Aussie Club Grades - Week 16

What a blockbuster week for the Australian teams this week. It was raining points and also a win on
New Zealand soil, here are how the teams fared:

Rebels – A+

A run of 32 straight defeats to teams from over the ditch is now over. The Rebels went to Eden Park
and came away with the victory, a first for Australian teams in New Zealand since 2015, which not
only took them back to the top of the Australian conference for a short period, it also would have
given them a huge boost of confidence. Just as impressive a stat was the fact that they didn’t allow
the Blues did a point in the second half which is in huge contrast to their previous second half
collapses against the Waratahs and the Crusaders this season.

Waratahs – B

The Tahs reclaimed top spot from the Rebels coming out just on the ride side of a 15 try, 93 point
game against the Reds. They now sit one point clear of the Rebels but missing out on a bonus point
may prove crucial in the final standings. Defensively they are going to have to be a lot better when
they come up against a higher quality of opposition, as conceding 42 points in a game will not please
Nathan Grey and work will need to be done there

Reds – D

It isn’t often that you score 42 points in a game and lose, but that was the situation that the Reds
found themselves in on Saturday night. Again the youngsters attitude was superb and they
prevented the Waratahs from gaining the bonus point by crossing for 2 late tries but conceding over
50 points, at home, is something that would concern Brad Thorn.

Brumbies – B

Another team to score over 40 points were the men from the Capital. It would have been more
convincing had they converted more than 3 of their 7 tries scored. Kicking has been an issue at times
for the Brumbies this season and it was again on the weekend. We might not have heard the last of
this game either with the Brumbies going against the request of Wallabies coach, Michael Cheika,
and playing Scott Sio, Allan Alaalatoa and David Pocock for 60 minutes rather than resting them.