For a nation hoping to enter a fifth team in the Super 14, Australia will struggle considering that only one of their teams is in the top nine.
While the Waratahs are surprising many with their place in the top four, and the Reds are clearly still implementing an attack at all costs attitude, the Force, and Brumbies of late have disappointed.
Robbie Deans will be keen to get his stars back in national camp, as there still appears to be much potential, but quite simply the Australian teams are the worst performed of any nation.
Brumbies: 13 tries scored (12th), 20 tries conceded (11th)
Key statistics: First in lineout retention, second in tackle percentage, third in offloads, eleventh in ruck retention, tenth in turnovers.
Brumbies: (penalties/free kicks): 24: 49
Brumbies (13): Cheetahs (away), Stormers (home), Bulls (home), Hurricanes (away), Queensland Reds (away), Blues (home), Chiefs (away)
A good team that unfortunately has dropped off as the season has progressed. Struggle in the ruck area which is surprising considering their solid loose forwards.
As always a brilliant structure based team, being the best lineout and an accurate defensive team.
Far weaker without Stirling Mortlock in the team, and have struggled without a consistent playmaker.
Reds: 17 tries scored (6th), 16 tries conceded (equal 6th)
Key statistics: fourth in ball carries, second in offloads, thriteenth in turnovers conceded, ninth in total rucks won, third in passes, fourth in running metres
Reds (penalties/free kicks): 31: 38
Queensland Reds (12): Western Force (away), Highlanders (away), Lions (home), Blues (away), Brumbies (home), Crusaders (away), Hurricanes (home)
For Queensland, the statistics tells the entire story. A positive, pill in hand attacking team that sits at the top of the statistics in regards to ball playing.
But equally, they turnover often in general play, as befitting a fast playing running orientated team that does not like to build slowly through the phases.
A very tough back end to their season.
Waratahs: 16 tries scored (equal 7th), 13 tries conceded (2nd)
Key statistics: 2nd in kicks from hand, 1st in scrum retention, 2nd in lineout steals, 5th in offloads, 12th in running metres
Waratahs (penalties/free kicks): 29: 52
NSW Waratahs (23): Stormers (home), Bulls (home), Western Force (home), Cheetahs (away), Sharks (away), Lions (away).
The best performed Australian team, has not changed too much in the way they play despite early promises by Coach Chris Hickey.
They love to kick, and don’t like to run as often as a team with such a solid and fast backline should. Despite the early season misgivings about their pack being weaker with player losses; their set piece remains among the most impressive in the Super 14, with the best performed scrum in the competition.
Western Force: 12 tries scored (13th worst), 16 tries conceded (equal 7th)
Key statistics: equal 1st in turnovers, 2nd in tackle completion, 4th in passes made, 9th in rucks won, 12th in rucks lost
Western Force (penalties/free kicks): 37: 48
Western Force (12): Queensland Reds (home), Hurricanes (home), NSW Waratahs (away), Lions (home), Bulls (away), Stormers (away), Highlanders (home)
Solid and a ball playing team, as indicative of a side being controlled by the current world’s best first five Matt Giteau. But he is not being supported by his outside men, as they toil to cross the chalk.
Despite a capable pack, the Force is struggling within the ruck and tackle areas, considering how well drilled they are in defence and not losing their ball.
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April 3rd 2009 @ 11:27am
Roger said | April 3rd 2009 @ 11:27am | Report comment
Hammer, if thats the criteria then neither SA or Australia deserves another team, and NZers should bring one in…its not called expansion for nothing.
I hope that when people thing another 30 man squad they dont think the next best 30 players in Australia playing as a group, bc this is not correct.
Another 30 man squad would have 2 imports and probably 2-3 players from the other four teams who want more $ or leadership opportunities. That would then leave the remaining 16 spots to the next best players. Now with these oportunities and the poor pound, not to mention the French RU indicating a salary cap and restriction of only 30% foreigh players, some overseas assues would return.
So, each team would have 22-3 new players, with some overseas Aussies and next best Sydney and Brisbane grade players filling the ranks.
I think this is a good case to say depth is not as worrying an issue as some say.
I think much bigger problems in rugby are ‘what to do with rucking”, how to get a domestic comp and how to get rugby on Free to air.?
On the latter two topics, and sorry to digress, but is anyone else perplexed at the fact that commercial TV stataions are now moving to put pretty much any sport of HD TV? IS there a chance Sydney Brisbane club rugby could make it here, bc it seems pretty much any sport played ins getting coverage?
I am sure if ARC was still around, it would be fully televised…pity ARU didnt have forsight to see HD TV is opening a whole new world of sports coverage and sponsorship dollars. C’est la vie hey Sheek.
April 3rd 2009 @ 11:31am
Roger said | April 3rd 2009 @ 11:31am | Report comment
Oikee, either you should get off the wacky tobaccy mate or post your league propganda on an another thread…poor stuff. Incorrect, biased, misleading, opportunist, manipulative…just a poor effort.
April 3rd 2009 @ 12:00pm
chris, syd Aust said | April 3rd 2009 @ 12:00pm | Report comment
i understand his point though roger
what a great AFL campaign that has started on TV – awesome advert that would make kids listen (the montage of all sports with AFL taking the cake in each shot) The NRL campaign was pretty good too this year (part from the stewart sega) – great creative work in the tv ad.
Yet were is rugbies? Sure the s14 isnt on FTA – the last wallaby campaign i can remember is “I wanna be a wallaby”
how long ago was that – the ARU are letting the NRL and AFL take control of grassroots – its pathetic.
