Waratahs Tom Carter is tackled by Crusaders. AAP Image/NZPA, Wayne Drought
The only thing that seems somewhat obvious about the new Super Rugby competition is that the nomadic Crusaders are fast becoming the out and out favourites for the title. It’s hard to imagine that even a historic, albeit whirlwind trip to London this week will slow them down.
The inaugural staging of a Super Rugby game outside the three member nations, to be played at Twickenham this Sunday (Monday morning in New Zealand and Australia), could well prove more difficult for the already well-travelled Sharks from the Republic.
Should the Crusaders win this significant match, the bookies might not be able to wind them in much more than they are.
However, behind the Crusaders, it’s difficult to establish a likely challenger after the first five weeks of the competition.
The race for second isn’t so much hotting up, but rather just slowly, steadily simmering away.
Over in New Zealand, the Highlanders have come back to earth with a thud, and may be hitting something of a slump. They’ve been a way off their form from the first three weeks of the season, and no doubt, the injury to Colin Slade is hurting them.
On that topic, actually, surely Tony Brown isn’t the solution to fill the play-making duties in Slade’s absence.
Why wouldn’t the Highlanders use this opportunity to blood young Robbie Robinson? Brown, former great player that he was for both the Highlanders and All Blacks, looked like just that; a former great player.
On the plus side for the Highlanders, Adam Thomson probably only trails Crusaders No.8 and acting-captain Kieran Read as the form player on that side of the ditch.
The Blues look like they may be starting to play the way they’ve always threatened to, at least on paper. In what is always a tough match, the Blues were clinical in their disposal of the Hurricanes on Saturday evening.
All Black front row stalwarts Keven Mealamu and Tony Woodcock have hit handy form, and the midfield pairing of Stephen Brett and Luke McAlister seem to be combining as well as they ever have. And Jared Payne looks like just another quality New Zealand outside centre, almost to rub in the embarrassment of riches the Kiwis have in that and most other positions.
Over in South Africa, what was already shaping as a tough conference to top has only got tougher, but mainly due to some indifferent form from the expected favourites.
The Stormers, despite now leading the overall Super Rugby standings, continue to get by off the boot of Peter Grant, and seem either unwilling and or unable to cross the stripe.
Bryan Habana’s fortuitous try did upset Grant’s unbelievable run of sole-scorer status, in their win over arch-rivals, the Bulls, but even still, you can essentially swap out ‘Stormers’ for ‘Peter Grant’ when looking at the table.
It’s little wonder the Western Force chased the superboot from Cape Town for two seasons.
The Sharks were the early pacesetters after the first few rounds, but they too were a long way from their best in the wet against the Chiefs.
Perhaps the long tour is starting to take its toll – they’re three games into a four week stretch away from Durban – but they will need to buck up for one last gasp in London, otherwise they could find themselves on the end of yet another Crusaders belting.
The title-holding Bulls look like a team lost, as if their championship sides of the past few years disappeared into the same vortex that swallowed the glory-filled Brumbies of days gone by.
It’s hard to work out what’s going wrong for them currently, and they certainly have some work ahead of them if they’re to repeat the cup-lifting deeds of 2010.
Closer to home, the Cheetahs’ mauling of the Waratahs in Sydney gave Wallaby supporters a stark reminder of everything that grinds our gears about Australian rugby.
The ‘Tahs were running hot at one stage, but a demolition at the hands of the Crusaders was followed up with a Heinrich Brussow-led masterclass in competing at the breakdown.
It was kind of fitting that they finished the night by dropping the ball, and Fox Sports’ Greg Martin rightly described them as “the 15 stooges” toward the end of the game.
It might have to be the loss they have to have to get their season back on track.
Worryingly, the Waratahs situation probably says more about the Australian conference, that they could be humbled either side of the bye and still sit up the pointy end of the table.
Thankfully, the Reds found their 2010 playbook, which had seemingly gone missing for the previous month.
The Rebels found out the hard way that the Reds can still turn it on when need be, and as scintillating as some of the Reds’ tries were, it was pleasing to see that he game was really won through breakdown and lineout domination.
One question though, who is this Michael Harris and in which pocket of Queensland has he been hiding? What an impact!
Of course, in the grand scheme of things, it’s all a little academic at this stage, because the mob in red from Christchurch are just in … well, red hot form.
Fourteen other teams, well, maybe not all fourteen, are at this point merely arguing about who will lob up to get beaten in the Final.
If I were the Super Rugby trophy engraver, I’d already have C-R-U- on the cup. And if they happen to win this celebrated game at Twickenham this coming weekend, I’d be pretty confident in finishing the job.
