18 March 2025
Good morning G&GRs and welcome to another Tuesday. It was a massive weekend of rugby and Bris did a heroic job covering it all yesterday. Quite marvellous really, and if you haven’t had a chance to catch up with it yet, you can check it out here.
It turns out there was too much rugby for the big man to get through, so I’ll cover the Super Rugby W matches and put down my version of a team of the week.
Super Rugby W
Drua v Brumbies
The Fijian Drua hosted the Brumbies at Churchill Park in Lautoka on Saturday afternoon where it looked hot and humid with storm clouds in the background.
The Brumbies had four debutants on Saturday afternoon. Congratulations to Analise Sio, Tia Hinds, Ella Hopper and Keia Mae Sagapolu Sanele.
The Brumbies had most of the running and territory for the first 30 minutes but could only manage a single try in the first half with winger Dawa getting on to the end of a good pass to score. The Drua even played 10 minutes with 14 after openside flanker was carded for a late shot on the Brumbies half back, but the Brumbies couldn’t convert the territory and pressure into more points. I’ve been complimentary of the goal kicking in Super Rugby W this year but the Brumbies first conversion attempt wasn’t very good. The Brumbies headed to the sheds at half time 5-0 up.
Half time saw the rain arrive, and wow it looked heavy, absolutely hosing down. That didn’t stop the Drua who controlled possession beautifully in the conditions to score a good try to Nabuli after 5 minutes of the second half. The conversion put the Drua in front.
The Brumbies were the next to score through their captain Palu who broke the line from close range and scored to put the Brumbies ahead 12-7. Then Fiji did what Fiji do, and in the pouring rain, put the ball through the hands before a chip , chase and regather saw the speedster Naikore race away to score. 14-12 to Fiji at this stage and game on in the rain. The Brumbies took the unusual but sensible option for a penalty to put themselves up 15-14 with not much time left, but Fiji were to have the last say with a try to replacement prop Matarugu right on 80 minutes to go ahead and win the game 21-15.
The Brumbies will feel like it’s one that got away after controlling a lot of the game in terms of territory and possession, but it’s all about the score line in the end.
Reds v Waratahs
Sunday afternoon saw the Reds host the Waratahs at Ballymore. It was a sunny Brisbane afternoon with the typicalMarch humidity. There were plenty of Wallaroos in both sides as well as some Sevens stars trying to put their case forward to make the Wallaroos squad. Teagan Levi started at outside centre for the Reds with other Sevens players, Isabella Nasser and Charlotte Caslick, who came off the bench looking to make an impact.
The Reds were the first to score through winger Kahli Henwood and Lori Cramer added the extras to put the Reds ahead 7-0 after just 8 minutes. The Waratahs went bang, bang, bang with tries to Talakai, Maya Stewart, and Georgina Friedrichs put them ahead 19-7 after 27 minutes. The first try was from a well worked lineout move with Talakai running over the top of winger Henwood to level the scores. The second try saw Desire Miller win a defensive turnover before the ball got fed to Maya Stewart who went in and away to leave Cramer in her wake and score untouched. Their third try was well created by Bella McKenzie who took the ball to the line and fed Friedrichs who ran 20 metres to score.
The Reds did score again before half time with a try to Caitlin Urwin on 33 minutes, but unfortunately that was the last of the scoring for the Reds. Half time saw the Waratahs with a handy 19-14 lead.
The second half must have been frustrating for the Reds players, every time they got into a good position their handling or decision making let them down, whereas the Waratahs were excellent and added three tries to extend their lead to 36-14 at full time.
Talakai got her second of the match on 50 minutes before Leilani Nathan saw yellow for a high tackle on Bella Nasser off the back of a scrum at 54 minutes. Being a player down didn’t bother the Tahs though and they were the next to score after replacement prop Seneti Kilisimasi scored 5 minutes later to extend their lead. Kilisimasi made an impact off the bench with three carries in the sequence of plays that led to her try. Maya Stewart finished the scoring with a try on 68 minutes to notch up her her 40th in Waratah colours.
Whether it was the Reds couldn’t impose themselves on the game the way they wanted to or it was the Waratahs defence that kept them out of the contest in the second half can be debated, but what can’t be argued is the composure of key Waratahs players including McKenzie, Piper Duck, and Emily Chancellor, who were all excellent. Then add the class of Friedrichs, Miller, and Stewart and they were too good on the day.
Bella Nasser got onto the field and had some good touches, and Charlotte Caslick replaced Cramer at fullback after 53 minutes and had a good outing. One run down the right side saw her split the defence almost effortlessly before feeding the ball on, but unfortunately, as with everything the Reds tried in the second half, the play broke down. Teagan Levi looked like she left it all out on the field, and between the attacking efforts and being the target some heavy defence, was seen to be vomiting at least once during the second half.
Final score was 36-14 to the Waratahs and the Reds will have to wait to claim their maiden SRW win over the Waratahs.
Wallabies team of the Week
Given the scoreline in the Reds v Waratahs game, I was tempted to put down the Reds from 1 to 23, but there were some other great Aussie performances on the weekend, so my crack at team of the week is:
- Angus Bell, seemed to be the only Tahs forward to make an impact in his time on the field.
- Richie Asiata, was on earlier than expected in the first half and made an impact. Didn’t miss a lineout throw and scored at the back of a great rolling maul.
- Allan Alaalatoa, so much work around the park, and a key steal to present a try.
- Josh Canham, was in everything and the support line he ran behind Thomas late in the second half was a huge effort.
- Jeremy Williams, stood tall against Scott Barrett and company in a loss to the Crusaders
- Seru Uru, shades Tom Hooper this week with his all around game
- Fraser McReight, benefits from being part of the winning side, turnovers, attacking runs, tackles, and his game awareness for his second half try.
- Harry Wilson, scored a try, carried all night, and despite being tipped over by Kellaway effectively led the Reds pack around.
- Ryan Lonergan, another win for the Brumbies and Lonergan was very good.
- Tom Lynagh, after an initial poor clearance that led to the Waratahs first try, Lynagh was excellent, has composure, calmness and importantly time to make good decisions.
- Corey Toole, has added strength in contact and distribution skills to his pure speed this year.
- Hunter Paisami, was solid in his first game back, ran good lines, threw some nice passes, and didn’t make any errors,
- Len Ikitau, a hat-trick to Len against the Drua with a return to the power and footwork that has made him one of the best in the world.
- Andy Muirhead, part of a lethal back three for the Brumbies, scored a good try and created more opportunities.
- Tom Wright, a silly penalty for obstruction in the first half, but created lots of space and tries for his team.
- Billy Pollard, consistent again.
- Marley Pearce, having a great season for the Force
- Zane Nonggorr, was good throughout his 56 minute shift, and after an early scrum penalty to the Tahs, the Reds scrum stood up.
- Nick Frost, dominates in the lineout for the Brumbies
- Tom Hooper, has been very good this year, and gets a start in a forward heavy bench
- Reimer, made an impact off the bench with a key steal on his own line late in the game to deny the Drua when they were chasing the game
- Tate McDermott, was very good against the Tahs, watching it live, it’s amazing how quickly he gets to attacking breakdowns to keep the pace up.
- Filipo Daugunu, was very good against the Tahs and can cover the balance of the backline positions. Otherwise, JOC 3.0 should be considered as well.
As always, thanks for making it this far, and we’ll look forward to your views in the comments.
Cheers
