Aussie Super Rugby takes: Brumbies stuck in mud, Donaldson the best by a lot

After 12 rounds, Super Rugby Pacific has well and truly split into three distinct packs: the leaders, the steady performers, and the chasers.

Unfortunately for Aussie sides, they are stuck in the latter two groups, and although the Brumbies and the Queensland Reds appear to be in strong positions to make a dash for the top group, nothing is certain.

Round-12 delivered a clash between the Reds and Bruns at Suncorp that adequately mapped the two sides’ respective strengths, while the Waratahs and Western Force match-up also delivered a line in the sand moment for both teams.

Elsewhere, the Fiji Drua kept their finals hopes alive whilst damaging those of the Highlanders, and the Crusaders snuck a bonus point in defeat against the Hurricanes.

The Crusaders’ performance was truly impressive, but unless they start getting the wins they so desperately need, they could very well miss out on finals altogether.

Finally, the battle of Auckland delivered for the first 40 minutes; it appeared Moana Pasifika could go back-to-back against the former championship side, the Blues, but a strong showing in the second half, which has become a bit of a trend for Vern Cotter’s men, meant more pain was dished out to embattled Moana.

So, with a new batch of rugby games to analyse, here are the takes on the Aussie teams after the latest round.

Waratahs kept out of the contest, and so were their best attacking weapons

It was the battle of the league converts that promised to deliver, but it must be said, Joseph Aukuso Suaalii lost that battle to Zac Lomax across the park, and it was emblematic of the two sides.

While Lomax had a bigger licence to roam, and at times overextended on that remit, the former Parramatta Eel imposed himself on the game with 10 carries; Suaalii only had three.

The Waratahs’ other key attacking weapon, Max Jorgensen, touched the ball nine times, and while he carried for 60m, Suaalii only managed 2m.

The lack of metres and attacking moments is not to be laid at the feet of these two superstars, after all, the Tahs only had 30 per cent possession and 38 per cent territory, but it’s what the Waratahs did with ball in hand elsewhere that must be scrutinised.

If your flyhalf in Lawson Creighton, a prop who was promoted from the bench in Siosifa Amone, and Jorgensen are your top carriers in a game where you had less than a third of possession, and almost as little territory, you are doing something wrong.

To put some figures on it, prior to the game being played, Pete Samu was the Waratahs’ biggest metre eater per carry at 6.5m/carry, closely followed by Angus Scott-Young at 5.8m/carry and then Charlie Gamble at 5.6/carry.

Clem Halaholo, who wasn’t in the side, is the only other forward who cracks the 5m/carry bracket, and yet, the Tahs’ top forward carrier was Amone.

Gamble carried twice.

Punters and pundits alike keep talking about needing to create space for the Tahs’ attacking weapons, and one way you achieve this is by contracting a defence.

A defence contracts when it is either breached or bent, and at the weekend, the Tahs were “bullied” in the words of their own coach, Dan McKellar.

McKellar called the Force’s gameplan “bland”, and although both sides worked to bludgeon the other, the Force just did it a whole lot better, and that was enough to prevent any space being created for Jorgensen and Suaalii.

The Tahs didn’t have the mentality to beat the Force at “their (the Waratahs’) own game” as McKellar said, but by the lack of tip balls, deception out the back of pods, and lateral ball movement, they didn’t have the zeal or nous for it either.

Ben Donaldson is the form Aussie flyhalf by some distance

Donaldson holds the standards of Aussie flyhalves by a country mile, and there are three simple factors as to why.

First, he kicks goals, kicking at 80 per cent. He’s the only kicker to do so who has kicked more than 25 kicks, and he is second overall to the Highlanders Cameron Millar, who is on 84%.

Secondly, he has played every game without injury complaint or issue, racking up minutes the other Wallaby capped flyhalves can only dream of.

Third, he is finally getting enough touches on the ball, and just like adept pilferers, the difference between a good and great player is being able to choose one’s timing.

Watching Donaldson Slice through the defensive line of his old team, seemingly at will, was awesome to see.

In an intimate journo-to-player chat after the full-time bell in the media rooms of Allianz Stadium, Donaldson divulged that he had been challenged by his coach, Simon Cron, to get his hands on the ball more.

Donaldson admitted that earlier in the season, he was doing more directing, but his coach had asked him to get more directly involved, and that he has.

He carried 13 times, six fewer times than winger Dyland Pietsch and flanker Nick Champion De Crespigney, four fewer than Mac Grealy and twice as few as Carlo Tizzano, respectively.

This is important context, considering the passage about Creighton’s carry stats above, but considering the 62 per cent possession the Force had, this is perfectly normal.

Donaldson carried those 13 times for 50m, with two line breaks and three defenders beaten, with a perfect tackle record of three tackles made.

He is seeing space and using his teammates to get the ball there, and he is utilising his teammates in ways that best suit their individual skillsets.

This speaks to his knowledge of their game plan but also to the knowledge of his teammates’ strengths.

At 19-Wallaby caps and World Cup campaign under his belt, Donaldson knows a thing or two about pressure on the biggest stage in rugby, and he is certainly proving that consistently.

