Super Rugby Rnd 1 2020: Brumbies v Reds
- Thread starter RugbyReg
- Start date
Slim 293
Stirling Mortlock (74)
Random thoughts.........
Sio had a bit of a shocker tonight....... he got worked over in the scrum and his ball handling was terrible.
Slipper made an immediate impact.
Good game from both 8's....... big carries from both Wilson and Samu.
Lolesio gradually looked more confident as the game went on.
I thought that both McInerney and Lonergan had good cameos off the bench.
Arnold and Carter are huge losses for the Brumbies.
I'm happy LSL (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto) is back playing at lock.
I'm not happy Speight is still scoring tries at Canberra Stadium.
That game could've gone either way but I'm quite glad the Brumbies won.
I don't want to walk to the train or around the corner to the shops in that kind of heat.......... I can't imagine playing a full game of rugby in that weather.
Sio had a bit of a shocker tonight....... he got worked over in the scrum and his ball handling was terrible.
Slipper made an immediate impact.
Good game from both 8's....... big carries from both Wilson and Samu.
Lolesio gradually looked more confident as the game went on.
I thought that both McInerney and Lonergan had good cameos off the bench.
Arnold and Carter are huge losses for the Brumbies.
I'm happy LSL (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto) is back playing at lock.
I'm not happy Speight is still scoring tries at Canberra Stadium.
That game could've gone either way but I'm quite glad the Brumbies won.
I don't want to walk to the train or around the corner to the shops in that kind of heat.......... I can't imagine playing a full game of rugby in that weather.
Cancelled Account
Desmond Connor (43)
Reds showed plenty of potential and when Rodda and JP return to full game fitness our forwards will be unstoppable. Liking our set piece plays. Wright and Wilson are machines. Blyth needs more work.
Unfortunately Lucas is not a natural flyhalf at Super Rugby level and it showed tonight with poor game control. Lucas to move to fullback so we can get the best out of him. We either put Hegarty or JOC (James O'Connor) in the playmaker position. Let’s hope that was Petaia’s one and only off game for the season. Paisami is good bench depth. Welcoming Speight with open arms.
Unfortunately Lucas is not a natural flyhalf at Super Rugby level and it showed tonight with poor game control. Lucas to move to fullback so we can get the best out of him. We either put Hegarty or JOC (James O'Connor) in the playmaker position. Let’s hope that was Petaia’s one and only off game for the season. Paisami is good bench depth. Welcoming Speight with open arms.
swingpass
Peter Sullivan (51)
Leaving aside the fact that Loane played 6 mostly. /reg
no he was an 8, for UniQ ,Q'land and Wallabies.
Rebels3
Jim Lenehan (48)
Lucas to 15 and Hegarty to 10 and the Reds win that game. I’d know who I’d rather be kicking to in the back field and it surely isn’t Lucas. Hegarty as well in the 10 channel would help in defense. Lucas is a good tackler but his size means you almost always win the contact, which is all you are looking for especially off first phase ball. Hegarty’s extra size would of helped a little in that area. His kicking out of hand is also superior
Leaving aside the fact that Loane played 6 mostly. /reg
He reminds me more of a McCaffrey ball-playing 8. And we know that Australia doesn't like footballing 8s.
Or at least that's what Cheiks told us
I’m not wrong all the time am I ?
Loane definitely more an 8. Early time at 6 but mostly an 8 with Tony Shaw at 6.
A more impressive man you’ll never meet.
Check out his try at 1:30. Harry Wilson-like.
So match thoughts.
Gees we started terribly. Began with a terrible JOC (James O'Connor) pass and then a questionable decision by him to run from our 22.
Thought the Brumbies would / should have been a couple of tries up. But then we started to play our game and gees it was lovely to watch. Fantastic offloading amongst the forwards with the occasional pushed pass.
Our front row was fantastic and Mafi has secured the 2 jersey regardless of BPA’s injury I reckon. Loved the work of LSL (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto) in the lineout. A real string to his bow. Needs to not take the ball flat footed but he ran well. Backrow was very good but I am even more excited about the prospects of a 6 Wright 7 McReight 8 Wilson combo.
