Monday’s Rugby News sees the results from the past weekend, where all the Super Rugby coaches see where their team is at, and a old friend returning to the fray.
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The Other Stuff…
It was a busy weekend in Super Rugby, so we’ll start on the international front for the week.
Starting in Auckland, the Chiefs made it 13 games without a loss over the Blues, when they knocked over their northern rivals 21-27. It was a particularly bitter loss for the hosts, as they led for a decent chunk of the match and were coming up against a severely weakened Chiefs side.
The Blues haven’t beaten the Chiefs since 2011, and are currently on a horror run against all Kiwi teams.
The next non-Aussie match saw the Crusaders hosting the Stormers, and in a seemingly predictable affair the hosts ran out 45-28 winners. The visitors did provide more fight in the second half after being 31-7, but it was never going to be their day.
The only Saffa derby of the week was an absolute cracker between a resurgent Bulls side and the Lions, with the visitors going three for three and running out 35-49 winners. The Bulls suffered from ill-discipline, with two players being sent to the bin. But, they were far from disgraced, and looked to have turned a real corner this year. Those who love a solid bit of scrum porn and rolling mauls, watch this match.
The final match saw the Hurricanes pump the Jaguares 9-34 in Buenos Aires. It is the worst start to the season the Argentineans have had in their short history in the competition, and the less said about this performance, the better.
Overall, the Lions currently hold a four point lead at the top of the table, followed by the Rebels, Crusaders in the conference leader positions. Rounding out are the wildcard spots are the Hurricanes, Waratahs, Stormers, Highlanders and the Brumbies.
For more info on international results, check out Fox Sports thoughts on the results here.
On the Australian front, there’s been plenty of other news outside of Super Rugby.
First up, the Western Force have continued their recruitment campaign, resigning Force academy player Harry Scoble for the NRC and IPRC campaigns. They’ve also poached a big future talent in Alifeliti Kaitu’u, who played for Queensland Country last year and also represented Queensland A.
Scoble was particularly happy with the return to Perth, having played eight games for Super Rugby club. He also was a key figure in the Perth Spirit squad, with thirteen NRC caps under his belt.
“It’s exciting getting in at the start to build something from the ground,” Scoble said to the West Australian.
“It was heartbreaking when it was announced the Force was going but I knew it wouldn’t – disappear without a fight.
“We know the direction we want to go.”
And finally, Brad Thorn finally revealed his decision as to why he let Quade Cooper out the Reds squad.
“It’s just a change of direction,” Thorn said.
“I thought Quade last year… the team struggled, his game management, his attack, his defence (struggled).
“I’m in this role — sometimes you’ve got to make tough decisions.”
Even Raelene Castle put her two cents worth into the ring about the whole Quade Cooper issue, saying that Cooper was hoping to get himself back into the Reds through a solid club rugby season. Michael Cheika also said that he hasn’t shut the door on Cooper representing the Wallabies again in the future.
“At the moment Quade’s determined to play well enough to get himself reselected for the Reds and that’s where his focus is,” said Castle to reporters on Friday.
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Derby Corner
Now, onto the Aussie results.
Starting in Brisbane, the Reds pulled off an upset by defeating the Brumbies 18-10 on Friday.
It wasn’t pretty, and the Brumbies scored two tries to none, but the Reds were patient and chipped away through scrum dominance and penalty goals.
Brad Thorn admitted that he really wanted to challenge the Brumbies set piece on Friday night, and was happy to see the Reds win ugly.
“Scrummaging’s right up my alley. The Brumbies are renowned for their set piece in Australia,” Thorn said to rugby.com.au.
“For us they were a target. We really wanted to challenge them.
“I think what will bring back crowds is what they saw out there – they saw spirit, they saw Queenslanders, in my opinion, remembering who Queenslanders are and wearing that jersey proudly.
“There was a connection there with the crowd. I felt like they liked what they saw.”
The only thing Thorn wasn’t happy about was Caleb Timu copping another yellow card for his tackle on Tom Banks, a tackle that Thorn argued with made on the body, not the head.
“I see mixed martial arts going gangbusters all around the world, where they just go to war,” Thorn argued.
“There’s that side of the game, that’s what I loved.
“My time’s well and truly gone but to get in big trouble you had to spear tackle someone or really take their head off.
“It’s pretty stringent (now), I know they’re doing their best … (but) it’s a contact sport. Let us enjoy some contact.”
For many Brumbies fans, including myself, it was a crap night.
Even Dan McKellar admitted the forward pack were ‘dominated’ for the majority of the match, which isn’t exactly encouraging considering the entire backbone of the Brumbies reputation is off the back of having a good set piece.
“We’re really disappointed with that effort. We came up here looking for the win, the Reds out-worked us and out-muscled us,” Brumbies skipper Sam Carter said in the post match interview.
