The Tuesday Top 5 sees a mixed bag start for all of the Aussie teams, offloading teams dominate and we have a look up north to see who are shaping up as the World Cup contenders.
JOUBERT SEES RED
Hayden Triggs was the second recipient of a red card for the 2015 season after James Horwill’s red card last week. Triggs was reported by the Assistant Referee to Craig Joubert for punching Duane Vermuelen in back play. Subsequent video replays while from a wide angle, clearly showed Triggs trying to land a left right combo on Vermuelen’s melon. With the poor video footage to go on, Joubert deferred to the closer AR’s opinion and awarded the card in the 25th minute. The loss of a man for 55minutes of the match hurt the Blues who went down 27-16.
With 2 red cards in 2 rounds, the season is off to a cracking start for fans of ill discipline. Only 2 red cards were issued in all of season 2014, both in round 14.
MIXED BAG START FOR AUSSIE TEAMS
The end of round 2 finds all 5 Australian franchises sitting on 1 win and 1 loss. After the slow start to the season by the Waratahs, they were able to find a way to win against a gutsy Rebels team in Melbourne.
The Brumbies flew out to New Plymouth with the toughest assignment of trying to beat the bookies favourites for this years title, the Chiefs at home. Ultimately in the end the two teams scores were separated by a missed conversion with the Brumbies on the wrong side of the ledger, repeating last years close contests between the two teams.
The Reds meanwhile had to overcome losing James OConnor shortly before kickoff after he failed a fitness test on his left knee, that was injured during Thursdays training session when he stood on a team mates foot. But overcome they did. They were able to put a tumultuous week behind them and beat the Force in convincing fashion 18-6.
OFFLOADING TEAMS CONTINUE TO DOMINATE
Round 2 saw every wining team off loading more than their opponent, except the Stormers/Blues game where they had only 2 each. The Kiwis lead the way with an average of 7.2 per game. Australian teams were second with 5.4 offloads per game and the South African teams a distant 3rd with 2.25 per game.
RBS SIX NATIONS BIG GUNS TO FACE OFF
With the bye week now behind us in the Six Nations, this Sundays fixture sees the two big guns Ireland and England face off at Aviva Stadium. With both teams undefeated thus far, it will be an opportunity to see if England can mix their traditional forwards dominated game with the attacking flair they attempted to utilise against Italy last week.
While for Joe Schmidt’s men, it’s a chance to prove they are the real deal heading towards the Rugby World Cup. Northern Hemisphere press have likened them to the 2003 England team, with a capability to strangle other teams out of the game by capitalizing on their mistakes.
The championship race between these two teams will be interesting with England’s final two games at home against Scotland and France, while Ireland’s two final games will be away but against less fancied opposition of Wales and Italy. Either way, whoever wins this week likely wins the championship.
KARMICHAEL HUNT EFFECTIVELY STOOD DOWN FROM THE REDS
Yesterday morning the QRU announced Karmichael Hunt would be stood down for this Fridays clash against the Higlanders at the toaster. The QRU cited concerns for Hunt’s welfare as the primary motivator and through their language and actions, had up until that point offered measured support for their embattled recruit.
But late yesterday it appears a decision had been made and it was announced he was banned from training. Effectively placing him in the same situation of his 5 Gold Coast Titans co-accused of having been stood down.
