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
Very 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 commentsAll good, Gregor, except that you neglected to mention Sam Darry amongst that talented pool of locks. In fact, given Hannah’s inexperience and the fact that Holland won’t be eligible until next year, Lord and Darry might be the frontrunners this year, to join Barrett, Tuipoluto, Va’ii and possibly Whitelock. In fact there might be room for all of them if Barrett played 6 (like Ollie Chessum).
10 Go to comments