April 3rd 2009 @ 12:00pm
oikee said | April 3rd 2009 @ 12:00pm | Report comment
No worries Roger, i will leave all the intelligent work up to you then. You still soar about losing 50% of your superannuation,
All i was doing is writing a post on how i see the game, sorry i annoyed you, just ignore my posts like spiro ignores them.
April 3rd 2009 @ 12:11pm
Brett McKay said | April 3rd 2009 @ 12:11pm | Report comment
Funnily enough Roger, I think JON is well aware of what’s about to happen in Aust FTA-wise, and that’s why he seems to back on this bandwagon of FTA presence for a S15. ONE HD would obviously be an option, given Ten has the Spring Tour rights (and notwithstanding Ben Conkey’s article today about regional reception of ONE). Also, I’m sure I’ve read/heard that Ch.9 has the 2011 RWC rights, so theoretically, they would have a need to build up a rugby audience too.
Without wanting to push my own barrow too much, I wrote a piece on this very topic last year, that sport could be the thing that makes digital TV work in Australia: http://www.theroar.com.au/2008/10/20/sport-the-digital-tv-deal-clincher/
April 3rd 2009 @ 12:15pm
Jameswm said | April 3rd 2009 @ 12:15pm | Report comment
Chris
I coach at a junior club in Sydney, and we have two sides in the U6s and four in the U7s (squads of 10), 2-3 U8 team and one U9 team (squads of 13) and three U10 teams (squads of 15). We’re turning kids away and have about 150 registered among the 12-13 teams, plus two coaches and a manager per team.
Rugby is hugely popular with so many of the kids I meet, so maybe you should take this into account when you talk about the problems with grassroots rugby. Parts of it are abolutely thriving.
A NSWRU initiative is to have these kids do march pasts and “cheering tunnels” before the game, and our club will be there on Sat night.
It isn’t all bleak.
April 3rd 2009 @ 12:41pm
Sam Taulelei said | April 3rd 2009 @ 12:41pm | Report comment
I often ready many comments on the Roar about the competition rugby has with other winter codes in Australia and that is offered as the main reason why the code suffers. However taking Jameswm’s point I reckon the biggest problem for Australian rugby is that there is no progression path for your junior rugby players so the talent that does exist is lost to the other codes simply because they have a better structure in place to capture kids leaving school. Australian rugby doesn’t create enough competition to retain your juniors.
There are only so many spots available in a professional Super franchise so where do all those rugby playing kids go to continue playing the game once they leave school. There are local club competitions but after that where is the next step before they play with the pro’s. Academies don’t work because they create an elitist regime that doesn’t cater for the late bloomers or entrants to the sport. And then people beat up the likes of Kurtley Beale, Quade Cooper, Josh Holmes, Luke Burgess, Lachlan Turner etc because they get hyped beyond realistic expectations before they’re ready for the big time.
It’s time for JON and the rest of his entourage at the ARU to stop bleating about their woes and put a plan in place for the future. It’s not going to get any easier with the AFL’s planned expansion to West Sydney and it won’t be anybody’s fault other than the ARU.
April 3rd 2009 @ 12:59pm
Sam Taulelei said | April 3rd 2009 @ 12:59pm | Report comment
Roger
I have to disagree with your point about depth not being an issue. Depth is very much the issue and not just in Australia. NZ has effectively lost the better part of two All Black fifteens in the past two years and that loss of quality has been more evident in this years comp than before. I am surprised at this halfway stage that all five Kiwi sides are in the positions they are in as I didn’t predict or expect that at the beginning of the season. Nonetheless NZ can only realistically expect two sides in any given year to finish in the top four and three in the top half.
SA with five teams realistically can only offer two teams in the top half of the table with two perennial cellar dwellers and one capable but woefully inconsistent mid-table floater. Australia with four teams is capable of only fielding one team regularly in the playoffs and possibly two in the top half but at the expense of your other sides. The same “sources” you’re suggesting to find players for a fifth Aussie side is exactly what we heard when the Force was admitted and the reality was that they pillaged their neighbours and couldn’t lure any expat Aussie players back from the UK.
No way can NZ admit a sixth team and SA would struggle also, Australia is deluding itself if it thinks that in an already contracting market it has enough local depth to fill a fifth team or recruit from overseas. Australia will just be asking the two bottom SA sides to move over and make room for one of them.
April 3rd 2009 @ 1:29pm
Roger said | April 3rd 2009 @ 1:29pm | Report comment
Yes Sam, depth is an issue in Australian rugby, but not to the extent that we cant get a competitive Melbourne team on paddock.
I mean we are only talking about infusing 30 new players into 5 teams…lets say only 6 come back from UK/Europe bc of opportunity/poor pound/ French restrictions…allow for 2 imports for new team…with Melb buying 2-3 players from each existing teams then the 5 teams will need the next best 22 players from Sydney and Brisbane grade…its not a big ask. Plenty of gems were uncovered during our blessed now departed ARC.
Agree completely that Aust. rugby has nominal developmeny structres and that work needs to be done…but surely there are 22 players out there who could either play for academy side or sit on the bench for the s15 team….its not that big an ask.
April 3rd 2009 @ 1:39pm
Sam Taulelei said | April 3rd 2009 @ 1:39pm | Report comment
You are in a better position than I Roger because I don’t have the answers. But the Force struggled to find players in Victoria and WA that were suitable, I’d love to hear how a fifth team could lure 6 players back from the UK as well as any potential poaching from NZ because it’s going to cost a lot of money to set this extra team up and we’ve seen the perils of third party player payments to supplement their salaries courtesy of the Force. By the way I’m not anti Force but they are proving to be a useful and illustrative case study.