Australian Conference Round 14 Review
Queensland Reds vs Melbourne Rebels
Score: 46-29; Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
It’s an annoyingly clichéd expression, but it really is remarkable how quickly things change. Just one week ago, indeed 35 minutes into Friday’s game, The Rebels looked as good as they have since their introduction into Super Rugby in 2011. They were showing an improved cutting edge in attack (led by Sefenaia Naivalu), linking well between forwards and backs, while also being unafraid to go wide no matter where they were on the pitch, with the first try on the game coming from an attack that started in the shadow of their own posts. Their defence was aggressive and organised and their overall confidence levels were at an all-time high after winning four of their last five before Friday’s game. After 35 minutes, there were leading 17-6 in what had been up to that point a reasonably even game, lit up by two excellent Rebels tries; scores which seemed to be propelling them past perhaps the most disappointing team in the competition this year in The Reds.
That made what happened next all the more astounding. From the 36th minute to the 69th minute, The Reds scored a mind-blowing 40 consecutive points, racking up 46 in total; more than any other team in the round. Despite that onslaught, they are still the lowest scoring team in the competition overall. The scoring outburst represented an amazing turnaround from the previous week’s work, displaying the talent that has so far this year failed to gel, while also providing a glimmer of hope that just maybe this side could now start to build some momentum to carry into next season. For The Rebels part, their meltdown was akin to what The Reds had managed the previous week in Christchurch, and was ominously reminiscent of their earlier days in the competition when they were essentially a laughing stock.
None of this was evident in the way the game started, with The Rebels having the best of the opening exchanges thanks to a magnificent opening try that started from inside their own 22 after a turn over. Everyone in the backline apart from Dom Shipperley was involved in the flowing move, with the key pass coming from Tamati Ellison who was able to straighten the attack, thus drawing Chris Feauai-Sautia in from his wing position. His perfectly timed pass then put Naivalu in space along the sideline and the flying winger was able to first outstrip the cover defence before cutting inside a final defender to go in under the posts. It was a scintillating counterattack from The Rebels, while Ellison, who was unavailable last week due to injury, proved what an important link man he is in this team, with his excellent hands and good decision making helping to balance a backline that has great ball carriers (albeit very different ones) in Mitch Inman and Naivalu either side of him.
The majority of the first half continued in a similar vein, with The Reds attacks mostly fizzling out thanks to some very organised defence, while The Rebels threatening when they were in possession. They have expanded their attack in recent weeks, with Jack Debreczeni getting more and more comfortable, the team are now no longer afraid of going sideline to sideline in attack. This also allows players like Ellison and Scott Higginbotham to use their full skillsets, with Higginbotham in particular shining in the opening half hour as both a distributor from first receiver and ball carrier off of Debreczeni or fellow forwards.
It was Debreczeni’s improvement that was also very clear on the second try, as, when a Genia box kick luckily bounced straight to him, he was able to spin out of a tackle before offloading to Inman who in turn got outside The Reds defence before finding Naivalu. The winger just blew away the cover defence with almost supernatural ease to get a double. It was a superbly instinctual piece of play from the young fly half, who has proven he can be the man to lead this Rebels side to a far better finish than they have enjoyed in previous seasons.
Unfortunately though, both for his and his teammates, the next 35 minutes weren’t as enjoyable as the first, as they capitulated in stunning fashion. It started just before half time, with Rob Simmons crashing over after some neat interplay between James O’Connor (who started at full back on Friday and continued to look like his old self, with the added freedom of the position change only allowing him to come into the line more) and Feauia-Sautia. Even then, there was little sign of what was to come in the second half, with The Rebels going in ahead at the break, 17-11.
