A rare Sunday game in Super Rugby.
Kick-off is Brissie is at 08h05 SA time
Reds: 15 Mike Harris, 14 Dom Shipperley, 13 Ben Tapuai, 12 Anthony Fainga’a, 11 Jamie-Jerry Taulagi, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Jake Schatz, 7 Beau Robinson, 6 Curtis Browning, 5 James Horwill (captain), 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Greg Holmes, 2 James Hanson, 1 Ben Daley.
Replacements: 16 Saia Fainga’a, 17 Albert Anae, 18 Jono Owen, 19 Ed O’Donoghue, 20 Dave McDuling, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Ben Lucas, 23 Rod Davies.
Crusaders: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Johnny McNicholl, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Ryan Crotty (captain), 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Colin Slade, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Luke Whitelock, 7 Richie McCaw, 6 Jordan Taufua, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements: 16 Ben Funnell, 17 Tim Perry, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Jimmy Tupou, 20 George Whitelock, 21 Willi Heinz, 22 Tyler Bleyendaal, 23 Nafi Tuitavake.

Reds 3 – 7 Saders
13 min
Reds 17 – 40 Saders
57 min
Don’t want to sound negative, but on current form for the saders, I think we going to get whooped next weekend, the problem with the saders when they are on a roll it is hard to stop them
Reds 17 – 47 Saders
62 min
Reds 22 – 47 Saders
65 min
Reds 29 – 55 Saders
78 min
Reds 29 – 57 Saders
Full time
Sounds like one should put money on the Crusaders winning the S15 this year.
I was hoping we could manage a losing bonus point from the Crusaders game next week, but I don’t think we will be able to even manage that.
@Bokhoring (Comment 8) : We are so screwed…
How we’re allowed to call the crap we dish up RUGBY is a disgrace.
@rhineshark (Comment 9) : It’s called winning rugby!! LOL where is ‘FireTheLooser’ when you need him..
wow…we are in deep shit!!!
We.Are.Screwed.
@pienaar111 (Comment 11) : @The Great Couch Shark (Comment 12) : and why so?!?!?!
@rhineshark (Comment 9) : so what would you call rugby?!?!?! only running rugby with tries?!?!
And!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Crusaders with 50+ points against the sharks next weekend..
@JD (Comment 14) : Obviously not to be taking literally…
@rhineshark (Comment 16) : unfortunately rugby is not played under perfect conditions and what I have read about the game it seems the weather was far from perfect. JW and the team needs time to settle.
JW and HM sings from the same song book, sadly those songs work on everybody except the kiwis – thus far.
Execution is the corner stone of this game plan, whereas it seems the kiwis compensate for execution frailties through enterprise.
Enterprise is where the Boks and Sharks fall way short (save for Willie le Roux at the Boks).
I would rest the key players against the Crusaders and target the Blues and Stormers games that follow. Rotate the entire front row, Alberts and Steyn on the bench. May even consider Steyn getting a complete break. Play Swiel at 10.
So when will the next week of LMS open?
@Dewald Nel (Comment 20) : now
@JD (Comment 17) : The problem is that we had perfect conditions in Pretoria against the Bulls and dished up the same crap as against the Brumbies.
Rob Houwing is correct in that we’ve become the new Stormers.
@rhineshark (Comment 22) : Yes but Sharks also had no 9 or 10 either on the day
@benji (Comment 23) : It still doesn’t excuse the fact that players at this level can’t catch or pass. It doesn’t explain why just about every other team will run turnover ball, while we kick it away. It doesn’t explain why our forwards can only play bash-it-up and not vary their attack. It doesn’t explain why we can’t adapt our game when the situation changes.
@rhineshark (Comment 24) : legacy of changing coaches and playing styles?
@JD (Comment 25) : That’s why it’s a problem when kids in SA don’t learn from a young age that creating space is more important than running into people.
With our systems and mindset it doesn’t really matter who the coach is, because few players on the field can identify gaps and play towards it. With SA rugby we magically change huge gaps and overlaps into rucks. Or scrums, because of poor ball skills.
I keeping harping on about this, but New Zealand will remain rugby masters of the world simply because just about every little NZ tjokkertjie learns this from the first time he touches a rugby ball.
And why just about any NZ fifteens player can slot into their sevens side.
@rhineshark (Comment 26) : I agree and add to that is that they are taught rugby kop as well
@benji (Comment 27) : Yes, and since they’ve caught up with us in the size department, things won’t get easier.
@rhineshark (Comment 26) : @benji (Comment 27) : yes they do seem to have better vision on the field and most of their teams run really good supporting lines and that’s why they dominate the 7’s game!!!! You’re also 100% correct with the poor technical coaching that the kids get, in most cases vision is totally coached out of kids to fit into the “bigger is better” brain dead game plan of most school coaches. I blame this of rubish of having players running into pads a d stuff. If you train players to run into stuff they will run into stuff come game time.
@rhineshark (Comment 28) : don’t think they so much caught up in size as they “imported” the size.