Super Rugby's power balance shifting to Australia as New Zealand teams slump
The door is ajar for Australia’s Super Rugby Pacific teams to tip the win-loss ledger against New Zealand sides in their favour in the race to win that trans-Tasman battle for the first time.
Heading into round 10, when there are five trans-Tasman battles as part of Anzac Day round, Australian teams have won seven games against Kiwi rivals, who have claimed eight.
They have already bettered last year’s effort, when the benchmark ACT Brumbies, NSW Waratahs, Queensland Reds, Melbourne Rebels and Western Force managed just six wins from a combined 30 matches.
That 20 per cent winning strike rate in 2023 was an improvement on two decades of NZ beat-downs that includes a humiliating combined low of none-from-31 return against the Crusaders, Chiefs, Blues, Hurricanes and Highlanders in 2017.
Melbourne Rebels and Wallabies fullback Andrew Kellaway said while it was a positive statistic there were still six rounds to play before Australian sides could claim any kind of moral victory.
“It’s awesome how the Australian Super teams are going at the moment,” said Kellaway, with the Rebels facing the Crusaders on Friday night in Christchurch.
“That being said … there’s still a lot of rugby to be played and a lot of tough rugby to be played.
“We (the Rebels) have only really played the Highlanders and Hurricanes so we’ve got a lot of tough games coming up against Kiwi teams and so do the rest of the Aussie teams.
“So I think yes, acknowledge where we are at as I think it’s been a really good start, certainly better than past years, but we’re still a long way from where we want to be.”
That 20 per cent winning strike rate in 2023 was an improvement on two decades of NZ beat-downs that includes a humiliating combined low of none-from-31 return against the Crusaders, Chiefs, Blues, Hurricanes and Highlanders in 2017.
Melbourne Rebels and Wallabies fullback Andrew Kellaway said while it was a positive statistic there were still six rounds to play before Australian sides could claim any kind of moral victory.
“It’s awesome how the Australian Super teams are going at the moment,” said Kellaway, with the Rebels facing the Crusaders on Friday night in Christchurch.
“That being said … there’s still a lot of rugby to be played and a lot of tough rugby to be played.
“We (the Rebels) have only really played the Highlanders and Hurricanes so we’ve got a lot of tough games coming up against Kiwi teams and so do the rest of the Aussie teams.
“So I think yes, acknowledge where we are at as I think it’s been a really good start, certainly better than past years, but we’re still a long way from where we want to be.”
The Rebels sit at a historic high for this point in the season, fourth on the ladder, with the Brumbies in third, while the table-topping Hurricanes are unbeaten and the Blues in second.
The Australians have been helped by the shock fall of the Crusaders, winners of the last five combined competitions, who are currently ranked last with just one win.
Kellaway said the next step for the Aussies was to deliver more consistently if they wanted to break a nine-year title drought, with the Waratahs the last team victorious in 2014.
“The challenge for us is not beating these guys every now and then, it’s doing it consistently and that’s across the board for Australian teams and then into the Wallabies,” the 28-year-old said.
“I think I can speak for Australian teams at large to say we want to be competing consistently and winning those games with the guys across the ditch.”
Sixth-placed Queensland host the Blues on Saturday night and are 2-1 against New Zealand sides this year, including an extra-time loss to the unbeaten Hurricanes.
They haven’t beaten two Kiwi teams in the same season since 2013, but they have also lost to the struggling Western Force and Moana Pasifika.
“We know how big of a clash it is. At 4-4 we’ve played some good footy and let some others slip,” Reds No.8 Harry Wilson said.
“We have played our best footy against the Kiwi sides; it’s always the games you want to step up and play some good footy.
“It’s really satisfying as we had a pretty poor record and the only way we could change that was to go out and get some wins.
“It feels like we’ve made some real progress there and it’ll be another opportunity this weekend.”
SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC ANZAC ROUND
Queensland (6th) v Blues (2nd)
NSW Waratahs (9th) v Chiefs (5th)
Highlanders (10th) v Western Force (11th)
Crusaders (12th) v Melbourne (4th)
ACT Brumbies (3rd) v Hurricanes (1st)
Fijian Drua (7th) v Moana Pasifika (8th)
Comments on RugbyPass
Yeah nah he comes across as a funny bloke, but that stopped abruptly after the Nutcracker Prince debacle✋
1 Go to commentsAt this point I can’t watch him without thinking he’s a dirty slimebag. He should have been banned for the same amount of time that Quinn was out. It took Tupaea near on a fricking year to get fit enough to play again and his leg will never be the same. The other crap thing is that he was at ABs level and now he has to claw his way back there when he could have had several games under his belt.
4 Go to commentsThe Black Ferns 7’s have been without Captain Sarah Hirini now since Dec 23 in Dubai where she suffered a bad ACL injury - hopefully she is on the road to recovery for Madrid and Paris. Now also have Tyler King and Shiray kaka on the Injured List but the Team still found a way to win in Singapore and claim the overall Title.
1 Go to commentsUtter grub, hope he gets his leg broken. Shocking he is still playing after intentionally breaking quinn tupaeas knee
4 Go to commentsGreat to see NZ 7s teams finally coming into form and playing at the level that is expected of them.
2 Go to commentsChief Cheapshot on the market again.
4 Go to commentsCrusaders went all in to buy Hotham and Kemara staight from Hamilton Boys. Then they picked up Reihana and Hohepa; all have been dropped for superstar Havili, who is a very good fullback, that’s it. Ennor and Goodhue were schoolboy stars too but went backwards at the Crusaders. Maybe they have finally decided to give another poach Levi Aumua the ball?
13 Go to commentsJoe S has some talent to pick from. The Reds loosies look the best in Super? Aus might just give Razor a headache this year. Int. experience v Cantab greenhorn:) Should be fun.
13 Go to commentsEnd to end play, “THE FANS” this game was entertainment of the best. The conditions added to the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsSorry to say, but sadly the sadas were just ordinary and havilli at 10 as an abs selection just won’t cut it. He’s better suited in the centre’s and is a victim of past charge down kicks, he’s too slow under pressure. There’s better talent further north and I don’t mean dmac however I believe razor will sort him out. A feature of his presents on the park is the fact that the guys will follow him.
13 Go to commentsMarler was brilliant throughout both in the scrum and open play. His slap made virtually no contact with Ramos who milked it for a penalty when he could have been a decent sportsman and laughed it off, it was non-violent and shouldn't have been penalised. Smith failed repeatedly to kick when necessary and put up a couple of bombs into the TLS 22 that just handed back possession at key moments to the other side.
3 Go to commentsCros was outstanding and rightly awarded France TVs player of the match award. Mallia was brilliant as usual (the y is below the 6 on a UK keyboard and he deserves better than that). Level also seems to have been scored harshly as he walked the ball into touch under pressure from a Lynagh kick from well outside his own half which should never have led to a 50-22. Agree with BullShark that Dupont, while class at times, seemed to go missing for patches in the second half with props, hookers and wings frequently filling in at 9 as he couldn't get off the deck and up to the next ruck on time. A 7 by his standards at best, his kicking was also too long, too often. Kinghorn's overall contribution was worth well more than a five.
4 Go to commentsThe Harlequins team must be in minus figures. Did the reporter actually watch the game?
4 Go to commentsHow on earth did Walker escape a red card? Not dangerous? Dupont has his face in a mask earlier this season. Shocking decision. What is the point of TMOs? We had the Fassi ‘non-penalty try’ yesterday and now this.
2 Go to commentsCould have been a different result but yet again French tv able to affect the result by not showing the very clear high shot on harlequin centre if this would have been on a French player would have been on screen at least five times
3 Go to commentsAmazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
4 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
2 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
3 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to comments