Muzza
Guest
How is SBW actually doing? All I see are highlights from Youtube and while he's doing some good things he still doesn't seem to taking to them so much as always looking to draw-pass. Is he really AB starting material? Is the SBW-Robbie Freuen tandem really AB material? By the hightlights RF looks the goods.
Jiggles
Roar Guru
I know Graham Henry brought 1001 players on the Lion’s tour in 2001 but this seems to be the norm with Lions tours. Aren’t squads restricted at world cups to 30?
Mick Gold Coast QLD
Roar Guru
Determined to not like this bloke (of whom I knew nought but his keeping company with intellectual heavyweights like Mundine) soapit, I sat to watch his half dozen games with Canterbury in last year's ITM Cup. I literally saw as exciting a prospect as a young Campese years back at Manuka Oval. He has a short pass and a direct and accurate long pass. He mixes up run to the line and pass early, run to the line and through it, and merely pass fast. His awareness of "another bloke in a better position than you" is outstanding for such a newcomer to the complexity of union backs play. He tackles well, both low and high; and I saw him chase down a couple of breakaway runners to prevent certain tries, even after his side had the game wrapped up. He was certainly more team oriented and less self focussed than Luke McAlister, for example. Most importantly I witnessed composure and focus. One could see Brett and Slade inside and Fruean and Maitland outside loved every minute of it. He has been a little bit more tentative at the start of each game with the Crusaders so far, but Williams is very good and getting better, I say.
Mick Gold Coast QLD
Roar Guru
They were selected as the best at the time, yes. Poidevin, Ruben Kruger and Michael Jones were unavailable.
Moaman
Guest
Didn't Woodward pioneer the(never used again)idea of having 50 players on tour and about the same number of hangers-on?
Jiggles
Roar Guru
What is the title of Blair’s book? His techniques were pretty cutting edge at the time and many are still very relevant today, it would be a good read. I guess we will just have to agree to disagree regarding the NZRU’s early approach to professionalism. I really do believe they did lack the innovation that JON and Macqueen brought to the table at the time. This is not to discredit Hart who was a very good coach, and probably resigned to early, but I don’t think he was as good a man manager as Macqueen, strange as he was a HR background I hear (is this correct?). In my opinion however the most professional outfit I have ever seen in rugby was the 2002 – 2003 England team. Sir Clive really took it to the next level in terms of innovations in preparing a team to play a game of rugby.
soapit
Guest
the thing that has impressed me with the crusaders is the form of sonny bill. i was one who genuinely wasnt sure how he'd go though i knew he must of improved since his game in oz for the barbarians he has really impressed. really good lines, surpising pace (to me at least) and has a better passing game then i realised. thought he was all about flicks but he's got good touch and timing on the conventional short ball and good accuracy off his long passes too. i thought he'd be no chance of unseating nonu but at the moment i'd say he has the inside running.
soapit
Guest
how did the cheetas and lions get on in their first few years in the comp?
soapit
Guest
skinstad, holah and thorne the very best?
Mick Gold Coast QLD
Roar Guru
On the cross borders stuff - it has happened already and will only increase. In years gone by Carl Hayman would have been arrested at the airport and incarcerated on Ruapuke Island. Carter could not have contemplated leaving Christchurch, let alone the South Island. The reason is much the same as we see here - I can correspond instantly with a bloke in Canberra and trade blows with a stranger in South Africa. BHP used buy stuff from overseas and process it for sale here from an office which was never going to leave Collins Street, Melbourne. Now it is plus a Billiton and the CFO in London sounds like the estimable Victor Matfield as he details their refining capacity in Western China. Little by little we will become more like soccer, with players plying their trade all around the world and returning home a fortnight before for the major matches. I don't know that it will do good for the great rugby nations' performances. That's change - my old Dad was famous breaking horses for a living, working for the Cattle King and riding exhibitions with Skuthorpe's Rough Riders. Along came big trucks, Chopper Sikorsky and Bell Helicopters and he stopped being selected. A "breaker" is now merely a component of electrical circuitry.
