Super Rugby Round 14: Aussie team of the week

Another week of mixed results for Australian Super Rugby teams. The Reds continued their recent form. The Force showed their usual grit early but unfortunately never really looked in the contest.

The Brumbies were disappointing and the Waratahs were fantastic.

Looking beyond just the Australian teams, there were a number of close games and really good contests across the board. I can only hope we are still getting such entertaining contests and upsets this far into future seasons.

This week there have been the occasional ‘upsets’ from lesser known players but also others who have tightened their stranglehold on a spot.

1. Benn Robinson
I was mighty surprised so many more scrum-learned Roarers picked Robinson as a leading candidate for a Wallaby spot last week. However, I have to admit he played one of his best games of the season on the weekend.

The Waratahs scrum struggled at times against the Lions but from what I could tell Robbo did alright overall and also around the park. Stats say he pilfered one turnover but it was two by my count.

2. Stephen Moore
Not much competition for this spot to be honest. I think Tatafu had a bit of a shocker and in fact seems to be getting worse, not better, as the season drags on. I wanted Nathan Charles to do better and snare this spot but he just didn’t do enough to usurp Squeaky. Pat Leafa was probably the next best.

3. Laurie Weeks
I must admit that this is harder to pick than Mike Harris’ nose. Stats never tell the story for props and the scrum is such a team effort that it’s difficult to recognise the contribution of individuals. You’ve also got to figure in the quality of the opposition – do I rate a player that demolished a poor opposition scrum higher than a player that just held their own against a quality one?

Although Reds tighthead Greg Holmes was probably one of the better players for the Reds – and bagged himself a rare try – I’ll give it to Weeks this week.

4. Will Skelton
Twelve carries for 47 metres, three defenders beaten, eight tackles (none missed) including some big ones and one turnover won – the big guy just keeps getting better. He still makes mistakes and I think some late losses in the tackle are fatigue related but he stamps himself on the game and one of the easier picks this week.

5. Luke Jones
James Horwill was widely derided after the weekends loss but I think this reflects more on his post match interview comments and the Reds overall than his personal game. He racked up some pretty good stats and is obviously still deeply passionate and giving his all.

Nevertheless I can’t overlook his role as captain and so this week am awarding the spot to the golden boy of the moment, Luke Jones.

6. Colby Fainga’a
Playing against his brother must inspire Colby because he seems to have the wood on them. Never as noticeable to me as a guy like Angus Cottrell but gee he gets through some work. Twelve carries for 42 metres, four defenders beaten, two clean breaks, offloads, seven tackles, none missed and one turnover won.

7. Matt Hodgson
Michael Hooper played pretty well but Hodgson had another screamer. The Force were amazing for the first twenty minutes or so continually repelling assaults on their tryline. Eventually things cracked for them but I feel bad for the Force because they battled so hard.

As usual their captain was at the vanguard. I won’t quote his stats – I know I get in trouble from readers for doing that too much.

8. Ben McCalman
I thought Wycliffe Palu had probably his best game of the season but Ben was better. Stood beside his captain in repelling wave after wave of attack with 16 tackles (one less than Hodgo) but also made a staggering 19 carries.

9 Luke Burgess
Very sad to see Luke leaving the field late in the game in what appears to be a season-ending injury. He has been much maligned and is not your traditional scrum half but I thought was the best of the bunch on the weekend.

Will Genia seems to have forgotten the basics. I remember when he came on the scene I’d heard he could bench press more than any other Red and he combined that with a bit of pace and a lot of nous and was a complete player. When does his pace or strength ever come into play now?

I noticed some of the other halfbacks like Prior on the weekend, if they were to take a couple of steps after picking up the ball, they did in a ‘round the corner’ fashion and ended running at the line when they passed it. There mightn’t be a hole for them but that straightening fixes the defence and makes it easier for whoever they are passing to.

To be fair though Genia, his rivals were all were pretty reasonable on the weekend and this was therefore another close call – but I’m giving it to Luke.

10 Bernard Foley
Cracking game from Foley on the weekend. And it isn’t just chance that it coincides with a good one from Kurtley Beale as well. At his best – and I noticed this earlier in the season – Foley adds some structure to the helter-skelter that the Waratahs can be tempted to descend into.

He carried the ball 20 times on the weekend – way more than the other fly-halves – but also never seems to hog it and his defence was pretty good too.

Commiserations to Quade Cooper and his fans. Like all Wallaby fans, I await eagerly the squad and team announcements from Link and this is not the twist anyone would have wanted.

11 Rob Horne
I’ve picked Rob a few times in this team and I think he is now at the stage where he has done enough to earn himself another Wallaby spot. If not in the run-on side then at the very least he is a more than handy utility back.

Someone commented that Rob still plays a bit like a centre playing on the wing and there is some truth in that but at the same time he is attacking and solid both on defence and attack. And he goes looking for work too. Nine carries for more than 100 metres, including two tries, speaks for itself.

Everyones favourite Nick Cummins is pencilled in for one wing spot by most pundits but seems to have blinders followed by quiet ones. At the moment I’d probably go for Cummins on one wing and Horne on the other but both are far from certainties.

12 Kurtley Beale
Beale has had higher number of carries stats before but this week combined it with straighter running and earlier passing. And the whole team looks so much better when he does this. Defence has been the other lingering issue and I think will be the main question mark hanging over the head when Link comes to picking the Wallaby team.

13 Adam Ashley-Cooper
Kuridrani continues to disappoint for me this season but continues to be mentioned as the Wallaby starting 13 more on the basis of historical performances and because he looks the part than anything else. For mine Adam has been far and away the better outside centre this season and yet, more often than not, when he is mentioned in the Wallaby team, is mentioned as a wing.

I have been critical of him in the past but he is in a purple patch at the moment and I think Wallaby selectors have got to make the best of that.

The next best outside centre on the weekend I thought was probably Chris Tuatara-Morrison. I know he is born in New Zealand but think he is eligible for Australia. It is not that he is going to be picked in the Wallaby side this week but if he continues to play like he did he will earn a bit more attention.

14 Henry Speight
Bit of a quiet week for right wingers yet again. Nobody had a real blinder so I’m giving this to Speight who showed in his return game from a broken jaw that it won’t take him long to be back to his best and sure to be in Wallaby colours by the end of the year. In fact all the Brumbies appeared to be in Wallaby gold already on the weekend.

PS. I know Speight is technical ineligible for this list because he is not yet Australian – but he will be soon.

15 Israel Folau
Nuff said.

So by the time this article is out we will no doubt be a day or so away from the Wallaby squad announcement. It’s been a fun exercise to compile this team each week. One of the objectives was to get an idea of the form of players over the course of the season.

While many selections are still line-ball, it is clear that there is at least one newcomer in pretty compellingly good form (Luke Jones), and possibly another (Will Skelton).

And that some mainstays and players that looked good last season have for whatever reason not delivered this season. I won’t rename them here.

I don’t envy the job of Wallaby selectors. Like many Australian rugby fans, I’ll now wait for the announcement with my fingers hovering menacingly over the keyboard.