Aussie Super teams at crossroads

This is the first week that all five Australian teams will be playing against foreign competition. It’s early days in 2013 Super Rugby but there are some worrying signs for most of the sides in the Australian conference.

This week should confirm or deny that the Australian Conference is the weakest of the three at the beginning period of the tournament.

How is your team going and how will they do on the weekend – and how are their opponents traveling?

Reds v. Bulls

The Reds have been in indifferent form and were poor on their last outing when losing to the Force at home. Nor were they impressive winning at Suncorp against the Waratahs – or against the Hurricanes, who were harshly treated by referee Steve Walsh and deserved to win.

The Bulls were no great shakes last weekend either. They had no answer against the Crusaders when the Kiwi team emerged from a muddled first quarter and remembered who they were.

The Bulls rely on a structured kicking game including accurate placement and energetic chasing, but their kickmeister fly-half, Morné Steyn, is on the bench for this game. Will his replacement – big 22-year-old Louis Fouché – be able to lob his kicks with the same precision in his first starting Super match?

There are other changes. Because of injuries, return from injuries and the rotation of players on tour, just six Bulls who started last week will run on against the Reds. Changes include the benching of lineout leader Juandré Kruger and the return from injury of ace winger Bjorn Basson.

Liam Gill has been one of the two best Australians in Super Rugby this year and his absence because of a knee injury will affect the Reds. To balance that loss, James Horwill returns after a long injury to play in the second row. In the backline Anthony Fainga’a returns from injury and Digby Ioane from suspension.

In the list of reserves there is Curtis Browning, an uncommon Aussie forward because he has a joy of contact. I first saw him in 2009 playing for Queensland Schools and I was astonished to find that this dynamo was only 15 years old, yet he was knocking over boys two or three years his senior. This will be his first Reds game of many.

Opponent to watch out for: Bulls skipper, Pierre Spies, who is coming back to form.

Prediction: because of all the Bulls’ changes – Reds by 10.

Western Force v. Cheetahs

Having had a bye, the Force played to their strengths in Brisbane to win last weekend. They denied the Reds quick ball and kept them scoreless in the second half. In their previous match they had taken the lead against the Bulls at Loftus, but eventually lost when they had no answer to the driving maul of the South Africans.

Before that their first two games were ordinary: they had enough good ball in the first half against the Rebels in Melbourne to build up a big lead, but couldn’t execute. In their second match they were going backwards for all 40 minutes of the second half against a Kings side who played like they wanted to win more.

Even though it is early in the season the Force will be at the crossroads when playing their first home game on Saturday. They will have to prove that the positives from their last two games can be taken forward.  The return from injury of  Sam Wykes and skipper Matt Hodgson should help the cause.

The Cheetahs have played well this year apart from a thrashing from the Chiefs in Hamilton. In their other games on tour they whacked the Highlanders in Dunedin, and held on to win against the Waratahs in Sydney last weekend. They have won two from three away from the RSA, and a win in Perth will make it three out of four.

The Cheetahs received a hammer-blow to their season when their young fly-half, Johann Goosen, tore cruciate ligaments during goal kicking practice this week. I hoped that we would get to see winger Willie le Roux, a fly-half back in the day, playing with the 10 jersey but Naka Drotske has chosen experienced utility Riaan Smit.

Opponent to watch out for: winger Willie le Roux, who created two tries against the Waratahs by chipping, regathering and passing.

Prediction: the Ebersohn twins to cancel each other out. The Western Force to knee-cap Willie le Roux with a cricket bat as he steps off the team bus, and to strangle the Cheetahs’ ball – Force by 8.