A sense of normalcy returned to The Australian Conference after two rounds of unexpected results. With The Rebels losing away to The Stormers, the conference now comes down to the two horse race between The Waratahs and Brumbies that everyone expected at the start of the year.
The Waratahs took a three point lead in that race after (somewhat controversially) triumphing in a replay of last year’s final against The Crusaders, while The Brumbies were on a bye. Elsewhere, The Rebels put in a decent performance against a high-powered Stormers side in their first game on tour, while The Reds and The Western Force both lost home fixture to The Sharks and Highlanders respectively, scoring just 17 points between them, thus continuing their underwhelming seasons.
Australian Conference Round 15 Review
Here are the top three takeaways from each contest:
Queensland Reds vs Natal Sharks
Score: 14-21; Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
1) To say this game wasn’t a classic is massively underselling how far short of memorable it falls. Coming into the game these were perhaps the two biggest underperformers in the competition this year, and they lived up to the hype, putting on a clinic in average basic skills and underdeveloped imagination. From The Reds point of view, the most disappointing area of the game was how many easy turnovers they conceded, being simply rucked off the ball more times than your average U11s side. They just got dominated in and around the ruck, with Marcell Coetzee and Bismarck Du Plessis stealing the ball almost unopposed on a number of occasions. In contrast Liam Gill was kept remarkably quite by a Sharks tight five hell-bent on retribution against Super Rugby in general after six straight defeats.
2) All told it was a pretty terrible game from a tight five (James Hanson’s running game notwithstanding) that has perhaps been the most disappointing element of this Reds team, given the pedigree of several of its players, as they were pushed around in open play and dominated for the most part in the scrums. In fact those scrums were perhaps the deciding factor in the game, directly leading to the first try, as Adam Thomson was forced to try and help prop up a creaking Reds effort and was therefore unable to get off the scrum quick enough to tackle sniping scrum half Stefan Ungerer. While other scrums provided The Sharks with more vital points and field position as the match progressed.
3) The Reds have some serious questions to answer at scrum half and fly half before the start of next season when Will Genia and Quade Cooper will be sunning themselves by the Med, but they may have solved several issues outside of the halves pairing this season. The trio of Chris Kurandrani, Feauai-Sautia and Samu Kerevi isn’t the most subtle – none of them see passing as anything other than a complete last resort – but they are all young, promising, athletic players who can beat defenders one on one for fun. Combine them with more multitalented players like Karmichael Hunt, who is beginning to show flashes of his undoubted talent, and James O’Connor (kicking from his own goal line aside…) and there may be something for whichever pairing gets the honour/poison chalice of following Genia and Cooper next season to work with.
NSW Waratahs vs Canterbury Crusaders
Score: 32-22; Venue: ANZ Stadium
1) The Waratahs have proved over the course of the season they have the power and work ethic to mount a decent defence of their title, but whether they are creative and incisive enough to actually regain it still remains to be seen. While there were times against The Crusaders when they looked as deadly as they did last season, for the most part they leaned on their muscle and territorial dominance to secure the victory. Part of the reason for this is that, all too often there is too much of a separation between forwards and back, with no real sign of a link between the two.
Both the New Zealand national side and the three teams currently topping the overall standings (surprise, surprise, also all from New Zealand) have shown that the somewhat old school idea that forwards do the grunt work and the backs provide the flair is increasingly untrue and limits a team’s attacking scope. In those sides, forwards often patrol wide channels in attack helping to create space and overlaps, while drawing defensive attention away from their fleeter footed team mates. This just isn’t something that The Waratahs do enough of, despite the more diverse skillsets of Will Skelton and Michael Hooper. That’s what could make (of all people) Stephen Hoiles so important as we move toward the playoffs. He is capable of providing that link at times, as he showed in the first try, improvising a pass to Dave Dennis who was then able to release the backs. Despite the fact that even in the game itself the Australian commentators were lamenting the loss of physicality with Jacques Potgieter injured, that is one attribute the side doesn’t lack even without him, and while he is doubtless a better player than Hoiles, the Australian veteran looks like he may be a better fit for this team.
2) When they were able to get on the front foot against The Crusaders, The Tahs did a good job of taking advantage of that momentum mainly through getting the ball to Israel Folau. The star fullback hasn’t been the otherworldly force he was last season, but he still leads the competition in try assists and offloads, and added to both tallies on Saturday. More than that though, there have been a few games this season where Folau has looked unsure of what to do in attack, whereas against The Crusaders he just looked more assertive and sure of himself, making quicker, more instinctive decisions. It wasn’t so much demonstrated in the first try assist; a well-timed pass that held the defence just long enough to allow Taqele Naiyaravoro to score in the corner, but in the second; a quick, almost rugby league style flick on to the same player (spell check won’t allow me to write his name twice in the same sentence). It goes without saying that The Waratahs will need their biggest attacking threat to be in the same frame of mind come the playoffs, where they will likely have face at least two of their highflying trans-Tasman rivals.
