Super Rugby Team of the Week - Round One
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. It was a ding dong battle between two gifted fullbacks at Manly. In the end I went with Israel Folau (Waratahs) over Jordie Barrett (Hurricanes) as Folau offered more of a threat in attack.
14. Jack Maddocks (Rebels). He scored two impressive tries and was much more involved in the game than another brace scorer Manasa Mataele (Crusaders).
13. Braydon Ennor (Crusaders). Great to see the young prospect get a start in his favoured position and he made the most of it.
His pace indicated that he is in good knick physically, add to that good lines, beautiful linking and strong defence showed it will be an interesting battle between him, Crotty and Goodhue for starter’s positions this season. Jesse Kriel (Bulls) was on fire in Pretoria as well.
12. Billy Meakes (Rebels). When you have Quade Cooper defending inside you can expect a big day in the defensive office. Meakes defended like a demon and showed some outrageous skill (kick pass to Maddocks for winning try) and impressive decision making.
He is a Kiwi-type second five rather than your traditional Aussie inside centre but could be some important glue for a RWC squad. Big ups to Anton Lienert-Brown who stepped up in an inexperienced Chiefs backline.
11. Rosko Specman (Bulls). it didn’t take long for the BlitzBok 7s star release the “specmagic” on Super Rugby…. minutes in fact and another soon after. A head cut slowed him down but opponents will be on high alert to combat his dancing feet.
Rieko Ioane (Blues) looked menacing but the Blues just could not get him the ball, the Crusaders twice getting the referee’s rub of the green with knock-ons to stop the last pass.
10. Handre Pollard (Bulls). On a day where a lot of kicker’s radars were out of order Pollard had a perfect day at the office from the kicking tee. He loves taking the ball to the line and his game management was magnificent as the Bulls spanked the Stormers.
Quade Cooper (Rebels) showed he’s not a spent force yet with a typical Cooper game. As one of my Aussie mates commented it’s good to see an Aussie 10 square up and take the ball to the line.
9. Aaron Smith (Highlanders). The All Black star may have had less than half a game but he whipped his team into shape in short time to take the win v Chiefs. It was GREAT to see him snipe from the base. He needs more breadth to his game in terms of threat to the opposition and he chose his sorties judiciously. Will Genia was sparkling as well for the Rebels.
8. Akira Ioane (Blues). Shame he couldn’t get his team across the line in his 50th Blues game. Well involved in the game for 80 and is a huge threat with ball in hand and on defence. I am not sure if Matt Todd has ever been picked up and carried back like a rag-doll like he was by the man-giant.
Duane Vermeulen (Bulls) showed he was a good buy for his new franchise and Dan du Preez (Sharks) was superb in Singapore against the Sunwolves.
7. Ardie Savea (Hurricanes). His battle with Michael Hooper turned out to be the individual match up of the round with two of the best motors in Super Rugby. What a passionate player Ardie is, I wanted to get off the couch and play for this guy! Should have had two tries if not for a silly piece of overzealous play from DuPlessis Kirifi. Was everywhere.
Michael Hooper was great as well and I feel for him having to do so many losing captain interviews. Special mention of Marnus Schoeman with a hat-trick in Buenos Aires.
6. Tom Robinson (Blues). The “Son of Big Red” underlined his potential by outplaying his opposite Jordan Taufua; solid in close play and showing his running ability in open spaces. Still getting used to lines and duties with 6 on his back but looks like a star in the making. It should be noted that Dalton Papalii’s work rate allows players like Ioane and Robinson to stand out.
5. Lood de Jager (Bulls). The Bulls pack led by captain de Jager broke down the line out supply line for the Stormers, the Capetonians lost their first five line out throws and this led to the brutal thumping. Has created serious concerns around Springbok Bongi Mbonambi’s throwing. Matt Philip (Rebels) was a workhorse as well.
4. Scott Barrett (Crusaders). We saw Barrett’s angry side as he did an Incredible Hulk impersonation when the Crusaders fell behind 2nd half at Eden Park. Big hits, clean-outs and even helping Michael Alaalatoa scrum from blindside flanker against big Karl Tu’inukuafe for the champions second penalty try, he was irrepressible.
3. Tyrel Lomax (Highlanders). The young 130kg bud is blooming into a beautiful flower. Rooted the scrum and some lovely hands in the open.
2. As we’ll give this gong to Malcolm Marx many times before the end of the Super season let’s go with Akker van de Merwe (Sharks). Two tries in sultry Singapore as the Sharks went into a feeding frenzy. Perhaps the ARU is checking Anaru Rangi’s (Rebels) passport as well as he was the best from their teams.
1. Dylan Smith (Lions) was impressive against the Jaguares. Will have to continue this form for a while to vault himself into Springbok contention but he stood out against the South Americans. Karl Tu’inukafe came on and made a palpable difference at Eden Park but his effect was blunted with the introduction of Luke Romano at tighthead lock for the Crusaders.
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Comments on RugbyPass
Ben Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
86 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
3 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to comments