Close Menu
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Shop
    • Jerseys
    • Training
    • Men
    • Women
    • Kids
    • Headwear
    • Gifts & Accessories
      • Babywear
      • Balls
      • Collectibles & Memorabilia
      • Home & Office
      • Keyrings
      • Pet Accessories
      • Scarves
      • Souvenirs
      • Toys & Games
    • Super Rugby
    • Clearance
  • Wallabies
  • Super Rugby
    • ACT Brumbies
    • Blues
    • Chiefs
    • Crusaders
    • Fijian Drua
    • Highlanders
    • Hurricanes
    • Moana Pasifika
    • NSW Waratahs
    • Queensland Reds
    • Western Force
  • Six Nations
  • Women’s
  • Sevens
  • Podcast

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

What's Hot

Friday’s Rugby News.

May 9, 2025

Lions Squad Named Tonight.

May 8, 2025

Thursday’s Rugby News – the final countdown

May 8, 2025
Facebook Instagram YouTube X (Twitter)
Latest News
  • Friday’s Rugby News.
  • Lions Squad Named Tonight.
  • Thursday’s Rugby News – the final countdown
  • Yowie on the Loose: almost too much rugby news
  • Dementia and CTE: differences, similarities and impact
  • Tuesday’s Rugby News
  • Mad Monday with Brisneyland Local #68: that was certainly unpredictable.
  • Friday’s Rugby News.
  • Thursday’s Rugby News – adults running the show
  • 2025 Super Rugby Rd 12 — G&GR’s teams podcast
  • The Dropped Kick-Off 153 – Schmeal – Les Kiss from a Rose
  • Hump Day News – in from the side
  • New Wallabies coach finally confirmed!
  • Tuesday’s Rugby News – 29 April 2025
  • Your G&GR Wallabies Squad.
  • Mad Monday with Brisneyland Local #67: another cracking round of Super Rugby Pacific – ANZAC Day style.
  • Friday’s Rugby News.
  • 2025 Super Rugby Rd 11 — G&GR’s teams podcast
  • Nutta on a Thursday – ANZAC 2025
  • Culture club.
Green & Gold Rugby
0 Shopping Cart
Facebook Instagram YouTube X (Twitter)
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Shop
    • Jerseys
    • Training
    • Men
    • Women
    • Kids
    • Headwear
    • Gifts & Accessories
      • Babywear
      • Balls
      • Collectibles & Memorabilia
      • Home & Office
      • Keyrings
      • Pet Accessories
      • Scarves
      • Souvenirs
      • Toys & Games
    • Super Rugby
    • Clearance
  • Wallabies

    Tuesday’s Rugby News

    February 25, 2025

    G&GR readers hate Australians?

    February 23, 2025

    Schmidt extends Wallabies tenure through TRC as search for head coach successor begins

    February 6, 2025

    Tickets on sale for blockbuster Wallaroos and Wallabies home Tests

    February 5, 2025

    Tuesday’s Rugby News, 4 February 2025

    February 4, 2025
  • Super Rugby
    1. ACT Brumbies
    2. Blues
    3. Chiefs
    4. Crusaders
    5. Fijian Drua
    6. Highlanders
    7. Hurricanes
    8. Moana Pasifika
    9. NSW Waratahs
    10. Queensland Reds
    11. Western Force
    12. View All

    Brumbies lob first grenade.

    March 19, 2025

    Hoodoo Gurus: Brumbies beat Blues.

    March 8, 2025

    Super Rugby Women’s Team List: Trial Match v Queensland Reds

    February 5, 2025

    Brumbies and Raiders combine for ANZAC weekend fixtures

    February 4, 2025

    Sotutu Returns to Boost Blues for Highlanders Clash

    February 19, 2025

    MG Motor Joins Blues as Official Vehicle Partner

    February 13, 2025

    Tu’ungafasi Celebrates 150th Cap as Blues Unleash Star-Studded Line-Up at Eden Park Opener

    February 12, 2025

    Blues Team Up with Gerard Roofs for a Strong 2025 Season Partnership

    February 11, 2025

    Chiefs Prepare for Crusaders Clash: Brown’s Debut and Tupaea’s Milestone

    February 19, 2025

    Chiefs’ All Blacks Set for Pre-Season Action Against Moana Pasifika

    February 6, 2025

    Chiefs Unveil New Talent Ahead of Taranaki Pre-Season Clash

    January 30, 2025

    Chiefs’ Rising Star Wallace Sititi Sidelined After Knee Surgery

    January 25, 2025

    Crusaders Ready to Kick Off Pre-Season with Blues Battle in Kirwee

    January 30, 2025

    Crusaders Partner with Moa Brewing Company to Elevate Fan Experience

    January 23, 2025

    Jamie Hannah Commits to Crusaders Until 2028

    January 23, 2025

    Crusaders 2025 Tickets Now Available!

