Super Rugby Team of the Week - Round 16
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 Solomon Alaimalo (Chiefs)
After seeing Alaimalo and Shaun Stevenson’s pacy performances on the rock hard Suva pitch as the Chiefs downed the Crusaders, the franchise must be thinking of ways they can harden up their soft Hamilton track. Alaimalo gave us a glimpse of the form he was in two years ago, he was irrepressible as he ran rings round the much-vaunted Crusader outsides. Tom Banks (Brumbies) and Semisi Masirewa (Sunwolves) were great value from the back as well.
14 Cornal Hendricks (Bulls)
Up against Rieko Ioane, Hendricks delivered a strong performance in wet, miserable conditions. Classic wing’s try down the flank.
13 Lionel Mapoe (Lions)
When Mapoe goes for a gap, he gives it full commitment and more often than not gets the break. The Lions held a narrow lead over the Stormers after halftime but lively Lionel was instrumental in setting up a barrage of tries that set them free. Adam Ashley-Cooper (Waratahs) was back to his canny best.
12 Irae Simone (Brumbies)
At 193cm and 105kg you could expect Simone to be similar to the muscular style of Tevita Kuidrani outside him but this guy has some soft and silky skills. Made some very strong decisions when the Brumbies ventured wide, although they eventually put the Sunwolves away with their maul tries. Ngani Laumape (Hurricanes) had his best game in a while doing what he should do more of; running hard and straight.
11 Curtis Rona (Waratahs)
A slightly dodgy try-saving tackle aside, Rona has put in some very powerful shifts in the last couple of weeks. He has explosive power and surprises some defenders with his speed.
10 Beauden Barrett (Hurricanes)
The conductor had the Hurricanes orchestra in full song in Durban. Didn’t overplay his hand, shovelling it on to power runners Laumape and brother Jordie, and then when he decided to make a break he had less defenders concentrating on him. Place-kicking is looking smooth and even though we think of Barrett as a running 10, he is number 3 for kicks in play for the tournament; he usually gets the best of any aerial ping-pong battles.
9 Felipe Ezcurra (Jagaures)
Got his second start for the season and looked very collected under pressure and scored a good halfback’s try. With the recent whining from some Aussie pundits about the Jaguares being an Argentine national team, the real positive in being involved in Super rugby has been to blood players like Ezcurra, who may be ranked 4th nationally behind Cubelli, Bertranou and Landajo but is on his way up.
8 Kwagga Smith (Lions)
This guy knows his way to the try-line, that’s for sure. Hat-trick heaven. Had a great battle with Jaco Coetzee and even though the Stormer had some great runs in the standard number fashion, Smith adds so much to his team by taking strong options at the right time, be it turnovers, linking or tries. Dan de Preez (Sharks) was strong again and Pita Gus Sowakula (Chiefs) threw his body around and out-played the All Blacks captain who was coming back from a two week rest.
7 Ardie Savea (Hurricanes)
Ardie and Kwagga might have been chiselled from the same rock. Some might question the legality of Savea’s turnover technique, the way he dives into the grounded ball carrier in the initial movement but he can certainly stay on his feet once he suctions himself over the ball. Referee Nic Berry didn’t have any qualms and that’s the main thing!
6 Sam Cane (Chiefs)
The race for the All Blacks 7 position is a frenzied one at the moment with both Savea and Cane out-doing the other on a weekly basis. With the question mark over a blindside to step up could we see Hansen experiment with these two? It would leave the AB line out seriously short of height that’s for sure. The great difference Cane has made beyond his skill and strength is the natural leadership he brings. Down 20 points to the Crusaders after as many minutes? Kudos to players like Cane, Weber and Lienert-Brown for dragging their team back. Hanro Liebenberg (Bulls) was energetic.
5 Rob Simmons (Waratahs)
I used to see Simmons as a very one-dimensional player but in the last month or two you can see that he has worked on the way he can use his assets in the open-field. Some very good running angles and defensive play on top of the solid set piece work.
4 Scott Barrett (Crusaders)
Great timing to make a statement after Steve Hansen suggested Barrett could be the fix at six for the ABs. 11th minute, got the ball 50m out in traffic, thrust aside Alex Nankivell and outsprinted any cover for a fantastic touchdown. Critics who reckoned Barrett doesn’t have the mobility to be a test flanker were shut down in their tracks from that moment. In the tournament top 25 for tackles and line out steals; good signs for a potential blindside flanker.
3 Ofa Tu’ungafasi (Blues)
Big Ofa was at his forceful best against the Bulls, being very influential on the gainline. The Blues have the most successful scrum in the comp on their ball with much credit going to the tighthead prop. He got himself his third try of the tournament as well.
2 Samisoni Taukei’aho (Chiefs)
Second start of the season and just what the Chiefs needed in terms of a meat missile who got over the advantage line. Set piece was good too considering he was throwing to jumpers who were sometimes giving away 10cm to their opposites; accuracy was extremely important. Malcolm Marx (Lions) was monstrous as well and good stuff for Connal McInerney (Brumbies) with his hat trick; all three from line out mauls. Exciting in Canberra!
1 Dylan Smith (Lions)
The Northern Hemisphere has Kyle Sinkler and down south we have Dylan Smith; the centers in prop’s bodies. Smith doesn’t do the diva stuff like Sinkler thank goodness and his pod work in phase play is very classy. Solid enough scrummager for Super Rugby. Talking about props with skills, Atu Moli’s (Chiefs) looping 20m pass off his left hand in the lead up to Jesse Parete’s try was sublime!
Comments on RugbyPass
It’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
24 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
24 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
24 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
24 Go to comments