Sam Taulelei
Guest
My apologies Jiggles, I wasn't clear earlier. I wasn't claiming that Blair's training techniques were the beginning of the professional approach but that he has introduced in 1987 a different concept of training where specific training methods were used for specific positions in response to your point "he (MacQueen) even tailored training regimes to individual players" implying that this had never been done before. I actually read Jim Blair's book after the All Blacks won the world cup and he adopted a very scientific approach towards rugby training which was novel at the time when the accepted systems were all about pounding the roads to build an aerobic base and then the backs and forwards running through their moves as separate units before coming together as one team. He broke the team down into smaller units - the back four, inside backs, loose forwards and the tight five and created specific training programs for players in each unit due to their differing needs to play rugby. No other country had approached rugby training in this way before and it was quickly imitated following their success. As Taniwha mentioned also, John Hart was the first fulltime professional coach employed by the NZRU in 1996 and came from a strong corporate background working for NZ's largest company, Fletcher Challenge. He introduced the concept of taking a larger touring squad and separating the test team from the rest in response to managing playing four tests in four weeks which had never been done before. The Lions met with John Hart and copied many of his ideas before they also toured SA in 1997. I'm not disputing your claims to Rod MacQueen's many initiatives with the Wallabies, but I do disagree with your assertion that he was the first coach to tailor training for specific individuals or that the NZRU were slow to adopt professionalism.
warrenexpatinnz
Guest
Good call WTH. The main thread of my point is that we have a good product in the Super 15 but we can improve it futher by allowing players to play in any Super 15 side. You can set up a quota system as the ARU have and I would see no problem in this being managed. ZHenry I would ask that you look at the crowd numbers through all the games played in this years comp so far and compare NZ v Aus. Then look at the increase in viewership in the same context. Whether some of us like it or not the growth and survival for both unions depends on each other as scale of economies will dictate. Although Aus rugby isn't the be all and all such as rugby in NZ its lack of code dominace is made up by the sponsorship dollar and supporter spend whereas NZ relies heavily on its AB brand and overseas TV rights, including SANZAR TV deals to survive. We need each other Bro no matter how much you may think not.
Taniwha
Guest
John Hart was pretty professional in his approach to preparation in the era 96-99 with the AB's. In fact, some players felt he went to far in his pushing for the corporate aspect of players responsibilities, many felt to the detriment of performance. In regards to training and nutrition he employed Martin Toomey as a full time fitness advisor. Toomey had completed a Masters in Physical Education at my old alumni Otago University in the eighties, and have attended a course he gave in regards to approaches to weight and power training he was very much using all the principles that you describe above gleaned from his education, experience and observation of largely American professional sport. I also remember attending a lecture around 1999 from Graham Lowe (future All Black trainer 2003-2007 and the architect of the re-conditioning) and he was at the time (in 99) Jeff Wilson's personal trainer. He to brought a very professional approach based on academic background and solid field experience in the fields of Exercise Physiology and sports nutrition.
Jiggles
Roar Guru
I stand correct on Moffett, however I still don’t agree with Jim Blair. He only brought in an additional training exercise for the All Blacks, and this was still in the amateur days when the host nation could only come together to train 3 days before a test match. If you argue that Blair’s new training techniques where the beginning of the professional approach then why not other training innovations before this, as Rugby was constantly evolving throughout the amateur era. Why isn’t Ken Catchpole’s passing technique considered the advent of professionalism? It was ground breaking at the time also. In the first few years of professionalism rugby players were provided a wage for their services, but their approach to games, along with coaching and preparation was still very much amateur. Macqueen brought in the ethos that professional rugby players now had a full time job – preparing for match day. His adoption of sports science, nutrition, tailored training regimes, recovery regimes, physio and psychology was unique to rugby at the time and for a couple of seasons was the only truly professional set up in name and in action.
Sam Taulelei
Guest
Jiggles "he even tailored training regimes to individual players. It was revolutionary at the time. " Actually it wasn't. Scottish fitness trainer Jim Blair introduced this concept first with the Team NZ, America's Cup team in 1986 and then the All Blacks in 1987. He introduced grid training to improve players peripheral vision and specified training programs for individual positions. "JON was brought in as a professional administrator with a track record in banking, and as far as I am aware he was the first professional administrator" Actually he wasn't, David Moffett was NZRU CEO and involved with the creation of SANZAR and became a fulltime professional administrator in 1996 which is two years before JON started with the ARU. I agree that the ARU under JON and Rod MacQueen did introduce many initiatives that helped lift Australian rugby to the top of the tree and they were the envy of all including this side of the ditch for several years from 1999 - 2003.
