Super Rugby Team of the Week - Round 13
As Eric Rush once said, “this is just one man’s opinion”. Please add your picks and your favourites in the feedback box below.
15 Dane Haylett Petty (Rebels)
Solid as a rock at the back as the Rebels beat the Reds and had some good yardage as he charged upfield. Will be a good battle with Kurtley Beale to see who will take the Wallaby fullback’s guernsey in the first test later this year.
14 Sevu Reece (Crusaders)
The Crusaders wing got the the upper hand in the battle of the pocket rockets with Rosco Speckman. A hat trick to show off a wide range of his skills; pace to finish, fast frantic feet in less space, then some good elevation in a jump to go over after some magic cross kicks form Mo’unga. Getting close to averaging 100 running metres per game. Henry Speight (Brumbies) was devastating in Canberra in one of those games where ehe couldn’t keep away form the ball.
13 Tevita Kuridrani (Brumbies)
Ran amok in the first 50 against the Sunwolves. Has danger written all over him on both sides of the ball.
12 Harold Vorster (Lions)
The inside centre was having his first start since round three and was all quality in the Lions win over the Waratahs. Can match the power of the other 12s in the South African franchises but Vorster has a deeper range; some silky stepping skills and canny distribution. Good impetus from the bench from Alex Nankiwell (Chiefs), awesome straight running that led to what might be try of the season.
11 George Bridge (Crusaders)
Second week in a row. Didn’t get tries on the board but his work rate was at an industrial scale. Popped up on the right wing as much as the left to use width as a weapon against the Bulls. Great decision in the lead up to Reece’s first try that didn’t look so flash when he wound his way across field but it all became clear when he linked up and the champs had a 5 on 2 out to the right. Also set up Dunshea’s try with a delicious line break.
10 Richie Mo’unga (Crusaders)
What can you say? The Crusaders had a plan that was a little like a bullfight. Run the Bulls around for 30 minutes (where they scored two tries from Mo’unga) then come in with the sword. The two tries they scored late in the first half were down to sheer exhaustion of the Bull’s defence.
9 Brad Weber (Chiefs)
The epitome of a gutsy little man, Weber never gives up and has some real pace to get from phase to phase but when someone makes a break he is invariably on the shoulder like a seagull after a chip. Two great tries in a much-needed victory over the Jaguares. TJ Perenara (Hurricanes) was at his spoiling best against the Blues.
8 Elliot Dixon (Highlanders)
The rangy number 8 cracked 100 games for the franchise and has put a string of performances together that has kept Shannon Frizell on the bench. Good team man. Kieran Read (Crusaders) is finally firing on a few cylinders.
7 Ardie Savea (Hurricanes)
The second week in a row where he has had to go trench warfare and curtail his free running antics for the good of his team. Zealously went about smashing Blues runners. Just a marvelous athlete who could play in the midfield at a pinch.
6 Kwagga Smith (Lions)
He is Africa’s answer to Savea. A talented athlete and a real competitor. So strong in the legs and he uses his strong base brilliantly at the breakdown. Jordan Taufua (Crusaders) added another level of confusion in the hunt for the AB 6 spot.
5 Tyler Ardron (Chiefs)
The Chief’s locks were giving away a lot of size in taking on the Sharks; Ardron and Mitchell Brown were not even as large as the South African loose forwards! Exposed at lineout time, they shone with their sheer work rate around the park. Ardron gets the gong for his last-minute scrag of the tail of Curwin Bosch’s jersey. If he hadn’t stalled the flyer it was probably game over for the Kiwis. Mitchell Dunshea showed similar qualities for the Crusaders. The try he scored down the left flank with the ball under the right arm showed some wingers up for technique.
4 Matt Philip (Rebels)
When his man is on song he looks every inch an international lock. Great work rate and line out skills. Also Rob Simmons from the Waratahs had a very good game running some strong lines on attack alongside his boiler room work. Ruan Botha (Sharks) is a huge lump of a man and provides great verve in the collision and at the ruck.
3 Alan Alaalatoa (Brumbies)
The second week in a row. In a great patch of form and alongside James Slipper and Scott Sio one of the best front row units in the comp.
2 Malcolm Marx (Lions)
What a powerful hooker, his presence in the scrum is intimidating for any opponents and his work in the tackle area is exemplary.
