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This year’s Super Rugby competition is a murky one, some in Australia may even call it slightly mediocre, but I’ll try to answer two questions to clear it up a bit.
And then I’ll get out my ten-foot pole to discuss the Ewen McKenzie era.
Are the Waratahs really making the leap?
There’s been plenty of chat about the Waratahs getting things right to defend their Super Rugby title after back-to-back victories over the Rebels and Brumbies. I’m usually one of the more positive thinkers going around but I don’t have the same rosy view of the sky blue as others right now.
In my opinion the Waratahs’ winning try against the Rebels was a debacle of refereeing. The video ref should have told the ref on the field his call of carried back inside the 22-metre line was incorrect; I don’t care about any technicalities that said he shouldn’t.
The best outcome for the game there was to make the right decision, especially since play had stopped anyway. As the Waratahs took that lineout I just knew they’d put the dagger into the Rebels. But then their try was given after a few quick looks at Rob Horne trying to ground the ball in the corner before going into touch.
No ‘rock and roll’, as the cricket third umpires call it, to give the video ref a chance to line things up with his eye. Just a quick check and try given. There’s a great chance his shoulder area was over the sideline.
Last week the Brumbies should have at least done the smart thing and kicked one of their late penalties to sneak a tie. It’s a bit disingenuous to say they turned down four penalties and could have potted 12 points, because if you take the first you may not get another. However, if they had taken the first of the late flurry of penalties I think the Waratahs would still have given them another one. Tolu Latu is a bandit for ruck penalties in tight situations – he’s the new Saia Fainga’a.
Two games they got a win for, but two they could have easily lost. The competition points stand but there’s a long way to go before the Waratahs look like defending their title.
The main problem is still appalling skills. They make more handling errors – including bouncing balls, that don’t show up as turnovers – and passes behind the man in each half than they probably did in their entire nine-match winning streak to finish last season.
It may well be they’ve turned a corner in terms of physicality, but the skill level has been down a few notches all year and I’m yet to see evidence of an uptick.
And I hate to say it, but Nick Phipps is not playing as well as he did last year either. He’s much less decisive for long stretches, leaving the ball at the back of the ruck longer, and his passing is soft and floaty again. 2013 Nick Phipps isn’t good enough.
Are Crusaders still nosing down?
I made the stupid decision a number of weeks ago to say, in print, that the Crusaders wouldn’t make the finals this year. There’s still a mathematical chance for them to sneak in, so I’ll take their temperature again.
Since I tempted fate on April 22 the Crusaders have beaten the Blues, which isn’t hard, and lost to the Hurricanes.
The loss to the Hurricanes was the match where the Crusaders of years past would have kicked into high gear and begun a charge home to take their inevitable place in the post-season. And they tried on Saturday night, but they just don’t have the goods to compete with teams that have extra gears like the Hurricanes this year.
The Crusaders are still only five points back from a finals spot, but have played a game more than three of the top six teams. This week becomes almost a must-win for the Crusaders. Both because they host the hapless Reds at home, but then they have a bye, where some teams above them have games.
After that they have a run-in of: Waratahs – at ANZ stadium, possibly for the last time – Hurricanes, Blues and Brumbies. That’s a tough stretch for a team trying to make a late push. The only upside I can see is playing good teams means they can take points from their fellow finals hopefuls as well as add to their own tally.
Why am I so interested in watching this, you might ask? Well, if the Crusaders don’t make the finals it will truly be the end of a special era in rugby. You have to go back to 2001 for the last time the men from Christchurch didn’t make the knockout rounds of Super Rugby. The death star may be in its last legs.
Yes, of course they’ll reboot, but the machine will be a fresh one next time.
How will we remember the McKenzie era?
The ARU and Di Patston have reached an out-of-court settlement. Patston left her role – are we at all sure what that was even now? – with the Wallabies in October last year and now things have some sort of closure regarding her period with the team.
Well, closure for her and the ARU, not for rugby fans. Without a court airing we’ll probably never find out what happened in the Wallabies set-up when Ewen McKenzie was at the helm. Patston had some business-type of role and Kurtley Beale had a texting role.
For the most part I think Bill Pulver has done an adequate job as CEO of the ARU. However the McKenzie era will be, I believe, defined by Pulver’s and the ARU board’s inability to manage the situation that deteriorated around McKenzie. There was a lack of clear leadership, decisiveness and ability to resolve a conflict that will define what is unfortunately a very short career coaching the Wallabies.
The way the saga dragged on and on and on was absolutely wrenching for the game of rugby. So poorly managed was the situation that two main players in the moment had resigned, including a Wallabies coach, before any formal process got close to bringing out the truth.
The sad part is McKenzie, for his flaws, is one of the smartest and most talented coaches Australia has had since Rod Macqueen was on the scene. He might not have been a powerful enough man to control the factional tensions in Australian rugby well enough to put together a World Cup winning team, but I think it’s a shame we didn’t get to see him try.
Now we’ll be left to forever speculate about the incredible team dynamics and lack of leadership in the code during that turbulent time.
Will you ever forget watching McKenzie resign abruptly and walk down that hallway by himself? What an image. One of the giants of the game walking off stage right and barely a whisper since.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.