Aussie Super Rugby takes: Lonergan exceptional for Brumbies, Gordon the difference for Reds

Round 3 of Super Rugby Pacific is in the bag, and the upsets just keep on rolling in.

The Western Force finally managed to win on the road and notched their first win of the season; likewise, the Queensland Reds extended their streak over the Highlanders.

The Hurricanes couldn’t weather the storm of the Fijian Drua, nor the torrential rain in Lautoka, and the Crusaders defied all odds to upset the Chiefs at home in a fiery local derby.

Meanwhile, the Brumbies fought tooth and nail to secure a 83rd minute victory over the Blues to continue their canter into the 2026 competition.

In the end, it was a clean sweep by the three Aussie sides, with the Waratahs on the bye, but nonetheless, an Aussie streak like that very rarely, if ever, happens, hence it’s worth noting.

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

Brumbies’ momentum starts at no.9

The Brumbies lost almost every stat for their first game at home; you name the stat, and the Blues were better.

Meters carried the Blues dominated, tackle busts, line breaks the Blues doubled the Brums, missed tackles, the Brumbies had twice as many as the men from Auckland. All the while, territory and possession stats were pretty much 50/50.

However, the one stat that should be focused on is the number of passes coming from the Brumbies no.9 and captain, Ryan Lonergan.

Lonergan dished up 69 passes compared to his flyhalf, Declan Meredith, who only threw nine passes.

Comparatively, that’s a ratio of 23:3, a much bigger ratio than any other halves combo over the weekend.

The Blues, who play most similarly to the Brumbies, were at a 6:1 ratio.

Just to highlight how stark this difference is, most other flyhalves in round 3, threw almost double as many passes.

The Brumbies carry-clean is generating incredibly quick ball for Lonergan to dish out, and his speed to ruck and that of his own pass are also contributing factors.

Altogether, this is making for a Brumbies side who are consistently on the front foot. The speed and short distances of Lonergan’s pass mean that defences don’t have the time to cut down space and get off their line.

It is also a big reason as to why the Blues conceded 16 penalties to the Brumbies eight. Offsides and pressure at the ruck saw them pinged regularly as they tried to slow the Brumbies down.

While Meredith has been playing well and showcasing a whole bag of skills from speed to fleet footwork, Lonergan is the real game driver in Brumby land, and now oppositions will have that front of mind when they play the men from ACT.

Queensland Reds shape up better with Gordon at no.10

The difference in attack shape with Carter Gordon at the helm was night and day for the Queensland men.

Gordon’s search for a second touch regularly gave the Reds the width and space their backline is designed ot play with.

Although it’s a backline with plenty of games together, apart from Gordon, there’s only really Hunter Paisami at no.12 who offers any real punch.

The smaller size of the backline means it requires space to use their evident rugby IQ to unstick opposition defences.

It’s a warm welcome back to rugby for Gordon, who threw his big frame into every contact, kicked well, and passed even better.

Gordon has the best passing game of any no.10 in the comp, on either side of the Tasman or out into the Pacific, but sides will be alert to his route Now.

Gordon won’t have as much time against the rush defences of the Brumbies this weekend, and the Waratahs in a fortnight.

Double touches if not calibrated correctly with the rest of the backline are a sure way to get pollaxed and to concede a turnover, or worse.

Western Force show how important kicking is

The Force almost single handedly won the game in Pukekohe against Moana Pasifika off the boot.

The Force kicked 30 times to Moana’s 23, a gap bigger than in any other clash across the weekend, except for the Hurricanes’ loss to the Drua in torrential rain in Fiji.

Despite the territory and possession stats being virtually 50/50, Moana spent a lot of time around the halfway line, whereas the Force regularly punched kicks long and asked Moana to run it back.

It was a frustrating night for Moana, who was constantly turned around, and it prevented them from getting any sort of momentum.

The boxkicks from halfback Nathan Hastie saw the Force regularly exit well from their danger zone and cause chaos in Moana’s backfield, while flyhalf Ben Donaldson regularly put in probing kicks for Moana’s pendulum to scurry for.

For the Force, it was a rigid performance, where they did the things they had to do to squeeze Moana for the win.

Conceding 14 penalties is something coach Simon Cron will be displeased with; conceding that many against most sides in the competition will almost certainly result in a loss.

The Force can notch two wins from this three-game tour of New Zealand as they head south to play a wounded Highlanders this weekend.

Head-to-Head

Last 5 Meetings

Wins

4

Draws

0

Wins

1

Average Points scored

33

23

First try wins

0%

Home team wins

20%

Next three rounds will be defining for the Aussie sides

Although it’s only early in the season, these next three rounds will be defining for the Aussie sides.

In round 4, the Waratahs host the Hurricanes, the Force are away in Dunedin to the Landers, and the Brums and Reds face off in an Aussie derby.

As the Aussie sides only play the NZ sides once per regular season, these results really matter for the composition of the table.

The bottom line is, Aussie sides must beat Kiwi teams in order to make the Finals.

There aren’t enough games to go around for more than one or two to make finals. (Moana is counted as NZ, and Fiji is counted as Aus per the conference system).

In round 5, the Force play Canes in NZ, the Brumbies are off to Fiji, and the Reds host the Tahs.

In round 6, the Brumbies host the Chiefs, the Reds head to Fiji, and the Waratahs welcome the Blues to Allianz, with the Force on the bye.

The Reds cannot afford to lose both local derbies against the Brums and Tahs, the Force can’t afford to go into the bye with only one win, whilst the Waratahs and Brumbies have a real opportunity to cement their spot in the top two.

If hosting a quarter-final and even a semi-final is the aim, as it should be, then the Aussie sides must establish a stronger baseline in the next few Weeks.

History has proven that unless you are hosting quarters and semis, there is no real hope of lifting the Super Rugby trophy.