1 Atunaisa Moli (Chiefs)
Had a couple of hiccoughs with penalties at scrum time against Coenie Oosthuizen that he may debate but apart from that, he was a leading light for the Chiefs. He must be very close to the 5th propping spot for the Rugby World Cup.
Comments on RugbyPass
Son, whith just " raw athlete “ , you are able to beat “ better rugby players “ by 74 points…. May be England should recruit in athletics….
1 Go to commentsPffft. It’s not a one-way street bud and Irish teams don’t seem to have had an issue taking kiwi players previously.
6 Go to commentsParticularly great to have captain Scott Barrett back after going off last week for the Crusaders. Codie Taylor a real leader and mighty Tamaiti Williams join Fletcher Newell in the front row. Those 2 will make a big difference. Great bench with the likes of Tom Christie, Jamie Hannah etc who are playing well. Should be a great derby.
1 Go to commentsDoes a blitz defence not have a weekness against a well-placed grubber kick, perhaps angled cleverly. All the defence is up and the full-back can only cover so much ground. Thoughts?
28 Go to commentsWhile Iose is destructive in the Canes set-up, he is not big for an international 8 and could struggle against the top teams. With his speed, he could be developed into a seven but, as Ben points out, he doesn’t show a scavenging game with the Canes or make dominating tackles. Sotutu has shown a step up this year and attitude plus motivation seems to be the big areas of growth. Deserves another AB shot imo.
3 Go to commentsNaholo is my only question mark for this side. He wasn’t the only one who had a forgettable game against the Brumbies but he was passive, defensively poor and generally lacked energy. Needs to get a whole lot busier for me. I would have liked to see Sullivan on that wing with Higgins on the bench (if staying with a 6-2 as BeegMike points out on here!)
3 Go to commentsWell, I am sure that Eben said exactly what he meant to say, exactly how he meant to say it. Does he strike you as a man that doesn't know arrogance when he sees it. He should know it because he has shaken the arrogance out of many foes before.
132 Go to commentsPls get it into your thick arrogant heads that the final was played by two Southern Hemisphere teams. The best against the best and that Argentina was just unlucky otherwise non of the Northetn Hemisphere teams would have seen the light of day.
132 Go to commentsAs long as New Zealand youth are involved in sport they are passionate for, and are well supported, it’s all good. I love league as well as rugby. NRL clubs have long since scouted the First 15 competitions, the NH and Japan scout super rugby and NPC. It’s a miracle there’s any players left for the all blacks to pick from.
4 Go to commentsI'm a Bok fan, so I don't say this lightly, but he is one of my all time favourite players. I am really going to miss watching him play. Thanks for many great memories. You are a true legend of the game.
3 Go to commentsBest way to deal with all of this is to play another game.
132 Go to commentsIt’s 12-15 games Luke. Ringrose has barely played in 2024 and Henshaw and Keenan have also been out for spells in the same time period. There are always injuries and for younger players to play with the likes of Barrett will be great for them. It’s just looking for negatives where there are none.
6 Go to commentsAndy Goode pushing his own agenda with very dubious considerations on refereeing performances. Luke Pearce speaking a bit of French doesn’t make him a good and adequate referee for the Champions Cup final; his latest refereeing performance in particular was not so great.
4 Go to commentsJordie knows that he has to earn the right to put on the jersey, whatever that jersey might be.
6 Go to commentsThe best outside centre in the world at one point. He will be greatly missed.
3 Go to commentsYip his great for the big moments when needed as a safa really enjoy watching him
4 Go to commentsOne that will start to come up from now on is penalties for back pushes during kick chase scrambles. Very difficult to detect. In Croke Park if you replay the Hendy NH try, you will see Furbank push Porter in the back, who collides with Larmour knocking the ball across into Hendy’s path to dot down. A more significant example was in the RWC QTR final where Arendse pushes Fickou into two other French players for the ball to spill into Arendse’s path for him to gather and run in to score SAs first try. Not cheating if you are not caught and very difficult to spot but with kicking becoming so critical I feel its an area that will referreeed/TMO-ed more.
4 Go to commentsWhat a pathetic little twit Andy Goode is, as if we care what he thinks…..😂
132 Go to commentsFoxy has been a wonderful player for the Scarlets and Wales.
3 Go to commentsNika the Georgian is the best referee in the world at the moment. Luckily we will be spared the shite SH refs and Barnes will hopefully remain retired given how shite and embarrassing he was at the RWC.
4 Go to comments