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The 2014 Super Rugby competition kicked off over the weekend, with the Waratahs giving the Force a touch-up on a sunny Sydney Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, the Reds showed the Brumbies they have some work to do if they want to go one better than their finals appearance last season.
Waratahs v Force
It was a good opening to season 2014 for the Waratahs but the Force did a lot to make them look impressive.
Yes, a team can only play the opposition they’re facing on the day, but Michael Cheika’s excitement will be tempered by the knowledge the Waratahs won’t face many teams this year that give his side such freedom to play.
Israel Folau was the standout player in the match with three tries but the reality is most of the work for each of those tries was done by others.
That would have pleased Cheika, with most players contributing well. I’m convinced Folau is going to keep getting even better.
Wycliff Palu, Peter Betham and Alofa Alofa all caught my attention and Paddy Ryan did some good work before his yellow card.
Will Skelton has certainly got a lot of people excited and he’s got a lot of potential. His physicality was good in this match but he really needs to improve his body height, particularly when carrying the ball – he is far too upright.
Even though he’s a big man, getting lower as he goes into contact will make him even more effective.
Benn Robinson still doesn’t seem to have found a technique that will work for him under the new scrummaging laws – he can’t get under the opposing tighthead prop as he used to and he’s not the force he once was at scrum time.
Michael Hooper’s attack was good as usual and he defends very well for a smaller man.
The rest of the Waratahs forward pack was good without overly impressing me.
What can I say about the Force that sounds slightly positive?
Not much about the game plan, because I couldn’t see any semblance of one. Their defence was ordinary, their realignment was poor and their support play in attack was lacking.
No, I’ve got nothing positive to say about the Force so I’ll stop there.
Brumbies v Reds
The Brumbies disappointed me in their match against the Reds – their game plan showed no sign of evolution from last season, despite the suggestions coming out of Brumby headquarters during the off season.
I have nothing against a territory-based game plan but there needs to be variety in any game plan (unless it’s wet).
The same can be said of the Reds, particularly in the second half, when they tried to play from their own half a little too much and needed to kick earlier when in possession at times.
The Reds showed last season they’re a team that competes very well in a scrap but can be vulnerable in defence when a match opens up a little.
The Brumbies did very little to see if they could open the Reds up with some high-tempo rugby. If they had tried it and it didn’t work, they could always have reverted to the original plan but they seemed to persist with ‘Plan A’ all night.
The Reds’ attack in the first half was very good and Quade Cooper started the season looking in very good form, as did Will Gena.
Aidan Toua and Lachie Turner offered Cooper some nice options and their combination with him looks promising at this early stage of the season.
The Reds forward pack outplayed the Brumbies. James Horwill and Rob Simmons were both very good and Liam Gill stood out over David Pocock, although Pocock did very well coming back after his knee injury.
Henry Speight looked threatening for the Brumbies, while Matt Toomua was solid without doing anything to change my view he’s better suited at #12 when Christian Lealiifano returns.
Nic White and Jesse Mogg both made crucial mistakes throughout the match, much the same as they did in the final against the Chiefs last year. However, I’m sure the Brumbies would have benefited from having White stay on the field longer than he did, as Conrad Hoffman looked lost in such a big match.
The Reds’ defence to hold out the Brumbies in the second half was outstanding and that capability to hang tough in close matches will make them a very tough opponent throughout the season.
I tipped the Brumbies to win this match and I’m sure they’ll bounce back strongly this week.
My big tip for this week – don’t follow my tips. I managed a paltry four from 10 across Super Rugby and the Six Nations!
Stop jamming in!
One of the defensive mistakes I saw a number of teams make on the weekend was outside players jamming in on the ball carrier instead of trusting the defender inside them to make the tackle.
Defenders need to improve their communication and work with the player inside them and outside them to avoid this mistake or they provide the attacking team with undefended spaces to run in to.
Before I go on, should the term be ‘jambing’ or ‘jamming’? The term ‘jamb’ usually refers to the upright of a door while the term ‘jam’ is usually associated with strawberries and a jar. On those definitions the term ‘jamb’ seems more relevant.
However, the term ‘jamming’ is used in rock climbing to describe wedging a body part into a space or crack and that best fits what happens when a defender moves their body into a space inside them.
Here are four examples from the weekend where players ‘jamming in’ led to tries.