The one mark against him and the Force team as a whole at the weekend was their inability to shift to space when it was blatantly on offer.

Twice, the Waratahs were so tight in defence that “you could throw a picnic blanket over them” – as Sean Maloney called it on Stan Sports’ coverage.

On one occasion, in the 61st minute, the Force went route-1 and tried to bash their way over in tight.

This was despite the Tahs’ widest defender being Jorgensen, who was in between the goalposts, while Mac Greally was holding the paint with no one within 40m to contend with.

The Force were dominant and should’ve won by more, but opportunities like that can’t be missed again.

Queensland Reds peaking at the right time, in the right way

It’s not just one thing that’s clicking for the Queenslanders, but rather a myriad of things that mean the Reds are only going to get better.

Perhaps the most important piece of the puzzle is that their Wallabies players are finally hitting their straps.

Captain Fraser McReight had his best game to date in 2026 in the Reds’ win over the Brumbies, while his partner in crime, Harry Wilson also had a cracking game, making it two great performances in a row.

In the centres, Josh Flook and Hunter Paisami were like sentinel guard dogs, working in a pack to crash and bash any Brumbies jersey in sight, while Filipo Daugunu and Jock Campbell combined work rate and rugby nous to make every post a winner.

Lukhan Salakaia-Loto remains in a class of his own and was crucial in physically dominating the Brumbies and nullifying their usual threats of a good maul and quick ruck speed.

The second factor contributing to their peaking is shared understanding of their gameplan.

It feels as though a slight increase in defensive linespeed, the reduction in rucks set between the 35 metre lines, and greater focus on field position and goal kicking is setting them into a rhythm.

What will boost coach Les Kiss is that they still have the likes of Massimo De Lutiis, Josh Canham, Tate McDermott, Carter Gordon, and Tom Lynagh to return from injury.

This particular list of injuries cruelled the Reds’ season early on, instability at no.10 is never good for the cadence of one’s team, and losing your tallest and most agile second rower in Canham meant you lose a connection point at the crucial set piece that is the lineout.

This is evidently still having its impact on the Reds, where their lineout has operated at 80 per cent or less in the past five games.

Despite this, the Reds must be careful in how they reintegrate these different players back into the mix in the coming weeks, because as we’ve seen with the Brums, adding rostered Wallabies doesn’t necessarily make for a quick fix.

Brumbies stuck between a rock and hard place

On the one hand, the Brumbies’ formula is sound and must be persisted with, and on the other, it’s clear that their cattle isn’t currently capable of doing what’s required to make the system work.

A big driver, perhaps the sole driver, of the Brumbies’ attack is halfback and captain, Ryan Lonergan.

He controls the direction, tempo, and style of play for the ponies, and he relies on the Brums’ foundational pillar, which is a quick, clean, and consistent breakdown.

This crucial ingredient to their success is one of the key things the side is currently unable to deliver to him.

The Brums conceded 17 turnovers and only won six compared to the Queenslanders’ 10.

That is at least seven instances of knock-ons, spilled pills, or missed passes that have been snaffled by the Reds.

People can blame the rain that started to fall at Suncorp leading into halftime, but the truth is, they conceded 18 under the roof in Christchurch during the Super Round thrashing at the hands of the Hurricanes.

Again, at least 10 of those were not pilfers or breakdown penalties.

With this in mind, the Brumbies are stuck playing a high phase count type of rugby without a guarantee of a secure breakdown and without a consistent launchpad for Lonergan to steer the ship.

As this column has referenced in several Brumbies sections in recent weeks, the Brumbies’ biggest inhibitor to a secure, consistent, and clean breakdown on their own ball is a lack of gainline ball carries.

Rob Valetini and David Feliuai were the only two genuine gainline ball carrying options for the Brumbies on Saturday night, and they were well marked. Thankfully for the Brumbies, marking Valetini well is never enough; he gets gainline anyway, but it is minimised nonetheless.

The Brums ideally need Tuaina Taii Tualima, Charlie Cale, Allan Alaalatoa, as well as Billy Pollard, to add to their gainline punching brigade. This is not even to mention what they have lost with the absence of Len Ikitau and Tom Hooper.

With this, it becomes clear that they are missing a whole host of threats that allow them to build momentum, and it means others who are less suited to carrying are making those shifts.

Less gainline or no gainline means a dominant tackle and a preferential positioning for oncoming counterruckers or would-be pilferers; a passive contact leaves more room for bobble balls or rucking on the ground.

The Brumbies are stuck playing a system that is bereft of the type of players they need, and the solution is not to continue playing more phases.

The Brumbies can, of course, tighten up their connection in their pods for the carry and clean across the board, but the issue on the other side of this coin is that they do not have the punch they need to destabilise defences. 

Defences are ready for their route-1 footy and are now just focusing on winning contacts, having players on feet and waiting for the bounce back, which inevitably comes from the Brums’ attack shape.

Unless the Brumbies start finding ways to bend defensive lines, they will continue to struggle.

The silver lining is that Wallabies Alaalatoa and Tom Wright will all begin to hit their straps in the coming weeks, which may just be the boost they need.