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Come Saturday night I was in the precarious position of relying on the Waratahs to provide the shining light for Australian Super Rugby fans over the weekend. I wasn’t holding my breath.
Like Phil Kearns said, often an early try can be the worst thing for a team and it looked for half the game like that was the case and my hopes would be dashed. But unbelievably they stole victory from the jaws of defeat and as a result many of them have won their way into the team below.
Here is my team of the week for Round 12 of the 2014 Super Rugby season.
1. Benn Robinson
The Waratahs scrum did struggle at times. In fact I think the Rebels scrum probably performed best against a heavy Sharks pack. But Benn – who hasn’t featured previously in this series of articles – had his best game of the season.
Pretty fair involvement around the park which is not something I’ve often said about gentle Benn.
2. Stephen Moore
As I commented during the week, this is one of only two positions in the Wallaby squad that is never up for debate and Squeaky showed why again on the weekend. A real nuisance at the breakdown as usual and ran 77 metres. Next best among Aussie hookers was four metres from Saia Fainga’a.
3. Ben Alexander
Yes, after months of Super Rugby and props rising and falling, I’ve ended up picking the two Bens in a team. Ben ran almost one hundred metres and that’s a stat a winger would be happy with.
4. Scott Fardy
I thought the two best Aussie locks on the weekend were James Horwill and Luke Jones but they both played at 5. If I’m picking a 4, I will go for Scott. He didn’t have his best game but a little better than Cadeyrn Neville and Rob Simmons.
5. James Horwill
Each week I try to ensure I judge guys like Will Genia and Horwill against their peers as opposed to the level I know they are capable of. This week I thought Horwill was back up around that level.
Luke Jones was again good and indeed had more carries for a lot more metres than Horwill but James more than doubled him in the tackle count. Sam Carter and Kane Douglas were solid but it’s great to see the former Wallaby captain coming good.
6. Dave Dennis
Second week in a row I’ve selected Dave Dennis after panning him but his numbers are just too compelling alongside the other blindsides this week.
Twelve carries including a try at the end of a strong albeit short run plus 14 tackles. Only Hooper and Phipps had more tackles of all the Australian players this round. Credit where it’s due.
7. Michael Hooper
I thought Liam Gill had a good first game back but Hooper was again compelling. Topped the Aussie tackle count and a good number of runs and metres. While Dave Dennis won his way into this team this week, I’m still at one with the chorus calling for Hooper to be made captain.
8. Jake Schatz
In a field that includes Cliff Palu, Scott Higginbotham and Ben Mowen, what’s Schatz done to win himself this spot? Well he had more carries than any other Australian player (20) and a pretty respectable 11 tackles, missing none.
9. Nick Phipps
I thought Will Genia was a lot better this week and Nic White was his usual bustling self but Phipps takes the honours. Tackled his heart out against some big, running Hurricane players and pretty good getting to the breakdown and clearing quickly.
10. Bernard Foley
As the only winning Australian team this weekend, it’s perhaps no surprise that I’m picking more than the usual number of Waratahs. I thought Foley was much more impressive than in the previous few weeks.
Partly I think that might have been because of Beale who seemed to not overplay his hand so much and to my eye was trying consciously to straighten and offload earlier.
I really think Foley could develop into a very fine flyhalf. It would be very interesting to see how he went in a more structured team like the Brumbies.
11. Rob Horne
I’m a big fan of Robbie Coleman and I thought he went pretty well again on the weekend. The New Zealand commentators had a few good things to say about him which is always a good sign in my books.
But Rob Horne continues to impress. He scored one try and missed what was in the end a very difficult chance to score a try another. He runs himself out of room at times which perhaps shows a relative lack of experience on the wing but he goes looking for the ball and tackles with abandon.
12. Kurtley Beale
Another I panned last week but really lifted his game this week. I’m sure the coaching staff had a word to him as you could almost see him telling himself to run straight and curb the crazy stuff. Not only did Kurtley look better but the whole team did.
Mitch Inman also played well again and justified my calls for him to be in the Wallaby squad.
13. Adam Ashley-Cooper
Tevita Kuridrani was good, Ben Tapuai made some good runs but Adam Ashley-Cooper was better.
14. Joseph Tomane
Matt Carraro has some claim to this spot this week. He made more tackles than Joe, beat more defenders and scored a try. But Joe had more than double the number of carries and I just think looks more dangerous and had a better all-round game than Matt.
15. Israel Folau
Unexpectedly tough call on fullback this week. If he was eligible I would probably have picked Jason Woodward who is almost always impressive. Mike Harris and Jesse Mogg look a lot better on the stats sheet than they did to the naked eye.
While Folau was again held quiet, he was pretty solid at the back, fielded a few tricky high balls and gets the nod again from me.
So there you have it. A vastly different look team to previous efforts. Also a lot more enjoyable to compile than most of the rugby viewing on the weekend.
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.