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Super Rugby Team of the Week - Round 10

By Mike Rehu
Bernard Foley (R) celebrates a try for the Waratahs

As Eric Rush once said, “this is just one man’s opinion”. Please add your picks and your favourites in the feedback box below.

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15 Kurtley Beale (Waratahs)

Good timing for Beale to put his hand up at fullback. He made a difference for the Waratahs as he read the game so well, put in some clever kicks, timed his runs into the line and was a rock at the back. Doesn’t have the height a lot of the other Wallaby options have but he is brave and skillful under the high ball.

14 Matt Faddes (Highlanders)

The old dog is surviving on his instincts at the moment. The knee is taped up like an Egyptian mummy. Last outing v Crusaders he scooped up one his trademark intercepts and was chased down and obviously stinging from a fortnight’s worth of ribbing from his team mates he made no mistake this week as the Blues gave away their second intercept try in two weeks.

13 Adam Ashley Cooper (Waratahs)

Seems to love the Sydney Cricket Ground as he last raised his head above the parapet when the Tahs surprised the Crusaders last month. Was a good foil to the power of Karmichael Hunt and a good old head to have around as his team fought back from a big halftime deficit.

12 Rahboni Warren Vosayaco (Sunwolves)

Had the potential to be the worst selection blunder since Mauro Bergamasco was selected at halfback for Italy.

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But ‘maybe blunder’ turned into ‘certain blinder’ as the big loosie looked incredibly at home with some canny running lines and good distribution skills. The biggest factor was we didn’t hear a peep of Ngani Laumape with the ball in hand, he resorted to trying to show the selectors he has a kicking game like Nonu.

11 Semisi Masirewa (Sunwolves)

Both Ben Lam and Masirewa had good games in Tokyo but Masirewa has joined the cream of the left wing crop; those finishers like Rieko Ioane and Makazole Mapimpi who get the crowd on their feet whenever they get some ball in space. I am wondering if Fiji will come calling with this form? Would be great to see him at the Rugby World Cup.

10 Christian Lealiifano (Brumbies)

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A lot of first fives were influential this week. Josh Ioane, Hayden Parker and Bernard Foley were all very good. I thought the Brumbies captain stood out because of his all-round game but also his handling of referee Nic Briant. The Brumbies got away with a lot at ruck time and should have had at least one more yellow card for their slowing down at the breakdown. How Rory Arnold escaped a penalty or yellow card in the 73rd minute where he cleverly impeded the Stormers from cleaning out which led to a relieving penalty for his own team heaven only knows. But where inexperienced captain Steven Kitshoff was consistently needling Briant, Lealiifano stayed very calm and it was almost like the ref took the Stormers claims for infringements with a pinch of salt.

9 TJ Perenara (Hurricanes)

Close choice from Tate McDermott (Reds) who must claim some credit for driving his unsung forwards around in their win versus the Sharks. TJ took a deep breath and masterfully got the Canes back into the game with a try when they were ten points down and made the correct decisions on attack to get his team over the line.

8 Elliot Dixon (Highlanders)

Almost the forgotten man of NZ rugby. He has been doing some reminding in the last two rounds. Lock Joe Wheeler alluded to his influence in a mid-week tv show; when Elliot steps up and shows his 2015 ‘angry hill-billy’ form the team are ready to follow.

7 Michael Hooper (Waratahs)

Got a victory in his 100th Waratahs match. The Tahs managed to defuse Will Genia and Quade Cooper’s influence in the second half, and Hooper was in most rucks trying to slow that quick ball down that the Rebels need to operate flat. Liam Wright is having an impressive campaign. His fitness in the last 10 minutes allowed him to defuse a couple of Sharks chances and get the Reds home.

6 Cyle Brink (Lions)

Brink made it look easy as he bossed the Chiefs in the collision zone and teamed up well with Kwagga Smith and Warren Whitely to add some real zing for the Lions. Tom Robinson (Blues) continues his eye-catching form.

5 Izaac Rodda (Reds)

The commentators barely called his name all night as he was like some coal miner hidden in the deepest recesses looking for rich veins of possession. Reds coach Brad Thorn would be very proud of him.

4 Rory Arnold (Brumbies)

As a foil to Rodda, Arnold delighted in having a hard-working loose trio and his partner Sam Carter doing all the donkey work in the Brumbies win over the Stormers. He showed his skill in first ten minutes with a lovely offload and an awesome charge down try to get his team 12 points up. Then some great action swimming through mauls and making himself a Retallick-like nuisance to see the Aussies home.

3 Carlu Sadie (Lions)

If it’s one position South Africa doesn’t struggle with it’s tighthead prop. Sadie, like Wilco Louw (Stormers) is as strong as an ox but belies his girth with some of the prettiest footwork and passing that would make a twinkle toed number 10 proud.

2 Malcolm Marx (Lions)

A nightmare week for the Lions as their coaching team disintegrated but Marx seemed to relish having senior players like Whitely and Kwagga return as he focused a lot better on his core game this week. Liam Coltman was destructive for the Highlanders and Asafo Aumua (Hurricanes) looked up for it off the bench this week.

1 Harry Hoopert (Reds)

First start of the season for the 20-year-old and he didn’t disappoint. Has shown some elusive running skills coming off the bench this season and he knuckled down at Kings Park and showed some real strength. He is listed at 111 kgs but there’s not much fat on this prime beef.

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Jon 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 8 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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