D WeekendSport Sports Editor: Greg Ford Contact: [email protected] 03 943 2752 THE PRESS, CHRISTCHURCH Saturday,Saturday & May Sunday, 28, May2011 28-29, 2011 D1

RUGBY Scrum rulings may turn game , Reds clash revving up for a beauty

Richard Knowler INSIDE We have worked ❯❯ OK, Stu Dickinson, it is over Scrum insider D2 to you. hard on the ruck ❯❯ Ioane’s hopes D2 While 30 men are revving ‘ defence and just ❯❯ Friday footy D2 their engines for tomorrow night’s anticipated Super understanding clash in , it could be what lines he loose forwards Richie McCaw, Stu Dickinson who influences [Reds halfback George Whitelock and Kieran the outcome of this Read to plough into their Crusaders- ] runs backs behind the advantage match. and how to shut line. Hauled in this week Cooper can be an enigma. because Steve Walsh is still him down. Magical on his feet with the injured, Australian Dickinson Willi Heinz ball, he can be ineffectual in has been instructed to warm Crusaders halfback the tackle and his defensive up his whistle and monitor zone will carry plenty of the mood at Suncorp Stadium. traffic. Unlike the Reds, who have attack around the nerve Crusaders coach Todd all but confirmed the top centre of halves Will Genia Blackadder also has the Australian conference spot, and Quade Cooper. option of bolstering his back the Crusaders have a nerve- Not surprisingly halfback row with Matt Todd on the twitching three weeks ahead Willi Heinz, who makes his reserves bench and will of them – and with so much at third run-on start in the probably add the fetcher in stake they will be jabbing a absence of the injured Andy the final 30 minutes. finger at Dickinson to keep an Ellis and Kahn Fotuali’i, When the two sides met in eye on their opponents’ admitted the Crusaders had Brisbane last year the Reds motives. scrutinised their plays and humiliated their adversaries The Crusaders’ interests were training to counter with a 41-20 win as the visitors will centre on how he controls them. committed too many men to the scrum. Their set piece ‘‘It’s common knowledge the breakdown and didn’t could ruin the struggling Reds Genia and Cooper are the show enough aggression pack on defence and tempers orchestrators of the Reds and when they arrived. may flare if Dickinson allows that Genia has a well-rounded As the Blues discovered a them to collapse or wheel it to game,’’ Heinz said. fortnight ago when they led buy themselves another reset. ‘‘We have worked hard on 24-0 in the first half, it pays Another subtle trick the the ruck defence and just not to doze against this lot. By Queenslanders have mastered understanding what lines he fulltime the Reds were is to grab a defender to runs and how to shut him celebrating a 37-31 win, prevent him sacking a runner down. having paid the price of close to the ruck, allowing ‘‘They have got that flat fuelling Cooper’s waning con- them easy metres over the stuff with Genia – with the fidence allowing him time gain line before feeding forwards running off him and and space. dangerous inside balls. when Cooper is ready for it, The scene is set: a bumper Unbeaten in their six home he gets it.’’ crowd is set to fill the 52,000 matches, the Reds, whose Destabilising the Reds seat stadium to near capacity, only defeats have been to the scrum could play a role in many who no doubt want to Waratahs and , plunging their key decision- see former Bulldogs star will continue to centre their makers into chaos, allowing in action. Brisbane’s steamy heat seems to fray players’ tempers

Maybe it is the humidity that Whatever the reason, returned to Christchurch the assume the hedgehog Buck Shelford also required infamous incidents between Toffee De Luxe lolly. tips them off the edge. rugby matches in the steamy following day he refused to Richard position. just one opportunity to the All Blacks and Wallabies Now in the professional Or perhaps it is just the heat of Brisbane can bring out allow photographers waiting Back in 1980 only one blow restore order in the World was Richard Loe’s forearm age where TV cameras tension as players force the worst in some men. at the airport to capture his Knowler was required by Mark Shaw Cup semifinal, having taken chop to Paul Carozza’s face in capture every dark look, themselves to perforate The 1998 match between battered mug. to end negotiations at umbrage at Welsh lock Huw 1992 at Ballymore. profanity and mishap, the imaginary pain barriers the Queensland Reds and the The All Blacks have also Ballymore, with the All Richards groping Gary Having scored in the majority of tiffs are little which reveal the nasty side of Crusaders was a case in point. had their share of ‘‘incidents’’ Comment Blacks flanker shattering Whetton’s undercarriage. corner Wallabies wing different to what is witnessed their playing personalities. Reds prop Dan Crowley, who in the Queensland capital, Steve Williams’ jaw. In a flash the hostilities Carozza was probably in many school playgrounds. With the Queensland sun had also worked as an with one of the more unusual Williams had his chance had ended, with Richards expecting a team-mate to rush Maybe that is why All blasting down, a dry ball and undercover policeman, involving an incensed housewife using her hands to and blew it. Having swung a unconscious on the deck. He over to offer a congratulatory Blacks flanker Jerry Collins a fast track inviting teams to punched Angus Gardiner so Michael Brial repeatedly thump a dusty carpet hanging haymaker at Shaw, he missed woke to learn he had been man-hug. Instead his reward reverted to pulling Lote commit to their running hard he crumpled to the punching Frank Bunce in the on the clothesline, while and discovered there was to sent off by referee Kerry was a not-so-gentle facial from Tuqiri’s dreadlocked mop at games, tempers can fray as Ballymore Oval turf as if he opening minutes of the 1996 Bunce, somewhat be no second bite of the Fitzgerald, while Shelford the All Blacks prop. In an Suncorp in 2006. The result? A lungs start heaving, legs turn had been tasered. test at Suncorp Stadium. surprisingly given his cherry. escaped censure and played in instant Carozza’s beak was couple of lost dreads. Nothing to mince and black spots The bruises on Gardiner’s Wallabies No 8 Brial reputation as a fellow who On the same ground seven the following weekend’s final. converted into an accessory a visit to his hair stylist dance in front of their eyes. face were so bad that when he imitated an angry Victorian enjoyed a blue, opted to years later All Blacks captain But one of the most that looked like a chewed-up couldn’t fix. LLASTAST GOLF TRUNDLER & BAG SALE 2 DDAYSAYS

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