Round 5 brought us an interesting round of Super Rugby. The Brumbies pipped the Waratahs in a dire affair, the Reds snuck a win against the Sunwolves and the Rebels managed to throw a huge lead to lose to the Lions. Here is our team of the week!
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1. Scott Sio (Brumbies)
Before going off at the 42 minute mark, Sio was having a good game. Managed to get through a lot of work with 9 tackles. Looked strong in the scrum.
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2. Folau Fainga’a (Brumbies)
At this point in the season, he is on track to be the Wallaby #2. Has fixed up his lineout woes and has been extremely accurate the past few weeks. Try scoring machine with another 2 this week and unlucky not to be 3 with a penalty try awarded.
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3. Les Leulua’iali’I-Makin (Brumbies)
Gets the spot this week due to being part of a strong Brumbies front row. No other standouts this week.
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4.Rory Arnold (Brumbies)
Another strong week from the lock. Loving the grunt that he adds to the team. Good go forward and some strong defence with 11/12 tackles.
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5.Lukhan Salakaia-Loto (Reds)
Another second rower that was aggressive in attack and defense. Wasn’t the most polished performance but made a huge 17 runs and although he only made 16 run metres he did pull in a few defenders with each run.
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6. Luke Jones (Rebels)
Although the Rebels went to sleep in the second half. Jones had a big effort in defense with 23/25 tackles. Was great with ball in hand with 53 run metres, 4 defenders beaten, 2 line breaks, 2 offloads and a try assist. Adds another option at lineout and even stole one..
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7. Michael Hooper (Waratahs)
Another week of showing that not giving up pays dividends. Got a freakish try from a penalty that bounced off the posts. Made 15/16 tackles, 31 run metres from 14 runs with 6 defenders beaten.
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8. Lachlan McCaffrey (Brumbies)
Another strong showing from McCaffrey. Made 9/10 tackles, ran for 40m with a clean break. Also chimed in with 2 nice kicks with one of them almost resulting in a try.
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9. Joe Powell (Brumbies)
Had a solid game. No halfbacks stood out this week but Powell was the tidiest so he gets the 9 jersey.
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10. Quade Cooper (Rebels)
Outside of that unforgiveable mistake that allowed the Lions to score a try, Cooper had a pretty good game. 71 run metres with 3 clean breaks. Scored a try and hit 4/5 conversions.
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11. Curtis Rona (Waratahs)
Another decent game from Rona. Has gone looking for work with 15 runs. Made 72 run metres with 2 clean breaks.
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12. Billy Meakes (Rebels)
Big game from Meakes. Strong with ball in hand making 90m. Two try assists to go along side his 3 clean breaks.
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13. Samu Kerevi (Reds)
Only just gets the nod this week over Tom English. Samu made 43 run metres and beat 9 defenders. Nice try assist too.
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14. Chris Feauai-Sautia (Reds)
73 run metres, 7 defenders beaten with 3 clean breaks. Performed slightly better than the rest of the wingers.
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15. Hamish Stewart (Reds)
Enjoyed his performance this week. Seemed like he was playing with an experienced head on his shoulders leading the team around the park from the back. 82 run metres with 3 clean breaks and 7 defenders beaten.
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On the fringe of selection:
Tom English – Had a pretty good week this week and probably would have made the team if the Rebels had only played the first half. Misses out due to being on par with Kerevi but in a losing effort. Scored a try and had 55 run metres.
Alex Newsome – Had a pretty good week in a rare start for the Waratahs winger. Made 6/6 of his tackles and chimed in with a nice 57 run metres.
Isi Naisarani – I’ve been liking how involved he has been getting with ball in hand. 62 run metres with 3 defenders beaten. Made 2 handling errors and gave away 2 penalties which kept him away from the team this week.
Disappointments:
The Waratahs props– This is only a disappointment as I am wanting better from them. Johnson-Holmes and Kepu were fantastic around the park this week. They need to become dominate at scrum time. Their discipline was bad this week giving away 2 penalties each and both copping a yellow card.
Adam Ashley Cooper – Hasn’t lit the world on fire since he has returned to the sky blue. He almost feels like he isn’t there more weeks. Hasn’t done much wrong but hasn’t really done much at all. When Hunt returns I’d be looking to shuffle the backline so that AAC ends up out of the starting 15.
Jack Maddocks – Was almost invisible this week. Made 1 run (although he made 18m) and only made 5/9 (56%) of his tackles. Needs to go looking for work.
