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There are a lot of dumb things you can do on a rugby field, and the Reds’ Ed O’Donoghue showed the way two weeks back.
O’Donoghue did something stupid which didn’t need to be done, in a place and at a time where it shouldn’t have been done.
No matter that he was later (miraculously) exonerated of foul play, his dumb action cost his side an important match.
Rebels halfback Nic Stirzaker didn’t blow the match earlier this season but, after his side was awarded a penalty near halfway, he quickly tapped the ball to himself before deliberately hoofing it into touch near the 22. His actions gifted the lineout feed to the opposition, when a straight kick from the mark would have meant Rebels feeding an attacking lineout. Dumb.
The incredible shrinking man, Matt Dunning, of course needs no reminder of his dumb moment, snapping a 30m drop goal with his Waratahs side in desperate need of two bonus point tries to make the 2003 finals.
Unfortunately for Highlanders fans, replacement back Phil Burleigh plumbed new depths on Friday night with a kick so mindless and idiotic it almost defied logic.
For those who missed the match, a brief scene set:
The Reds led all night through commitment and continuity, a good set piece, and being able to feed off numerous Highlanders turnovers and poor support play. Yet the Highlanders somehow clawed their way back into the match, culminating in a final minute try and conversion to tie the match at 31-31.
There was time enough for the kick off and one final play. For the Highlanders, there were two possible scenarios: secure possession for a phase, then kick the ball dead and escape with three competition points, or secure possession and strive for the winning try against an exhausted Reds defence, and thus steal five competition points.
Whatever the decision, Nasi Manu must have called his team together while the conversion was being made, outlined the plan of choice, and made sure every player knew exactly what to do. Whether this happened or not isn’t clear. What is clear however, is that with possession safely secured, Phil Burleigh immediately kicked the ball back to the Reds, neither shutting the game down nor allowing his side to press for the winning score.
At that point the Reds, who must have been bitterly dejected at conceding the Tanaka try, suddenly became the only side who could win the match, and the body language of the players and the crowd instantly reflected this.
The Reds didn’t waste the opportunity, displaying an impressive mix of composure and urgency, and there was a sense of inevitability realised when Jake Schatz plunged over for the winning score.
After such a rough season for them and their fans, only the meanest of critics would deny the Reds credit for their victory, yet the reality is that they should not have been in any position to win.
Only a week ago Nick Cummins put in what many were calling the worst kick in Super Rugby history, and while there is no doubt Cummins’ effort was shocking, Burleigh’s was far worse – purely because no case could be made whatsoever for even considering a kick in those circumstances.
Burleigh has always appealed as a solid player and sound decision maker; a strong defender, with good hands and a probing kick, perfectly suited to rugby at this level. But had Burleigh been a Pakistani cricketer instead, or perhaps a mate of Lou Vincent, alarm bells would have been ringing. It was all just so, well, wrong!
Of course, not all of the blame rests with Burleigh, the Highlanders have now lost five matches this season at the death, and if the players are mentally weak, surely they are not well enough coached and/or captained. Admittedly they have won three close ones as well, although it could be argued that two were against inferior teams (Rebels and Lions) and it is only once, against the Hurricanes in Wellington, where they showed the necessary composure and strength to chisel out a close fought victory.
In an area ripe for advancement in rugby coaching – better development and implementation of gridiron-style set plays to win in these type of situations – the Highlanders do not seem to have any, or at least any good enough, strategies and plays in place to enable them to close out matches, whether on attack or defence.
Coach Jamie Joseph and his players don’t have to look far for a blueprint on what to do in similar situations. With the 2012 Bledisloe Cup match in Brisbane tied at 18-18 and only one final play possible, All Black captain Richie McCaw made a conscious on-field decision to play for the win. It didn’t pay off, however what impressed most observers was the intent and the single-mindedness of purpose, which players on both sides accordingly responded to.
Similarly, when the All Blacks had one final play only to salvage their unbeaten 2014 season against Ireland, it was as if the machine suddenly clicked into action, with every person playing their part in the surge, which Ireland was ultimately powerless to stop.
None of this was evident from the Highlanders. Would Burleigh have kicked had he been playing under Richie McCaw in this situation? Surely not.
Even after the Reds gladly accepted possession and swept onto attack, the Highlanders lacked the same purpose and intensity that the Crusaders goal-line defence put on them a week earlier.
Any player can make a skill error or a poor decision in the heat of the contest. It happens in every match. But in this age of professional rugby, dumb mistakes of this type simply should not be made.
We all enjoy that players are human and expressive, not robot-like. Indeed, this is one of the characteristics of the Highlanders play which appeals to fans. But right now, those Highlanders fans might actually prefer that coaching staff did actually provide a script, and that Phil Burleigh in particular took time to read it.