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Super Rugby Team of the Week - Round 5

By Mike Rehu
Damian McKenzie of the Chiefs. (Photo by Michael Bradley/Getty Images)

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 Damian MacKenzie (Chiefs)

D-Mac was like a fish being put back in the water with a run at 15 against the Hurricanes. Had a wonderful tussle in the backfield duel with Chase Tia tia and enjoyed the freedom. Hard for Cooper to slot him back at 10 after a performance like that and may affect the All Blacks selection policy post-Super rugby. 18 points with a try, 2 conversions, and three penalties.

14 Tyrone Green (Lions)

Made his Super debut starting at 15 but his move to the right wing at 50 mins coincided with the Lions resurgence to win after being down 33-5 just after halftime. Elusive and made the most of the Rebels not having too much tape on him.

13 Samu Kerevi (Reds)

Was a real powerhouse, leading from the front with 14 runs for 78 metres in their last gasp victory over the Sunwolves. Also seemed to handle the referee well as the Sunwolves, for the second week in a row, were hammered in the penalty count.

12 Anton Liernert-Brown (Chiefs)

Big matchup with Ngani Laumape and he edged the battle. Has power but good choices in defence, a load of subtlety and passing power. Billy Meakes (Rebels) impressed in Johannesburg until he was yellow carded and the Melbourne tide ebbed away.

11 Ataata Moeakiola (Chiefs)

The Tongan-Japanese star in the making is coming into his own in Super rugby. A breath-taking mix of physical size, power and speed he’ll be one to watch in the Rugby World Cup if Japan pick him in the squad.

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10 Beauden Barrett (Hurricanes)

Barrett dripped quality with his smooth as silk performance in the draw vs the Chiefs. This weekend he looked calm and had that Carter-esque quality of seeming like he had much more time on his hands than anyone else on the paddock. Great to see his goal kicking looking solid as well.

9 Jamie Booth (Sunwolves)

Had Will Genia (Rebels) penciled in at halftime and even though individually he was all class he couldn’t repeat his match-saving heroics from last week. And even though the Sunwolves tanked at the death Booth could not be faulted; he had just been subbed when his replacement’s poor clearing kick added a nail in the Tokyo team’s coffin.

8 Lachlan McCaffrey (Brumbies)

The Canberra team knew they had to win the battle of the collisions after the Waratahs improved performance against the Reds in round 4 and McCaffrey stepped up in the absence of David Pocock. The number 8 always has a lot to say, with more sledging than the Baggy Green’s slips cordon but he backed it up with a gritty, abrasive game. Ardie Savea (Hurricanes) got his fantastic form back on the tracks after being a little off against the Highlanders.

7 Liam Wright (Reds)

When you are competing for a Wallabies job against the likes of Pocock and Hooper you will have to be patient. Time is on the 21-year-old’s side and he is putting in some physical shifts for the Reds. At 192cm he is a lanky lad for an open side but he doesn’t lack power at tackle and maul time. Luke Jacobson (Chiefs) made a statement with some thundering defence after coming off the timber.

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6 Pieter-Steph du Toit (Stormers)

It’s hard to believe the Stormers have turned around a Bulls’ battering in round one with three straight, ugly victories. du Toit is a constant, with gigantic defence and determined running. He’d logged up 15 tackles with 20 minutes left in the game. It will be interesting to see how effective the Stormers style is on the road as they embark on a four-game tour of NZ and Aussie.

5 Vaea Fifita (Hurricanes)

Bold move by Plumtree and co after been given a bath in the tight 5 last week to bring a blindside flanker into lock but it seemed to work with the All Black prospect acquitting himself well in the tight and featuring in some loose sorties as well.

4 JD Schickerling (Stormers)

The plaudits are going to du Toit and Etzebeth but the 23-year-old is a great foil for the other two giants. Good source of line out ball and doesn’t shirk on the clean outs.

3 Frans Malherbe (Stormers)

The tighthead job seems to be reserved for whoever is playing the Jaguares. Boy, their scrum has been bullied this year. If Argentina wants to make the knockout stage at the Rugby World Cup they have to fix this issue asap.

2 Folau Fainga (Brumbies)

Two tries and robbed of a hat trick with the ref going early to the penalty try he was all business and is in a real race for the Wallaby hooking job. Anaru Rangi (Rebels) catches my eye. Apart from the locks, he reminds me of a young Sean Fitzpatrick, fearless and dynamic. Also, Brandon Paenga-Amosa got a brace as the Reds left it late to pip the Sunwolves. Ok, I didn’t forget Malcolm Marx (Lions) he was mighty too!

1 Scott Sio/James Slipper (Brumbies)

These two are becoming the new Moody/Crockett 1-2 punch at loosehead prop. It’s an easy push to see them doing the same job for the Wallabies this year. Steven Kitshoff (Stormers) put in a promising 50 minutes coming back from hamstring troubles.

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j
john 24 minutes 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.

13 Go to comments
A
Adrian 2 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

13 Go to comments
T
Trevor 5 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 9 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

29 Go to comments
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