Week five saw two of Australia’s teams, the Reds and the Waratahs, put in their best performance of the season to date. On the flip side it saw another team, the Force, put in perhaps their worst performance for a number of years.
The Brumbies? Well they won. They haven’t clicked just yet, but how well are they sitting? They are in 5th spot, on for and against alone, as they have the same number of points as the 4th placed Chiefs. It’s a handy run in for them town, basically staying in Australia for the rest of the comp, except for two short hit and run missions across the pond to take on the Blues and Crusaders. So, in my eye, they are still the Australian team most likely to challenge for the trophy.
But first let’s all glow on the warmth that was the energy created by the running rugby played by both the Tahs and Reds over the weekend. A cumulative effort of 123-22 against the two bottom teams of the comp. 18 tries to 3. Nice!!! The poor Force must really be looking forward to taking on the Tahs this weekend. In reality it will be a great challenge for both outfits – for the Force to see if they can pick themselves up, at home, after one of their lowest points; and for the Tahs to see if they can springboard off their excellent Saturday night win for another exciting game in Perth.
But back to this week, and let’s try to come up with some sort of Team of the Week:
Team of the Round:
15 Adam Ashley-Cooper (BRUMBIES)
14 Francis Fainifo (BRUMBIES)
13 Digby Ioane (REDS)
12 Anthony Faingaa (REDS)
11 Drew Mitchell (WARATAHS)
10 Quade Cooper (REDS)
9 Will Genia (REDS)
8 Wycliff Palu(WARATAHS)
7 George Smith (BRUMBIES)
6 Scott Higginbotham (REDS)
5 Dean Mumm (WARATAHS)
4 Kane Douglas (WARATAHS)
3 Al Baxter (WARATAHS)
2 Tatafu Polata-Nau (WARATAHS)
1 Ben Alexander (BRUMBIES)
So what do you think? Six from the Tahs, five from the Reds and four from the Brumbies. Part of me feels that the work of the Reds’ forwards was undervalued, and the likes of Van Humphries, Laurie Weeks, Saia Faingaa and Ben Daley were definitely in contention. However, it is a credit to that Tahs tight five, and a wonderful performance by Benny Alexander, that they get the jump on the Reds. Sadly for the Force no one really got close. Matty Hodgson got the most raves, if you can call them that, but George Smith was fantastic against the Sharks.
Player of the Round:
Now, this was hard. Traditionally we’ve picked one player from each of the Australian teams to vote between here. However this is difficult for two reasons 
here. Firstly, the ‘dismality’ that was the Force. I mean come on, who played well there? Secondly, how do you pick the one stand out for the Waratahs and Reds? In the end I left much of it up to our readers over at the Forum. Each week they gather and vote on their three best players for each Aussie team, so by checking the leading vote getters of the round for each team, I’ve come up with this.
First of all, Anthony Faingaa, in a close call from Quade Cooper. FaingaaA has been fantastic this year and showing the potential many of us heard about from his younger years. He really started the rot in the Force game with his strong opening try. He scored two for the day, but it was also his strong defense that was a feature, and it has been all season. For the Tahs, there is a clear leader – Drew Mitchell. Four tries. What an effort. In equals the most scored by an 
individual in a single Super 12/14 game. But he was dangerous every time he touched the ball (in more ways than one) and showed great instinct and industry, all match. Further south, and the Brumby option is also quite clear.
Ben Alexander was yet another multiple try-scorer. In fact he was his team’s only try scorer. The best part? Both tries were both real ‘prop’ tries. Alexander’s work rate around the field is second to none among front rowers and was again a shining light in Saturday night’s game. Ok, now this one is a toughie. The Force. Well the man the forum has come with, is the man who has been arguably the Force’s best all year. Matty Hodgson. There weren’t many opportunities for Hodgson on the weekend as the Reds controlled the ball well, and the Force coughed it up way too easily. But his work ethic and professionalism shone through and coach John Mitchell would’ve wished for another 14 Hodgsons like Matt on that loooong Sunday afternoon.
[poll id=”72″]
Try of the Round:
If you thought coming up with the team of the round was hard, and finding someone good from the Force was challenging, then trying to nail down two tries as the best two of this round was damn near impossible.
So I’m not going to do it. What I am going to do instead, with all due respect to Benny Alexander’s efforts, is simply repost the highlights of the Tahs and Reds games. You choose your own try. Myself? I loved Quade’s passes for Digby’s 2nd and FaingaaA’s 2nd. Beautifully timed. The kick ahead for Digger’s first was also a delight. My Reds try of the round was probably the one finished my Morahan but with great touches by the likes of Braid, Houston, Diggers and Quade.
For the Tahs the standouts were Lachie Turner’s first, from the Josh Holmes quick tap, the Palu run and the Hangers kick. The Drew Mitchell 2nd try, from the set backline play, was probably my favorite due to its wonderful execution and Mitchell’s balance whilst running flat out. Cliffy Palu’s try was also a great example of team work and a variety of skills as well.
But here you go. Knock yourself out.
Tahs v Lions
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ymTXedkYlE[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJYl07PqXR4[/youtube]
Reds v Force
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeNcKQznbuE[/youtube]
Moment of the Round:
I wanted to make this about the Force, and the naming of their team, because it was from that moment on I felt their game against the Reds would not end well. But it seems unfair to focus on a negative when so much positive rugby was played on the weekend. So I’m going to say it was the combined cheers of enjoyment from the Sydney crowd whilst they watched their beloved Tahs demolish the Lions on Friday night. It had been a nasty week, in the lead up, with many complaining about the boring and uninspired rugby their team was playing. When Chris Hickey named the same team again, for the Lions game, the howls of derision could be heard up here in Brisbane. And yes we know it was ‘just the Lions’ but still, it was wonderful to watch, and a moment of escapism the Tah fans needed, if only for one night.
