Happy Monday G&GRs, and most importantly, happy Mother’s Day to all the rugby mums out there. Without them, the game wouldn’t exist. The driving to and from the games, the oranges at half-time, the washing of the uniforms, the support from the sidelines. The least seen, but in my mind the most important part of the rugby community. To you ladies we take our hats off and acknowledge with wonderment your importance to the game.
Let’s get into the rugby. And what a cracking round it was. Some top-of-the-table clashes, and some cellar dweller ding dongs, but all entertaining matches to watch.
So G&GRs, let’s dive into Super Rugby Pacific 24 Round Twelve, then look at the SRP ladder, and end with Old Man shouting at Clouds. Grab a comfortable seat at your ergonomic chair, open your browser, log into the best rugby site in Australia and the world, and pour a stonking big mug of that wonderful warm brown liquid ☕, and no I am not talking about a single malt.
As always this is a fan-run site and any contribution is welcome, feel free to reach out to me at bris@greenandgoldrugby.com.au be it with an article an idea, or an opinion piece. There’s also a ‘Submit a Story’ option. So feel free to have a crack as the more the merrier.
Super Rugby Pacific 2024 – Round 12
Waikato Chiefs 43 defeated Moana Pasifika 7
Well, the boys from Waikato certainly came out last night and issued 6 of the best old-school style, trousers down, dominating the MPs by scoring 7 tries to 1 in Auckland. The Chiefs opened their account early with Quinn Tupaea lodging the first points of the game. But alas Moana Pasifika’s discipline went to 💩 and were down to 13 peeps when forward Irie Papuni and then scrum-half Aisea Halo were cheddar cheesed 🧀 for being naughty.
The Chiefs took advantage of the numerical superiority through Josh Jacomb bagging a 5-pointer taking the Chiefs to a 12-0 lead at oranges. Following where they left off before the break, the Chiefs really knuckled down and started applying the blow torch to the MPs, banking 5 more meat pies. MPs offered a small piece of resistance when flying Anzelo Tuitavuki showed the Chiefs what pure pace is, to claim Moana’s only points with 10 minutes left.
The Chiefs not to be outdone bagged 2 late tries to rub salt into the wounds of the Pasifika. This slides the Chiefs up to third on the ladder (before the Brumbies have played). Tana Uamaga really has to work out where his strategies and players are failing. They can’t afford to have too many more games like that in the last bit of the season.
Queensland Reds 26 defeated Melbourne Rebels 22
My beloved Queensland Reds have managed to come back from a rather average start to put the hapless Melbourne rebels to the sword on Friday night at the QPRQ cauldron. But sure as God made little Green Apples they did it the Queensland way, also known as the hard way, coming back from a 15-5 deficit at oranges.
The Rebels forwards stuck it to the Reds, dominating them at the set piece, and every statistic bar territory before half-time. The Rebels lost their main scrum weapon Taniela Tupou inside the first ten minutes to a nasty head knock. The Reds just didn’t seem to be able to get out of first gear in the first half and retired to the sheds for oranges and some inspiration from Coach Kiss.
The Reds came out firing in the second half and certainly stole that opportunity when Lachie Anderson from the Rebels was served up a nice slice of cheddar cheese 🧀 for offside after a string of Rebels infringements. Bagging 3 meat pies in short succession, the Reds got their mojo back big time. Inform fullback Jock Campbell scored, followed by Tim Ryan (his sixth in three starts) and Fraser McReight finishing another maul.
The Rebs tried hard in the last 10 minutes to sneak back and take a victory, but the Reds wall of defence held firm. 14 phases of continual assault were held up by the Reds until an unfortunate knock-on gave the Reds the win.
Wallaby Watch – Filipo Dangunu had a blinder of a game for the Rebs, continuing on his stand out season. For the Reds Josh Flook, Jeff Tomaga-Allen, Fraser McReight, Hunter Paisami, Jock Campbell, and Liam Wright all had good performances that would’ve drawn the attention of #InJoewetrust. Unfortunately, Dirty Harry Wilson broke his arm and is likely to be out for the rest of the season. Such rotten luck.
Auckland Blues 31 defeated Wellington Hurricanes 27
What was billed to be the match of the round, delivered an absolute clash of the Titans! A game that was decided after the hooter, and clearly demonstrated why you need a kicker that can slot them from anywhere. This 31-27 victory moves the Blues to the top of the ladder and starts to take the gloss off what was a near-perfect season for KARL’s Hurricanes.
Getting revenge for the third-round victory, this re-match was a belter that saw both teams score 4 tries. But, it was the tidy kicking of Harry Plummer (5 from 5), that brought home the bacon for the Auckland boys.
I won’t try to describe this game as it would be an injustice. Just watch the full replay and enjoy it as a neutral, watching two high-grade teams go at it hammer and tongs.
