Aussie Super Rugby takes: Reds' young star, fatal error by Brumbies

For the first time this year, a New Zealand side sits atop the ladder, and that’s exactly how it should be based on performance.

The Hurricanes comfortably put away the Western Force in Napier on Friday night, despite the Force scoring some brilliant tries.

The Crusaders got their revenge over their South Island rivals, the Highlanders, and the Brumbies were washed away in Fiji by a very determined Drua.

The Queensland Reds won their State of Origin match against the NSW Waratahs in what was initially a stodgy but then an exhilarating affair, and the Blues won the battle of the 09, claiming Auckland bragging rights after smashing Moana Pasifika 43-7.

The top six reads Hurricanes, Brumbies, Blues, Chiefs, Reds and Waratahs, but the Chiefs and Reds have a game in hand, so expect that order to change and for more of a Kiwi dominance at the top of the tree in weeks to come.

Nevertheless, for now, with another round of rugby to analyse, here are the takes on the Aussie teams after the fifth round.

Western Force still in search of an 80-minute performance

It’s clear to anyone who watched the game in Napier that the Hurricanes had another couple of gears in them, and that fact probably hurts the Force more than the narrow loss.

A loss of 31-23 in Hurricane country is nothing to scoff at, particularly after the Canes put 59 on the Waratahs and conceded only 19 away in Sydney in the round prior.

However, frustratingly, in the end, what let the Force down were a few individual errors and the inability to slow down the Hurricanes’ ruck speed.

Coach Simon Cron will be pleased with the first half, where they kept the homeside to just five points, heading into the sheds with eight points of their own.

The third quarter wasn’t bad either, but the Force began to lose the key moments, and that’s what saw the Canes take a 26-11 lead in the 60th minute.

The reserves proved to be a double-edged sword for the Force, while the changes exacerbated their defensive issues; the subs were very handy in attack.

The reserves added impetus, power, and energy off the bench, and that’s what saw the away side score two tries in five minutes leading into the 74th minute.

While the two tries make the scoreboard look better, had the Force just nailed a few more moments, they would’ve been able to generate some genuine pressure on the Wellington boys, who never really got out of third gear.

The Force have plenty of points in them, as fleet-footed speedster Darby Lancaster proved with his in-and-out score in the 5m channel in the 27th minute.

However, the Achilles heel of the Force has always been connection, and in defence, connection matters more.

Only time will tell if this three-week connection block on tour and then a bye can help glue this side together and see them refreshed for round 7.

Brumbies’ rotation proves costly in poor showing in Fiji

The men from ACT were changing their squad on the run in the lead-up to the first-ever Super Rugby Pacific fixture in Ba, Fiji.

Prop Rhys Van Nek, utility back Ollie Sappsford, and Wallabies winger Corey Toole all had to pull out for one reason or another in the days leading up to the match, and that saw a total of 10changes from the week before.

The raft of planned changes was headlined by a new starting halves combination of Wallaby Tane Edmed and halfback Klayton Thorne.

To say the pair had an underwhelming showing would be an understatement.

As was written in this column after round three, Ryan Lonergan is the key cog in the Brumbies’ attack.

He steers that ship, decides when the tempo needs to change, and keeps the pressure high on oppositions who are constantly kept guessing by his option-taking.

Thorne and Edmed were conservative in their game driving, and Edmed’s lack of touches was evident even before the heavens opened up.

Edmed made 10 passes and carried the ball twice in his 50-minute effort, which was his first start for the Brums in the no.10 jersey.

Replacement flyhalf, Declan Meredith, made eight passes and ran the ball three times with two tackle breaks in his 30-minute appearance.

A loss like this may come back to hurt the Brumbies when it’s time to see who will host the quarter and semi-finals, particularly coming off a narrow loss to the Reds the week before.

The Brumbies now head home to take on a fully fit Chiefs side, which will be the side’s true litmus test of the season so far.

Treyvon Pritchard should be in every Queensland Reds matchday squad

The young hottstepper is only 18 years old, and he is already putting Super Rugby Pacific on notice.

Pritchard replaced Outside centre Josh Flook in the 44th minute, and that in itself is a big vote of confidence from Reds coach and soon-to-be Wallabies coach, Les Kiss.

The pace young Treyvon has in his first three steps is frightening, and he uses that same explosivity to climb high in the aerial contests.

It’s clear to see that he wants to get involved more, which is great. It’s not always the case when young wingers first get on the scene; sometimes they stay out on the wing and wait for the ball to come to them.

Two tackle busts for two carries and an offload really doesn’t do his night justice. He was staunch in defence and ever-present when the ball was in space.

It’s going to be harder and harder for Kiss to be able to keep Pritchard on the pine, especially should injury strike, but riding the pine is the best place for the livewire while he acclimatises to the big leagues.

As we saw with superstar Max Jorgensen when he was Pritchard’s age, he had a very injury-riddled couple of years at the start of his career when he was Pritchard’s age.

Jorgensen was a starter week in, week out. Now that was perhaps partially due to the media surrounding his signing to the union over the league, and that’s not to discredit his elite skill back then, but it is a factor to consider.

Thankfully, Pritchard does not have the same intense spotlight on him, and that is probably best for the burgeoning talent.

Getting Pritchard used to the rigours of Super Rugby Pacific over 10 or so games off the bench, against a myriad of opposition and opponents, will allow him to ease into the fast and furious competition.

Kiss has older and more experienced players in Filipo Daugunu, Heremiai Murray, Josh Flook, and Tim Ryan to help fill that starting role, who will be perfect mentors to young Pritchard as he continues to light up Super Rugby Pacific.

Waratahs must find their punch

The Waratahs moved the ball better than they have all season at Suncorp on Saturday night, but it didn’t get them very far.

The connection between youngsters James Hendren and Sid Harvey, coming off a Jack Debreczeni wide pass, looked awesome, but the Waratahs regularly got to the 15m channels without posing any real questions to the Reds’ defence.

Triston Reilly at outside centre was a physical force that often straightened the attack and ran strong down lines, which proved effective, but he can’t be doing it alone.

While Jorgensen went looking for work when momentum was hard to come by, it often meant he was running into a well-structured Reds defence as opposed to the open space that suits him.

Yes, their plays were aesthetically pleasing, and yes, it’s a vast improvement on last year, and better than weeks gone by, but the Waratahs often found themselves going side-to-side with little cut through or territory gain.

The Reds had another night where they tackled at around 90 per cent, and it showed in the turnover passages that the Waratahs were getting sapped by their own lengthy, unfruitful attacks.

The lack of cut through meant the breakdown was heavily contested, with the Waratahs conceding 19 turnovers.

Clarke Laidlaw, the Hurricanes coach, noted last week after their 59-19 thrashing of the Tahs, that their ruck speed was one of the slowest in the competition, and hence it’s proving to be a happy hunting ground for jacklers.

The Tahs concede an average of 16.5 turnovers per game, and on two occasions, against the Reds at Suncorp and against the Drua in round 2, they conceded a whopping 19.

Despite the Waratahs moving the ball better, their breakdown is still too slow, and it telegraphs their next move and robs their runners of a fair go.

They must change the picture against the Blues at home in Sydney this week.