CSB - Ant Strachan - Rugby

Monday morning rugby wrap. Talking Black ferns and round 6 of the NPC.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Provincial Rugby Rivalry Live commentary of the Bunnings in PC
with Gallagher Insurance, proud partners of provincial rugby on iHeartRadio
and Gold Sport.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
I think producer Mark like that song by Bob Dylan.
He wanted to listen to the whole thing. I said, no, No,
we're going to listen to We're going to chat with
An Strawn. So we're going to talk rugby now on
the show where we had it all this week in
at the International with the Black Ferns NPC Shield Challenge,
So to talk about the weekend of rugby form we're
all black and one of the busiest voices in rugby

(00:34):
at the moment and Straw morning.

Speaker 3 (00:35):
Ends Bony VK, how are you look?

Speaker 2 (00:38):
I'm great mate. After a weekend and in for cargo,
what about you? He had a good weekend?

Speaker 3 (00:42):
Yeah, no, really good. Get a chance to call a
number of games for Radio two and years. It was
an awesome weekend. The football are yeah right, Well let's.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
Start with the International, the Black Ferns and the twenty
twenty one Rugby World Cup Final rematch really against England.
And weren't England impressive?

Speaker 3 (01:03):
Yeah? They were? I just seen to think that the
game itself was just excellent. There was like forty one
forty two thousand people at Twicking, one of the most
iconic stadiums that obviously in the world for many years,
and it was just from the first minute it was explosive.
Both teams are taking with real flair. We saw some
wonderful tries. As you mentioned. The English team and particularly

(01:24):
their first half scored three brilliant tries and the Black
fans just couldn't kind of get just couldn't finish. They
had lots of opportunities to score points, they just couldn't score.
And then of course they came back really well in
the second half. I mean, normally speaking, you could get
blown away in a game like that where you're down
by twenty eight points, but they stuck at it and
I thought some real promise from this particular group who

(01:44):
obviously a far lest experience in their English counterpart.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
Obviously John Mitchell too, the coach of the Roses, he's
making a bit of difference, I feel.

Speaker 3 (01:53):
Yeah, absolutely. I mean they're good defensively and they set
piece is probably their strength. So you can see where
Mitch has been involved with that. But it wasn't it
great to see New Zealand coaches roll up and start
coaching these international teams, but also on the female side
of the game, it's just brilliant. And again it was
a great spectacle. I called the game with Elliott and

(02:15):
you know, it was a really, really entertaining game.

Speaker 2 (02:17):
Do you feel do you believe we're falling further and
further behind England in the grand scheme of things.

Speaker 3 (02:25):
Well, if you have a look at the particular group
we took across, I mean, the World Cup winning team
was laden with experienced This particular group hasn't got experience,
so a lot of them haven't played rugby at that
level before. So I think it all goes well for
this group. I mean, they obviously have to build some
more strength, probably in and around the forward pack, but

(02:46):
you know, I mean I saw enough to be honest
that this team will be very competitive against the likes
of England and France and a lot of those teams
from up in the Northern Hemisphere. So at the moment,
the English, yes, they're a click above, but I don't
think we're too far bay that's good to hear.

Speaker 2 (03:01):
That's encouraging, all right, So let's come home now close
at home Round six of NPC and on Friday night
Southland gave it a good try against Candory. But Canterbury
too strong? Are they starting to find some form late
in the season.

Speaker 3 (03:14):
Canterbury Yeah, I think they are. I mean it was
an awesome game to get on the Friday night, excellent
condition and this is a Southland team. It's way better
than what we've seen in the last couple of seasons
and so they really contributed to an excellent game. I
thought the accuracy of both teams was great. It was
a high scoring game. We saw some great tries and

(03:34):
of course, you know Canterbury have been sort of floundering
along a little bit, haven't they, but clicked a still
flick the switch in some respects because that was a
good performance. Wasn't an easy win for them and Actulyy
got a great opportunity to finish relatively high up in
this eight, to make their ways towards the quarterfinals.

Speaker 2 (03:53):
And there was a top four clash Saturday afternoon, Bay
of Plenty and Tallanaki and the Bay making a bit
of a statement with a thirty three to twenty win
and producer Mark Who's daring to dream, should he come
the farm a bit? I mean he can see them
winning the championship at the moment absolutely.

