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Five massive overreactions to Super Rugby Round 1

17th February, 2015
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Sonny Bill Williams returns for the Chiefs to face Kiwi rivals the Crusaders. (AP Photo/SNPA, Ross Setford)
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17th February, 2015
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Super Rugby Round 1 is done and dusted, and we’re all still shaking our head at a string of strange results. What’s up and what’s down? Who’s good and who isn’t?

Here are five massive overreactions to the first week of rugby.

The Waratahs are more a poor John Farnham reunion tour than U2 following Joshua Tree Tour with Zoo TV
Look, it’s easy to get down when the most memorable part of that Waratahs performance was Kurtley Beale getting smacked on the head with the ball instead of catching it. (Was he distracted by his phone?).

But the truth is that they were always going to be underdone. Coach Michael Cheika knew it enough leading into the match that he specifically spoke about it in the Fox Sports pre-match interview. Some may see that as excuse before the fact, but I think he knew the Tahs would be slow starters.

Lots of players were involved in more matches than they’re used to last year – Nick Phipps, Bernard Foley, Will Skelton, Rob Horne, Israel Folau and others all played a lot. Even Beale hasn’t been through a year without missing games due to injury for a while. Backing up was always going to be hard.

I think Cheika will be satisfied with a lower-seeded finals spot this year and just make sure the troops are ready at finals time.

The Cheetahs will win the South Africa conference and Sharks are cooked
Look, the Cheetahs still aren’t going to win it but the South African conference is certainly up for grabs more than last year, and more than it appeared going into this year.

Are the Cheetahs going to make us look stupid and climb into a finals position like they did two years ago? If they did it would be like Atletico Madrid winning La Liga, because despite scoring 35 points, they weren’t dominant, it was mostly counter attacking.

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In football a goal on the break wins you a lot of games. In rugby you need to put together longer passages of play and construct tries to be successful over the long haul. If the Cheetahs find a way to recycle the ball well then they’ve got a shout.

As for the Sharks? It’s just a flesh wound. There’s far too much talent and far too many games left to get worried.

A team of just Sonny Bill Williams and one other person to offload to could win games
Ok. This one is a bit less of an overreaction. I’d actually like to see how much Sonny Bill could get done with just one support player on the field. Every time he had possession he drew more defenders than he should and put someone else into space. He’s still got it.

We’re going to look back on his time in rugby and consider how he re-defined the inside centre position when it’s all said and done.

The only reason Israel Folau could be seriously considered as an outside centre – because it’s obvious his talents are much better suited at fullback – is because of what Sonny Bill Williams has done at inside centre. He’s turned it into ‘I can draw and pass better than you can tackle’.

When the Chiefs have their full legion of attack-bots positioned around him they are going to be impossible to beat most nights. A new team winning the New Zealand conference is looking unlikely already.

The Melbourne Rebels are a slick killing machine this year
I am so excited for the Rebels despite them upsetting what was supposed to be a simple tip in Round 1. Good on them for going to a finalist’s home ground and securing their first international win in club history. It was also the Crusaders’ first loss to an Australian side at home since sometime just before the Putaringamotu purchase in Riccarton, Christchurch.

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But let’s be honest – that was a scrappy match. They aren’t a killing machine, but they may have the foundational elements of becoming one. Guts and belief. That’s what teams in the top six at the end of the year have in common, no matter the style or nationality.

To get that win despite having two people sent to the bin shows the Rebels have another gear they can get to this year when required.

Grabbing some more wins around a back-five of Luke Jones, Lopeti Timani, Sean McMahon, Colby Fainga’a and Scott Higginbotham with Scott Fuglistaller off the bench is eminently possible.
The trick from here is to find a way to express the talent of Tom English, Dom Shipperly and Mike Harris and cash in on that grunt and physical power more often.

The Reds are looking forward to getting the season underway, despite an underwhelming performance in their last trial match in Canberra
Ah, yes, the only team that made the Waratahs look prepared. The good news is the Reds playing group has been advised the games are real now and competition points are up for grabs.

I was keen to see how Karmichael Hunt would go back in rugger, but with his side barely getting any rugger played seriously sussing him out will have to wait another week. Matt Toomua and Stephen Larkham both declined to assess Hunt’s attacking game but said he was strong – I saw it a bit differently. Hunt that looked ordinary out wide on defence when Toomua scored and then James Dargaville crossed for his steak on debut.

I also wondered why he was out so wide in the defensive line.

Actually, I’m a little worried about the Reds. They were absolutely unable to secure their own ball against the Brumbies. Holding it for two phases was a chore, one they’ll have to get better at before they expect to beat many sides this year.

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