“We’re not going to jump at shadows. But if we’re honest with each other [the game against the Reds] wasn’t at our standard,” McKellar said to the Canberra Times.
“I thought our defensive effort was outstanding, but in attack we just needed more spark. When you work so hard to get the ball, you’ve got to have the spark and energy to take the opportunity.
“You’ve got to keep believe in what you’re doing, train well, demand higher standards and have a thorough review. You’ve got to understand we’re doing some things well, but need to do others better.
“There were too many set-piece turnovers, simple errors and dropped ball.
“It was frustrating. We pride ourselves on being able to problem solve on the run [in the scrum] and we failed to do that.”
Lachlan McCaffrey, Tom Cusack and Lolo Fakaosilea all had to leave the field on Friday night too, and McKellar could be finding himself having to look outside his squad if he loses another back rower to injury. The upcoming match against the Rebels could be season-defining for the men from Canberra.
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International Corner
Here’s something interesting: Australia is the only country in Super Rugby that hasn’t suffered any losses against international opponents yet. But let’s be honest, that’s going to change real soon.
But at least these guys are keeping things going alright.
Starting in Tokyo, the Rebels showed that last week was no fluke against the Reds, putting the Sunwolves to the sword in a dominant 17-37 win. The win sees the Rebels have two bonus point victories on the trot, which they will look to make three when they face the Brumbies at home next week.
But, in yet another conference which proves why he’s one of the best rugby brains in this country, Dave Wessels was still not happy with his teams performance, particularly after pointing out that the Sunwolves were in the match for a lot of the contest, with the match 10-10 at half-time.
“It was important to come here and get a bonus point,” Wessels said to SBS News.
“In reality, we’re not playing anywhere near the level we set for ourselves but, if we continue to work, it will make that journey a lot easier.”
Jack Maddocks however may have caused a selection nightmare for Wessels, following a hat-trick of tries at the weekend. With Marika Koroibete scheduled to return next week, it’ll be interesting who Wessels will select come next Friday night.
And finally, the Waratahs managed to salvage a draw at the Shark Tank in Durban, drawing 24-24.
It was a scrappy affair, and one that saw the younger Waratahs forward pack stand up much better than many expected. But Daryl Gibson was pretty disappointed with the effort as well.
“I thought we were pretty poor tonight to be frank,’ Gibson said to rugby.com.au.
“At times we lacked ball control, we turned the ball over too much and put a lot of pressure on ourselves.
“I’m certainly not happy about our performance.
“We’re not walking away rejoicing at all. We looked at our own performance and had a pretty honest assessment in the changing room and probably know that we need to get much better if we’re going to be competitive in this competition.
“What I am pleased about with the team is around the fight in our team, we don’t give up.
“We’re fit and we’re giving our best so that’s a good foundation to grow from.”
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Buildcorp Back on Board
The Super W draw was revealed last Friday, with a blockbuster clash between New South Wales and Queensland set to kick off the inaugural tournament.
It will be one of five double headers that will be played across the country, which will give fans the chance to see all the latest womens players in action.
The competition also has an old favourite back on board, with Buildcorp being announced as naming rights sponsor.
After the construction company announced they were withdrawing their naming support for the NRC last year, the sight of seeing them back on board with Aussie rugby and Rugby Australia is a welcome sight to many concerned about the future of the game.
“Buildcorp, Tony and Josephine Sukkar have been strong supporters of Women’s Rugby over the years and their continued commitment to expanding the Women’s game is an exciting development,” Raelene Castle said at the official launch in Sydney.
“The Buildcorp Super W is an exciting prospect that is going to enhance the pathway to the Buildcorp Wallaroos and create a stronger national team as we head into the start of the 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup cycle.”
The Sukkar family have long been public advocates for Womens’ Rugby, which is a big reason why Buildcorp have come back on board.
“We are extending our support of the women’s game to connect a player pipeline from club to the national level,” Josephine Sukkar said.
“This fills an existing gap and ensures that, like Buildcorp, Australian Rugby is structured to provide the same opportunities for women and men.
“That is, the opportunity for participation, development and promotion regardless of age, gender or culture.”
The other match will see the Western Force take on the Rebels in Perth, with the Brumbies having the bye.
“This is a really exciting time for Women’s Rugby with the Buildcorp Super W to give our players significantly more playing opportunities and a chance to represent their state in week-in, week-out competition,” Rugby Australia Head of National XVs Programs Adrian Thompson said.
“This competition is a completely different format to the previously held National Championship, which was staged over a few days in total, and it will allow our players to really test themselves under the pressure of performing in big matches each week.”
Check out the full schedule here. The competition will kick off on March 10.
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