I loved watching the rise and rise of the Reds from their disaster and failures to being the strongest side in Australia.
The team was built on an outstanding bunch of youngsters who were picked by Phil Mooney in his efforts to repair the burning wreck Eddie Jones left behind him.
Mooney must be applauded for his selections and his playing style which, although unsuccessful, resulted in playing great attacking rugby that was wonderful to watch.
This was the mixture that Ewan McKenzie built upon with such skill and mastery.
He brought order and structure and a cast iron defence to a group of youngsters hungry for victories and what a team they were – emphasis on were!
I wish to state at this point that the Reds are not a spent force, far from it, but they are not the outrageous attacking team they were a couple of seasons ago.
That role has been taken up by the Brumbies, they are playing a similar style to the Reds of 2010-11.
The Reds have also suffered many injuries to key players Horwill, Genia and Cooper.
Of these Cooper seems to be the slowest in coming back, Genia has been outstanding in his couple of games this season and Horwill looked good to me in his first outing.
Cooper seems like a player only partly interested in the game and although I am enjoying his underplayed hand and his improved defence, if he wants to be the number one fly half in Australia he needs to do more creative attacking, and soon.
Ewen can take great pride in what he achieved, but the sunset is approaching and several here on the Roar recognise the signs of a team losing its pizzaz.
It won’t be this year but it will be next if something doesn’t change.
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.
Les Kiss identified the most significant change made since his arrival at the Reds to being his diverse and highly qualified assistants.
The Western Force and Melbourne Rebels will kick off the seventh season of Super Rugby Women’s in Perth. Meanwhile, the Waratahs welcome the Brumbies…
After three losses, the Crusaders are not the powerhouse of previous seasons, while Rugby Australia is set for a new Chief Operations Officer to overcome financial issues.
The benefits of a rugby centralisation model will be streamlined development, a united front, and becoming a rugby powerhouse on the global stage.
After eight rounds of Super Rugby Pacific, there are clear parallels between the table and what we see out on the field. They’re observations…
Three rounds into the new Super Rugby Pacific season, it feels like things are falling into their natural place and every team can pretty…