With Petaia yet to find his groove and Lucas still a bit hit a miss at 10, the backline lacks something. I think it will come but dare I say Kerevi would have been nice tonight. Hegarty was pretty average but he’s a better player than that. Speight runs great lines but he still stuffs up a couple of Times a game.
Blythe was disappointing. Dumb penalties and so dropped lineouts. Rodda back next week though.
The Brumby system is such a good one. They really support their players well. Loloesio started very roughly but came together nicely and is very much worth persevering with. I think Lonergan over Powell who was pretty damn average and outplayed by Tate despite Tate not being on top of his game.
Two very good hack 3s - at the back of the scrum and the back of the backline. Valetini has promise but I think he’s a fair way off test quality at the moment. Despite a cap last year.
An excellent game and credit to both teams for playing on that heat. Fans should be excited about the season ahead for both.
Gees we started terribly. Began with a terrible JOC (James O'Connor) pass and then a questionable decision by him to run from our 22.
Thought the Brumbies would / should have been a couple of tries up. But then we started to play our game and gees it was lovely to watch. Fantastic offloading amongst the forwards with the occasional pushed pass.
Our front row was fantastic and Mafi has secured the 2 jersey regardless of BPA’s injury I reckon. Loved the work of LSL (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto) in the lineout. A real string to his bow. Needs to not take the ball flat footed but he ran well. Backrow was very good but I am even more excited about the prospects of a 6 Wright 7 McReight 8 Wilson combo.
With Petaia yet to find his groove and Lucas still a bit hit a miss at 10, the backline lacks something. I think it will come but dare I say Kerevi would have been nice tonight. Hegarty was pretty average but he’s a better player than that. Speight runs great lines but he still stuffs up a couple of Times a game.
Blythe was disappointing. Dumb penalties and so dropped lineouts. Rodda back next week though.
The Brumby system is such a good one. They really support their players well. Loloesio started very roughly but came together nicely and is very much worth persevering with. I think Lonergan over Powell who was pretty damn average and outplayed by Tate despite Tate not being on top of his game.
Two very good hack 3s - at the back of the scrum and the back of the backline. Valetini has promise but I think he’s a fair way off test quality at the moment. Despite a cap last year.
An excellent game and credit to both teams for playing on that heat. Fans should be excited about the season ahead for both.
Dan54
David Wilson (68)
Well I enjoyed that game , felt for the players in that heat though. Went I suppose as many expected, with Brumbies winning by just a bit.
As a reasonable neutral (ok a kiwi with Reds as my Aus team) I thought the Reds pack looked ok, not sure how keen I was on throwing a 20 yo prop on, he certainly struggled, is BT going over top with young players? Anyway behind pack I tend to think both McDermott and Lucas are serviceable inside backs at best and perhaps they will come on as season progresses, JOC (James O'Connor) is the glue to that backline he seemed very good to me, Petaia didn t do a lot , but don't expect him to every game, only concern was he got awful lost on defence a few times. Hegarty, Speigt etc were ok.
Brumbies I thought got their forwards going ok, and generally looked a little better as a team. I was a little bit impressed with the young fella at 10, he could be pretty handy I think. Just wonder about Banks, he does a few real good things from at 15 at times but his overall game I tended to think was just good without being much better.
As a reasonable neutral (ok a kiwi with Reds as my Aus team) I thought the Reds pack looked ok, not sure how keen I was on throwing a 20 yo prop on, he certainly struggled, is BT going over top with young players? Anyway behind pack I tend to think both McDermott and Lucas are serviceable inside backs at best and perhaps they will come on as season progresses, JOC (James O'Connor) is the glue to that backline he seemed very good to me, Petaia didn t do a lot , but don't expect him to every game, only concern was he got awful lost on defence a few times. Hegarty, Speigt etc were ok.
Brumbies I thought got their forwards going ok, and generally looked a little better as a team. I was a little bit impressed with the young fella at 10, he could be pretty handy I think. Just wonder about Banks, he does a few real good things from at 15 at times but his overall game I tended to think was just good without being much better.
