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Ireland coach John Fogarty makes frank Tadhg Furlong admission
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The one goal for every Aussie Super Rugby side in round 1
It’s the first game week of Super Rugby Pacific, and wins, losses, bonus points, and performances all matter starting this Friday, in what is a short 16-week regular season competition.
This is especially true for the Australian sides as they look to dislodge the long-reigning Kiwi dominance at the top of the competition ladder.
While the New Zealand sides, for the most part, are stacked with All Blacks and have solid depth and cohesion, the Australian sides do not necessarily share in those luxuries.
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For the Aussies, every game will be important to sharpen the axe and build connection; for coaches, it will be about who can find their best side and pick and stick the quickest.
We know Super Rugby is a sprint, the luck of the injury die matters much more in SRP than any other competition, and although each team’s unique draw contributes as well, there’s no doubting that the sides that are settled early will do better, regardless of the variation in other factors.
So, with less than one week to prepare, here are the key areas that will be most telling for each Aussie Super Rugby team in round one.
Queensland Reds – Attack structure
Little should be gleaned from pre-season trials, and they are absolutely not a good indicator of power rankings amongst sides, but they can produce small insights into where a side is in their progression into the season.
The Queensland Reds have a large host of Wallabies at their core who have missed the majority of the pre-season and who are now being fast-tracked into the starting side.
This discord in the squad is inevitable as the Wallaby players work to nail down the detail that the coaches and the squad have been working on for months.
This lack of connection was most obvious in their attack across the two trials played against the Western Force and the NSW Waratahs, both of which they lost.
Scoring only 19 points in both those games, respectively, whilst conceding 21 and 49 points respectively, casts the spotlight on the attack more so than the defence, which has been relatively poor across all pre-season fixtures.
In both games, the backline was full of Wallabies and players who have played several dozen games with each other, and despite this familiarity, the Reds struggled to string phases together and to hold onto the ball.
There’s no question the backline has the IQ and x-factor to score points, but they will want to show the competition and coach Les Kiss that they can hold onto the ball, kick smart when they need to, and build pressure without spilling or losing the pill.
NSW Waratahs – Attack structure
For Dan McKellar’s men, their focus will also be on the attack. They’ll be hoping to showcase the same backline know-how and fluidity as was displayed across their two pre-season wins against the ACT Brumbies and the Reds.
Despite scoring plenty of points against both sides, almost 50 points in both, as previously mentioned, this was due to poor defence as well as a much-improved attack structure.
In 2025, the Waratahs struggled to formulate an attack that put any sort of consistent pressure on opposition defences, and in 2026, coach McKellar says attack coach Mike Catt has been able to get more of the squad across his IP, saying it will show on the pitch.
The Waratahs did indeed look like a different beast with ball-in-hand in the trials, but come Friday night, trial boasting rights will be all but forgotten.
While the Waratahs are also welcoming back a host of Wallabies in the backline: Max Jorgensen, Jake Gordon, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Andrew Kellaway, and Harry Potter, these are not set to be as disruptive as the Reds’ additions.
The side will benefit from having their inside backs, particularly their flyhalves and inside centres, being players who have been learning and implementing the game plan for the entire pre-season.
This crucial difference in club IP and the elite class of talent in the Tahs’ back three bodes better for the New South Welshmen to at least be able to settle into a structure in front of their home fans in Sydney on the competition’s opening night on Friday.
While the phase play will be the interest of both coaching camps, the Waratahs must be wary of the powerful and well-drilled Reds’ lineout, while the scrum battle looks set to be a real litmus test for McKellar’s front row, who have said goodbye to regular Wallaby starters Angus Bell and Taniela Tupou.
Western Force – Defensive structure
In Perth, the home side will have no issues scoring tries, where they are looking unsettled is without the ball.
Head coach Simon Cron believes the rush defence is the right formula for his playing cohort, and while there are many mobile and great tacklers in the side, what often is the issue for the Force is the team’s patchwork nature.
Getting the cohort across the details, early enough in the season, with a constantly changing roster, is their annual mission.
There were several instances in both their wins against the Reds and the Brumbies of an incongruency in defence. Some players were rushing, others were holding, some were drifting, and some were straightening.
Trust, understanding, and connection between individual players are so crucial in defence, even more so than in attack.
Defence is set to be an issue for the Force for the entire season unless Cron can find his best backline and stick with it.
Divad Palu, George Bridge, and Darby Lancaster are just some of the exciting new additions to the Force’s attacking threats, but they’ve played very limited minutes together.
Ben Donaldson, Hamish Stewart, Kurtley Beale, Bayley Kuenzle, Dylan Pietsch, and Mac Grealy are combinations that are finally starting to build the connection that could create a stronger structure.
In the forward pack, things are much more settled, but it will come down to who in the pack, apart from Carlo Tizzano, will interfere with the opposition’s breakdowns.
The last thing an unsettled defensive structure needs is pressure and less time to realign.
If the Force pack can slow down opposition rucks, then they will be in with a chance against a Brumbies side that is direct and knows how to secure quick phase ball.
ACT Brumbies – Trusting their system
The men from the capital are the most well-balanced side, as the evergreen overachievers of Australian rugby.
They have a strong set piece, both a scrum and a lineout, that are stable; they have a backline with equal firepower and nous, as well as plenty of minutes played together.
Their stability and ability to bake in IP to their program is unparalleled in Australia, but even now, as they have lost some of their most elite talent in Len Ikitau, Tom Hooper, Noah Lolesio, and Tom Wright, the side must remember that it’s this shared IP that has gotten them to where they are.
Trusting in Declan Meredith to have them playing in the right parts of the field, leaning on Rob Valetini to carry them over the gainline, backing-in Ryan Lonergan to muster the pack to then be able to release backline weapons like Corey Toole.
Stephen Larkham’s biggest challenge in the west this weekend is to get his men to look past the top-shelf talent they have lost and into the mirror to see who the club is at its core.
The cohort of players has the ability to challenge any side in the competition on their day, but having lost a bit of the cream on top, they are going to have to double down on their pragmatism, as opposed to reinventing the wheel.
Between the set pieces, the Brums will want to show they can control the tempo, and once the scrum is fed or the lineout is thrown, they will want to display an assuredness that they can turn weak contests into penalties, and in turn, into field position and ultimately points.
Pragmatic, determined, and unwavering in their game plan is what Larkham will want to see from his men, so that he knows the players believe in their drive to once again be the perennial overachievers.
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