Aussie Super Rugby takes: Don't doubt the Brumbies, Hurricanes the joker in the pack

Round-6 has come and gone in Super Rugby Pacific, and yet again, we were treated to some upsets and some big moments.

The Hurricanes kicked further ahead at the top of the table after dismantling the Highlanders.

The Blues continue their grindy way to the top with a come-from-behind win against the Waratahs in Sydney.

An injury-riddled Brumbies team overran the Chiefs, while the side with the longest injury list, the Crusaders, annihilated Moana Pasifika in a second-half blitz.

The Queensland Reds bucked the trend of losing in Fiji when sending a rotated squad.

However, the biggest lesson from round-6 is not the results but the standings on the ladder and what can be gleaned from delving into the power rankings.

This is because the table isn’t what it seems, with the Hurricanes the biggest outlier in the top six, as they have yet to play a top-ranked side.

So, with another round of rugby to analyse, here are the takes on the Aussie teams after the latest round.

You write the Brumbies off at your own peril

The Brumbies scored 26 unanswered points after the Chiefs ran out to a seemingly untouchable lead.

The score was 24 – 7 to the Chiefs after All Black Damien McKenzie ran in a 55th-minute try, off the back of an almost field-length effort by the men from Waikato.

It’s a cliche, but it was truly a game of two halves on the scoreboard, but at ground level, the differences between success and failure in the 22m zones for the Brums were finer than a knife’s edge.

An unyielding Chiefs defence repeatedly foiled the Brumbies, ruining their 22m zone efficiency stats, as they left plenty of points out on the field early.

However, those fine margins in the first 40 minutes appear to have given them confidence that they were on the path to scoring points, and that they did.

Moments of brilliance from the halves combination of Ryan Lonergan and Declan Meredith, as well as wingers Corey Toole and Kye Oates, provided the gold dust needed off the back of a hard-working and accurate pack.

Oates, in particular, showed why he has been trusted by coach Stephen Larkham and the Brumbies program more broadly. He was quick and slippery with the ball in hand, chased hard, and defended well.

Lonergan is getting many plaudits among fans for his ability to drive this Brumbies side around the park and get them in the right parts of the field.

His halves partner, Meredith, is quickly becoming a favourite to be a Wallabies smokey.

While Lonergan’s leadership is proving a real dial mover, his game-driving is allowing Meredith to shine and to take his opportunities and to enter the game more often, to greater effect.

This win has steadied the Brumbies’ season, who were looking down the barrel of three straight losses, but perhaps more importantly, reshapes the top 6 on the ladder at this crucial juncture of the season.

Reds buck the rotation curse

It looked for all money that a heavily rotated and injury-struck Reds side would, like so many others before them, be overpowered in the Fiji sun by the Drua, but it was not to be.

The Reds handled the hot and humid conditions better than most, certainly better than the Drua on the day.

The Reds have taken a while to get into their groove for 2025 and probably remain a little off the pace still, but a win in Fiji is significant.

Wallabies trio Zane Nonggorr, Carter Gordon, and captain Fraser McReight were all rested for the match, and their replacements, Nick Bloomfield, Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, and John Bryant, all stepped up marvellously.

Bryant made a game high of 20 successful tackles and a game high of two pilfers.

HMP ran for the fourth most metres of the team and bagged a try as well.

Bloomfield was the least experienced of the replacements, and he scrummaged admirably and had an unfaltering work ethic.

Although the Reds’ tackle efficiency was the lowest it’s been all season, they managed to scramble incredibly well, and it meant the Drua finished the game without scoring a single try.

The Reds have won four on the bounce: Highlanders, Brumbies, Waratahs, Drua.

What stands out here is that they are yet to face the top three New Zealand sides, which have been their Achilles heel and biggest differentiator from the Brumbies in seasons gone by.

Ladder leading Hurricanes in away, followed by the Western Force and Crusaders at home, is what awaits the Queenslanders.

The Waratahs’ performance wasn’t up to Super Rugby Pacific standard

The Waratahs threw away four tries in the first 30-minutes, and it looked like they had used all their opportunities to get into the game, but an unassuming try to flyhalf Jack Debreczeni in the 31st minute got them their much-deserved first try.

Truth be told, it was all the Waratahs in the first stanza, but their efficiency in the 22m was abysmal. 

At least three times, a sweeping backline play or a deft kick put the Waratahs over or within inches of the tryline, and they botched it every time.

Stan Sports’ commentary team noted that walkie-talkies and water bottles were dangerously close to coach Dan McKellar, who looked livid with his side’s lack of respect for the ball.

Put simply, you can’t throw away well-earned points against Kiwi sides. 

The Tahs shelled at least 20 points, and that’s without banking on the steady boot of young gun Sid Harvey, who had another great performance.

The forwards finally provided a quick and secure ruck, allowing the Waratahs’ backline to thrive, regularly getting round and past the Blues’ defensive line.

The duel playmaking powers of Debreczeni and late-inclusion Lawson Creighton allowed the Waratahs to play with width and regular overlap, which has not been seen in weeks gone by.

Coach Dan McKeller and his assistants can only do so much, but they can’t catch the balls and put them down over the line; the players on the field will have to wear that loss.

“Don’t think it’s a tactical or coaching thing, I think it’s, at this level you gotta finish those, it’s as simple as that,” McKellar told the press conference after the game.

Vern Cotter’s Blues must be commended for not panicking and composing themselves for a ruthless second 40.

Round-6 has given us a divided ladder, but the Hurricanes remain the joker in the deck

After six rounds, the Super Rugby Pacific table has begun to deviate into two clear camps: the top six sides and the bottom five.

All the top six sides have positive points differentials and have won at least half of their games.

The back five are the Waratahs in 7th with two wins and three losses, then the Fiji Drua, the Western Force, and finally Moana Pasifika in 11th.

But here’s the kicker: despite being at the top, the Hurricanes are the only team in the top six yet to play another top-six side.

They have only bagged wins against the bottom five, except for their one loss, which came against the Drua in a sodden Fiji.

Conversely, the Blues have beaten one top-six side, the Crusaders in fifth, and only lost to top-six sides, the Chiefs in 6th and the Brumbies in 3rd.

The Brumbies have beaten three top-six sides, the Blues in 2nd, the 6th-placed Chiefs, and the Crusaders, who sit in 5th.

The Reds have beaten the Brumbies and have overcome the Drua in Fiji ahead of a crucial clash against the Hurricanes in Wellington this weekend.

Put simply, the Brumbies have the greatest win record against top-six opponents.

Next, the Blues, Chiefs, and Crusaders have played three top-six sides and sit at one win and two losses in these games.

Then comes the Reds, who have only played the Brumbies in the top six and won.

Essentially, this means, power rankings-wise, the Brumbies are way on top, followed by the Blues, the Chiefs, Crusaders, Reds, and finally the Hurricanes in that order.

Another spanner in the works for the ladder is that the Canes, Reds, and Chiefs have all played one game less than the other top six sides, so the Canes could technically be further out ahead, while the Reds could sit in second.

For the Chiefs, however, they could only sit as high as fourth, assuming all results went their way.

While dealing in hypotheticals is a sure way to get burned, it is a fact that the Hurricanes have not been tested yet.

Another fact is that the Brumbies are in a class of their own as of this moment.

Round-7 will see the Canes face their first top-six opponent in the Reds at home in Wellington.

Lose this match, and the speculations will grow; win, and they only give themselves another opportunity.

While the Hurricanes’ ruthlessness has been awe-inspiring, there is nothing to crow about yet.