Aging talent on Brumbies means rebuild is a necessity - Season Review
A late-season surge has the Brumbies in 10th spot and 3rd in the Australian conference heading into the final round, but it is a case of too little too late for Dan McKellar’s men.
The side’s valiant effort in Hamilton wasn’t enough as they went down 24-19 to the Chiefs, making playoff qualification impossible and ending their season’s hopes. They will miss the finals for the first time in six years, after being Australian conference champions two years in a row.
This season has largely been a forgettable one for the Canberra franchise, suffering from dire crowd numbers, poor results and an identity crisis. The Chief Executive became the first in Super Rugby history to beg fans to show up, a sign of the club’s desperation.
Where to now for this beleaguered franchise?
The first season under head coach Dan McKellar promised a new style of attack after coming to the realisation that they needed to score more tries. Six months later that seems to be improving, the side were languishing at the bottom of the try scoring stats but have climbed upward in the final month after a promising run saw victories over the Sunwolves, Bulls and Hurricanes. The side averaged 5.3 tries per game over this stretch, compared to their season average of 3.3.
There are signs of life under McKellar, after a start that yielded just three wins from the first 10 games. The head coach, who spent four years with the Brumbies as an assistant, may have just saved his head-coaching job for next year.
Co-captain and Brumbies legend Christian Lealiifano is heading to Japan for an off-season stint with Toyota and is still contemplating whether he has a future in Australia. The 31-year-old playmaker has made a miraculous comeback after a battle with Leukemia but has admitted he is ‘getting on a bit now’ and may look to finish with an overseas payday. His departure would be a headache for the Brumbies.
Local homegrown age-grade star Jordan Jackson-Hope was touted as the future when he debuted in 2016 as a 20-year-old, but has rarely been seen at all this year. Lealiifano’s departure could open the door for the youngster, who can play at flyhalf or inside centre.
The Brumbies other recent bet at flyhalf was on Nick Jooste, who was lured away from the Western Force by Stephen Larkham as a schoolboy, signing a full-time contract with the Canberra side in 2015. He was let go at the end of last year and now plays club rugby in Brisbane, looking to break into the Reds fold.
This has left the Brumbies with a looming problem, without a bridge between the Toomua-Lealiifano era and the next generation. With Wallabies midfielder Tevita Kuridrani seemingly also on his last legs, the Brumbies backline needs a regeneration. Kyle Godwin – signed from the Force this year – will only be a one-year stopgap, after he signed with Irish club Connacht.
At the top of the wish list is a quality flyhalf, but there are limited options in Australia. Quade Cooper has rejected approaches from the side and the nation is dealing with a shortage at the position. The team has Wharenui Hawera on the books who was a solid starter in 2017, without being spectacular and has shown some exciting glimpses in 2018. Whether he is a long-term solution that can lift the Brumbies into title contention is another story.
At halfback, the side is persisting with Joe Powell after re-signing him. He is serviceable but doesn’t show much more upside. A risky project player like Isaak Fines could have higher upside and be a revelation with the right game plan. He is currently in the Brumbies feeder system after leaving Queensland.
If Chance Peni re-signs and isn’t considered a midfield option, they could look to poach one of the Rebels up and coming centres like Hunter Paisami, Semisi Tupou or entice one of the capable Reds players log-jammed behind Samu Kerevi – Izaia Perese, Chris Feauai-Sautia or Jordan Petaia. Inside centre Duncan Paia’aua who plays a secondary playmaker role at 12 has been in-and-out of Thorn’s side and could also be a target. That would have to be a patient approach with many still under contract for 2019.
In their own youth system they have promising players Len Ikitau and Noah Lolesio, but both are probably two years or more away from being Super Rugby ready.
Tom Banks has proven to be a wise signing, who has repaid the faith by making further progress this year as a dynamic runner who can provide the Brumbies with some spark. He is sure to feature more prominently in the future as the key back and his growth over one year gives more hope than any other player right now.
One area of the team that is undergoing a shake-up is the back row, with new signings bolstering depth in the position. The Brumbies have locked in Crusaders loosie Pete Samu as they will reportedly lose Isi Naisarani to the Rebels after just one year. Boom teenage sensation Rob Valetini has had a horror run of injuries, but still has years ahead of him. Ex-Reds flanker Lolo Fakaosilea has also been released following two inconsistent seasons. The constant will be David Pocock, whose return has shown what a world-class talent he is at openside. Tom Cusack will also be in contention to retain his starting jersey.
The tight five will be largely unchanged with many still under contract – Wallaby front-rower Allan Alaatatoa, rookie hooker Folau Fainga’a, locks Sam Carter, Blake Enever and Rory Arnold. They will be hoping to retain Scott Sio and Ben Alexander to keep experience in the front-row.
The strength of this side is very much still in the forwards so the desire to play a more attacking brand of rugby will have to be tempered. The Brumbies need to enter full rebuild mode in the backs, and this means taking some risks. The players of a great Brumbies generation – Lealiifano, Kuridrani and Speight need to move on to make that happen. It’s time to see if Jordan Jackson-Hope is a long-term answer.
They will need to be smart in the recruitment market to improve the talent on the team over the next couple of years. The Rebels roster is stacked with backs, many of their youngsters will find their path to Super Rugby blocked. Wallabies winger Sefa Naivalu is stuck on the bench and could be an immediate replacement for 30-year-old Henry Speight. The young Australian ex-pats in Japan – centre Cambpell Magnay, flanker Sean McMahon and flyhalf Sam Greene are all attacking talents that would improve this Brumbies team.
With the Rebels and the Waratahs holding most of Australia’s firepower, the Brumbies aren’t going to win the conference with this current team. Outside of sweeping the Sunwolves, the Brumbies were 1-4 against conference rivals this year. The roster re-construction is going to require patience and unfortunately for Dan McKellar, that means more trying times ahead.
Comments on RugbyPass
This looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to commentsIt’s the massive value he brings with regard team culture/values, preparation, etc. Can’t buy that. I’m hoping to see the young locks get their chance in the big games though.
10 Go to comments