Brumbies player ratings vs Blues | Super Rugby Pacific
The Brumbies have recoded a hard-fought 25-20 win over the Blues on the final day of Super Round at Melbourne’s AAMI Park.
Playing in the sweltering heat, as both teams and the officials took regular water breaks during play, the Blues raced out to an early 7-3 lead after a try to Ricky Riccitelli.
But the match had plenty of back and forth following this, as the teams traded scores.
The Brumbies ended up taking a five-point lead into the half-time break, and that ultimately proved to be the difference. A scoreless second 40 saw the Canberra-based outfit hold on for an important win.
Here’s how the Brumbies rated.
- Tom Wright – 8/10
Utility back Tom Wright may have found himself a home in the No. 15 jersey for the Brumbies. The former NRL playmaker was in the middle of the action throughout much of the game, having run the ball nine times for almost 70 meters.
Wright registered a try assist in the 17th minute after showcasing some skill to get the ball out to winger Any Muirhead as quickly as he could.
- Andy Muirhead – 7.5
The Brumbies winger crossed for his sides first try in the 18th minute, as he reaped the rewards of the backlines kick hands. But Muirhead also got stuck in around the field of play, running the ball seven times for 71 metres, and beat five defenders.
- Len Ikitau – 6.5
Brumbies centre Len Ikitau had an uncharacteristically quiet afternoon in Melbourne. The 24-year-old only ran the ball three times, and made five stops on defence. With the match in the balance, Ikitau’s afternoon was cut short midway through the second-half as he was replaced by Ollie Sapsford.
- Tamati Tua – 7.5
The New Zealand-born inside centre had himself a game against the Blues. As Len Ikitau struggled to get involved, Tua more than held his own. On the defensive side of the ball he made eight tackles, and offensively carried the ball eight times for more than 30 hard-earned metres.
- Corey Toole – 6.5
It’s tough to rate Corey Toole after that performance. The 22-year-old worked tirelessly to get involved, but the ball just didn’t come his way too often. Every time there was a kick down field, the winger chased it with purpose.
- Jack Debreczeni – 7
In the NFL, every team is nothing without their quarterback. If the chief playmaker fails to fire, then so does the rest of the team – it’s a domino effect. But the sentiment of this point also applies to the position of flyhalf in rugby
In this case, No. 10 Jack Debreczeni didn’t overplay his hand as he led the Brumbies to a strong start against the Blues off the back of his kicking game and playmaking around the park. By the time he went off, as he was replaced by Wallaby Noah Lolesio, the Brumbies were leading 25-20.
- Ryan Lonergan – 7
Halfback Ryan Lonergan was one of the standout performers for the Brumbies last week, and he carried his promising form into Super Round. Lonergan appears to be a Wallaby-in-waiting; the 24-year-old certainly seems to have what it takes – as seen on Sunday afternoon.
The scrum-half played a crucial role in the Brumbies’ strong start in Melbourne, as his quick passing game and rugby IQ caused the Blues countless headaches. Lonergan is also a proven goal-kicker, having scored eight of his sides points off the tee.
- James Slipper – 6
Playing in the heat, veteran prop James Slipper never seemed to stop running. Playing with a tireless work ethic – as he always does – Slipper managed to make his mark on the defensive side of the ball with 10 tackles.
At the set-piece, the Brumbies had the better of their opponents at the scrum. While Slipper was on the field, the Canberra-based outfit won a scrum penalty early in the second-half after overpowering their opponents.
- Lachlan Lonergan – 8
Brumbies hooker Lachlan Lonergan put in a shift on Sunday afternoon. Lonergan played the entire 80 minutes, and played a pivotal role in the stunning victory as a result.
Lonergan scored the Brumbies’ second try of the afternoon from a rolling maul just before half-time. While that was arguably his most notable involvement, it was far from a quiet performance from the rising star.
The hooker had made nine tackles at half-time without missing any, and almost doubled this in the second-half as he finished with 16. Lonergan had three lineout throws stolen by the Blues, it was a minor blip on an otherwise strong performance.
- Allan Alaalatoa – N/A
The Brumbies were dealt a tough blow inside the opening 10 minute as their captain Allan Alaalatoa left the field for a HIA. Alaalatoa didn’t return after failing the assessment.
- Nick Frost – 7.5
Much like his second-row partner, Nick Frost had a towering presence about him at the set-piece, The lock was one of the go-to options for Lachlan Lonergan, and also made an impact around the field. Frost finished made 17 tackle attempts, and only missed two.
- Cadeyrn Neville – 7.5
Wallaby Cadeyrn Neville was a menace at the set-piece for the lineout, as he embodied his role as the lineout general for the Brumbies once again. Neville was the go-to player for hooker Ryan Lonergan, and he also put plenty of pressure on the Blues’ throw.
Around the park, Neville had made the second-most tackles out of any player with 12 by the time he was replaced. The 34-year-old well and truly earnt a rest, as he was subbed midway through the second-half.
- Rob Valetini – 8
World-class Wallaby Rob Valetini had an usually quiet first-half. The loose forward just couldn’t quite get into it, while some of his teammates shone. But his second 40 was both much more noticeable and impressive.
Valetini finished with 15 tackles to his name at 100 per cent accuracy, and also carried the ball hard at the Blues’ defensive line on 11 occasions.
- Rory Scott – 7.5
Throughout the first-half, there was one player in particular who seemed to be in the middle of everything. Flanker Rory Scott, who was hard to miss with his white headgear, played with an abundance of energy in the sweltering heat at AAMI Park. While the Blues began to tire, Scott was making his mark.
At half-time, Scott had made 13 tackles, which was four more than the next best defensive effort from any player. Scott only made another three in the second-half before he was replaced.
- Pete Samu – 8
Much like Rob Valetini, it was almost a game of two halves from Pete Samu, Not to say he was poor in one half, but just quieter. Throughout the first 40, Samu was playing the lights out. Whether it was at the set-piece, breakdown, or around the field of play, the flanker was getting stuck into everything.
“I thought he was really good. Haven’t seen a lot of Rob Valetini, it’s all been Pete Samu,” Horan told Stan Sport at half-time.
“The way that he’s moved with the Number Eight jersey on… I find he gets into the game a bit more than playing at seven or six.”
Samu ultimately finished the contest with 13 tackles to his name and 10 carries.
Replacements:
- John Ulugia – N/A
- Black Schoupp – 6.5 – Won a key penalty for the Brumbies late in the contest.
- Rhys Van Nek – 7.5 – Came on a lot earlier than he would’ve expected, as he replaced captain Allan Alaalatoa inside the opening 10 minutes. While he gave away a penalty about 90 seconds later, Van Nek soon found his feet.
- Darcy Swain – 6
- Luke Reimer – 6.5 – Made 10 tackles off the bench.
- Nic White – 7 – With the scores quite close, the Brumbies called upon Wallaby Nic White off the bench. The veteran halfback showed his experience as he led the team to a tough win.
- Noah Lolesio – 7.5 – Lolesio was impressive after coming on for about the last half an hour. The Wallaby didn’t overplay his hand, as he did exactly what his team needed him to. Reminded me of his cameo off the bench in a Bledisloe Cup Test in Brisbane a couple of years ago.
- Ollie Sapsford – 6.5 – Some strong carries once he came on.
Comments on RugbyPass
After their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
2 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
31 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
3 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to comments