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Australian Super Rugby Grades - Week Three
By Robert Seltzer
Whilst the weather wreaks havoc with the sport in Europe, there were no such problems in the Southern Hemisphere - although the Brumbies might have wished for some intervention from somewhere. Here are how the Australian teams fared in Week 3 of Super Rugby:
REDS – B
This was a great response from the young Reds outfit after the thrashing they took at the hands of the Rebels. Their defence was rock solid which will please Brad Thorn as he collected his first win as a Super Rugby coach. Their forwards really fronted up and put the Brumbies under severe pressure at Set Piece time. There were frailties and they lacked a cutting edge but six penalties saw them home.
BRUMBIES – E
No sugar coating it, this was a poor result for the men from the capital. Up until last season they had gone on a run of 5 consecutive wins against the Queenslanders but on Friday night they were second best pretty much everywhere. The forwards, where their strength traditionally lies, were bullied by the front 5 from the Reds and their backs looked void of ideas most of the match. That is 2 games against teams tipped to be towards the bottom of the table and they have only taken 4 points when they should have been looking at 10.
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REBELS – B
This may be harsh to give them a B considering they recorded their biggest ever away victory. The records are tumbling for the Rebels in the first couple of weeks but, this could have been even more emphatic. The score line at half time was 10-10 and this was mainly because the Rebels tried to rush things and made too many mistakes. They appeared to go back to their game plan in the second half and scored some great tries off of set moves and gained their second consecutive bonus point win.
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WARATAHS – B
Once again the Waratahs left it late. Bernard Foley kicked a 76th minute conversion to earn them a good draw in Durban. Keegan Daniel will never want to see Michael Hooper’s try again after knocking on a quick throw to himself. Not many teams win in Durban so to come away with something is a huge positive. Their next game is away in Buenos Aires where they will be looking to continue their unbeaten start to the season.
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Latest Comments
Don't think you've watched enough. I'll take him over anything I's seen so far. But let's see how the future pans out. I'm quietly confident we have a row of 10's lined uo who would each start in many really good teams.
Go to commentsHopefully Joe stays where he is. That would mean Les, McKellar, larkham and Cron should as well. It’s the stability we need in the state programs. But, if Joe goes, RA with its current financial situation will be forced into promoting from within. And this will likely destabilise other areas.
To better understand some of the entrenched bitterness of those outside of NZ and NSW (as an example 😂), Nic, there is probably a comparison to the old hard heads of welsh rugby who are still stuck in the 1970s. Before the days where clubs merged, professionalism started, and the many sharp knives were put into the backs of those who loved the game more than everyone else. I’m sure you know a few... But given your comparison of rugby in both wales and Australia, there are a few north of the tweed that will never trust a kiwi or NSWelshman because of historical events and issues over the history of the game. It is what it is. For some, time does not heal all wounds. And it is still festering away in some people. Happy holidays to you. All the best in 2025.
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