How close is this Australian Conference this year? Surely the added competition within the conference can only mean a better Wallaby team as a result? Let’s hope so. In the meantime, check out our top performers this week.
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1. Scott Sio (Brumbies)
Was part of a dominate scrum and made all his tackles (7/7).
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2. Folau Fainga’a (Brumbies)
Lineout throwing was again good this week. Laid the platform for his backs with the maul and threw a great offload which ended in a long range try.
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3. Allan Alaalatoa (Brumbies)
Was an intergeral part in the Brumbies dominating scrum. Made no mistakes to dampen his performance.
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4. Sam Carter (Brumbies)
Once again stepping up for the injured Arnold, Carter was the pillar in the lineout for the Brumbies. He made 12/12 tackles and even bent the line with a few of his runs.
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5. Matt Philip (Rebels)
Kept up his good form. 10/12 tackles and 10 runs for 21m. Only just scraped in due to giving away 3 penalties.
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6. Angus Scott-Young (Reds)
A bit of a unsung hero for the Reds. Made 17 tackles this week and didn’t miss a single one.
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7. Michael Hooper (Waratahs)
Normally he makes a difference in the defence for the Waratahs – This week it was mostly in attack. 69m run, 5 defenders beaten, 3 clean breaks and a try to top it all off.
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8. Peter Samu (Brumbies)
Made a huge effort in attack, giving the Brumbies lots of opportunities. He made 62m from his 8 runs, 12/13 tackles and a meat pie.
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9. Joe Powell (Brumbies)
A tiresome worker for the Brumbies, it didn’t matter that they were up by 30 points, he still tried his hardest to charge down every kick, cut down every attack and gave great service to his backs. He earnt himself a try with some beautiful support running.
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10. Christian Lealiifano (Brumbies)
He completed his role, and did it well. Nothing too flashy but gave the Brumbies a decent exit and distributed the ball whenever he needed too.
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11. Cameron Clark (Waratahs)
Mr consistent for the Waratahs. Another solid week bringing him 57 run metres, 3 clean breaks, a defender beaten, 2 offlods and a try assist.
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12. Karmichael Hunt (Waratahs)
I wouldn’t say alot of 12’s put their hand up this week. Meakes was probably just behind Hunt. Hunt continued to show he can be more of a playmaker with his grubber kicks and still runs and tackles hard.
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13. Tevita Kuridrani (Brumbies)
Back to his best this week. Consistently bust the line and setting up tries all over the field with 3 try assists. He also ran for 78m.
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14. Henry Speight (Brumbies)
Speight clocked up 120 run metres with 3 defenders beaten, 4 clean breaks and scored 2 tries.
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15. Dane Haylett-Petty (Rebels)
Reminding everyone why he is the favourite to wear the 15 jersey, Haylett-Petty made 13 runs for 128m with 7 defenders beaten, 3 clean breaks and topped it all off by crossing the line.
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On the fringe of selection:
Taniela Tupou – Probably one of the first weeks Tupou looked like a Wallaby. He dominated the scrum for majority of the game (bar the scrum where he got run over). He ran hard and tried to put a few shots on in defence. Missed out due to giving away 3 penalties – especially the one at scrum time.
Nick Phipps – Quite an impressive performance from the Waratahs halfback. Picking the right player on two occasions from the ruck gave him two try assists and he scored one of his own.
Izack Rodda – Week in, week out we talk about how he is a workhorse and this week he did as we expect. 12/12 tackles and a menace at lineout time.
Reece Hodge – Shuffled around a bit due to Coopers injury, Hodge was great running for 76m.
Disappointments:
Chris Feauai-Sautia – Really struggled to get himself into the game. Only ran 3 times for 5m.
Sefa Naivalu – Another that struggled to inject himself into the game. Also sat at a 44% (4/9) tackle completion.
