In this weeks Tuesday Top 5 we have a quick look at the Rugby Championship now the dust has settled, Rookies making an impact, a look at this weeks NRC games, Pacific Pride drawing good crowds and the season drawing to a close.
The Rugby Championship 2016
So with the final round now complete and the All Blacks securing the silverware let have a look now the dust has settled:
What do the stats say?
All Blacks:
Unsurprisingly the All Blacks topped most of the stats, with a few perhaps surprising exceptions. They completely blew the other teams away with the number of tries scored and running metres. But they have really dropped the ball when it comes to Carries, Offloads, Lineouts and Ruck Success where they only ranked 2nd. A critical look at the All blacks stats reveals they are very controlled in what they do and execute with efficiency when they have the opportunity.
The All Black considered this year a rebuilding year after losing many experienced players and were determined to transition as seamlessly as possible and maintain their consistency. It appears to be going to plan. They continue to play the All Blacks way which is the benchmark in rugby.
Springboks:
The Boks hovered around the bottom end of the stats, especially in the attacking areas. They fared a little better when it came to defensive stats and forwards based areas like the scrum and line out. But their backs pretty much sucked (yes, I know pot … kettle … black … but our backs sucked a little less than theirs).
The Boks were supposed to be in a rebuilding phase with a lot of positives off the back of the Lions. Somehow that seems to have been lost very much like any resemblance of game plan with Coetzee appearing to resort to whatever it takes to get a win to save his career and seemingly unable to grasp the Lions style or game play – let alone its success. They have ended up playing what is something of a mix of Jonny Wilkinson’s love child, something from the NFL; lots of big units smashing things for no particular reason other than because; and a group of 8 year old soccer players on a sugar rush playing rugby – chaotic and no clue what game they are playing.
Pumas:
The Pumas ranked 1st for Carries, Offloads and Ruck Success and 2nd in most other areas. It’s really interesting to consider these stats and compare them to the Pumas teams of old. They seemed to have grasped the Super Rugby ball in hand rugby style and are working hard to master it while maintaining their physicality. They appear to be overplaying at the moment. Once they reign in their enthusiasm, become more efficient and accurate, cutting out the errors like dropped balls then they will definitely be serious contenders in the Rugby Championship. Overall they look like they are playing the “Aussie way” better than we are; physical, ball in hand, expansive and entertaining.
Overall they will be disappointed not to have achieved the 2 wins they set themselves as a goal for this Championship. The season of Super Rugby has certainly had a positive impact and they have clearly improved.
Wallabies:
Wallabies ranked:
4th (Last) for Lineout Success, Scrum Success and Ruck Success.
3rd (Second last) for Clean Breaks, Carries, Metres, Defenders Beaten, Tackle Success and Offloads
2nd for Tries
1st for Yellow Cards (just really unlucky)
It was always going to be a big ask to start the RC campaign against the All Blacks and off the back off the England series whitewash you could not have asked for a worse lead in. But alas, fate did deal more blows including the loss of Giteau very early on. We rebounded to get some wins but in general the question of if we have progressed or improved is open to debate. So does the question of the quality of the opposition when we did get the wins.
The reality appears to be that we are no closer to the All Blacks and are yet to settle on a style or game play that will achieve the results we want.
One thing that is revealing about the above stats is that it indicates that the Wallabies appear to be playing the old Springboks way being forwards centric, focussed on physicality and use the backline sparingly. Add in the big boot of Hodge and there is something eerily familiar about this style and game plan………..
Positives from the RC:
Yes, there are a few and one worth mentioning is around the fresh blood in the squad.
So, allegedly this year was about rebuilding, so after importing all the 60 capper’s into the squad and selecting a team similar to the RWC final team, injuries hit or contractual obligations intervened and we lost some key players like Polota-Nau, Pocock, McMahon, Giteau, Ashley-Cooper, Toomua, Horne and McCalman.
So let have a look at the new blood and how they performed:
None of the players seem to be out of their element in the Wallabies team with Haylett- Petty, Kerevi, Hodge, Coleman and Alaaatoa all given ample opportunity to justify their selection and continued inclusion. The remaining 5 have shown good signs but need more time and opportunity.
A point worth pondering is the composition of the current Wallabies team if those above playing out of position were to be played in (or close to) their preferred positions. For example the backline could consist of Haylett-Petty at full back, Kerevi and Hodge as a centre pairing and Naivalu on the wing. Add in Timani or Houston at 8, with the others who are already playing in position and it’s not a bad team to be working with especially when you start thinking about those who are proven at test level who are not mentioned. It certainly provides the Wallabies with some new alternatives and options.
Regardless if they have been selected as part of the succession planning or out of necessity it has shown that we do have some depth in Aussie rugby. How much of an impact they can make is only limited by the opportunities they are given.
It’s all now about the race for ‘The Toast Rack’ (NICK WASILIEV)
The fascinating regular season of the NRC has come to an end, and if there has been any season that has showcased how important this competition has become in Australian rugby, then this season has surely been it. While this round saw many of the favourites come out on top (differing from the previous two rounds that were full of upset after upset), it was still a fascinating round. The clashes for the Horan-Little Shield this year have been the most exciting so far in the competitions history, with five of the eight teams at some point during the regular season holding the shield. In the end, despite the admirable efforts of the Western Sydney Rams, the NSW Country Eagles were deserving winners of the shield.
