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
Less modern South African males predictably triggered.
10 Go to commentsMy heart is with Quins, but the head is convinced Toulouse have too much. Ntamack is back, his timing and wisdom has been missed.
1 Go to commentsWow, what a starting line up for the Sharks) Tasty up front,kremer vs Tshituka or venter …fiery ,,Lavannini ,,will he knobble etzebeth? Biggest game for belleau?
1 Go to commentsIt was rubbish to watch, Blues weren’t even present. Did what they had to do, nothing more. Should be better next week against canes.
1 Go to commentsI’ve just noticed that this match has an all-French refereeing team. Surely a game like this ought to have a neutral ref? Although looking at the BBC preview of the Saints game, Raynal is also down as reffing that - so there may be some confusion about who is reffing what.
1 Go to commentsIf Havili can play anywhere in the back line, why not first 5. #10.
11 Go to commentsThe dressing room had already left for their summer break before they ran out in Dublin that year, and that’s on the coach. Franco Smith has undoubtedly made progress, particularly their maul, developing squad players and increasing squad depth. And against a very tight budget too. That said they were too lightweight last year and got found out against both Toulon and Munster in consecutive games. Better this season so far but they’ve developed something of a slow start habit occasionally, most notably losing at home to Northampton who played them at their own game. Play offs will ultimately show whether there has been tangible progress on last year, or not…!
2 Go to commentsAustralian Rugby has been a disaster, by not incorporating learning from previous successful campaigns. QLD Reds 2011 - Waratahs 2014. Players, coaches and administrators appoint there representatives for scheduled meetings, organisation’s agreement’s assessments and correspondence. This why a unified Rugby Union under one entity works. Every Rugby nation has taken that path. Was most difficult in the Northern hemisphere with over 100 years of club rugby before the game become professional. Took a lot of humility for those unions to eventually work together.
7 Go to commentsThough Wilson’s sacking was pretty brutal, it wasn’t just down to that Leinster game; Glasgow had a lot of 2nd half collapses that season, in the URC and Europe, and only just scraped into the playoffs. Franco Smith has definitely been an improvement, some players are delivering far more than they did under Wilson.
2 Go to commentsjesus - that front 5!
1 Go to commentsShould be an absolute cracker of a game! Will be great to see DuPont & Ntamack in tandem once again🔥
1 Go to commentsBest team ever…. To have played? These guys are still pressure chokers. Came nowhere when it counted. What a joke
78 Go to commentsMusk defends anonymous terrorism, fascism, threats against individuals and children etc etc But a Rugby club account….lock ‘em up!!!
1 Go to commentsActually the era defining moment came a few years earlier. February 2002 to be precise, when Michael D Higgins as finance minister at the time introduced his sports persons tax relief bill to the dial. As the politicians of the day stated “It seems to be another daft K Club frolic born in Kildare amongst the well-paid professional jockeys with whom the Minister plays golf” and that the scheme represented “a savage uncaring vision of Ireland and one that should be condemned”. The irfu and Leinster would be nowhere near the position they are in today without this key component of the finances.
5 Go to commentsIt is crystal clear that people who make such threats on line should be tried and imprisoned. Those with responsibility in social media companies who don’t facilitate this should be convicted. In real life, I have free speech to approach someone like Reinach and verbally threaten him. I am risking a conviction or a slap but I could do it. In the old days, If someone anonymously threatened someone by letter the police would ask and use evidence from the postal system. Unlike the Post, social media companies have complete instant and legal access to the content in social media. They make money from the data, billions. Yet, they turn a blind eye to terrorism, Nazi-ism and industrial levels of threats against individuals including their address and childrens schools being published online all from ananoymous accounts not real people. They claim free speech. Free speech for anonymous trolls/voilent thugs threatening people under false names? The fault is with the perps but also social media companies who think anonymous personas posting death threats constitutes free speech.
2 Go to commentsSo if this ain’t the best Irish team ever then who exactly is? I don’t remember any other Irish team being this good & winning a series in the Land of the Long White Cloud. Yes I may rip them often for 8 X QF RWC exits & twice not even making it to the QF, but they’re a damn good team who many think can only improve, including me!
78 Go to commentsNot a squeek out of Leinster for weeks about this match. So quiet. The first team have been quitely building for this encounter under Nienaber’s direction. All fresh, all highly motivated. They are expecting a season’s best performance from Northhampton. They will match that. They will be fresher and apparently they will have 80,000 out of the 83,000 shouting for them. I do expect Northhampton to turn up big time. Not to be missed. On a tangent it is evident how the loss of a few Premiership teams has in some respect helped other Premiership teams and England. More quality over less teams makes the teams better, which has a knock on effect on England. Not the only factor contributing to England’s rise but one of them.
5 Go to commentsOur very own monster teddy bear Ox😍💪
17 Go to commentsThis is might be the most generalised, entitled, patronising, out-of-pocket cultural indictment on a group of people you’ll ever see on what is supposedly a sports publication. I can only assume the author is weak like a woman or homosexual. I’m feeling an incredible range of emotions but I am not quite sure how to express them. I might go beat up a hockey player - assuming that’s okay with Duane and the boys? 🙂
10 Go to commentsBest thing the Welsh clubs could do is apply to join Gallagher prem surely be more exciting matches for there support than they have now.
2 Go to comments