Cancelled Account
Desmond Connor (43)
Spot on Reg.
wamberal
Phil Kearns (64)
Leaving aside the fact that Loane played 6 mostly. /reg
He reminds me more of a McCaffrey ball-playing 8. And we know that Australia doesn't like footballing 8s.
Or at least that's what Cheiks told us
Interesting factoid about Loane. A pal of mine who played with him in the Wobbs told me that the biggest problem with Loane was that nobody knew which way he was going to run when he had the ball. Totally unpredictable.
Brumby Runner
Jason Little (69)
Reg, the poor start from the Reds was all down to the controlled aggression and pressure of the Brumbies' forwards in that first 10 - 15 minutes. Any side would have had problems making ground against that defense.
I don't agree that Tate outplayed Joe. I reckon it was the other way round, and it was emphasised by the fact that the Brumbies scrum was back pedaling all night long. Reds have a weapon at set piece. Reckon there are a few regular posters who always point out the impact of a back pedaling scrum on the performances of the halves (both 9 and 10) who might have some comments to make here.
Liam Wright is the best all round No 7 in the country. Despite some commentary to the contrary, there is still a very real place in the game for a ball pilfering No 7.
Reds look strong and confirmed their status as a challenger for the conference win.
I don't agree that Tate outplayed Joe. I reckon it was the other way round, and it was emphasised by the fact that the Brumbies scrum was back pedaling all night long. Reds have a weapon at set piece. Reckon there are a few regular posters who always point out the impact of a back pedaling scrum on the performances of the halves (both 9 and 10) who might have some comments to make here.
Liam Wright is the best all round No 7 in the country. Despite some commentary to the contrary, there is still a very real place in the game for a ball pilfering No 7.
Reds look strong and confirmed their status as a challenger for the conference win.
dru
David Wilson (68)
I didn't mind the JOC (James O'Connor) pass, it was on the back of a period of poor Red play and the poor execution was as much to do with what got them there. Developing combinations will help this, though no doubt a long kick is the low risk and probably coached solution in that position, so we can call it a poor call from JOC (James O'Connor). Overall I think he is playing an intelligent game that I would not have expected 2 years ago.
Agree on Mafi over BPA, though it is depth in a position that must rotate every game. BPA will get a chance to reclaim the 2, what happens on the bench if he is out for a while?
Petaia will come good, and we shouldn't diss Lucas for ages yet. Don't think he was that far away from Lolesio - other than with the tactical kicking. And that was shared with Tate's box - which is courageous but not always accurate, and Hegarty's long ball. Our kicking, starting with Lucas is a work in progress, though I don't think Lucas will ever be a long tactical kick.
Clearly no-one sees what I see in Powell, to me he is the best 9 in Aus by a country mile. As just no-one agrees with me I'll look again (though can't help but rate the guy). The Brumby back up 9 was good though.
Thinking things through overnight - the Reds badly need to gain the habit of winning. That WAS a great game in crazy conditions and very early in a season. All the same they need wins, a string of tight losses is no good. We had 2 periods of roughly 10 mins where the team just did not gel. There is a head space thing there, otoh it is very pleasing that they got past the wonkiness to assert dominance in periods. So they do have the mental strength. Just need to keep working it.
I am completely no to swapping Hegarty and Lucas. At least I want to see Lucas starting and getting good game time. Good 10s are built not just bought and the bloke needs time in the sling. Let's not forget his D either. Personally I think Harrison currently with higher potential than both Lolesio and Lucas, if the Tahs give him enough time. In the mean time both Lolesio and and Lucas could overrun the guy.
On Wilson, everyone is seeing the highlight positives but it needs balance. Several hit ups that gained nothing or lost ball. Dont mind the wayward offloads. But in both cases he needs to develop. He is a fabulous entry level Super player with no obvious ceiling and definitely a starter - but let him develop.
In spite our forwards, the weight advantage of our pack, and the tough work culture that is boringly verbalised - the Brumbies owned the ruck in this game. Not by a little bit. Both in attack and in D. Both in speed and drive through. Impressive. Hopefully reds have seen this and put it on the list.