It was a fascinating match, and a worthy contest for the inaugural Ben Robinson Bell, that was also up for grabs. While the man himself wasn’t there to present the Bell himself to the Eagles, there was a small sense that the NSW teams may have a lot of fun competing for this in the future, particularly as skipper Paddy Ryan rang the bell for the first time to the approval of the crowd. As a New South Welshman, it was a damn satisfying sight to see. Sad that we won’t get to see the Rams anymore this year, but that’s finals footy for you.
Western Sydney Rams vs NSW Country Eagles:
In the other match with silverware on the line, the sunshine state derby between Brisbane City and Queensland Country broke the record for the highest number of points scored in an NRC match, at a ridiculous 110 in front of a good crowd at Ballymore. With both their seasons over after this match, both teams threw themselves into the fiery contest. While many (including myself) were hoping Country could snatch the Andy Purcell Cup for the first time from their city rivals, Brisbane proved to have the edge, running out 58-52 winners to retain the cup for the third year running.
Sam Talakai looked a relieved man after the final whistle, at least City were able to keep this piece of silverware. Country will finish the season as wooden spooners, but this game shows that it is not a matter of if they get the Andy Purcell Cup, but when. They were in the game for the whole match and it shows in the closeness of the result.
Brisbane City vs Queensland Country:
Now, with all regular season silverware done and dusted for 2016, it’s all about that Toaster Rack. The Perth Spirit continued to showcase the potential of rugby in the west, running out 42-36 winners over the Vikings in Canberra to all but guarantee a third place finish. The Vikings showed plenty of fight and picked up a losing bonus point for their efforts to have a slim hope of making the finals, but the Spirit were too good, and now look in red hot form for the semis, having won four of their last five games.
Canberra Vikings vs Perth Spirit:
The Spirits opponents next week, the Sydney Rays, continued their fantastic form and ensured they finished in second place by beating the Melbourne Rising down at a windy Frankston Oval. The wind played a huge role in the game, with the Rays having it at their back in the first half to score all their points and head to the sheds with a 22-point lead. The Rising were the benefits of it in the second half, and fought back, but the Rays held on to win 38-32. The Rising will be disappointed, however their losing bonus point kept the Vikings at bay, which guaranteed they finished 4th.
Melbourne Rising vs Sydney Rays:
Pacific Pride Round provides strongest crowds of the NRC season (NICK WASILIEV)
Who got to go out to a game this weekend? Well, if you did you were treated to something special, with the #AUSPacificPride round proving a big success! The Rams management drew the most impressive crowd (of around 3,000-3,500) for their game against the Eagles, and the day had everything, from a Pacific Island fashion show to dancers and drummers, to stands and a packed hill, which looked great on the broadcast.
Concord Oval was abuzz with a carnival atmosphere and it was great! What was even better was seeing most of the crowd stick around after the Rams game to watch the NSW Tonga and Fiji sides beat the crap out of each other in a vicious display of islander rugby. It was entertaining stuff, but I would have hated to be the ref for that game. Go to the Rams Facebook page to check out the pre-game war dances, it was spine tingling stuff!
Aside from that, crowd numbers were up at every other game. Overall, the ARU can look on this round and smile! What a great way to get fans watching more NRC! To top that off, it was great to see us recognise the important role Islander countries have played in the history of the Wallabies. With talks of a Pacific Islands team joining the competition next year, you get the sense that these initiatives may signal the coming-of-age of the NRC. Judging by what I saw at Concord Oval on the weekend, we may have just seen glimpses of that.
There’s only three games left in the rugby season! (NICK WASILIEV)
Well, we started with eight, and now, after a cracker of a regular season, we’re down to four teams. In what will be the last three games of semi-professional/professional rugby on Australian soil, the NRC semi-finals are looking like a mouth-watering proposition. So I strongly urge you guys to get along to these games, as we won’t be seeing any more Aussie rugby till February next year (bar the Wallabies, who are still far from performing at their best).
On Saturday, the stage is set for Newcastle to have its share of NRC action, as minor premiers NSW Country Eagles host the Melbourne Rising. While many will write the Rising off, remember the last time these two teams met in Tamworth, the Eagles were lucky to get away with the win 32-30. That match also gave us some of the best moments all season, such as Sam Jefferies bone-crunching hit on Folau Fainga’a. These two teams are really starting to develop a history of physical confrontations between them (as seen by their game last year in Geelong, which the Rising won), so if you’re in the Newcastle area, you’ll want to get along to this one to see hits like this:
Sam Jefferies smashes Folau Fainga’a:
An even more exciting contest looms at Pittwater Rugby Park the following day, with the Sydney Rays playing their first ever semi-final match against the Perth Spirit. All fans of the game on the Northern Beaches or in Sydney in general, whether you’re a Marlin, a Rat, a Highlander, a Shoreman or otherwise, you should get along to this one. Both teams are in red-hot form. The Rays will be favourites to win this, but to underestimate the Spirit in finals times would be a foolish mistake: the last time they were in the semis in 2014, they upset the previously undefeated Melbourne Rising and pushed Brisbane City all the way in the final.
