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The squads have been announced for the first sudden death semi-final of the 2011 Super Rugby competition – the Queensland Reds versus the Auckland Blues.
Comparing the players in the five key positions (hooker, No. 8, half back, fly half and fullback) and adding open side flanker to this list, the Reds dominate in four positions and the and Blues in two.
(I have added open side flanker to this group, as both teams will need quick ball to play the game they have selected players to play.)
Hooker: Faingaa versus Mealamu – Mealamu.
Mealamu will be the All Blacks starting hooker and has been playing great rugby for a long time. He is also a very very good leader. Faingaa is the third ranked hooker in Australia at best. Both are great around the park.
Mealamu’s three not straights in 156 throws (considered to be a more accurate thrower) has been surpassed by Faingaa’s one not straight from 120 throws this season. Mealamu is also a proven try scorer from close to the line.
Open side flanker: Robinson versus Braid – Robinson.
Robinson has been a revelation this season when given the chance, and, more importantly, made to feel that he had a real shot at holding his place. This was never the case in NSW. Robinson has been playing like a man on death row.
He was.
Now that he has been rewarded with a two-year deal, it will be interesting to see if he can maintain his motivation. A World Cup call up should be enough to get the best out of him.
I suspect that his tireless performances for Waringah over the years and his recent tough few years have made the man and the player. McKenzie is on record saying that he likes players who have had to overcome some hurdles in their lives.
Braid is in outstanding form and with Todd is the form New Zealand open side. He is tall for an open side at 1.92cms and is still young at 22 years old. His work-rate is excellent in both attack and defence. Last week he made 11 runs, two tackle busts and 16 tackles.
Robinson has four pilfers to Braid’s one this season. Both have very good backups on the bench. Robinson will hand over to Gill and Braid to his brother, Daniel.
Robinson just shades Braid on the basis of his work at the breakdown rather than Braid’s superior work around the park.
Number 8: Higginbotham verus Kaino – Higginbotham.
This is a clash of the Titans. Higginbotham has it all and is just learning to use it. Big and very quick, he has terrorised defences. He has six tries to Kaino’s zero, 42 lineout wins to Kaino’s 26, 10 linebreaks to Kaino’s zero.
Kaino has made 151 tackles to Higginbotham’s 99 with 16 and 19 missed tackles respectively.
The beauty of Higginbotham is that he doesn’t score his tries from the base of a ruck one metre from the try line. He stands up wingers and outpaces cover defenders from 20-25 metres out.
Higginbotham wins this match up clearly. This is no disrespect to Kaino. He too is an excellent player.
Half back: Genia versus Mathewson – Genia.
This is a no brainer. Genia is the fulcrum of the Queensland Reds rugby team and the 2011 Wallabies team. His recent statistics show that he has underplayed his hand. Few runs, few, but telling tackles. Without him, the whole team falters.
Mathewson has scored six tries to Genia’s three, they are equal on 69 runs, 61 tackles to Genia’s 70 and very similar minutes played, 1109 to 1271 for Genia.
If the Blues can shutdown Cooper, Ioane, Tapuai, Anthony Faingaa and Higginbotham, Genia will unleash his attack to take the pressure off his teammates.
Fly half: Cooper versus Brett – Cooper.
I fully expected that Brett would be the back up for Daniel Carter and that his move from the Crusaders was a good one. He has yet to dominate. Cooper is the player that Brett has not yet become. Such form can be tenuous, but at the moment and for the past two seasons, the planets have aligned for Cooper, with Genia’s support.
Fullback: Payne versus Lance – Payne.
McKenzie has plucked Fullbacks from nowhere before. Just ask Peter Hewitt. Payne has been consistently good in 2011, albeit with a slight drop in form as the team dropped its bundle in the latter rounds. Payne wins this by a mile.
Finally, there is the unaccountable, the unpredictable the genius that lurks amongst the other nine players. Rene Ranger, Joe Rokocoko and Radike Samo are three such players.
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.