Well done Reds, I can get into a team working like this even more so when tight games become tight wins.
One final note: big thumbs up to Lillycrap.
The Red scrum is absolutely killing it with newcomers at this level. Is he channeling his inner Alek Evans? Whatever it is go bloke!
The Nomad
Bob Davidson (42)
Having watched Harry play since he was running around at Terrace I can say that a couple of loose offloads a game is what you come to expect. Can be a source of frustration, but then again the ones that stick are brilliant. Guess it’s just a matter of showing a little patience and learning when he should just take the ball to ground. One of his flick passes to no one last night ended up being very costly with the Brumbies scoring not long after the turnover. Had that ball been taken to ground we would have still been on attack and building pressure with a 10 point lead rather than conceding points. All a learning experience.
Overall though it was an impressive debut for Harry.
Tomikin
David Codey (61)
Lots of peoples Houses were in danger, probably kept it down a bit..
The Brumby defence was very good early but watch that start again. JOC (James O'Connor) throws a pass to no one and it just flusters us big time. And then later when we get the turnover he gets excited and tries to run it out when it was the perfect time to boot it down field and show he is the calming influence in this team we signed him for.
I’m not surprised that is your opinion of Powell. Go back and look at his kicking. It was horrible whereas Tate’s was top notch.
Double Agent
Allen Oxlade (6)
I actually thought it was an OK crowd considering the conditions and bushfire threats. And looks like a very tough weekend ahead fo you all with terrible conditions down there - stay safe all you Brumby fans.
Adam84
Rod McCall (65)
Stats were pretty equal across the board.. the ones which stuck out for me was where the game was played, 26% of the game was played out of the Reds 22, as opposed to 10% of the game played in the Brumbies 22. Reds lost the territory game through some poor kicks and decision making on turnovers. Against a team like the Brumbies, you're going to concede points if you remain camped in your own 22
26% Reds 22
36% Reds 22-50m
29% Brumbies 22-50
10% Brumbies 22
26% Reds 22
36% Reds 22-50m
29% Brumbies 22-50
10% Brumbies 22
Happy
Alex Ross (28)
Most of the crowd was on the camera side of the field in the shade. Considering the ridiculous heat and the state of emergency from the fires it was a reasonable crowd.
Both teams played well in patches and also made a lot of mistakes. Not unexpected for the first game of the season. I thought the Brumbies were a bit predictable in a couple of areas. When in their own 22 they box kicked every single time, which meant the Reds could concentrate on pressuring Powell's kick. In the lineouts LSL (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto) did very well on the Brumbies throws, but it wasn't helped by the fact that every throw went to Swain. It wasn't until halfway through the second half that Douglas or Samu were used as options.
I thought the Brumbies won it at the beginning of the second half when their forwards really bossed the rucks, forcing the Reds backwards under pressure. Three tries and a penalty in that period was a fair reflection of their play.
I thought JOC (James O'Connor) was average and Petaia was worse, but once they have some combination the Reds will be in good shape.The Reds forwards played well in the set piece. Tom Wright looks electric now he has been moved to wing, and Simone seems to have kept his good form from the end of last year.
Both teams played well in patches and also made a lot of mistakes. Not unexpected for the first game of the season. I thought the Brumbies were a bit predictable in a couple of areas. When in their own 22 they box kicked every single time, which meant the Reds could concentrate on pressuring Powell's kick. In the lineouts LSL (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto) did very well on the Brumbies throws, but it wasn't helped by the fact that every throw went to Swain. It wasn't until halfway through the second half that Douglas or Samu were used as options.
I thought the Brumbies won it at the beginning of the second half when their forwards really bossed the rucks, forcing the Reds backwards under pressure. Three tries and a penalty in that period was a fair reflection of their play.
I thought JOC (James O'Connor) was average and Petaia was worse, but once they have some combination the Reds will be in good shape.The Reds forwards played well in the set piece. Tom Wright looks electric now he has been moved to wing, and Simone seems to have kept his good form from the end of last year.