Super Rugby should look to the Top 14
Roar Guru 
The Reds got up over the Brumbies, but can they make the 2012 Super Rugby finals? (AAP Image/Alan Porritt)
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Last night I caught the second half of the French Top 14 Final. Toulose beat Toulon 18-12 in a gripping match. It was 12 all with about 15 minutes to go.
The thing that struck me was that Toulose were playing fast, committed rugby. They went hard into the breakdown, their offensive rucking was confident and the ball came out very fast. They were brutal and very effective with their counter-rucking, causing Toulon to lose rhythm.
On the other hand Toulon were slow to the breakdown, tentative in the scrums and comparatively they hardly counter-rucked at all.
Toulon reminded me a lot of the way that the Australian Super Rugby franchises play. Well, all except for the kicking – there weren’t many kicks and the kicks that did happen were well directed and meaningful.
Toulose played attractive, attacking, forwards-based rugby. It was fast and exciting to watch.
The Australian teams could learn a lot by watching the Top 14, even just the final. Tolouse had quick recycled ball, while Toulon did not. When the pressure was on which game plan came up trumps? Toulose showed that attractive and attacking rugby wins every time.
The final icing on the cake was that Jonny Wilkinson and Matt Giteau were both on the losing team. As Toulon’s playmakers, they were setting their sides pace and gameplan. They could obviously learn a thing or two from Toulose as well.
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The Crowd Says (32) | Page 1 of Comments
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- Rugby Union, Super Rugby, Top 14, Toulon
July 7th 2012 @ 7:50am
Sailosi said | July 7th 2012 @ 7:50am | Report comment
If Aussie teams had a $60 million budget and a bevy of international stars they may be able to replicate Toulouse.
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July 7th 2012 @ 8:35am
Rabbitz said | July 7th 2012 @ 8:35am | Report comment
They may not have the budgets (actually I would suggest the budgets are that far removed) but certainly do have the international players.
July 7th 2012 @ 8:32am
D Maaga said | July 7th 2012 @ 8:32am | Report comment
is this a joke? i’ll pick last year queensland reds vs crusaders super rugby final over anything i’ve witness in top 14 in the last 12 months better yet last nights crusaders vs chiefs game will make your top 14 final between toulouse vs toulon look like a golden oldies festival match.
July 7th 2012 @ 8:41am
Rabbitz said | July 7th 2012 @ 8:41am | Report comment
Well here I guess we disagree.
The penchant for Australian teams to leave the ball at the base of the ruck until everyone is ready bores me to tears. The Australian teams predictable, one channel, one direction play bores me to tears.
At least the Top 14 players commit to the rucks rather than seagulling around being “pillars” or as I like to call them “bludgers”.
I can’t comment on the Reds – Crusaders last night as I didn’t see it but the so-called Australian derbies in this Super Rugby season have been slow, boring and predicable. At least in the Top 14 there has been some flair and unpredictable play.
July 7th 2012 @ 9:34am
nickoldschool said | July 7th 2012 @ 9:34am | Report comment
It was Reds v Highlanders last night, not v Crusaders.
July 7th 2012 @ 10:26am
Rabbitz said | July 7th 2012 @ 10:26am | Report comment
Goes to show I didn’t see it
July 7th 2012 @ 8:53am
D Maaga said | July 7th 2012 @ 8:53am | Report comment
the french top 14 comp are the masters of slow play and leaving the ball at the base of the ruck, this is probably the reason the irb have have brought in “the use it or lose it” laws for next year. the top 14 final was just one of many top 14 games that were decided by drop goals, penalties with no tries.
July 7th 2012 @ 11:19am
KiwiDave said | July 7th 2012 @ 11:19am | Report comment
Spot on Mr Maaga +1 for your comment
July 7th 2012 @ 9:05am
Tumble Hill said | July 7th 2012 @ 9:05am | Report comment
If there ever was a world club championship it would be a joke. The Southern Hemisphere teams would win more times than not.
Yes the Top 14 might have the star players, but as a whole the Super Rugby sides are far superior. If anything the Top 14 + northen Hemisphere could learn alot from our competition.