Brett McKay
Guest
cheers Mick - you are right of course, it is a long way out, but it seems the standard thing to do, to establish the contenders as early as possible. Of course, the Crusaders may not win another game from here!! So this should be read just as it is: at this point in time, the Crusaders are daylight in front. And that's not even writing anyone off, as has been suggested I'm doing for the Stormers, and that's not to say that other teams aren't playing well, but currently, it's a battle for second. Moa, I understand all the concerns about opening the borders - even zHenry's - but I still think it will happen at some point. There's no doubt it becomes a risk, in terms of alienating local supporters and players, but the trade-off becomes that the teams strive to build the best squad they can. If we look within the borders now, there's still a lot of players turning out in some other teams strip, rather than their local team's. That's happening in all three countries now as it is. Including a few SANZAR internationals or imports on top isn't that big a stretch, if we're honest. And who knows, it might actually give more New Zealand and South African players a chance at a SR contract - in that regard, the biggest loser might actually be Australia...
Moaman
Guest
;-) Nice one,Mick! If it was really so predictable we probably wouldn't be interested-that's what makes this comp so good to watch. Brett--I take your earlier point re. a cap on foreign players but personally I am not keen to see them creeping in.It's the thin edge of the proverbial in my view.As I said;If they turn our game into something that resembles Man U v Chelsea with few or no home-grown players; You will find me(and Mick?) on the softball thread! Or somewhere..... zHenry; Thought your 2nd post more measured,interesting & certainly true as regards the sell-off of our media.The last decade or so I have stopped buying a paper or watching TV News due to the low quality of reporting and the blatant commercialisation of it. You are obviously very passionate and that's to be respected. Stellenbosch; Mate! You're dreaming! So what? South Africans don't "idolise" their national side? I think most of us kiwis would acknowledge that RSA had a superior record to us up to the period you were isolated.(As a kid I believed that was solely due to your cheating refs and their gold watches but that's another story...) But few sane rugby fans around the world could dispute the(aptly) black n white facts,the stats,the numbers-since.Granted a lot of us are OTT about 'our' team and do get a bit cocky from time to time...but hey man.cut us some slack! We haven't got much else to crow about!
Stellenbosched
Guest
Hi Mick, You were doing so well in your reply until the last few sentences, where you got way too aggressive and lost points, so I will ignore the insults. I totally understand that this site is by Aussies for Aussies, with a large input from the Kiwis, and as such do not get worked up when discussion is skewed against SA players. This does not happen often I admit, but every now and then I get irritated with the way particularly the Kiwis idolise the AB's. We over here in SA only respect two other rugby nations consistently-NZ and Aus. Yes we have our share of arrogant supporters, but by and large we give credit where it is due. I find it strange that the Kiwis just can't be happy with being told they are one of the worlds great rugby nations. It is never enough. They have to hear that they are the absolute best before, currently and in the future, and if it is not in black and white it is not really good enough.
Mick Gold Coast QLD
Roar Guru
Good effort, Brett, in distinguishing the several contenders, but there are 13 weeks to go and anything can happen. We've not seen the best of Wellington or the Chiefs yet, and Auckland have a seriously good squad that hasn't quite clicked in consecutive matches. The Crusaders may yet not travel so well this weekend - I know I looked to see who they will be playing next and was pleased to see it's their bye. The RSA teams also have plenty of improvement - the Bulls and Stormers in particular (I'll be watching them alright, when Burger is back). The Reds have been excellent but now they must travel and be really tested. The "on the road" matches throw up lots of aberrations. Nice to think about 3 months out but, like the We're all a-gunna fry/choke on oxygen "scientists", that far ahead is beyond my limited abilities. Three correct picks in each of the past two weeks suggests I ought to be over on the softball thread.
Mick Gold Coast QLD
Roar Guru
Stellenbosched – for the Stormers, with Fourie, de Villiers, Habana, Aplon and Jantjes at the back that’s likely. One could say the same about a lazy Hurricanes and the Chiefs who are half asleep so far. Auckland Blues on song will be a sight to behold. I’d also not underestimate any side captained by Smit. I do wish I could see some blue sky over our lot but only Queensland is worth a serious bet at the moment. Do leave off on the McCaw "destroyed ... reputation" rubbish. He is the standard by which all others are measured, as were Skinstad, Teichmann and Francois Pienaar. Ask Burger who occupies his mind most before a match. McCaw's character stands with Pienaar's off the field. Schalk Burger - Mr 100% - has proven himself too, against the very best going all the way back to Marty Holah, Collins, Thorne and McCaw. Heinrich Brüssouw is certainly very good. At 24 and with 13 Tests he’d do well to watch Schalk closely (who’s won 66% of his 63 Tests) and the other bloke who’s played an average of 9 tests a year for 10 years with near 90% win rate (in one year that plummeted to a shameful 70%). If Brüssouw is a good student, and tunes out the odd over-excited member of the crowd, he could be as good. Open your eyes man. "Australasian trait to worship the Crusaders ... not the Gods you and your fellow roarers seem to think" And grow up.