain relatively quiet.
But in SA the former players have petitioned the SARFU to keep the ANC and other political factor out of the rugby. That was an important white statement but it doesn't seem to have gathered much momentum at this point. Of course, nothing has been said or done in SA by DeVilliers so it all moot.
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