Just a quick update on the Australian Provincial Rugby Championship (APRC) – the head-to-head, Australian teams-only competition run under the cover of Super Rugby.
At the end of Super Rugby Round 10, and at the start of a three-week hiatus in the ARPC, the standings are as follows:
ARPC table
Since last reporting after Round 7, the Waratahs remain on top, despite losing their only game to the Force, who have moved up to second from third after a win against the Reds and last week’s loss to the Rebels. In their only recent game, the Brumbies beat the Reds and remain well in the hunt. The Rebels’ win against the Force has moved them off the bottom at the expense of the Reds, who are having a poor season.
The Waratahs look to have a healthy advantage at this stage with a game in hand against their closest rivals the Force. Their strong start – with bonus point wins against the Force, Reds and Rebels – holds them in very good stead, as the competition has tightened considerably and bonus points will be hard to find in the coming games.
The ARPC will recommence in Round 14, with the Reds vs Rebels. The Rebels are to play two more games before the June international break, facing the Tahs in Melbourne (Round 15) and the Brumbies in Canberra (Round 16).
Some food for thought – compare the table above with the Super Rugby Australian conference following Round 10.
Super Rugby table Round 10
The imbalance in games played in the APRC table makes direct comparisons difficult, however some observations can be made.
The Brumbies, Tahs and Force are doing very well against SA and NZ teams so far and, given they now have more games against the other conference teams than Australian teams, this is a positive for their Super ambitions. However, both the Force and Brumbies have yet to go to Africa.
The Reds and Rebels are probably out of both competitions, but the two games they play each other will go a long way to determining who gets the wooden spoons.
With the Rebels still to go to Africa, it may be that even if the Rebels can shade them in the APRC, the Reds will still avoid last place in the Super conference.
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