8 April 2025
Good morning G&GRs and welcome to another edition of the Tuesday news. At this time of year there’s plenty of rugby to talk including the Super Rugby W semi-finals, the Aussie performances at the Singapore Sevens, an Australian team of the week, and some general news. So let’s get into it. And if you’re wondering about the relevance of the feature image, I reckon Les Kiss might be saying something like “if you are this close to the posts Tate, as in you could throw it over, how about you take the three?”.
Super Rugby W semi-final 1 – Queensland Reds v Fijian Drua
It was a cracking day in Brisbane on Sunday and the Reds and Drua turned on an attacking spectacle at Ballymore. The Reds ended up winning the game 54-40 after leading by 37 at half time.
The Reds set the tone from the start, running the ball and trying to find a way through the Fijian defence for 10+ phases before opting to kick for some territory. Unfortunately for Fiji, they spilled the kick, giving the Reds possession and territory, and they duly got the ball across the line through Kreis after three minutes with Cramer converting for 7-0.
That was the start of a very attacking first half with Fiji hitting back after 10 minutes, only for the Reds to extend their lead to 14-5 after their captain Bemrose scored off a great tap move. She was unfortunately injured in the tackle and had to leave the field; hopefully she can make a quick recovery. The Reds continued to pile on the pain for Fiji scoring another 4 tries before half time to stretch to a 42-5 lead with Lori Cramer kicking a perfect 6 from 6. A great half of footy by the Reds with the whole team contributing, but there were standouts: inside centre Shalom Sauaso was excellent in attack, shredding tackles and running fantastic support lines. Her first half try is a masterclass of inside shoulder line in support and timing to be hitting the gap at pace. Eva Karpani was excellent and made ground with every carry, closely followed by lock Teutau who was physical throughout her time on the field. It wasn’t all in the forwards though, with Kramer excelling at 10 and Caslick starting to make an impact.
Like most games, this was one of two halves and the Drua did their absolute best to steal the game, getting back to within 7 at 47-40 after outside centre Naikore scored a great try off a Reds error. It was game on with eight minutes to play. The Reds found a way though, scoring a close range try after sustained attack on the Fiji try line. The Drua were outstanding in the second half and Qld will need to look at how this almost got away from them after such a commanding first half performance.
Super Rugby W semi-final 2 – NSW Waratahs v Western Force
The game was played in great conditions at Leichhardt oval in Sydney and the Waratahs were able to field an unchanged line-up for this critical match.
The Tahs get off to a fast start, scoring three tries to go ahead 19-0 after 20 minutes. Maya Stewart collected a double while her wing partner Miller seemed to be in everything positive that the Waratahs did with line breaks, tackle busts and offloads getting the Waratahs on the front foot.
The Force were in the contest, scoring the next 2 tries to go into half time at 19-12 down. Ashley Marsters was at the front for the Force giving them momentum in the second quarter; her strong carry set up the Force’s first try, and she gave the offload for the second. At 19-12 down, could the Force set pull off a massive upset?
The short answer is no, and the Waratahs really got into their work in the second half. They were relentless and scored 5 tries with the ever present Georgina Friedrichs bagging a well deserved hat trick. The Waratahs were impressive across the park, their handling, width and pace of play were excellent, and their scrum demolished the Force’s earning a penalty try in the 67th minute. They weren’t done there with Miller and Friedrichs combining to put the returning Caitlyn Halse away, before Friedrichs scored her third try, slicing though the Force defence untouched from 20 metres out. The Force had the last say with Ash Marsters scoring a well deserved try in the 80th minute.
It was a dominant display by the Waratahs ultimately prevailing 54-17, and we should say welcome back to Caitlyn Halse, who looked very sharp in her return from injury. Watching the way Friedrichs played, and reflecting on the Reds game, a Wallaroos centre pairing of Shalom Sauaso, and Georgina Friedrichs looks likely.
Next week
There is a lot to look forward to next week as the Tahs will host the Reds in a grand final to see who gets bragging rights. If the Reds can sustain their play from the first 40 minutes against Fiji for the full 80, then they might take home the chocolates, but if they let the Waratahs into it the Tahs have strike firepower across the park to shut the Reds out.
Singapore Sevens
The Australian Women’s team had another great tournament in Singapore, ultimately losing out to New Zealand in the final after hammering Spain and Japan in the pool matches 31-0, and 43-5, respectively. They were even more impressive against Canada in the semi-final running away with it 45-7.
