Analysis: Anton Lienert-Brown vs Rob Thompson was an epic battle in Suva
The Chiefs against the Highlanders in Suva provided an intriguing individual contest even though the game was lopsided. The current All Blacks centre against a future All Blacks centre.
Both players carried an astounding 17 times in the game, getting plenty of quality ball. Thompson put in a phenomenal display of line running showing game-breaking talent while Lienert-Brown had exquisite touches that opened up the Highlanders with his passing game.
Thompson has had a breakout year this season, stepping into Fekitoa’s vacant 13 jersey and making it his own. He can cover both midfield positions, has the best kicking game of any New Zealand centre and has been on a tear for the Highlanders in just about every game.
The Chiefs own centre, one well and truly in All Blacks fold, Anton Lienert-Brown has also quietly been going about business in an overachieving Chiefs side. He has put on an extra couple of kilograms this year and continues to elevate his game. The extra size is helping him deal with contact areas and his awareness and quick hands have always been special. Less is more, quality touches and decisions are staples in his game.
The Chiefs took the early advantage when Thompson’s false read on the tip runner allowed Lienert-Brown to get free on the outside. Messam took the backdoor option leaving Thompson with the wrong assignment.
Faced with Tevita Li jamming in, Lienert-Brown drops a one-hand offload in the tackle to free up fullback Alaimalo for a swerving 45-metre try.
As he does so often, Lienert-Brown sums up the situation perfectly in a split second. He anticipates the defence closing in and plays with the situation, rather than fighting against it by trying to bump off defenders or break the tackle. He succumbs to the defence in the natural flow of movement but knows if he’s getting sandwiched someone else is going to open.
Thompson’s slow start continued when he missed a golden opportunity to strike back with this overlap. He makes a great read identifying the space over the top as Chiefs winger Wainui (11) shows interest in Waisake Naholo (14). The long pass is difficult to execute against the cyclonic Fijian wind and hits the turf at Dixon’s feet (6), resulting in a knock-on.
After a long period of Chiefs domination, this time it’s Thompson’s turn to expose Lienert-Brown by hitting a gap on a beautifully timed ‘faceball’ from Sopoaga.
The Chiefs fail to get their spacing right after losing their own lineout, with heavy numbers condensed close to the ruck. Lienert-Brown is in an isolated position marking both Highlanders midfielders. Sopoaga (10) has an inside runner but with the backline set he has an opportunity to move the ball quickly wide.
Lienert-Brown opts to shut down the closest threat in Walden (12), which opens up the lane for Thompson to slip through. Chiefs winger Pulu (14) doesn’t stay connected, leaving a canyon-sized hole in the line. Sopoaga makes the right call and hits Thompson on the chest for a line break.
The scoring opportunity is missed as the link pass from Thompson goes astray, a bit high and behind Tevita Li into touch.
Lienert-Brown’s excellent night continues, benefitting from McKenzie’s play in the 32nd minute. He hits a gap created by the first five at the last second, before finding wing Sean Wainui on the outside. However, Rob Thompson is there to make a last-ditch copybook tackle to save the try.
On the stroke of halftime, fullback Alaimalo breaks the line against the run of play and finds Lienert-Brown out wide. He makes the smart play by feeding Pulu early for his second try assist of the night, who runs unobstructed around beneath the posts.
Facing a 42-0 deficit in the second half, Thompson continues to probe and offer the Highlanders something despite the game being lost. Facing rush defence, he uses footwork to avoid head-on contact and offloads in the tackle of two defenders to keep the play alive. Two passes later Walden runs through a gaping hole to score their first try.
A trademark of both centres is the way they use elusive footwork, which makes up for a lack of size. They are just as effective in contact as ‘crash and bash’ power midfielders by finding space with agility, working to weak shoulders to avoid negative loss plays and compromising positions. In the face of pressure, they often salvage a bad situation.
As the Highlanders finally find some momentum, quick wide ball to Thompson out the back results in the centre breaking through and scoring a brilliant individual try. Unfortunately, it is called back for a knock-on on the previous phase, robbing him of the moment.
In this movement, we see the chemistry between Sopoaga and Thompson. Following a long break or momentum play down the sideline, Sopoaga often likes to shift wide to the opposite touchline immediately using his centre out the back, which is quite common in Highlanders play.
With the strength of Aaron Smith and Lima Sopoaga’s passing, the Highlanders can cut through, or bypass their two pods to attack wide within two passes to go from touchline to touchline. Thompson is often presented with early ball to size up the situation on the edge.
The two also compliment each other in other ways, with Thompson’s line-running a real asset off Sopoaga. There were a couple of probes by Sopoaga that almost paid off for the Highlanders.
Thompson runs a delayed line off Sopoaga and hits the pop pass on the burst, only to be tackled by Alaimalo short of the line. Another opportunity presents shortly after but Sopoaga can’t get the ball away.
Lienert-Brown made the most of his opportunities, executing his passes with precision whilst Thompson left a couple of tough long balls begging. He had the edge when comparing the running games of the two, clocking 124 running metres with six line breaks compared to Lienert-Brown’s 61 run metres with four line breaks.
New Zealand’s next generation centre stocks are full of quality, with Jack Goodhue, Anthon Lienert-Brown and Rob Thompson all prototype playmakers with excellent ball skills. Rieko Ioane and Vince Aso are power running options with Matt Proctor a defensive trump card. Goodhue and Lienert-Brown have the current blessings of the selectors but Thompson cannot be far behind if he continues to build on this breakout year. He is sure to feature in the black jersey post-2019 if the 26-year-old stays around.
Both players had a massive night out in Fiji, but Lienart-Brown took the ultimate prize with the team win. It was one of many more battles to come between the conference rivals that could have higher stakes in the future.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
Ben Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
7 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
7 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
7 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to comments