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Aussie Super Rugby Grades - Week 13
By Robert Seltzer
It was so close. The streak looked to be broken in Christchurch only for dreams to be tattered in the second half. Will an Australian team ever beat a Kiwi team again? Here are how the teams fared this week:
Reds – E
They were lucky to even get an E.
They were trounced in Tokyo against a team that hadn’t one a game yet this season. It was 10th time lucky for the Sunwolves but the Reds will really need to take a long hard look at themselves after this one.
It started well enough and the Queenslanders lead 14-9 after 22 minutes, but that was as good as it got. The Sunwolves then piled on 54 points to leave the Reds reeling. The season is over for them now but they need to try and get some momentum going into next season and try and put this one down to a bad day at the office.
Waratahs – C
This was an incredibly hard grade to give.
40 minutes into the game and they were ranking an A+. They couldn’t have been any better. Leading 29-0 away from home at the Champions was a superb effort. All of Australia was jumping for joy thinking the hoodoo was over.
Fast forward to the 68th minute and the unthinkable has happened. The Tahs were a point behind having conceded a penalty try for repeated infringements at scrum time.
The Crusaders pulled off the biggest comeback in Super Rugby history yet Bernard Foley had the chance to snatch the win back with four minutes to go but his kick sailed wide. They could have been given anything but I can’t bring myself to go lower than a C due to them picking up a very unexpected bonus point.
Rebels – C
Their season is still alive. They snapped a 5 game losing streak in the Capital and at the same time ended the Brumbies season. They certainly did it the hard way.
They were 21-10 down at half-time with Tom English’s second try of the evening right on the hooter proving to be crucial to swing the momentum back in their favour. The scores were locked at 24 all with a minute to go. Reece Hodge, who had a mixed night with the boot, slotted the match winner to bring the Rebels to within one point of the conference-leading Waratahs.
Brumbies – D
The Brumbies can look forward to next season. This loss effectively ended any chance they had of making the finals.
In a game that lacked any sustained quality, the Brumbies weaknesses were exposed. They will have to try and find that X-factor player next season that can break through the line or create something when defences are rock solid. They lead for most of the game against the Rebels at home but couldn’t close it out and succumbed to Reece Hodge’s last minute kick.
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Latest Comments
Ireland have every right to back themselves for a win. But the key variable has little to do with recent record etc.
The reality is that Ireland are a settled team with tons of continuity, an established style, and a good depth chart, whereas NZ are fundamentally rebuilding. The questions are all about what Razor is doing and how far along he is in that program.
NZ are very close to really clicking. Against England all of the chatter is about how England could have closed out a win, but failed to do so. This has obscured the observation that NZ were by far the more creative and effective in attack, beyond the 3-1 try differential and disallowed tries. They gave away a lot of unnecessary penalties, and made many simple errors (including knock-ons and loose kicks). Those things are very fixable, and when they do so we are once again going to be staring at a formidable NZ team.
Last week we heard the England fans talking confidently about their chances against NZ, but England did not end up looking like the better team on the field or the scoreboard. The England defense was impressive enough, but still could not stop the tries.
Ireland certainly has a better chance, of course, but NZ is improving fast, and I would not be surprised at a convincing All Black win this week. It may turn on whether NZ can cut out the simple mistakes.
Go to commentsFair to say that NZ have come to respect Ireland, as have all teams. But it's a bit click-baitey to say that the game is the premier show-down for NZ.
SA has beaten NZ four times in a row, including in the RWC final.
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