Aussie Super Rugby takes: Force struggle in Dunedin, big blow for Waratahs

Round 4 of Super Rugby Pacific is in the bag, and we are now beginning to see form, momentum, and the table take shape.

Last round it was the Aussies, this week it was the Kiwis who claimed the scalps.

Super Rugby Pacific, like much of the rugby around the world at the moment, is delivering some stellar upsets but also some classic beat-downs.

The Waratahs were poor and hammered by a strong Hurricanes side, the Western Force were too predictable for a hungry Highlanders side, and the Queensland Reds found a way in Canberra for the first time in several years.

The Chiefs carried on their stellar start to the year with the Blues overcoming the Crusaders to cement their spot in the top six for the moment.

We are still waiting a couple more weeks to see where this competition will take us.

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

Joseph Aukuso Suaalii’s injury is a massive blow for the Waratahs

For those who have called out Joseph Aukuso Suaalii as being poor in the no.13 channel, there really cannot be clearer evidence of how impactful he is in this Waratahs outfit.

Suaalii is a Test level no.13. He may not be the best, and he is definitely not the most experienced, but he knows now how to defend and to shut attacks down at the Super Rugby Pacific level.

It wasn’t coach Dan McKellar’s plan to have three changes in the backline with Andrew Kellaway and Triston Reilly starting at fullback and openside wing, respectively, but with Suaalii going down in the warm-up, he had no choice.

George Pooleman was dropped into the thick of it, defending inside and outside men he had never played with at Super Rugby level, and it showed.

Reilly regularly jammed in defence, even though the situation called for a drift and hold pattern as overlaps and free Hurricanes players were spotted outside him.

Pooleman is a more tentative hitter than Suaalii, and Reilly is an aggressive winger who loves to get into the thick of it; this passivity and aggression was chaos as opposed to yin and yang.

The Hurricanes were operating with more than 50% lightning quick ball from the ruck, and their powerful outside backs made the most of the time and space they were gifted by their forward pack.

Turnover ball killed the Waratahs, as it put their newly formed defensive partnerships across the park to the test, and they were found wanting.

Suaalii is now out for up to eight weeks with a hamstring injury, so McKellar has two options: either stick with Pooleman at no.13, as there are only Joey Walton and Suaalii who are the other registered centres, or recruit.

Kellaway could slot into the outside centre channel, which could open things up for debutant Sid Harvey to play fullback, but the more changes McKellar makes, the longer he must stick with them for it to bear fruit.

Whatever he chooses, the Waratahs’ backline has a lot of catching up to do, after their forward pack regularly does their job brilliantly.

Western Force are too one-dimensional

The Force have now played four games, and they are the most predictable side in Australia.

Where the Brumbies have a bounce back to the blindside pattern, the Reds are finding width with slick backline moves, and the Tahs have the X-factor to make just about anything work, the Force are trucking it up the middle.

The loss to the Highlanders would’ve stung for coach Simon Cron because he knows they were very beatable.

The Force, time and time again, sent one out runners into heavy Highlanders traffic.

Number.8, Vaiolini Ekuasi, carried 16 times, six more times than the next highest carrier, who was hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa, and he doubled most other forwards, even Carlo Tizzano.

While Ekuasi is a great carrier, he is not at the level to beat two pairs of shoulders every time, so others in the pack must get around him to not only be an option but to be there for a tip pass in the pods.

The Force are very one off the ruck in the 22m, which in practice is fine, but they are just not getting the cut through with their carries, nor are they securing enough of their ball in the A-zone.

Flyhalf Ben Donaldson is working on being more involved, and we saw at the weekend what he could conjure with just a little bit more space.

The Force must go wider, a phase or two earlier, once they get their cut through carry and then use the boot if momentum halts again.

On too many occasions, the Force looked stagnant and a little lost on how to break down the Highlanders’ defence, and that indecision usually resulted in a turnover penalty at the ruck or a spilt pill.

Brumbies reminded that anything can happen in Super Rugby Pacific

The Brumbies were the better side for much of that game, but the moment a few individual errors crept in, and they started to guard their lead, was when they lost that game.

The Brumbies’ continuity in selection and performance received an almighty test when both their starting wingers dropped out due to injury, only a day out from their clash.

Kye Oates and Hudson Creighton slotted in seamlessly, and both had great starting showings.

Nevertheless, it felt that the Brumbies just lost that top-end x-factor and experience from not having Corey Toole and Sappsford in their matchday squad.

Likewise, having their best carrier, Rob Valetini, rested due to Wallabies protocols, impacted the Brumbies’ ability to get forward and generate the moments for them to land their finishing blows.

Stellar performances from second rowers Lachie Shaw and Cadeyrn Neville continue to put an interesting spin on how Wallaby incumbent Nick Frost will enter the fray.

The result proved that the Brumbies can survive micro changes to their gameday squad, which will be good comfort for coach Stephen Larkham, who has acknowledged that with a big Wallaby contingent in his team, more changes must be managed in the weeks to come.

The Brumbies now head to Fiji before playing the Chiefs back at home after a six-day turnaround.

This stint will truly test their depth and systems, and it will be telling if they remain at the top at the end of round six.

Queensland Reds show glimpses of their potential

Last week, it was Carter Gordon who began to show glimpses of what he was capable of; this week, it was the entire side.

Better connection in their carry and clean, better kicks from their playmakers, and a better distribution of their carries meant they kept the Brumbies guessing.

Les Kiss will be happy with how his men defended the ladder-leaders, but will acknowledge there is a bit more to go on how they use their kicks.

Although the Reds fought hard to win that match at the death, they are still guilty of overplaying in the middle of the park at times.

The men from Queensland launched 23 kicks to the Brumbies 28, in most decent conditions, that number may well need to be a little higher to ensure they keep the ball in front of their hard-working forwards.

The Reds, like the Brumbies, can afford to back their defence in passages, defending at an average of over 90% completion rate.

However, the biggest difference is how they then pressure the breakdown to force penalties, because the Brumbies won 10 turnovers in total, the Reds only got three.

That speaks volumes to what is going on in defensive rucks and what the players and systems are trying to achieve.

Despite Fraser McReight being one of the best pilferers in the comp, he was often targeted by James Slipper in the clean out, meaning he only walked away with one steal for his many endeavours.

McReight does slow opposition ruck times, but his profile is now so well known that his white headgear is becoming an emergency warning for oppositions, and they rush to clean him out.

If the Reds can increase their overall pressure on opposition rucks, then they should get more penalties and stop attacking raids earlier, meaning they can use more of their energy on attack in the opposition’s half as opposed to around halfway.