    January 23, 2025

    Fijian Drua to Host Rugby FCLA in Historic Fiji Showdown

    January 20, 2025

    Highlanders Set for Home Opener Against Blues

    February 19, 2025

    Waratahs edge Highlanders in thrilling season opener

    February 16, 2025

    Highlanders Announce Squad for Season Opener Against Waratahs

    February 12, 2025

    Highlanders Gear Up for Waitangi Day Showdown Against Crusaders

    February 4, 2025

    Xavier Numia Commits to Hurricanes Through 2027

    January 29, 2025

    Hurricanes Brew Up Partnership with Flight Coffee for 2025 Season

    January 28, 2025

    Hurricanes Poua Swap Rugby Boots for Riding Boots at Hutt Valley RDA

    January 16, 2025

    Match Review: Qld Reds v Moana Pacifika — Rd2 2025

    February 21, 2025

    Ardie Savea Named Moana Pasifika Captain for 2025 Super Rugby Season

    February 3, 2025

    Ardie Savea Named Moana Pasifika Captain for 2025 Super Rugby Season

    February 2, 2025

    Moana Pasifika Set to Face Highlanders in Pre-Season Opener

    January 29, 2025

    More Tahs misery.

    March 29, 2025

    Tahs best Brumbies.

    March 22, 2025

    Isaac Kailea re-signs with RA.

    March 21, 2025

    U18s & U20s Tahs sides named.

    March 14, 2025

    Reds top of the pops.

    March 29, 2025

    Reds break drought.

    March 22, 2025

    Tom ‘The Laser’ Lynagh: Its the vibe.

    March 22, 2025

    Caslick to start in Reds #100th.

    March 19, 2025

    Force out-Brumby the Brumbies 45-42.

    February 22, 2025

    Jeremy Williams Re-Signs with Western Force for Two More Years

    February 6, 2025

    Club captain Jeremy Williams re-commits to Western Force with new deal

    February 6, 2025

    Western Force Unveils Star-Studded Squad for Brumbies Pre-Season Clash

    February 5, 2025

    Reds top of the pops.

    March 29, 2025

    More Tahs misery.

    March 29, 2025

    Super Rugby Round #7: Bye-bye-bye

    March 24, 2025

    Live: SRP ladder

    March 22, 2025
  • Six Nations

    Six Nations round 4

    March 8, 2025

    Tree Irish legends call time

    February 28, 2025

    Frogs flog Italy.

    February 24, 2025

    Welsh rugby: heartbeat found!

    February 23, 2025

    Poms pinch it.

    February 23, 2025
  • Women’s

    More in store for Qld women’s comp.

    March 21, 2025

    Happy’s Thursday’s Rugby News

    November 28, 2024

    Happy’s Thursday’s Rugby News – progress mixed in with some injustice

    November 21, 2024

    Yowie on the Loose: How long until test rugby restarts?

    October 15, 2024

    Mad Monday with Brisneyland Local #50: limited rugby, but plenty of news

    October 14, 2024
  • Sevens

    G&GR team’s podcast, Ireland and done

    December 2, 2024

    Happy’s Thursday’s Rugby News

    November 28, 2024

    Happy’s Thursday’s Rugby News – US edition marketing the game, Perry Baker, Super Rugby my new dawn.

    October 17, 2024

    Sevens Olympic Heaven!

    July 18, 2024

    Thursday’s Rugby News

    July 4, 2024
  • Podcast

    The Dropped Kick-Off 153 – Schmeal – Les Kiss from a Rose

    April 30, 2025

    The Dropped Kick-Off 151 – did we mention we like the Tahs?

