Some big results for the Aussie teams over the weekend — the Brumbies avoiding a record-equaling sixth straight defeat, the Tahs achieving the Aussie Grand Slam by demolishing the Force in Perth, and the result of the round being the Reds confounding the tipsters and bookies by overturning the hitherto undefeated Stormers in Cape Town.
The resulting G&GR Team of Round 8 is:
1. Ben Daley – REDS
2. Tatafu Polota-Nau – WARATAHS
3. Sekope Kepu – WARATAHS
4. Rob Simmons – REDS
5. James Horwill – REDS
6. Peter Kimlin – BRUMBIES
7. Beau Robinson – REDS
8. Ita Vaea – BRUMBIES
9. Luke Burgess – WARATAHS
10. Quade Cooper – REDS
11. Drew Mitchell – WARATAHS
12. Matt Giteau – BRUMBIES
13. Anthony Faingaa – REDS
14. Digby Ioane – REDS
15. Luke Morahan – REDS
With such a magnificent effort in Cape Town, you can’t begrudge the Reds the majority of the team, especially in the pack where they out-muscled the Stormers. Peter Kimlin shone for the Brumbies and the Tahs’ scrum was once again strong, so their front row wins two spots.
Out back there was a line-ball call between Genia and Burgess, but the Waratah did have a direct hand in three of his team’s four tries. Also controversial will be our inclusion of Matt Giteau at inside centre, even though he played with 10 on his back. As Lance Free said, 12 was where he actually played all night, and a great game he had too.
Player of the round
The nominations are in from the forum. For the Reds, James Slipper and Beau Robinson tied for second, and Will Genia was the clear favourite with his clinical bossing of the game — Australia’s own Fourie Du Preez.
For the Tahs it was a two-horse race, with Luke Burgess’s bustling creativity pipping Drew Mitchell’s brace of tries by a single point.
From Canberra Matt Giteau easily took the nomination, but there was consensus this was Peter Kimlin’s best showing in a Super Rugby game.
Finally, for the Force James O’Connor was once again the stand-out, with Ben McCalman and the shetland pony Brett Sheehan also honourably mentioned in dispatches.
Something tells me this award will be a two-horse race between the Wallaby No. 9s — let the voting shitfight begin!
Try of the round
Out of the two crackers Drewster the Rooster dotted down in Perth, we’ve chosen his first at 2:32 in the video below: great finishing skill from the Wallaby winger.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atjybGvxgQc[/youtube]
Moment of the round
The Brumbies breaking their losing streak, albeit in front of their lowest home crowd for a decade, was surely a big moment for the men from Canberra.
However, with the Reds having gutsed it out for 73 minutes, the moment of the round had to be when Mike Harris secured victory in Cape Town by crashing over for his try (it’s at 4:20 in the next video). Winning two on the road and knocking off the tournament front-runners has surely put the Reds in with a real shout of taking out the whole shebang. The most impressive part of this win was their ability to execute an excellent, controlled game plan.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5viWnyJOCs[/youtube]
Did we get it right? Let us know what you think! (As if you won’t….)
