Sunday, May 23, 2004
2004 Super 12 Final
Well I bloody well enjoyed that game. As I mentioned a few blogs back, the competition needs a kick up the arse as it doesn't really reach any great heights unless it's a tight final. Well the final wasn't that tight I suppose but the Crusaders almost made it that way.
It's was interesting to see how the Crusaders responded after being 33-0 down after 19 minutes. I'd love to see them playing like that all the time. It was the coming together of two different styles as Chris Rattue wrote about before the final alright. The Brumbies able to score very early in their phases because of their rapid strike ability, while the Crusaders used their 'ground the opposition into the dirt and then score technique'.
I thought the match served as a fantastic lesson to all sides as to how the game should be played. Obviously it's not easy to do what those teams were doing last night as they are comprised of about half of the best players that NZ and Australia has on offer (doesn't bode so well for any upcoming All Black tests does it?!) but teams should aim for that style of rugby nonetheless as the whole point of having professional rugby and sport in general is to entertain people. Of any television audience watching a game only something like 5-20% of them will actually be fans of any one of the teams so they may be praying for a win in any manner whatsoever but the vast majority of viewers want to see exciting football. Remember these games are viewed by millions in Australia and NZ alone, then you add in tens of millions more in South Africa, Europe, Asia and wherever else and it makes the few hundred thousand Crusaders supporters the minority big time.
Another thing worth mentioning, I know I actually wanted to see the Brumbies kill the Crusaders by a big score (for reasons mentioned earlier), but forgetting that for a moment ... I thought the last try to the Crusaders after the final hooter was one of the best rugby tries I have ever seen in my life.
And one more thing. Did Andre Watson refer to the judiciary as "arseholes"? Maybe it will come out in the media a little later, I'm not sure. Remember the incident near the end where Marshall resented a slightly high tackle which spilled over the touchline into a bit of a melee for which Marshall was later penalised. Then several minutes after the game Watson was talking to Marshall in one of the tv shots and for some reason they turned his microphone on and I heard him say "what you did was entirely acceptable, but not to some arseholes out there". Or words to that effect. It's possible he was just referring to fans who get all huffy about a little rough play but I thought he was referring to the judiciary. Interesting anyway.
It's was interesting to see how the Crusaders responded after being 33-0 down after 19 minutes. I'd love to see them playing like that all the time. It was the coming together of two different styles as Chris Rattue wrote about before the final alright. The Brumbies able to score very early in their phases because of their rapid strike ability, while the Crusaders used their 'ground the opposition into the dirt and then score technique'.
I thought the match served as a fantastic lesson to all sides as to how the game should be played. Obviously it's not easy to do what those teams were doing last night as they are comprised of about half of the best players that NZ and Australia has on offer (doesn't bode so well for any upcoming All Black tests does it?!) but teams should aim for that style of rugby nonetheless as the whole point of having professional rugby and sport in general is to entertain people. Of any television audience watching a game only something like 5-20% of them will actually be fans of any one of the teams so they may be praying for a win in any manner whatsoever but the vast majority of viewers want to see exciting football. Remember these games are viewed by millions in Australia and NZ alone, then you add in tens of millions more in South Africa, Europe, Asia and wherever else and it makes the few hundred thousand Crusaders supporters the minority big time.
Another thing worth mentioning, I know I actually wanted to see the Brumbies kill the Crusaders by a big score (for reasons mentioned earlier), but forgetting that for a moment ... I thought the last try to the Crusaders after the final hooter was one of the best rugby tries I have ever seen in my life.
And one more thing. Did Andre Watson refer to the judiciary as "arseholes"? Maybe it will come out in the media a little later, I'm not sure. Remember the incident near the end where Marshall resented a slightly high tackle which spilled over the touchline into a bit of a melee for which Marshall was later penalised. Then several minutes after the game Watson was talking to Marshall in one of the tv shots and for some reason they turned his microphone on and I heard him say "what you did was entirely acceptable, but not to some arseholes out there". Or words to that effect. It's possible he was just referring to fans who get all huffy about a little rough play but I thought he was referring to the judiciary. Interesting anyway.
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