The only hint may have come from Liam Gill, who on a few occasions in the first half was able to make easy metres around the ruck on pick and goes as The Rebels fanned out in defence, electing not to contest too much. This fanning out enabled them to press up aggressively out wide, but left holes that Gill was able to take advantage of. Indeed, on the whole Gill was again magnificent, pushing himself closer to Hooper and Pocock in the Australia number seven contest. He was a black hole at times in defence, turning the ball over almost every time The Rebels ran near him, while his range and ability to cover ground to make a tackle as a forward is only really matched by Hooper. In attack he doesn’t quite have the game breaking qualities of The Tahs superstar, but he is similarly powerful when carrying around the ruck, as he proved on Friday.
It was his carries in that area that seemingly tipped off The Reds coaching staff, as throughout their second half onslaught they took advantage of The Rebels defensive structure, keeping the ball close to the ruck in the first few phases. Genia was particularly influential, feeding the ball to his tight five, who in the second half simply bullied their Rebels counterparts. The team were able to pick up easy metres this way, allowing them to get on the front foot before going wide against a Rebels defence that was forced into retreating.
Then, as the half wore on and The Rebels began compressing their defence around the ruck to counter, The Reds answered by simply going wide earlier and picking off opposing defenders, with O’Connor again featuring once the game opened up. Karmichael Hunt also looked sharp when afforded a little more time, with the controversial utility back providing glimpses of the immense talent he displayed for years in league, with one particularly neat piece of play in which he attacked the line before dropping a beautifully timed ball back inside; setting up debutant fly half Jake McIntyre to score.
Two tries from Lachie Turner and one each from Gill and Feauai-Sautia (who finally seems settled on the wing after being moved around a lot the past couple of years) rounding out the demolition job that The Reds will be hoping can help build some momentum for the end of this season and into next year’s competition, after what has been an disappointing campaign until this game. For The Rebels, two late tries secured a bonus point, however, with The Waratahs and Brumbies both winning, it’s hard not to get the sense that they may have blown their opportunity to challenge Australia’s elite. With six wins and six losses, this has still be an inarguably positive season for the Melbourne franchise, although because of the way they folded so quickly in this contest, next week’s game away at The Stormers takes on a much bigger significance. A big loss in South Africa could send this young side into a tail spin, while an unlikely win, or even a close loss, will prove their terrible second half performance to be just a blip in an otherwise successful season.
NSW Waratahs vs Natal Sharks
Score: 33-18; Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
This game was, in many ways, a perfect illustration of why it is so hard to get a solid read on this Waratahs team and how far they can go in this year’s competition. Outside of the opening 10 minutes and a few more scattered patches of play, they looked disjointed; failing to find the consistency and rhythm that made them the best team in the competition last year. Yet despite those apparent failing, they still beat a very competitive Sharks team by 15 points, scored 33 points and were never behind in the game. Admittedly they did have some refereeing decisions go there way (in fact this was overall one of the more confusingly refereed games I’ve seen in a long time), but on the whole they matched The Sharks considerable physicality and in the end won relatively comfortably, scoring the last 13 points in the game to pull away.
The Waratahs, perhaps looking for a response after last week’s feeble loss to The Western Force, started the game fast, scoring after just 50 seconds through Adam Ashley Cooper. The try came from clean ball off the top of a lineout, with Nick Phipps able to clear quickly and give a long ball out to Bernard Foley in midfield. The extra distance on the pass pulled The Stormers defence across the field away from the lineout itself, which proved crucial when Foley gave a flat ball back inside to an onrushing Michael Hooper. The Waratahs have made it a point of emphasis to get their world class flanker involved more often in set piece moves and in the past few weeks he had provided numerous assists through his ability to break the line at speeds most centres envy; then link up with supporting players. Here that supporting player was (unsurprisingly) Adam Ashley-Cooper, who was able to coast in under the sticks to open the scoring.
The fact that he was in support so fast may well have been by design as part of the move, but equally speaks to the constantly overlooked fact that Ashley-Cooper has made a career out of doing all the little things at such a high level, something that most take for granted. That was on display several times later on in the game as well; including winning his side a penalty to extend their lead back out to seven points after Francois Steyn had cut it too four, reacting first to a loose ball and eventually catching The Sharks holding onto the ball on the ground.