Speaker 3 (04:09):
You know, there maybe doing catwheels in the production studio there,
I'm sure with the Bay team going well. But no,
it was again there was another excellent advertisement for rugby.
But this player Penny team, we've got some nice pieces
to it. And I think when they get a dead right,
particularly if they start competing more consistently up front and
they set piece and just get a bit of platform

(04:29):
of ball that you know they can do lots of things,
one for halves and we were Rangy and Trask and
you know they've got some good players coming off bench
as well, so you know they're right in this competition
this year.

Speaker 2 (04:41):
I got home from commentating at Tara Tonga on Saturday
afternoon to see the way Cato game against Hawks Bay
and I could not believe the score. Why can't I
something Hawk's Bay fifty to five. What's happened to the Magpies?

Speaker 3 (04:57):
Yeah? That was sad, wasn't it. I Mean there was
a lot of talk before the game that you know,
once the shield disappears, because you know you're in what
it does for the community in the Hawk's Bay, and
of course they've held onto that shield for a number
of games. Of course, when it goes it just changes
the mindset a little bit, and I mean it should
probably never have been fifty to five, but there was
a lot of talk that you know, they were probably

(05:19):
going to struggle a little bit and they've got a
pretty hard run in as well in the competition. They
haven't played Auckland yet and there's a few other teams,
so yeah, disappointing for them because they've had such a
wonderful couple of years, haven't that Hawk's Bay. Yeah, there
was a big bold statement from white Cutter, wasn't.

Speaker 2 (05:35):
It absolutely fifty five and an incredible individual performances on
Saturday afternoon by North Harbor's tane Edmund thirty three points
ten from ten with the boot something went over the
turbos a manut or two turbos fifty eight nineteen.

Speaker 3 (05:51):
Yeah, Well, it didn't a great to see del one
of these Australian players come across and really make a difference.
And he's been so good in that that PARBA team
they haven't been traving that way. That's a phenomenal amount
of points to score individually, but of course D'Angelo Luila
scored about thirty six or something. For what it was,
we scored four try to the day before. So the

(06:12):
tens in this competition having a field day at the moment.

Speaker 2 (06:16):
And I loved yesterday afternoon's game, real festival rugby, awesome
scenes and let them sell out. It was a cracking game,
Tasman holding on to the shield and winning the battle
twenty eight to fifteen. What'd you make of that game?

Speaker 3 (06:29):
Well, you know, okay, we talk about this competition. It
is a very special rugby competition that we've had running
for many, many years. And if there was a better
advertisement for NBC footy on a Sunday afternoon at two o'clock,
wonderful weather conditions, an awesome crowd, first defense at home,
you know, I don't think there's anything better. You can

(06:49):
see the crowd flooding onto the field after the game,
and I mean this Wellington team undefeated, so you know,
to win your first defense at home against them was
a phenomenal effort. Remember too that Quentin Strange and McDonald
both went off in the first half, another most two
care players, so for them to galvanized together and David

(07:10):
heavily spoke brilliantly. I thought after the game too, that
was a big, big performance from them, and yeah, just
great for footy. I thought it was a wonderful game.

Speaker 2 (07:18):
Yeah, well done to Tasman and County smashing Otago forty
five seventeen finding themselves in the top eight. Now, are
you surprised how well the Steelers are playing?

Speaker 3 (07:27):
No, it's just mentioning the mark off here that you
know they've always got one or two performances in them,
the Steelers, and of course you know there's usually at
home where they do that. And then I Satorro is
one of the key things. He sits at the back
and does a lot for them and builds confidence within
the group and that that again is a big bowl,
and isn't it against the Targo team that have been

(07:48):
close most of this competition that they're or they are
about for most of the game. So that's a nice
confidence builder for them. As you mentioned, they're in the
eight and they've also got another decent chance to stay
in that eight. As he worked towards the quarterfinal.

Speaker 2 (08:02):
And rounding up the weekend, your beloved Auckland holding on
against Northland twenty four to seventeen, two straight wins now
for Auckland. So can they squeeze into the top eight
after a slow start?

Speaker 3 (08:14):
Yeah, I think they can. I mean they've got Southland
coming up and then you know they've got some big
games at the back end of the competition. But it
was a hard wind up in Northland. And I don't
know whether you saw the controversy at the back end
of that game when Ahana looked like he'd scored, which
would have tied the scores up. But you know, Norton,
a North Okland Auckland game is always tied, isn't it.

(08:35):
And it was a tough whole game. It wasn't an
easy win for acking BOHETI shits.

Speaker 2 (08:39):
Yeah, great competition. Hey as, thanks for joining us to
the good job on the weekend. Get your voice back
for the remainder of the week.

Speaker 3 (08:45):
Nice to chat, XPK take you