July 8th 2012 @ 4:15pm
Sluggy said | July 8th 2012 @ 4:15pm | Report comment
A world ‘club’ championship would not involve Super rugby provincial teams, to be accurate. Mind you, Sydney Uni at full strength would give it a shove, if all the various players in Super rugby were available for selection. I am sure there are other clubs such as Eastwood which would also go well.
July 7th 2012 @ 9:34am
Dominator said | July 7th 2012 @ 9:34am | Report comment
OMG: Top 14 is simply the worst most sterile rugby competition in the world. Teams rarely play rugby, and instead play moves between breakdown penalty to error, to breakdown penalty, to collapsed scrum. Basically win at all cost percentage rugby. Ugly, I’m surprised any Frenchmen still follow the game. Watching Top 14 this year has come close to making me lose faith in the game itself (i.e if rugby really can be this turgid is it really such a great game?).
July 7th 2012 @ 10:31am
Bakkies said | July 7th 2012 @ 10:31am | Report comment
Australian teams need to learn a lot about offensive scrummaging (dominating the opposition 8 by driving up or backwards with an 8 man shove) rather than negative stuff like dropping binds and boring in, hitting rucks and counterrucking. Our mauling is getting much better.
With regards to Toulouse they played a lot of poor or average Rugby all season. They did well in the Top 14 due to their depth during the RWC period especially. Teams like Montpellier who played in the previous season’s Final were down near the bottom and had to play catch up. When they play well they hit rucks in pairs, the back three links well together, players run good lines, they support each other and offload.
July 7th 2012 @ 11:18am
KiwiDave said | July 7th 2012 @ 11:18am | Report comment
You are kidding aren’t you? Why should Super Rugby aspire to be like an inferior competition. The French rugby is a boring forward dominated penalty fest. Try comparing any top 14 game with the spectacle the Chiefs and Crusaders delivered last night. You won’t be able to. The top 14 should be aspiring to be like the Super XV and learn the lost art form of try scoring, which is complete devoid in NH rugby.
July 7th 2012 @ 11:23am
Jutsie said | July 7th 2012 @ 11:23am | Report comment
Good point, no tries in either semi final or the final despite loads of internationals playing. Give me yesterdays matches over that any day of week.
July 8th 2012 @ 5:15pm
Wales15 said | July 8th 2012 @ 5:15pm | Report comment
Have you ever thought of the fact that defences might be better in the NH?
July 8th 2012 @ 5:49pm
Jutsy said | July 8th 2012 @ 5:49pm | Report comment
Why would i need to think about it when i can just confirm my suspicions by watching any 6 nations vs tri-nations test match?
July 7th 2012 @ 7:58pm
Ben S said | July 7th 2012 @ 7:58pm | Report comment
Sound comment, Dave. The art of try scoring is a lost art in the NH. Brilliant analysis.
July 8th 2012 @ 11:05pm
biltongbek said | July 8th 2012 @ 11:05pm | Report comment
I disagree with that to an extent, the art of try scoring isn’t lost in the NH, it is the slow ball from the ruck that gives defences enough time to organise.
Look at Leinster in the HC final, they get quick ball, and they scored tries.
Not sure if it is the conditions, or the coaching or a combination of the two, but the pace of the game there is slower.
July 9th 2012 @ 4:18am
Ben S said | July 9th 2012 @ 4:18am | Report comment
I blame, KiwiDave… (joking)
July 8th 2012 @ 7:50am
Rabbitz said | July 8th 2012 @ 7:50am | Report comment
Dave,
You will notice I was referring to the Australian super rugby teams. Not the Kiwi’s nor the Saffa’s, both of whom appear to understand that:
a) having the ball sitting at the back of the ruck for what seems hours on end will not lead to you scoring (you have to do something with the ball);
b) kicking the ball away after having standing still at the back of the ruck for what seems like hours on end will also lead to you not scoring (you need the ball in your possesion to score), and finally;
c) defensive rucking is not about standing around near the ruck waiting for the opposition to do something.
