1
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
Head-to-Head
Last 5 Meetings
Wins
5
Draws
0
Wins
0
Average Points scored
48
14
First try wins
100%
Home team wins
60%
“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.
ADVERTISEMENT
“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
Just came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
4 Go to commentsA great game. The Sharks without Etsebeth are a shadow of the team compared to when he plays. The limitations of Some of the expensive Sharks players are being exposed. Credit to Clermont for some exhilaration play at times.
4 Go to comments100% Mr Owens. But who would want to be a referee.? It must be the most difficult job on earth.
1 Go to commentsStarts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
4 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
4 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
3 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
3 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
228 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
4 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
90 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
19 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments*They used to say that football is a gentleman sport watched by hooligans and rugby is a hooligan sport watched by gentlemen. How times have changed.*
3 Go to commentsexcept ot wasnt late wasnt late at all so dont know why you all saying its late he commits early and its your fault fir not paying attention
30 Go to commentsNot sure the Bulls need another average utility back in their ranks. Chamberlain has been ok for the Sharks but is by no means an X-Factor player. Bulls bought several utility backs which they barely use. A typical example would be Henry Immelman who plays mostly Fullback. The Bulls however have rarely played him this year and he has played wing or centre. Bulls want to build depth but seems like they have too many surplus players
1 Go to commentsABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a row… Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldn’t buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
228 Go to comments