Analysis: The Samu Kerevi-Jordan Petaia midfield is promising but needs all the right pieces
The explosive performance of 18-year-old Jordan Petaia has Reds fans drooling over the prospects of uncovering one of the most exciting young talents in Super Rugby.
His undoubted athleticism was on show with speed and power causing the Highlanders problems on Friday night. It’s not fair to call him a one-trick pony at this early stage, but he is proving to be a run-first type centre – he ran 10 times and passed three times, with two of those being offloads in contact.
He showed a nice touch to hold Naholo and play a three-on-two down the left edge on the stroke of halftime but every other time took on the line and tried to break away, which was similar to what he demonstrated often in the NRC where he was able to beat inferior defenders.
Petaia’s two big line-breaks ultimately resulted in zero points for the Reds. Both opportunities were shut down and turned over to the Highlanders either on that phase or a few thereafter.
The lack of converting on these runs wasn’t all the centre’s fault though, the Reds just don’t seem to have the wings to match the speed that Petaia possesses.
Some deft interplay from Taniela Tupou (3) and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto (5) gives Petaia a two-on-one on the edge.
With acres of space in front, he has plenty of time to sum up his options against a recovering edge defence.
With Tevita Li (11) turned out, backtracking to buy time, Petaia has three running options, a) cut back and take on the trailing hooker on the inside, b) run at Li, draw and pass to free Chris Feauai-Sautia (14) on the edge or c) take Li on the outside himself.
Petaia takes option C and has another sharp burst of acceleration to the outside. He does incredibly well to get around Li, but we see the disconnect forming between Feauai-Sautia, who doesn’t have the speed to keep up with him, trailing at around 3-4 metres.
Ben Smith (15) is surprised and is caught having to turn and chase as he pushed up to cover the winger.
With Smith having to stop, turn and re-accelerate, a winger with pure speed would likely be able to bypass him and stay a metre or two in front and finish this opportunity off. As Li ultimately runs Petaia down, there are no flat options inside or outside that would result in a sure seven points with an offload.
This isn’t to lay blame on Chris Feauai-Sautia – he has always been a midfielder with a strong power running game with footwork, not burning speed. He is playing a secondary position, highlighting the problems you can run into when you do so.
Feauai-Sautia brings other benefits to the wing that the Reds like, such as hard-hitting defence where he can make his presence felt in contact and in strong carries. However, this is the trade-off that is made – opportunities to capitalise immediately on line-breaks can go begging without a burner on the outside.
Petaia’s combination of speed and power is going to attract plenty of attention this year, which is going to open up opportunities for others.
Out on the right edge, he straightens and takes on Matt Faddes, bursting through the arm tackle and punching through the line, keeping his upper body free.
Again another opportunity for Feauai-Sautia exists to run off his hip and find the second level where only Aaron Smith remains in sweep coverage.
He doesn’t run to the line with his centre in anticipation, and by the time he gets there to receive a pop pass from the ground the defence has closed in.
Given the game-breaking talent he has, it’s not so much of an issue he likes to take on the line and test the defence frequently but at this level, it has to be the right decision. If overlaps on the outside begin to go begging frequently, it’s something that he will need to rectify.
Against the South African franchises, they are all too happy to play the physical game and the opportunities to open things up with dominant running will be harder to do.
In the Australian and conference and against some of the New Zealand teams, however, there will be opportunities for others to benefit off his strong running but the outside backs have to keep up and anticipate the gaps forming on either side of him.
The promising Kerevi-Petaia combination
Petaia himself needs to develop the same anticipatory support skills because the Reds have another damaging wrecking-ball in captain Samu Kerevi (12) that plays inside him, offering a dynamic 1-2 punch.
This midfield partnership has the potential to open up many backlines this season once they build chemistry and Petaia can become the benefactor. On Kerevi’s first carry off set-piece he slips the tackle of Dillon Hunt (7), defending at flyhalf, and begins to suck-in everyone else.
Tei Waldon (12) has to commit, taking himself away from his original assignment of Petaia.
Petaia bails on the support line early to provide cleanout duties, just as the running lane developing for him turns into a freeway.
Kerevi has the ball-carrying arm free with Walden around his waist, in a perfect position to give Petaia an offload but he’s not available, having made the decision to become a cleaner at the breakdown.
The youngster was only trying to do his job, but this ability to read the play unfolding and know when Kerevi can provide is an understanding they must build. The last thing teams want to see is Petaia being put away at speed into a gap, and Kerevi will be able to do that with his ability to make gain line carries and draw multiple defenders.
On this occasion, Petaia isn’t playing directly outside him but the same opportunity exists.
Kerevi has punched through the initial defence on a first receiver carry and has his upper body free. Providing a support line to his outside will result in going over untouched for a try if he can get the offload away.
He senses the opportunity a little too late and now has to backtrack for the next phase.
It’s all well and good to get excited about running over Ben Smith, but if the side isn’t scoring at a higher rate from these magnificent breaks there is something going wrong.
Relying on power alone won’t be enough for an outside centre at international level, which is where Petaia is destined to land eventually, so he must continually work on his support play, line running and option-taking to master his attacking game. There isn’t a centre in the top three sides in the world that is just a power runner – Jack Goodhue, Garry Ringrose, and Henry Slade are all well-rounded midfielders, which shows a diverse skill set is required.
Only a few years ago as a schoolboy 1st XV player, he was a winger before playing fullback in his final year so this is really the beginning of Petaia as a midfielder. At just 18-years-old Jordan Petaia’s ceiling is so high, and if he continues to show growth, he can be something special.
It is worth noting that the Highlanders are built for speed across the park, which means they have smaller midfielders than most, with Tei Waldon, Rob Thompson, and Matt Faddes. The Reds probably didn’t maximise their power advantage in the midfield as well as they could have – there were plenty of opportunities that went begging.
The Reds midfield will be tested against South African franchises and other big, physical line-ups like the Blues. This week’s test against the Crusaders and All Blacks pair in Goodhue and Ryan Crotty presents another good opportunity to flourish. They will be a step above the Highlanders, but there is no reason why the Reds centres can’t cause them problems at home in Brisbane.
Crusaders’ assistant Ronan O’Gara ahead of Reds:
Comments on RugbyPass
Absolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
5 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
14 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
14 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
5 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to comments