Force lock Thrush vows to annoy Kiwis msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Reds forward Seru Uru is tackled by Highlanders Hugh Renton, left, and Scott Gregory in Dunedin last Friday. 1. Highlanders (1-0) It’s clear the depleted Reds, who were still celebrating their Aussie title last Monday, were in no frame of mind to be playing the Highlanders in Dunedin on a six-day turnaround. 2. Blues (1-0) There should be more to come, too, given the Blues could well post a cricket score in round two against the Waratahs, who leaked 64 against the Hurricanes last weekend.
Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images 3. Crusaders (1-0) No matter what players and coaches said ahead of the last week’s game, it was never going to be easy to come down from the high of winning Super Rugby Aotearoa and perform near their peak.
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Western Force will host the Chiefs in Perth in the opening round of Super Rugby Trans-Tasman.
Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan is hoping his side’s long trek to Perth can make for a happy homecoming in what he terms will be a ‘battle of the scrappers’ against the Western Force on Saturday night. With a hideous schedule, compounded by making the final of Super Rugby Aotearoa, which will see the Chiefs play 10, or even 11, matches in as many weeks, you can bet none of their squad were exactly jumping for joy at the prospect of boarding an eight-hour flight for their Super Rugby Trans-Tasman opener.
Why a moral victory was not enough at GIO Stadium A Set the default text size A Set large text size
Replay A Set the default text size A Set large text size
After all the dust had settled on the Super Rugby AU preliminary final, the story turned out as expected. The Brumbies advanced to their third showdown of the season against the Queensland Reds, and the Force went home to lick their wounds.
The Force’s head coach, Tim Sampson, was honest enough to admit disappointment after the event.
“There’s genuine disappointment there because probably when we reflect on that it was one that we let slip because we didn’t fire too many shots,” he said.