    April 18, 2025

    The Dropped Kick-Off 150 – Angry Italian Hand Gestures 🤌 🤌

    April 10, 2025

    The Dropped Kick-Off 149 – RIP Val Kilmer

    April 4, 2025

    The Dropped Kick-Off 148 – Sprained Ankles and Tah Road Rage

    March 27, 2025
Green & Gold Rugby
Home»Super Rugby»ACT Brumbies»Super Rugby Round Two Review
ACT Brumbies

Super Rugby Round Two Review

Reg RobertsBy Reg RobertsMarch 1, 201121 Comments
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr WhatsApp VKontakte Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

Round Two of Super Rugby, 2011-style, saw two more local derbies for the Aussie teams. The first was an emotional last-minute win by the Rebels over the Brumbies, while the second was a clinical takedown of the Reds by the increasingly impressive Waratahs. So, on to the whos, whats and whys of the round….

Team of the Round:

Vaea-ry impresive.

15 Mark Gerrard – REBELS
14 Drew Mitchell – WARATAHS
13 Rob Horne – WARATAHS
12 Julian Huxley – REBELS
11 Digby Ioane – REDS
10 Berrick Barnes – WARATAHS
9 Luke Burgess – WARATAHS
8 Ita Vaea – BRUMBIES
7 Phil Waugh – WARATAHS
6 Dave Dennis – WARATAHS
5 Kane Douglas – WARATAHS
4 Rob Simmons – REDS
3 Al Baxter – WARATAHS
2 Tatafu Polota-Nau – WARATAHS
1  Sekope Kepu – WARATAHS

I think the presence ten Waratahs in the XV provides a suitable testimony to their performance on the weekend. Only two for the Rebels may be harsh on them, but their lineup is filled with foreigners not available for Wallaby selection – otherwise the likes of Danny Cipriani, Michael Lipman, Gareth Delve, Greg Somerville and Ged Robinson would have been strong candidates.

Simmons - lucky pick?

How about the two Reds? Am I being biased? Digby was the only Red to make any consistent territory versus the Tahs while, at the same time, I don’t think the other wingers stuck their hands up to be counted. Lachie Mitchell is showing some glimpses of form at the Rebels, and Cooper Vuna is getting better. Still, I think Digby was the best option. Perhaps an argument could be made for Adam Byrne’s selection ahead of Simmons – he certainly provided his typical aggressive presence around the field. Unfortunately, that resulted in his typical number of penalties conceded.

For the Brumbies, Stephen Moore, Matt Giteau and Pat McCabe were all unlucky to miss out. At hooker we just couldn’t go past the thunder that is Taf. What an impact he had on that game, and unfortunately his own health. Barnes edges Gits because of his greater impact in all aspects of the game, with Berrick really leading the way in defence.

Gerrard - ready to unleash!

But how do you pick between Mark Gerrard and Pat McCabe? That was a fantastic display by the two fullbacks, the pair playing different styles of rugby: McCabe basically ran everything he got, while Gerrardo kicked most of his possession. In the end, though, I feel that Mark’s impact on the match just had a greater impact on the result than Knick Knack Patty McCabe’s.

Player of the Round:

Once again, the forum has spoken and come up with the four leading candidates for the Player of the Round. For the Rebels, he kicked the winning goal and showed that some of the hype was accurate – Danny Cipriani. While missing a few tackles, Cips successfully succeeded in guiding his team across the park either by way of his foot or by ball in hand. A wonderfully balanced player. Let’s hope his form can be maintained because he’s one of those players who is just a delight to watch.

QuestionsView Results

On the receiving end of a number of those Cipriani kicks was Brumbies fullback, Pat McCabe. This man just never stopped running, no matter how often (or hard) he was hit. Scored an early try, and then just kept on trucking. There wasn’t a great deal of finesse to his game, but boy was it effective. Similarly, for the Reds, Digby Ioane ran hard all night. The Tahs proved just a tad harder to break than the Rebels, but Diggers’s enthusiasm never waned.

Something else that never waned was Tatafu Polota-Nau‘s  100 per cent commitment to the Tahs, as he demolished Red after Red, and finally himself. It was an incredible display of power rugby, with plenty of deft skill thrown in, by the high-haired one, with self-preservation at the bottom of his list of concerns.  Didn’t last an hour on the field, but did enough in that time to deliver two matches’ worth of ‘game-breakers’.

