How Aussie teams have closed the gap on Kiwi Super Rugby rivals

Super Rugby Pacific delivered some historic results in round four, with Australian teams making some noise while most New Zealand sides struggled. Three Kiwi teams lost their most recent fixture, including the Blues who the Brumbies beat at Auckland’s Eden Park.

James Slipper is both the second-most capped player in Super Rugby history and the only active Brumby who has won at Eden Park before Friday – and that was with the Queensland Reds. That’s what made last week’s upset so memorable, with the Brumbies making a statement.

Ryan Lonergan was the hero for the Brums, who triumphed 21-20 after the scrum-half knocked over a last-minute penalty goal. The NSW Waratahs also showcased their flair in a big win over the Western Force in Sydney, and the Reds put up a fight in a clash with the Crusaders.

Waratahs coach Dan McKellar labelled the Reds “the best team” in Super Rugby Pacific ahead of an Australian derby in Brisbane, and while history suggests it’s rare for an Australian side to be considered the competition’s front-runners, it might just be a sign of the times.

Former Wallabies Matt Burke and Morgan Turinui have explained the “physicality change” within Australian rugby and how that has had an impact in Super Rugby already this season. The resurgence of Aussie rugby is clear for all to see, as round four showed.

“Have you seen the physicality change amongst the Aussie teams this year? You talk about Saturday night’s game, Force-Waratahs was brutal as well, it was a grind,” Burke said on Stan Sport’s Between Two Posts.

“I reckon there’s a real understanding of just lifting the intensity at the moment to compete with the Kiwi teams as well and we saw that in the Crusaders game as well, you’ve just got to keep pace with them too.

“But if you’re brutal enough, you can sneak out a win.”

Morgan Turinui added: “It’s been a five-year project for Australian teams. On the back of the 2019 World Cup, Dave Rennie came in and went, ‘Okay, we want to be brutal physically.’ Then we had the [2023] year with Eddie and they tried different things.

“[Joe] Schmidt’s come in and added some accuracy to that mindset that’s already there. [Dan] McKellar has had influences at two different Super Rugby teams. It’s building a physical focus for Australian rugby teams, especially forward packs, which keeps them in lots of fights.”

Hamilton’s Chiefs are still leading the way as the ladder-leaders after four rounds, even though they lost to the Fijian Drua in a thriller on Saturday. But the Brumbies, Reds and Tahs are all currently in a playoff position, with the New South Welshman in second-place.

Outside of the top six is the Western Force in seventh, the Fijian Drua and then Moana Pasifika. Two New Zealand teams, the Blues and Hurricanes, round out the ladder as the bottom teams in Super Rugby Pacific after four rounds.

The Canes finished first on the standings at the end of last season’s round-robin, and the Blues went on to win the competition. Both teams have won one of their four matches to date, with the Blues’ loss to the Brumbies especially unforgettable.

But if you’re a Blues fan, don’t panic just yet.

“Well, there’s form and then there’s what’s going to happen by the end of the season. The Blues are going to be okay,” Turinui insisted.

“The Crusaders were last yesterday morning, they’re now in the top six.

“Everyone’s beating everyone.