Reds vs Canes, Live chat and Banter

We will see how the Canes do without some of their stars.

 Reds up by 3 but Canes had a nice series that ended in a penalty.  Reds forwards are flopping over the ball to prevent the back getting it from the rucks. Driving maul underway. Ball thrown away into touch.

 Wes Goosen (SA born) scores from his wing condition, off a nice cross kick from Barrett. Good try.

 Hi JW ,hows Poland bro ?

 Hi JW ,hows Poland bro ?

 Was wondering where Goosen hailed from ,is he living in NZ permanently  ?

 Poland is fine mate, how's Oz?
We will see how this game goes, it will be hard for it to live up to the Saders v Landers game

 Goosen is from SA but played school boy rugby in Wellington he's well coached

 Cheers bro Oz is good ,be warming up there eh ?

 Reds had a good attack, they are not easy.

 Hot & cold, a bit like the Canes

 Reds seem to have grown a spine of late .Hope the canes score me some points after I benched Mounga for Barrett !

 Gotta go for a wee run ,gonna tape the rest and catch u later bro .

 I dropped a couple of Canes players because of the upcoming byes (Landers also). Still have Coles & as captain so we will see how that goes.
Reds up by 1 after 27 mins. Fairly even game.

 Of course Coles get's penalized  

 c u later Wardad.

 Reds get a yellow for collapsing the maul right on half time. Try to Coles from the maul, kick is good 12-6 to Canes at half time.

 Reds score a try from set play, wing powers over. Canes have not spark, really flat. 17-14 as kick was no good.

 Coles off with concussion, that's two players off with concussion for the Canes.

 Barrett misses a penalty kick badly, not good for his AB chances for starting 10. I have a feeling he will be on the bench again in June series.

 Canes score a nice try. 24-14 with 67 mins gone. Canes should win this one if the don't go to sleep.

Reds giving hapless blowhards a good go so far. Vito and Coles off and wee abs showing signs of wear and tear.
Reds appear to be dominating the scrums. 

Never mond oaks game will soon be over and it will be time to see some real rugby feeturing the Bulls. Wonder what the bent ref has in store for the B ulle!

 I note that wee Bar Rat has only sunk 4 out of 11 penalties. With the Crude as shaky as ever do the wee abs have a problem at flyhalf?

 Is your team in front of the Canes dipsh!t ? You know the 4rth ranked NZ team and 4th on the log ?Didnt think so .

We need ou Redsman back on the forum. Having a dud ozzie like dense denise wont do!

 Go Reds its a travesty the blowhards a re ahead!
I see ou warped DUD is having a rant! Whats new Yaaaaawn.

 Reds winger tackled without he ball but benefit goes to Hurricanes!Did you see that JW?

 Beeno has emerged to give his "unbiased & balance opinion"
Canes have done well with their replacements, having a good bench is critical for the business end of the season.

 Beeno, when a player has the ball in his hands and he is tackled that is classified as being tackled with the ball
Hooter goes but reds get a penalty, Barrett get's a yellow. Reds go for touch & want a rolling maul.

 Hey beash!thead hows that rigged up comp helping ya ? Cant win anything eh so gotta gerrymander the comp .Probably still lose .

 Woodward gets an intercept try so Canes will get the bonus point. Well done Canes, they rose to the occasion after having 5 players ruled out & a lot of injured during the game (including 2 concussions).

 Next we will see what Mozart's bulls (playing trad SA rugby) can do against th e Tahs.

 Geez that will be  ahem....'exci ting' 

 Reds their own worst enemies gifting simple tries to the Blowhards.JW when a player does not have the ball and is tackled its illegal. Nail the kbbs refs its what theyare always doing!It appears simple intercept tries tittilates ou warped DUD .
Anyhow enough of the curtain raisers lets turn our attention to the BULLS!

Hurricanes survive All Blacks suspensions, beat Reds 29-14By Kris Shannon; NZ Herald

It's hard to know what to make of these Hurricanes, who continue to look like beaten finalists one moment and just plain beaten the next.

The latter appearance was more prevalent in tonight's win over the Reds in Wellington, when the home side made hard work of a team who have troubled few this season.

While enjoying a couple of moments of real quality, the Hurricanes were far more often deficient when they had the chance to unleash an attack absent of some big names but still brimming with game-breakers.

Given they were missing the curfew-breaking quintet, it would be problematic to assign too much meaning to a largely underwhelming performance, were it not for the fact it continued a troubling trend. The Hurricanes were nowhere near as bad as in last week's shocking loss against the Sharks but they were still well short of the side who thumped the Lions the previous week.

Chris Boyd's men have much to work on over their bye week, facing a replay of last year's final in a fortnight's time. Tonight's bonus-point victory mean they trail the Highlanders by a solitary point but, based on recent evidence, the gap between the teams is much more substantial.

One of the chief areas for improvement would be the way they regard the ball. While the Hurricanes were good tonight when they busted tackles and used pace to find space in the broken field, they were much more efficient when they opted instead to play with patience.

Too often, when they punctured the Reds' defensive line, turnovers would be the end result and spoil what had come before, leaving the home side struggling to find real control.

In a first half that featured no shortage of half-chances, a couple of clinical moments saw the Hurricanes come close to separating themselves. Beauden Barrett's brilliant crossfield kick and debutant Wes Goosen's equally impressive grab were spectacular to watch, but the devastating lineout drive for Dane Coles' try was more reflective of what was working best.

The Hurricanes again operated from a solid set piece when Ngani Laumape crossed for his side's fourth to effectively seal the result, with the periods in between spent searching in vein for more continuity and, to be fair, defending well to stamp out the Reds' hopes.

The visitors' ball-handling wasn't any better than their opponents' and, although Chris Feauai-Sautia's angling run was their only moment of joy, they would have been left frustrated at lost opportunities.

They could have recorded a couple dynamic tries of their own if not for inaccuracy at the vital moments, showing more enterprise in the opening quarter alone than they managed in the entirety of last week's dispiriting loss to the Crusaders.

A feeling the Reds were their own worst enemies was exemplified by the brace they gifted Jason Woodward and, in the end, the Hurricanes were probably grateful for the assist, banishing an eventful week but no questions about their prospects of repeating last year's final berth.

Hurricanes 29 (W. Goosen, D. Coles, J. Woodward 2, N. Laumape tries; B. Barrett 2 cons)
Reds 14 (C. Feauai-Sautia try; A. Goromaru 3 pens)
Halftime: 12-6

Planet Rugby article