However, for this side to play up to their potential, they also need their more glamourous stars to shine and for the majority of this game the likes of Foley, Beale and Folau were unable to reach the heights they have previously. In fact, there seems to be a tangible sense at times that they are forcing it too much; trying speculative passes and offloads in the hope that everything may just click into place. The Waratahs lead the competition in terms of turnovers per game with 18, a figure that underlines the at times unnecessary sense of urgency that has led to them making more mistakes that they’d like. This was evident throughout most of the first half, with The Waratahs getting in their own way as much as The Sharks were, meaning that by half time they were only able to add two penalties, including the one won by Ashley-Cooper, to their early try. They were still leading 13-6 though thanks to some physical, aggressive work in defence as well as some excellent work defending The Sharks rolling maul, with Will Skelton in particular proving he could be relied upon to singlehandedly destroy any momentum The Sharks tried to build in that area.
The second half started off in much the same vein, with the home side having the majority of the possession and territory, but for the most part finding it hard to get past a stubborn Sharks defence, both through their own mistakes and the visitors’ good work. However, when The Sharks caught The Waratahs daydreaming from a penalty, cross kicking the ball to an unmarked Odwa Ndengane to stroll over in the corner and cut the deficit to two, the response was almost immediate, with a flowing backs move leading to wing/sensation Taqele Naiyaravoro crossing the line, remarkably holding on the ball and getting it down despite the best efforts of Lwazi Mvovo.
Like in the first half though, a flash of clinical attacking play and smart build up was followed up with a scrappy next 30 minutes, with the sides trading blows in the form of a Steyn try and conversion to make in 20-18 with 20 minutes remaining before two Bernard Foley penalties and a very late runaway try from the fly half made the scoreline more palatable. With The Brumbies getting a bonus point victory in South Africa, little has changed between the two, with the Canberra side now one point further ahead of their New South Wales rivals. Next week The Waratahs host The Crusaders, and given what the New Zealanders did in their last contest, that game should provide a good indication of where The Waratahs are as the race for the Australian Conference heats up.
Golden Lions vs A.C.T. Brumbies
Score: 20-30; Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg
In a game with so many different variables, to try and boil one team’s fate down to just one of those variables is always overly reductive and simplistic. However, in the case of The Brumbies, it’s very nearly true. The simple fact is that when they can line up both Matt Toomua and Christian Lealiifano together (both are equally adept at fly half and inside centre); they are a completely different team. Both are very good players in their own right, but when they are playing together and sharing the responsibility of directing this team around the park, this electric backline really comes alive. On the other hand, when just one has been fit this season, The Brumbies have had to rely heavily on their forwards to win games, as the backs division has failed to find the same fluency.
It will therefore be a big worry for the team that in his first game back after a month out with an ankle injury; Toomua limped off with an injury to his other ankle after just 25 minutes (thankfully he has since suggested that the injury shouldn’t prevent him from playing next week). Those 25 minutes were enough time for the visitors to build a 12-6 lead, with tries from Tevita Kurandrani and Ita Vaea coming off the back of well-constructed attacking play from the crucial 10-12 combination. The third try came from a Lealiifano intercept which was indicative of the improvements the playmaker has made to the defensive side of his game this season, as he rushed up from a Lions lineout to pick off an ugly, looping pass into the midfield.
After Toomua went off The Brumbies were able to lean on their defence (which is statistically the best in the competition) for most of the remainder of the contest, though they did concede two tries in the last 15 minutes. That was mostly offset by a try of their own; which secured a bonus point, as a dominant scrum 10 metres from The Lions line gave Jesse Mogg all the time in the world to assess the situation before lobbing a lovely ball over the onrushing defence too Joe Tomane, who was able to stroll over in the corner.
The win keeps them slightly ahead of The Waratahs, through given The Tahs have played a game less, they are probably still slight favourites to top the Australian conference. The Brumbies have also been far from their best of late, with just two wins in their last six matches, though given how they looked with Toomua back in the team, they will still be a very difficult side to beat should they secure a playoff place.
“Main Photo”