Try of the Round:

Deception with a capital DD.

For the significance of it, it was hard to go past Sir Stirling Mortlock’s five-pointer against his old team, the Brumbies. It was not without skill, particularly the delicious pass served up by Julian Huxley to a flying Cooper Vuna. But for mine, the try of the round was David Dennis’s sneaky little number against the Reds. From a skill perspective, it’s trickery of the highest order. The Reds fans were raving about the Saia Faingaa–Scott Higginbotham interchange versus the Force; well, this bit of byplay between Taf and Daisy Dennis was like “Schindler’s List” compared to “Dude, Where’s My Car?”.

Watch as Dave casually strolls to number one in the line-out, the Reds clearly thinking him to be out of play and focussing on Douglas at two. But he’s not, and Saia, Ben Daley and Sanchez are all left looking on forlornly has DD streaks away for the try. Add the fact it was scored in the last ten minutes of the half, and the try constituted a real body blow.

Moment of the Round:

While there were countless highlights for Tahs fans in their team’s deconstruction of the Reds on Saturday night, the real moment of the round came a day earlier. How can it not be Danny Cipriani’s last minute penalty kick (admittedly from the dodgiest of dodgy decisions) to give the Rebels their first Super win? Words can’t really convey what this kick meant to the Rebels. Thankfully, we have this YouTube clip:

We are a fan run website, we appreciate your support.

💬 Have you got a news article suggestion? Submit a story and have your say
👀 Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X.com
🎵 Listen to our Podcasts on Spotify and iTunes
🎥 Watch our Podcasts on YouTube


al baxter berrick barnes Dave Dennis digby ioane drew mitchell Ita Vaea julian huxley Kane Douglas luke burgess mark gerrard phil waugh Review rob horne Rob Simmons Sekope Kepu tatafu polota-nau
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr WhatsApp Email
Previous ArticleNo Country for Old Men
Next Article Andy Friend sacked by the Brumbies board
Reg Roberts
  • X (Twitter)

The original prop in a prop's body, but thankfully I have the rugby mind of a prop as well.

Related Posts

Thursday’s Rugby News – the final countdown

May 8, 2025

Dementia and CTE: differences, similarities and impact

May 6, 2025

Tuesday’s Rugby News

May 6, 2025

Mad Monday with Brisneyland Local #68: that was certainly unpredictable.

May 5, 2025
Latest

Friday’s Rugby News.

May 9, 2025

Lions Squad Named Tonight.

May 8, 2025

Thursday’s Rugby News – the final countdown

May 8, 2025

Yowie on the Loose: almost too much rugby news

May 7, 2025
1 2 3 … 2,595 Next
Latest Super Rugby

Reds top of the pops.

March 29, 2025

More Tahs misery.

March 29, 2025

Super Rugby Round #7: Bye-bye-bye

March 24, 2025

Live: SRP ladder

March 22, 2025
1 2 3 … 790 Next
Latest Six Nations

Six Nations round 4

March 8, 2025

Tree Irish legends call time

February 28, 2025

Frogs flog Italy.

February 24, 2025

Welsh rugby: heartbeat found!

February 23, 2025
1 2 3 … 25 Next
GAGR Podcast
Follow Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
About Us
About Us

greenandgoldrugby.com is your one stop shop for all things Rugby Union - news, podcasts, opinions, fixtures, events & everything in between.

greenandgoldrugby.com - created by fans of rugby, for fans of rugby.

About
Submit a Story
Authors
Contact
Privacy

Our Picks

Rising rally to overrun Queensland Country

September 4, 2016

Waratahs young leaders to shine

January 18, 2017

Eight ANGRY Observations from tonight’s game

June 18, 2016
New Comments
  • Keith Butler on Friday’s Rugby News.
  • Greg on Friday’s Rugby News.
  • Eloise Pasteur on Friday’s Rugby News.
  • Eloise Pasteur on Friday’s Rugby News.
  • Eloise Pasteur on Friday’s Rugby News.
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Super Rugby
  • Wallabies
  • Podcast
  • Privacy Policy (2023)
© 2025 Ponderosa Publishing Pty Ltd | ABN 76 668 430 386.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.