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
I like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
8 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
8 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
8 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
8 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
3 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to comments