Super Rugby Team of the Week - Round 14
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 Kurtley Beale (Waratahs)
Israel who? It’s so refreshing to see Beale and his all-around game flourish with his chance at fullback for the Waratahs. His positioning is excellent, flat passing an asset, running that is so hard to read from the backfield and he has given the Waratahs the option of the dual playmaking roles at first receiver which has taken a lot of pressure off Foley. With Quade Cooper’s form coming off the boil this combo is certainly an option for the Wallabies. Damian Willemse (Stormers) had an excellent game as he nullified Richie Mo’unga’s kicking game and a smashing tackle on David Havili that snuffed out a try.
14 Caleb Clarke (Blues)
Clarke was into everything and made some telling tackles, one where he tracked back 70 metres to make the try saving drag down and then effect the turnover. Rugged with the ball in hand as well. Good attitude that helped the Blues break an 8-year hoodoo with their northern neighbours.
13 Marius Jonker (TMO)
In the absence of a stand out 13 this week let’s give this position to the TMO in the Stormers Crusaders game. He certainly kept the Stormers in the game in this very tight and tense match. In a complete lack of appreciation of the laws of the game, Jonker got on the talkback to Nick Berry to rule a forward pass to deny Sevu Reece a try that would have had the champions out by a decent margin. The ball clearly travelled backward out of Ennor’s hands and floated forward with the momentum of the player. It won’t have an effect on the competition standings but it makes any rugby fan uneasy that this official could potentially be the TMO in a World Cup knockout game and make a gaffe like this.
12 Jeronimo de la Fuente (Jaguares)
The inside center was dominant in the midfield as the Jaguares shocked the Hurricanes and it was a surprise to see him carve off so many more metres with the ball in hand against the passive Ngani Laumape. Captained the team well and was one of many leaders, another point of difference for the Argentinians as many of the Hurricanes senior players failed to back up Ardie Savea.
11 Ramiro Moyano (Jaguares)
Moyano has had a great couple of games in New Zealand alongside his outside back amigos Boffelli and Cancelliere. Speed, creativity and zest, they add some icing on Argentinean rugby’s cake. Rosko Speckman (Bulls) was his ebullient best against the Rebels.
10 Handre Pollard (Bulls)
The Bulls flyhalf seemed to pick up some tips from Richie Mo’unga with some wonderful kick passes and 17 points in Melbourne. Such an important cog in the Bulls and Springboks’ wheel.
9 Aaron Smith (Highlanders)
The Highlanders went down to the Lions but it was through no lack of trying from the All Black halfback. The game moved from side to side very quickly at altitude and Smith was equal to the task putting in lung-busting 50-60 sprints from one breakdown to the next. Good heads up play keeping the tempo up as well.
8 Kwagga Smith (Lions)
We tend to think of South African loose forward trios as three 195cm, 120kg behemoths but the Lions have two terriers in the form of Manus Shoeman (178cm) and Kwagga Smith (182cm). What a revelation they were. Kwagga bagged himself two tries and both popped up like jack-in-the-boxes. Michael Wells (Waratahs) is matching Michael Hooper’s work rate and they are forming a good 7-8 pair.
7 Pieter Steph du Toit (Stormers)
The Stormers love to suck the life out of their opposition and there’s no bigger python that Pieter Steph du Toit. Dangerous in hand to hand combat and some very good technical skills at set-piece.
6 Pablo Matera (Jaguares)
This guy could be from a Canterbury dairy farm the way he plays; uncompromising, strong and brutal with some softer skills when required. Also, his work rate is consistent, he just doesn’t slow down. Won his important head to head with Vaea Fifita.
5 Sam Whitelock (Crusaders)
The Crusaders captain Sam Whitelock had a great battle with Eben Etzebeth (Stormers). Both locks putting in big shifts in the collision zone and set piece.
4 Patrick Tuipolotu (Blues)
Paddy was King of the Middle of the Park against the Chiefs and led his team to a fine victory. Invariably gets go forward, the only time he failed was when he was cut down by one of Luke Jacobsen’s scything efforts. The great thing about his carrying is he has no issue about going to ground, has almost given up looking for miracle balls and Blues fans would wish a few of his other forward buddies followed his lead.
3 Ofa Tu’ungafasi (Blues)
A watershed game for big Ofa. Up against his two biggest challengers for the 5th All Black prop spot in the RWC squad, he had the better of Atu Moli, scored a try and both he and loosehead Alex Hodgman stayed on for the full 80. At 76 minutes, with a defensive scrum 5 metres out from their line, they destroyed the Chiefs pack for a penalty, putting the game beyond doubt.
2 Malcolm Marx (Lions)
Second week in a row. This guy is a phenom. Was given plenty of latitude at tackle time by the ref and took full advantage of it. We saw more running from him this week too. His form seems to be coming to the boil well. 38-year-old Schalk Brits (Bulls) was prominent.
1 Tom Robertson (Waratahs) First start for the Waratah this season and had a very strong match taking on Taniela Tupou. Not easy coming back from an ACL for a prop but showed his all-round game to spice up the race for the Wallaby number one jersey.
Egon Seconds performance:
Comments on RugbyPass
I certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to comments