They ran into a red hot New Zealand in the final though and had to settle for silver again. On the way, Madi Levi scored her 200th try in Sevens rugby, and became the first player to score 50 tries three seasons in a row. All that at the young age of 22, and who knows how many times she’ll cross the try line before she’s done. It wasn’t all about Madi Levi though, the rest of the team is stepping up and adapting to some stars like Caslick not being there this year.
The final wasn’t all one way traffic, Australia took it to New Zealand, and went to half time 12-7 down after who else but Madi Levi scored on half time.
New Zealand turned it on in the second half scoring three tries to nil, the first after some excellent defensive pressure forced an Australian error and they were in. Their next try was pure Sevens skill using the width of the field from a tap move on the right side and putting the left winger away to score under the posts from 40 metres. There was some magic defensively from Madi Levi, who made a great tackle on the goal line and stole the ball in the process.
If you haven’t seen it yet, you can check it out at this link.
Mickaela Brake from New Zealand extended her lead as the greatest ever try scorer by bagging a double and putting an exclamation mark on the Kiwi performance at 31-7. It certainly was a cracking match, there were some great passages of play and the defence from both sides was brutal at times. New Zealand have the edge over Australia at the moment winning three tournaments on the bounce.
The Australian men had a tough time losing to Uruguay and Spain in the pool matches, and then South Africa in the 9th place play off.
Australian team of the week
It’s another week of Super Rugby so another week to pick an Australian team of the week. The Brumbies had the bye and the Waratahs gave themselves the second half off in Auckland, which makes it hard to compare that game to the tighter games that the Reds and Force played against the Chiefs and the Highlanders. Anyway, here we go:
- Angus Bell – was very good again for the Tahs and one of a few that can hold their head up.
- Matt Faessler – was back in the starting side, scored a try, and was on the field while the Reds stuck it to the Chiefs early.
- Tom Robertson – was solid again and is putting his hand up to be in the mix come Wallabies squad time.
- Jeremy Williams – the Force captain continues his good run of form
- Josh Canham – the Qld lock is also in good form this year.
- Joe Brial – had his best game in Super Rugby scoring a great by showing skill with the kick through and pace to get to the ball first.
- Carlo Tizzano – Another dominant display by Tizzano with a try and a good all around the field, including the game ending turnover.
- Harry Wilson – led the Reds for tackles in the wet in Hamilton, and was second for tackles, finished it off with deft left footed grubber for Lynagh’s late try.
- Teddy Wilson – one of the Waratahs best.
- Ben Donaldson – was composed against the Highlanders, added pace to the game, showed good vision, and kicked 6 from 7.
- Filipo Daugunu – another good game from the Queenslander
- Hunter Paisami – made an early mistake, but improved throughout the game. Some good touches, including a good pass to HMP to almost score.
- Dre Pakeho – the young Reds centre was playing in front of family in New Zealand, and put in a good shift.
- Harry Potter – scored a neat try in the second half and was very good throughout the game. Has great footwork for a big man and is good in the air.
- Mac Grealy – Mac has listened to the Pet Shop Boys (Go West) and is having a great season. His positional play is very good, his support play is excellent, he bagged a nice try and helped his team play the full 80 minutes.
- Brandon Paenga-Amosa – another good outing from BPA, bagged a try for his efforts.
- Alex Hodgman – not as dominant as recent weeks, but another good performance from the one test Wallaby.
- I can’t work this one out – let me know what you think.
- Darcy Swain – continues to impress with his lineout work alongside Jeremy Williams.
- Fraser McReight – was busy in his return, his one handed pick up early in the second half almost went unnoticed, almost.
- Tate McDermott – a good game, but maybe take the three, Tate.
- Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii – was very, very good in the first half.
- Lachie Anderson – has been good for the Reds the last few weeks, and has plenty of pace and skill,
Let me know what you think in the comments.
For what it’s worth
News this week that Noah Lolesio is heading overseas at the end of the year and questions about whether he (and others like Gleeson and Hooper) should be picked to play for the Wallabies against the Lions.
For mine, the coaches should pick the best available side to play the Lions; if that includes players who are going overseas, then so be it. The same philosophy should apply to key overseas players, though I think the only one likely to make a difference would be Samu Kerevi as #12 is the position that we have the least depth.
If, over the course of the Super Rugby season players like Noah, Gleeson, and Tom Hooper are the best in their positions, then they should get a call up. I’d say that based on recent form, Gleeson and Hooper are offering more, but Noah has been the first choice Wallaby flyhalf recently so, it’ll be interesting.
That’s a wrap
As always, thanks for making it this far. Have a great Tuesday, and look I forward to the comments section.