July 8th 2012 @ 5:29pm
breakdown said | July 8th 2012 @ 5:29pm | Report comment
completely disagree kiwi dave
most european club games are more enteratining than most super xv games.
and what Leinster produced in the heineken cup final was sensational attacking rugby. and that was in a final!
July 8th 2012 @ 9:23pm
Matty said | July 8th 2012 @ 9:23pm | Report comment
“most european club games are more enteratining than most super xv games.”
Id rather watch kiwi local derbies than games involving clubs across europe.They tend to produce more intensity than what Ive seen so far up North.
Funny how people talk up teams like Leinster-yes they do at times play entertaining rugby but consider their opponents.
‘Entertaining’ does not not equate to quality rugby. Many NH posters have ridiculed Super rugby for its ‘poor defense’ yet every time we play the NH teams, they struggle to to get tries
Leinster was a perfect example. Dominant force in European rugby yet they were torn to pieces by NZ.
European rugby may have all the money and glam but at the end of the day its just a micky mouse competition compared to super rugby in terms of the standard or rugby.
July 9th 2012 @ 4:20am
Ben S said | July 9th 2012 @ 4:20am | Report comment
Leinster didn’t play NZ, btw – Ireland did. Just saying. Different players and different coaches, but that aside…
July 9th 2012 @ 11:50pm
Matty said | July 9th 2012 @ 11:50pm | Report comment
11 players from Leinster were in the Irish team.
July 10th 2012 @ 12:21am
Ben S said | July 10th 2012 @ 12:21am | Report comment
Not sure what point you’re trying to make., if any Test match rugby is obviously a step-up from any other rugby, and New Zealand played Ireland, not Leinster, involving different coaches and different patterns of play etc.
July 8th 2012 @ 11:07pm
biltongbek said | July 8th 2012 @ 11:07pm | Report comment
Sorry didn’t see your post, but I agree about Leinster.
July 7th 2012 @ 3:37pm
Rabbi said | July 7th 2012 @ 3:37pm | Report comment
Cannot believe this. European rugby, with few exceptions, is unwatchable. Fans want to see ball in hand, not negative penalty generating play.
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July 7th 2012 @ 9:06pm
Pot Hale said | July 7th 2012 @ 9:06pm | Report comment
And how much European rugby do you watch with that classic generalism?
I’m currently watching Tahs play Brumbies – is this the standard that European rugby should follow then?
July 9th 2012 @ 4:51am
Damo said | July 9th 2012 @ 4:51am | Report comment
Good point pothale.
A game so slow it was embarrassing.
July 7th 2012 @ 6:32pm
mervyn grimley said | July 7th 2012 @ 6:32pm | Report comment
I watched this game at the time and thought it obvious that both sides played a game designed to get in position for penalties or drop goals. Luke McCallister kicked very well, don’t think he missed one, and Toulouse played for this. No team really looked like scoring a try and I think thats the way they like it. I generally like watching the top14 but this aspect of it I find generally dissappointing
July 9th 2012 @ 9:39pm
mace 22 said | July 9th 2012 @ 9:39pm | Report comment
i don’t mind watching top 14. But I’d watch 15 bull ant’s play 15 termites in a game of rugby and think it was a pretty good game. But I really love the commentators. Don’t know who they are, but thats one thing the southern hemisphere could learn from the top 14.
July 12th 2012 @ 12:16am
Matt said | July 12th 2012 @ 12:16am | Report comment
The Top14 really makes me worry as a Rugby fan. So much money and so much potential to really create a massively popular competition in France, with the potential to truely challenge football, and the average game served up is as boring as it is underwhelming.
There was once the idea of French flair, where miraculous play could deliver running rugby at its finest, but sadly those days are gone and despite all the money and hype that followed the hosting of the 07WC the game is not delivering on its potential.
If ever you needed convincing that the laws of the game need amendment, in order to improve the general entertainment level, then the Top14 is your go to example. Scrums collapses, frequent killing of the ball, dirty play, whistle happy refs and FAR too many matches decided by 50:50 (at best) penalty calls and drop goals.
Half the time the tries scored seem to be the result of luck rather than a decent attacking game plan. If the Top14 is the future of the sport then things are worse than anyone could predict.