No change to Brumbies
10 Mar 2010
Keo.co.za brings you the latest Super 14 news from Australia.
No change to Brumbies
Andy Friend has selected the same match 22 to face the Sharks in Canberra on Saturday.
While other Super 14 teams in Australia are struggling with injuries (the Force and Reds), the Brumbies have been injury-free.
This has allowed head coach Friend the luxury of selecting the same match 22 for the fourth consecutive week.
Brumbies – 15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Pat McCabe, 13 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Christian Lealiifano, 11 Francis Fainifo, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Josh Valentine, 8 Stephen Hoiles (c), 7 George Smith, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Ben Hand, 3 Salesi Maafu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Ben Alexander.
Subs: 16 Huia Edmonds, 17 Guy Shepherdson, 18 Justin Harrison, 19 Mitchell Chapman, 20 Patrick Phibbs, 21 Matt Toomua, 22 Tyrone Smith.
Carter extends Tahs stay
Tom Carter has signed a two-year extension to his contract with the Waratahs.
Two days after Berrick Barnes announced his commitment to the Tahs, centre Carter has penned a deal with the Sydney-based team until the end of the 2012 season.
‘I’ve always been really happy here at the Tahs and when they approached me to extend my contract I was always pretty likely to stay,’ Carter told smh.com.au.
‘Of course you see what’s out there and try to look at it without emotion to make sure you’re making the best decision from a personal and a rugby point of view, and I’m more than comfortable with the decision I’ve made.’
This thread will be updated throughout the course of the week…
10 Comments
10 Mar 2010, 07:17 am
Sharkies gonna chow these Dragons!
10 Mar 2010, 07:32 am
Brumbies destroyed the Lions scrums last week.
Got their Tighthead yellow carded, shortly followed by forcing a penalty try.
Sharkies scrum going to get shunted into a turbo reverse gear they didn’t even know they had!
10 Mar 2010, 07:35 am
@DonutDunning: Steve Walsh destroyed the Lions… the Brumbies were just there…
10 Mar 2010, 07:42 am
@Rum And Maple: I kept telling myself the same thing all those years that the Wallabies scrum was being penalised out of matches week after week.
I finally accepted that I was only fooling myself.
One day you will too
10 Mar 2010, 07:49 am
@DonutDunning: Whatever… Steve must seriously start drinking again, he was a much better ref when he was an alchi…
The Lions however must learn to adapt to the refereeing…
10 Mar 2010, 07:52 am
@Rum And Maple: The ref plays a fair less important role in the game than you think, and moaning about the ref becomes tiresome.
10 Mar 2010, 07:59 am
@WOLFMAN21: I’m not moaning about the ref… because… in the end of the day it helps nothing…
My opinion is that a good side will win irrespective of the ref and if you loose due to suspect refereeing, then you did not do enough to win anyway…
Steve, however, was very suspect the weekend… not just against the Lions but against the Brumbies as well… missed a few forward passes… clueless at the breakdown and he confused the **** out of both front rows at scrum time…
10 Mar 2010, 08:13 am
@Rum And Maple: If that is your point, I would agree. Currently though it is very dependent on the interpretations of the ref. I thought the ref in the Stormers game let a lot of players play the ball in suspect positions, and that is were your point comes in. Play to the interpretations of the ref. If he lets you get away with certain things than great, if he is stricter on other things, than avoid doing that. That is something McCaw and Smith are masters at.
I personally think that Steve Walsh is one of the better refs around because he communicates with the players and doesn’t treat them like school children. If players want to know why they are being penalised, Steve often communicates this.
10 Mar 2010, 08:20 am
@WOLFMAN21: Steve is usually good and solid… the weekend though, was not his best game with the whisle…
I agree that one has to play according to the ref… this is something that good sides can do eg. Crusaders and Bulls… good leadership in the team will ensure that everybody knows what is on and what is not…
10 Mar 2010, 14:13 pm
@WOLFMAN21: Agree about the interpretations, and it is a shame.
Just finished watching a replay of the 2000 Aus vs SA Tri nations game (intense match), and noticed how much smoother the scrums were compared to today.
A lot of it had to do with the ref being a lot less pedantic at scrum time.
Quite a few times the scrum engaged before his call, yet he let it go because the hit was square and the scrum stayed up.
Just wish that would happen a bit more often nowadays.
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