The Chewsday Chew – Shorts & Sweets (Ep5-24)

Gudday Cobbers. Again, here’s the usual reminder that we are a fan-run volunteer site and all are welcome to make a contribution. You can email me directly if you wish at nutta@greenandgoldrugby.com.au or you can use this LINK from the homepage to give us your contribution. We genuinely welcome it as fresh voices and perspectives are so valuable to our game.

I’m a bit pushed for time this week, so I’ll make it short(ish) and sweet(ish):

Nutta’s Aussie Rugby Team of the Week:

As long as you played for an Aussie side this weekend gone, you can get picked.

1. Angus Bell – was out-scrummed early but got stronger as the minutes grew.
2. Mahe Vailanu – threw well and a huge around the ground effort.
3. Taniela Tupou – still the most destructive TH we have.
4. Jed Holloway – my MotM v Crusaders. Graft and craft.
5. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto – had a massive 1st half especially.
6. Rob Leota – played a powerhouse game and here’s hoping it’s his new standard.
7. Charlie Gamble – best of the Aussie no7s across the weekend.
8. Harry Wilson – route one all day with genuine effort and creativity.
9. Jake Gordon – great effort and leadership to bring his side home.
10. Carter Gordon – pleasing creativity without any brain explosions.
11. Corey Toole – hopefully Schmidty keeps his number.
12. Joey Walton – ran some really nice lines.
13. Josh Flook – great D and a fantastic ‘awareness’ pie. A ‘fronties’ centre.
14. Harry Potter – magic.
15. Andrew Kellaway – just squeezed out Max Jorgensen for mine.
16. Tom Horton – his throwing was sound and his support-play first rate.
17. Matt Gibbon – really solid and continues to push for higher honours.
18. Harry Johnson-Holmes – a genuinely gutsy effort.
19. Jeremy Williams – great defensive lineout work in-particular.
20. Liam Wright – a proper inglorious bastard. I’m developing a man-crush.
21. Tate McDermott – busy and a quick hands try.
22. Noah Lolesio – a very composed game with try-saving defence thrown in.
23. Max Burey – did the little things well and jagged a pie.

Other player chat/observations from the weekend:

• Peni Ravai played his heart out for the Reds, especially in the scrum. You could actually see him trembling under the pressure at times. But his hands failed him, and the Reds, at two crucial moments. So Gibbo got the jersey again this week. And speaking of bad hands, Langi Gleeson…
• Ryan Smith along with Hugh Sinclair deserve honourable mentions for massive effort games in the Locks. Those were dead-set honest shifts. And for Hugh it was second week running he was unlucky to miss out.
• A big thumbs up to Kiwi sides for keeping the ACT and Qld loose-forwards relatively contained. Our No7s especially were comparatively quiet this weekend versus their usual performances, and a lot of that was quality opposition.
• How physical were the Hurricanes? They genuinely brought the pain as carry-on luggage and it was (begrudgingly) grand to see. Imagine if one Ardie Savea was still charging about with them rather than with Kumbaya Dave at Kobe Kobelco Steelers in Japan?
• As for the Crusaders, they are nothing if not a first rate manufacturing facility for new players. Ok, they’ve had an ordinary start this year. But those writing them off fail to heed the lesson the Cru so often teach: they produce quality cattle. Their time will come return.
• I thought all our Aussie 10s played pretty well over the weekend. I still think that Noah is the pick of the bunch. But Flash played well (hence his selection) as did Lynagh. Ducky Donaldson, while not bad per se, is still hit and miss for me (too much miss) which probably explains why Cron has a revolving door with him and Max Burey in rotation.
• Speaking of 10s, the Stan commentary team gave effusing accolades to Tane Edmed, to the point I found it even more cringey than SBW talking about rolling rucks. And I didn’t think Edmed played that especially well. Poor defensive reads by him led to two of the Cru tries. And a poor kick-pass wasted a relatively simple Marky Marky try opportunity in an otherwise open backfield. Now Tahs fans, don’t get me wrong, Tane certainly didn’t suck. But the heapings of praise felt a bit over-done to the point it was almost contrived to make the kid cry again.
• How the hell was the Chiefs reserve prop head-on-head effort on Brumby’s Cadeyrn Neville not a straight-up red card (see below)? Yeh, Yeh, it was adjudged a yellow X (cheesey review) that was indeed upgraded. But seriously, in what universe was that shot not an outright shiraz? What in the good Lord’s name needed to be reviewed other than it was just another classic bit of play from a Kiwi prop named Joe Moody, Owen Franks, Ofa Tuʻungafasi, Richard Loe Jared Proffit?

And while on that match’s officiating James Doleman deserves more mention, particularly his 15th minute short-arm on Ryan Lonergan for time wasting at a ruck base while positioning for a box-kick. For it was just poor form. Yes, I agree that caterpillar rucks are an eyesore on the game and we should encourage pace over go-slow tactics. No argument from me there. But if we are serious about addressing such things, then we need to do it properly. And that involves anything but the totally random application of a rogue law interpretation in an unforeseen and uncommunicated manner.

Firstly, I would humbly point out that our current world champions South Africa, as crowned less than six months ago, utilise that very sin and have honed it to the point of art form. So for it to be now deemed worthy of short-arming is a remarkable reversal of opinion. Secondly, it is a tactic we see gainfully employed by every national side world over. Thirdly, that same tactic is then seen in near every premier competition all over the world as well. And fourth, while I started to count how many of them we saw in the opening two rounds of Super Rugby, I stopped counting at 50 times.

My point is that the issue is prolific and permeates the game. It is coached, game-managed and planned for accordingly. So if we now want to change the behaviour, otherwise valued and rewarded before now, by applying Law 9.7.d in a manner that hitherto has not been seen, then it needs to be appropriately and proactively communicated. Not just randomly pulled out of some ref’s arse back pocket. That means, among other things:

• Having the change in interpretation communicated and highlighted in the weekly pre-game chat from Super Rugby HQ to the teams,
• Having the change highlighted again in the pre-match ref/captains’ coin-toss and briefings in the tunnel,
• Perhaps even warning about it early in the match to be sure,
• and so MANAGE THE SITUATION.

But to just indiscriminately pull a Mathieu Raynal Special at all, but then use it to gift an opposition possession and field position in such a profound manner, is exceedingly poor. It is so poor it actually denigrates the position of the referee. And that’s before I point out the obvious that Dolly Doleman’s one-off solo man effort in match 5 of round 2 of Super Rugby now paints ALL super refs into the same corner of having to apply that same interpretation consistently and continuously across ALL super matches from now on, or having it become the poster-boy cliche of inept ‘policy on the run’ game-mismanagement it was.

And finally for this week, it was great to see sanity prevail with the powers that be actually reading my article last Tuesday and changing their approach with regards the ‘smart’ mouthguards. For those that missed it where last week a high score on the kinetic-force-measuring, blue-toothed enabled mouthguard triggered an automatic removal of a player from the field for a review, this week such an alert instead triggered an on-field assessment by a suitably qualified human to judge if the player does in fact need to be removed for further assessment. It’s a sensible change that leaves humans in control of a human situation. Good work to all involved. Naturally, I take all the credit.

Luv youse all. Comment away below.