Otago Highlanders 32 defeated Canterbury Crusaders 29
In what was billed as the ‘Battle of the Kiwi Cellar Dwellers’ both teams delivered us a really entertaining and exciting game. The Clan secured a thrilling 32-29 victory over the Crusaders, with Millar’s six penalties proving to be the difference. Both teams played exceptionally well, but the hosts managed to shut out the defending champions.
Fakatava was served up a slice of cheddar cheese 🧀, but this didn’t seem to slow the Clan down and they responded with a try, and the sides went to oranges at 26-14 in favour of the Highlanders. The Fijian flyer Sevu Reece got the Dark Saders back into the hunt early in the second half, but Millar slotted another penalty to push the Clan ahead by seven with less than 10 minutes on the clock. Much to the delight of the fans at Forsyth Barr Stadium, the Highlanders closed out the game for a well-deserved win over a struggling Canterbury outfit, whose injury list just seems to keep growing.
ACT Brumbies 29 defeated NSW Waratahs 21
The Ponies secured a strong victory over the hapless Waratahs in a very wet game that resembled the fields of Lautoka more than of Sydney. This victory has made the Tahs path to the finals all but impossible, despite what the Blue faithful will have you believe.
The Canberra boys started off the game powerfully, with an early try to Charlie Cale to ease them into a 7-0 lead. But not to be outdone, that annoying yappy Tahs 9, Commissioner Gordon, broke through for a try. The Ponies then slotted a late penalty goal to have them 10-7 at oranges, with the lads off to the sheds to try and dry out.
Coach Larkham must have said something inspirational at halftime as the Peter Harvey Land boys came out of the sheds firing, scoring 2 two meat pies via Icky sticky and Big Bobby V. The Tahs bravely plugged on and dragged back some of the deficit with tries from Joey Walton and Tane ‘Sloth’ Edmed, getting them to within a point. But a strong rally by the Puppy killers Kautai, got them over the line for a final try and victory.
Wallabies Watch – Ikitau and Bobby Valetini were outstanding for the Ponies and have definitely inked a spot for themselves in the squad. For the Tahs there weren’t that many highlights; Commissioner Gordon delivered a captain’s knock but probably sits behind about 3 other 9s at the moment to be honest.
Western Force 48 defeated Fijian Drua 10
The Twiggy Forrest All Stars welcomed the Fijian Drua to Perth and then proceeded to give them a solid shellacking to the tune of 48-10. Ravutaumada was the only Fijian to bother the scorekeeper for the Drua and it was in the second half.
The Western Force helped themselves to 5 meat pies via Chase Tiatia, Carl Tizzano, Michael Welsh, Lopeti Faifua, Bayley Kuenzle, with Ben Donaldson adding the extras. The Drua were plagued by poor decision-making and weren’t even able to score while Nic ‘The Lip’ White spent some time in the naughty corner after being served a nice slice of cheddar cheese 🧀.
The Force’s defence was strong and blunted any Fijian attack. When in possession the boys from Perth were able to carve through the Fijian defence at will.
Wallabies Watch – Jeremy Williams had a true captain’s knock, performing very strongly. Henry Robertson, Carlo Tizzano, Tom Horton and Bayley Kuenzle also put their hands up in this performance. And while I am usually critical of him Ben Donaldson had a very strong performance.
Super Rugby Pacific 2024 – Round 12 – The Ladder
There’ve been some significant changes to the ladder after this round. The Auckland Blues have leap-frogged KARL’s Canes to now be top of the ladder. And the Chiefs are chasing down the Ponies for the 3rd spot. Fiji are at 8, just in contention for the finals, with the Western Force hot on their tails. And in last place on the ladder is the team that everyone loves to hate, the NSW Waratahs.
With three rounds remaining I think we’ll see a bit of shuffling for positions. What are your thoughts G&GRs?
Old Man Shouting at Clouds
This week’s Brisney’s shouting at clouds is about the number of seat belt tackles during the games this week. I particularly noticed a fair few during the Reds/Rebels game. And none of them seemed to be called. I saw one advantage given for one, but that was about it. Noting this I watched Saturday’s games and there were a fair few there, too.
My other shouting at clouds is the number of head knocks that occurred and the time it takes for players to come off. I saw Tupou get smacked and he was in a bad way. And it was about another 4-5 minutes before he was finally dragged to have an HIA which he failed. I also saw Kellaway take an accidental knock to the head, and to be honest I don’t know if he was assessed at all. But he was certainly affected by the knock.
What I am wondering about is if ‘blind Freddy’ like me can see them, surely the medical professionals are seeing this? Particularly with the way rugby is cracking down on head contact and the effects of concussion, you would think we’d be acting on these things a little quicker.
Anyway, that is enough for this Mad Monday’s ramblings. Over to you G&GRs, have at it.