3) While it’s perfectly fair to question why Will Skelton wasn’t sin binned on a number of different occasions (he has since been banned for two games after being cited), one thing that is beyond reproach is the second row’s newfound work rate. Along with a steady diet of bulldozing runs and smart offloading, Skelton also led The Waratahs in tackles on Saturday; a rarity for any second row, let alone one playing in the same team as Hooper, and who as recently as 8 months ago was known for his lack of fitness as much as his colossal size. He has formed a very solid partnership with Dennis, who also continues to add to his game, moving away from the simple hard worker he was last year to add more of a physical edge to his game.
Western Force vs The Highlanders
Score: 3-23; Venue: nib Stadium, Perth
1) With The Force managing to limit their dynamic opponents to just 6 first half points on Saturday, you could have been forgiven for thinking they had a chance to win the game. However, once again it was their own severe lack of firepower that held them back; as, despite facing what was a fairly rusty Highlanders side in the first half (this was their first game after a tour in South Africa), they never looked likely to capitalise on their good work without the ball in the first 40. It is, in many ways, the story of their season. At crucial times, where they could have put their opponents under serious pressure, like the first half of this contest, they haven’t been inventive or precise enough to truly take advantage their opportunities.
2) It’s perhaps more obvious to blame the players for the damagingly conservative style of play they’ve exhibited for most of this season (particularly Sias Ebersohn who, despite having a good running game, would rather kick than run or pass in just about any situation), a lot of the blame has to go coach Michael Foley as well. The former hooker has never seemed willing to let his side deviate from a rigid gameplan of pick and gos (they have more of those than anyone in the competition… Even the South Africans!!) and one off runners. It’s too predictable for modern defences, who are happy to absorb the contact; waiting for a mistake or a chance for a turnover. In the final few games, particularly with nothing but pride to play for, it would be refreshing to see this Force side try a few more expansive patterns of play… Unfortunately I wait more in hope that expectation.
3) It’s equally annoying to see that conservative play because in Kyle Godwin and Dane Haylett-Petty they have two talented back who can create for themselves and their teammates. Haylett-Petty was particularly impressive against The Highlanders, consistently breaking the first tackle on kick returns before often linking well with teammates. However, it is Godwin that is the more intriguing player. As a youngster (he’s still only 22) he was extremely highly rated as both a fly half and centre, but his growth has been slowed somewhat in the past couple of seasons, in part due to lack of opportunity in this Force system. When he does get his hands on the ball with a little time and a few options you can see the tantalising glimpses of class and intrinsic calm he brings to a side; to further his development (thus improving their own cause) The Force must be more expansive and incorporate his serenely natural playmaking ability.
DHL Stormers vs Melbourne Rebels
Score: 31-15; Venue:
1) While a game as difficult as this was always going to require a superhuman effort from a Rebels team that is still fairly inexperienced at this level, it was made even harder by the absence of their main weapon, Sefenaia Naivalu; and their key backs linkman, Tamati Ellison. This once again meant Dom Shipperley had to cover at centre (a task he once again performed admirably, though not as expertly as the man he replaced), with Cam Crawford and Tom English coming in on the wings. Both are capable, solid, powerful players; however both lack the sparkle Naivalu and Shipperley can provide, which is what this side really would have needed to beat their impressive opponents. As it was they still attempted to play expansively, stretching a well marshalled Stormers defence, but in doing so at times played into the home side’s hands, including at the end of the first half, when – perhaps showing their inexperience a little – they tried to spring an attack from virtually under their own posts as the hooter sounded, only for Dillyn Leyds to stroll in for the intercept and try.
2) Up front, The Rebels struggled greatly at times against a pack made up of several current and future Springboks, with one scrum in particular at the start of the second half highlighting those struggled as they were completely demolished up front. This meant both the back row and the defensive line were backpedalling as the ball came out, creating a massive dog leg in the defence, which Leyds was able to canter through for a double. The usually excellent back row duo of Scott Higginbotham and Seam McMahon also struggled against the formidable trio of Siya Kolisi, Duane Vermeulen and Schalk Burger, who ground their counterparts down with a terrifying mixture of athleticism, monstrous strength, intelligence, skill and the pure evil that emanates from Burger (and to a lesser extent Vermeulen) like some kind of Sith Lord.
3) This win all but mathematically ends The Rebels already slim hopes of making the playoffs, as they are 11 points behind The Waratahs and 8 behind The Brumbies. They have been one of the more enjoyable teams to watch in Super Rugby this year, and they still have a realistic chance of finishing with a 50% winning record though they will have to win two of their three remaining fixtures to do so. However, this season has been about more than just wins and losses; even if they were to lose their remaining three games (the six wins they currently have are a franchise record anyway), because for the first time in their history this franchise seems to understand where it wants to go and more importantly how to get there. Under the expert stewardship of Tony McGahan, this side now has a young, talented core of players around which they can build towards truly challenging the Australian conference’s aristocracy next season.
“Main Photo”
