The Rugby Championship: The Big Questions grand finale

So the Rugby Championship has wrapped up for another year and yeah, yeah, that mob in black across the Tasman has claimed the title for the third successive season. Greedy sods.

I can’t even really say we saw a couple of upsets in the final round last weekend, because South Africa were always going to be a chance at Ellis Park, and Argentina have long been due their maiden TRC win.

Biltong, Digger, and I have decided to really go out on a bang with the final edition of the Big Questions, which will wrap up the forum. Plus, after a hasty exchange of emails between the three countries, we have also selected the Big Questions Team of the Rugby Championship, which was an interesting exercise in selection and horse-trading.

Personally, I want to thank my two eager co-contributors for making this forum the success it’s been every Friday for the duration of TRC. I never once had to chase either of them for copy, with questions more often than not coming in before the reminder.

If the editors let us, I’d love to resurrect the forum again 2015.

The guys will have their say today in the comments, but I also extend the thanks to everyone who got involved along the way, be that in response to something we put forward, new questions, or even just telling us how much you enjoyed the forum. It really has been an enjoyable series.

So, for one last time…

Brett McKay asks: What was your biggest surprise of the tournament?
It’s very easy to say the Argentinean scrum on its own, but I think Los Pumas overall have been the big surprise packets. I mentioned in the intro that their win over the Wallabies should hardly be seen as an upset, because they really should’ve beaten the Springboks in Salta back in August.

In fact, they probably should’ve won games last year, too.

I mentioned earlier in the tournament that what I like about the Pumas is that they play a really simple game really well. Their scrum is clearly their strength, and they used it as an attacking weapon regardless of whether they had the feed.

But they were hard at the breakdown all tournament, too. If they didn’t have the ball, they had a crack at any slight glimpse of it in the ruck, and competed until they got it. And when they did get it, they played a wonderfully expansive but ad lib game as if it was the last play of the match.

They’re a wonderful addition to the Rugby Championship, and now that they’re back into the world top 10, I can see them really causing headaches in the coming years.

Digger: The All Blacks losing (Joking. Sort of. Still hurts…)

I would have to say the performance of the Wallabies. From afar, I thought this was a team on the up and expected bigger things from them but they really have faded badly in this tournament.

I appreciate injuries played a part along with ‘peripheral’ issues that must have been unsettling but overall they have been disappointing in my view and look to have a lot of issues to resolve moving forward.

Biltong: The Argentinean scrum. We all know Argentina has traditionally been strong in the pack, but the way they monstered the Springbok scrum in the early stages of the tournament was totally unexpected and phenomenal.

Diggercane asks: Nominate your pick for the best player of the Championship and why?
An easy selection for me: Duane Vermeulen.

The intensity and physical presence he brings to the Springbok pack must be inspirational, and to turn in an 80-minute performance like he did at Ellis Park, after being under an injury cloud all week (and requiring a cortisone injection, I am led to believe) was the stuff of legend. Outstanding tournament from the big number 8 and surely must be in consideration for World Rugby player of the year if his form continues through the balance of the international season.

And dare I say it, a future Springbok captain?

Biltong: You have to look at who made the biggest impact for each team, and then on the tournament as a whole, and in my mind there is only one player. Duane Vermeulen.

Without South Africa’s first choice backrow, Vermeulen had to step up and take more responsibility in the tight exchanges and breakdowns. Even under an injury cloud, his work rate was incredible and he was the rock for South Africa.

It is his general work rate and effectiveness that puts him at the top, he is in the top ten for the tournament in line out takes, carries, tackles and defenders beaten.

Brett: Vermeulen is a standout – I suspect Digger knew that when he asked the question!

So I’ll throw Nicolas Sanchez into the discussion too, just because. Sanchez has been the difference for Argentina this year, taking them from being a competitive unit in recent seasons, to the side they are now, capable of beating just about anyone on their day.

Biltongbek asks: What was your try of the tournament?
Digger: Perhaps because it is fresh (and painful) in the memory but I would opt for South Africa’s first try from the Ellis Park Test, which was an 80-metre effort finished off by Francois Hougaard.

Not only a stunning effort but in hindsight a pivotal moment in the match for the Springboks that not only showed they were willing to play expansively but could convert opportunities.

I felt it took a while for the All Blacks to adapt defensively to the pace of the Boks in that first half, with the Springbok outsides finding quite a bit of space on the outsides in that first half.

Biltong: I will go with Diggercane on this one. It is seldom you see South Africa score 80-metre tries, it has become a more regular feature these days that they are prepared to attack from deep. The fact that they were under pressure, saw the space, executed the move, and most importantly made a statement.

Brett: That try of Hougaard’s was great, but there’s been heaps of cracking tries this year. As good as Hougaard’s was, I could point to several others just as good.

Rob Horne’s match-winner against South Africa in Perth was a beauty, Cornal Hendricks’ against New Zealand in Wellington was superb, and Manuel Montero’s effort against the Wallabies on the Gold Coast was maybe the best individual try of them all.

The one I’ve gone for as the best was Kieran Read’s against Australia at Eden Park. It started with a turnover deep in All Blacks territory, went wide through several sets of hands before Julian Savea found some space. About 30 metres out, Savea kicked off the outside of his right foot back infield, where Malakai Fekitoa regathered yet somehow was stopped short.

Sam Whitelock and Read both arrived at the back of the ruck around the same time, and Whitelock had the smarts to motion to Read to stay out. Whitelock picks up the ball, draws the defender, and offloads to Read to crash over. Brilliant team try.

The Big Questions Team of the Rugby Championship
1. James Slipper (Aus)
2. Dane Coles (NZ)
3. Ramiro Herraro (Arg)
4. Brodie Retallick (NZ)
5. Sam Whitelock (NZ)
6. Marcell Coetzee (RSA)
7. Richie McCaw (NZ – Captain)
8. Duane Vermeulen (RSA)
9. Aaron Smith (NZ)
10. Handre Pollard (RSA)
11. Julian Savea (NZ)
12. Jan Serfontein (RSA)
13. Tevita Kuridrani (Aus)
14. Adam Ashley-Cooper (Aus)
15. Ben Smith (NZ)

This proved to be an interesting exercise on several fronts. We decided up front we’d avoid picking blokes out of position (unless we had no option), and that three votes would be required for automatic selection. In the end, only six of the 15 selection required any degree of debate. I have to admit this was a surprisingly low number.

Those generating the debate were: Coles, Coetzee, Serfontein, Kuridrani, Ashley-Cooper, and Ben Smith.

At hooker, Digger won us over by saying, “Coles for mine has had a very consistent tournament and has greatly improved from last year. Lineout throwing is spot on and he has greatly improved his physicality in tight to compliment his already impressive work rate across the park and skills with ball in hand.” Bismarck du Plessis and Agustin Creevey were the honourable mentions.

Flanker was a hot field, which included Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe and Schalk Burger, with Biltong rightly reasoning that while Fernandez Lobbe and Burger were excellent in patches, “Marcell Coetzee had a high work rate throughout the competition.”

The centres and fullback were tough picks, with several strong but not necessarily outstanding options. Of the three selected, we all picked two of them, so some shuffling resulted in Serfontein (who Biltong rightly pointed played mainly at 12, despite wearing 13) and Kuridrani in the centres, and Smith at fullback. Juan Martin Hernandez was the unlucky player.

This meant we just needed a right winger, and while Cornal Hendricks was a handful in attack, we all had concerns around his defence, and the guys further agreed with my point that Ashley-Cooper was “just the most consistent of all the 14s.”

Rugby diplomacy at its best…