Wednesday’s Rugby News sees a Bledisloe double, Hooper trying to win back fans, Brumbies talking about improving, and similarly tough times for the men from Auckland.
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Double Header
The Bledisloe Cup double header will be back this year.
After the success of the event in Auckland in 2016, the Wallabies and Wallaroos will be play two back-to-back matches for the first time ever in Sydney this year.
This match will be extra special for the Wallaroos, who will play their first home game since 2008. Also, it’ll be the 50th test in their history.
And it really says something that by comparison, many of the England Womens players have notched up more that 100 individual caps.
However, both the Wallaroos and Black Ferns are looking to make the Womens Bledisloe a more regular event. The Black Ferns dominated their first contest in Auckland, winning 67-3 in 2016. However, in the second match in North Harbour the Wallaroos were much more competitive, going down 29-3.
Keep in mind too, that this was before there was any sort of regular Womens competition in Australia. Now, we’ve got the AON Uni Sevens and the Super W.
The Black Ferns are, like their male counterparts, the best team in the world, and young Wallaroo skipper Grace Hamilton admitted that it was going to be a tough competition against them.
“The Black Ferns are the best in the world but you want to play the best to beat the best,” Hamilton said to rugby.com.au.
“I think looking forward I think we’ve got a really good group of girls that we can develop further and looking to the 2021 World Cup we’re only going to get better.
“To be here, to have a home crowd and play on home soil, I’ve never played on home soil in the Wallaroos jersey, so it’ll be massive moment for all of us.”
Considering how much talent and passion we’ve seen in Womens Rugby here over the last ten months, it’s a pity the men can’t take a leaf out of their book.
Michael Hooper did admit though that seeing the Wallaroos share the stage was something that will only be good for Aussie Rugby.
“With the Super W and being part of the Waratahs group and we had a couple of the double headers then how successful it was,” he said at the joint launch yesterday.
“I’ve always been a fan of there being a game before and seeing how competitive and how much enjoyment the women get out their rugby and have that game so close with the men and women playing is outstanding.
“The game last week on the Friday, we’re in the change rooms getting ready for the game, we’re hearing this game’s going to extra-time, some huge plays at the back end of the game.
“It was really exciting for us to watch and gets us into the game when we’re about to play.”
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Don’t Define Us
I may get eggs thrown at me for saying this, but honestly, I feel for Michael Hooper sometimes.
Yeah, the last few weeks he hasn’t been at his best, but you can’t deny that within Aussie Rugby since the last World Cup, he has been a benchmark of consistency, at least as an individual player.
And the amount of times he’s had to come out and defend poor team performance after poor team performance is getting too numerous to count.
But that’s not me excusing the performances.
Yesterday, at the Bledisloe launch he did it again, saying that the Aussie teams can’t let themselves be defined by a disastrous weekend of results.
Well, it’s not actually been one weekend of results… more like two years of bad results. But I digress.
“One loss doesn’t define your season, one loss doesn’t mean you’re a bad team,” he said.
“The Rebels went (3-0) with bonus points in each one of those games, so they’ve got a lot to be confident about.
“Likewise with the other Australian teams. I think there’s so much left in the season – six games, five for us before the Irish stuff. Everyone’s in with a shout and competitive.
“In my position, building resilience is really important.
“One game doesn’t mean you’re a bad team, it just means you’ve got to learn from the missed opportunities.”
It is still kind of amazing that despite the bad results, the Tahs and Rebels are still in the race for the finals. And for Hooper, having more teams in will actually be beneficial.
Well, cause it’s not like getting knocked out early and having the extra month to prepare for the internationals the last two years has worked.
“That’d be ideal for sure (having more Australian teams in the finals),” said Hoops.
“High pressure, guys getting used to that and comfortable with their performances.
“If they’re probably in those games, then a lot of the individuals are playing personally really good rugby and that would be a great outcome.”
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Feel the Wrath
Another Kiwi team is coming to town this weekend.
This time, the Crusaders will be arriving in Canberra to take on the Brumbies, who are still licking their wounds after going down to the bloody Jags at home over the weekend.
I’m still pissed about it.
However, a new week brings a new opportunity, and one that young gun Mees Erasmus is looking forward to. He made his debut for the Ponies on Sunday, and fronted up to the media yesterday to remind folks that the Brumbies could still pull off an unlikely win.
“It’s an incredible feeling [debuting],” Erasmus said to rugby.com.au.
“Just running out there – I had goosebumps all over.
“Straight into my first scrum as well – that made me just forget about everything, get the ball out and played on from there – it’s very special.”
Originally a Saffa, Erasmus grew up watching the days when the Brums and the Crusaders had one of the most intense rivalries in Super 12.
“Growing up in South Africa we would always watch the Crusaders play the Brumbies,” he said.
“They have so much history together, playing each other in the finals.
“I back our squad and our ability to take them on.
“We just have to iron out a few errors and we will be good.”
Yes, I know, we’re currently on a 35 game losing streak to the Kiwis. We know that. The Brumbies know that. Everyone bloody knows that.
“It’s definitely a mental battle – I think that’s the biggest part of it,” Erasmus said.
“I’ve got a good feeling about it this weekend and that it might change.
“They might come here to Canberra and get the full wrath of the Brumbies.”
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Feeling the Blues
Speaking of the losing streak…
Of all the teams that can probably relate to Australia’s Kiwi curse, the Blues are certainly up there. Cause it looks like they might have caught our curse too.
The last time they beat a Kiwi side was the opening round of 2016, when they defeated the Highlanders 33-31.
Since then, they haven’t beaten a Kiwi side in the last fifteen attempts, and that includes a draw against the Chiefs. And, in nine of those matches, the margin has been less than a converted try.
They also hold the dubious record of having the longest losing streak against one single team in Super Rugby history, having not beaten the Chiefs in their last thirteen encounters.
Many are starting to call for coach Tana Umaga to get the boot, but chief executive Michael Redman said he will stand by his embattled coach.
“There’s plenty of support for Tana within New Zealand rugby and the Blues,” he told reporters.
“We think he has a great rugby brain, he has the respect of the players, he has my support and the support of the board.
“In the end, we haven’t been able to deliver and changing coaches every cycle hasn’t worked for the Blues previously.
“I think our preferred option would be to try to work with the group we have.”
The Blues haven’t won the grand final in fifteen years, and haven’t been in the playoffs since 2011.
Part of me wonders though if the Blues executive would still be supportive of Umaga if the Blues lost to an Aussie team at any point this year…
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On a more reflective note, today is an important day for us to come together and be thankful for the sacrifices of our many servicemen and women, both past and present, who defended and helped shape our country.
I wish all of you a safe and happy ANZAC Day.
Lest we forget.
