Aussie Super Rugby takes: Wallabies lock’s statement, Brumbies must muscle up

Super Rugby round 9 is in the bag, and it served up a smorgasbord of exciting, gritty rugby.

The Brumbies hung on against a desperate and determined Highlanders to win in an underwhelming performance in the Deep South.

The Chiefs thumped Moana Pasifika, which is unfortunately becoming a regular occurrence, but if any Moana supporters had Chiefs players in their fantasy team, it would serve as some consolation.

The battle of one and two on the ladder delivered on its hype but was not the contest many expected, with the men from Wellington absolutely annihilating the Blues 42-19.

The Hurricanes are now well and truly the best side in the competition, and there is no sign of slowing from Clarke Laidlaw’s men.

Finally, the Queensland Reds broke their hoodoo against the Crusaders at Suncorp, winning at the stadium for the first time since Will Genia and Quade Cooper guided the side to a Super Rugby competition championship there in 2011.

All this is coming only a couple of weeks before all teams except the Force head to Christchurch and its new stadium in round-11 for Super Round.

So, with a new batch of rugby games to analyse, here are the takes on the Aussie teams after the latest round.

Lukhan Salakaia-Loto delivers a timely statement performance

The news of Will Skelton rupturing his Achilles tendon a couple of weeks ago was a blow for Wallabies fans.

Skelton lifts the Wallabies’ performances and helps them to believe in themselves, and gives them the aura of great teams of old.

Salakaia-Loto gave a similar rousing and inspiring performance against the Crusaders on Saturday night.

His carries were as potent, destructive, and arduous to his opponents as ever, but it was the other parts of his game that stood out.

His physicality in the tackle could not be missed, the way he manhandled his opposition locks and the Crusaders’ backrow, time and time again.

His repeated efforts to chase fleet-footed Saders at the line, to charge down box kicks, and disrupt the ruck, were all signs that the big man meant business.

His work at the lineout was also phenomenal, raking in wayward throws with one giant mitt whilst terrorising the Crusaders on their throws.

It was a stable, consistent, intelligent 80-minute performance, filled with little moments that turned the game.

Salakaia-Loto was an unwavering man mountain for the Queenslanders, and it is this sort of performance that demands higher honour selections.

But Rome wasn’t built in a day, LSL must maintain this new high bar for his performances, but nothing is stopping big LSL from rising to greater heights as he enters his prime as a Test-level tighthead lock.

Brumbies are still looking for the punch in attack to be in the top two

The Brumbies’ gritty win against the Highlanders at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Friday night was a tough watch.

Both teams put a lot into their performances, both lacked polish and efficiency, but both tried their hardest.

From the Brumbies’ perspective, they played down from their 4th position on the log to the Highlanders 7th spot. For the Highlanders, they certainly dug deep to scrap their way into being within less than an unconverted try at the end.

While there were inefficiencies on both sides, the Brumbies must be said to lack the punch in the contact to regularly win the gainline battle.

The stats don’t lie, and the Brumbies are one of the lower-ranking sides when it comes to average metres gained per carry.

The Brumbies, who sit fourth on the table, carry at an average of 3.27m per carry; the ladder-leading Hurricanes carry at an average of 4.48m per carry.

That is much more than 1m more per carry, and by looking at the Hurricanes and Brumbies rosters side by side, this perhaps is no big surprise.

The Canes are one of only three sides that carry on average more than 4m per carry. The second-placed Chiefs carry the second most metres per carry at 4.11, and the Queensland Reds carry at 4.05m.

All other teams sit somewhere between 3.74m and 2.97m, with the Western Force being the side that carries the fewest metres on average per carry.

This stat is not all-encompassing nor necessarily dictates success, but sometimes rugby is simple, and power and gainline are important factors to success in this contact sport.

Dominant carries lead to fewer cleaners needed, which means quick rucks, tired defenders, and eventually penalties and then points.

This is a simplified equation, but in essence, rugby is very simple, and currently, the Brumbies are not making life easy on themselves.

They have to set more rucks to win fewer or the same metres.

This is evidenced by the Brumbies setting a total of 948 rucks, winning 922 of them at a 97% success rate.

It is an impressive stat, but the Hurricanes have conversely only set 606 and are also at 97% success rate.

This, in the long run, is just not sustainable, and setting more than a third as many more rucks opens you up for turnovers and mistakes.

The Brumbies are a great side, and they are better than their 4th spot suggests, and that will come out during the next few rounds.

However, if they truly want to be in the top two and stay there, they need to find more punch from their carries, and that requires selections and a shift from the group.

Western Force loss not the death knell it appears to be

Losing in Fiji to the Drua is not a big deal in terms of how to gauge your season.

The Drua have taken the scalps of many a foe to date, and even this season, they beat Australia’s most highly ranked team, the Brumbies, and the ladder-leading Hurricanes.

The Force are playing more and more like an entire squad, and the level of performance, despite the rotations and new blood in their ranks in this match, they still maintained a high quality of play.

Despite losing another game, they still maintain a points differential of -31, which is better than the other bottom five teams, as well as the Reds, who sit in fifth on -36.

The Force need not panic about their season yet, but they will need to win against the Crusaders at home next week, before they have the bye the week after, and then finally launch into the ultimate third of the season.

Coach Simon Cron should be proud of his men and how they lifted for each other and the quality footy they are playing.

Hopefully, their fans, the Sea of Blue, see how hard they are working and how well they are, in fact, playing, and come out in force to HBF Park to see them take on the Crusaders this weekend.

Zac Lomax verdict

Bambi on ice does not do him justice, but as expected, Lomax looked a little lost on the wide expanses of the wing in Lautoka for his debut.

It was a baptism of fire, 27 degrees, poor lighting, and 15 powerful and much more experienced Fijians wanting to thump you as your first opponents. Ouch!

Despite his limited knowledge of the game, Lomax made a good account of himself.

Strong in the carry, long limbs helped him secure offloads, and he knows how to find space. He even managed to showcase his aerial abilities with a clean take from a Kurtley Beale up-and-under.

He did all this and more with a heavily strapped pinky, let’s hope it’s just a bad jar or sprain.

Perhaps the biggest surprise from his performance was his keenness to hit rucks.

Three rucks were counted, and he made positive impacts in two of them; that’s more than most wingers can say (unless you are Filipo Daugunu).

Overall, it was great to see Lomax finally in rugby and a member of the Western Force family. He must be commended for throwing himself in the deep end, with the help of coach Cron, for debuting him in Fiji.

Lomax will improve, and that is stellar for the Force, who appear like they will be without Wallaby winger Darby Lancaster for the next little while at the very least.

However, where to play Lomax still remains a mystery; he looked lost in the wide open space of the wing. Perhaps the centre will suit him better. Only time will tell.