You can’t give codehopper Karmichael Hunt an accurate Super Rugby rating after that woeful Reds performance.
That was the coach and player post-match response after the Reds’ 47-3 thumping at the hands of the Brumbies in Canberra on Friday night.
With the Reds forwards severely outmuscled by a more enthusiastic Brumbies pack, Hunt had little opportunity to shine – let alone steer the ship – in his debut at five-eighth.
“The Brumbies were just on their game,” Hunt said.
“They definitely cut down our space with their line speed.”
His opposite Matt Toomua on the other hand had the ball on a string and directed the Brumbies with aplomb.
He ran through Hunt in the second half to score the Brumbies’ third of six tries, not to mention giving him one of his trademark bone-rattlers in the 11th minute.
“But (Hunt) got me back later in the game and I lost the ball, so he squared it up,” Toomua said.
“The possession stats were heavily in our favour, which makes it very hard for a No.10, let alone a guy playing his first game.”
Brumbies coach and World Cup-winning five-eighth Stephen Larkham said the dominance of his forwards meant Hunt “didn’t feature too much”.
“He wasn’t really a threat in attack, because our defence was so good in that area,” Larkham said.
“Defensively, he was very solid. He put some big shots on, but it’s very difficult when the weight of possession is against you.”
Reds coach Richard Graham said the game “was a bit bigger than Karmichael”.
“There were 15 guys in red jerseys under a bit of pressure, and it’s hard to come back and discuss any one performance,” he said.
Even Hunt declined to give himself a self-assessment.
“You can’t really judge on that. We’ve just got to regroup now,” he said.
In the dressing sheds, Hunt told his Reds teammates that they had to find a way to put that performance behind them.
“You have to. I’ve been on the back end of some pretty bad results, in AFL and league, and the only way out of it is having the right attitude on Monday,” he said.
Hunt and his Reds teammates will now turn their attention towards taking on the Western Force in Brisbane next Saturday.
dano
Guest
I can't understand all the palava about Hunt. He has alot of playing to do before he demonstrates that he should be in the Wallabies squad and the Reds on merit. Another victory for public relations over form.
RobC
Roar Guru
Players ok. problem is how they play. A little hint. what is the position of the other Aussie team captains? Reds is taking a sandwich approach the rucking issue
WAYNE
Guest
I`m a reds fan and seriously i could only pick 3 REDS in my wallaby 30 squad. .Genia is back to his old ways slow to breakdowns wont get dirty at the ruck,no sniping runs, box kicking, Horwill looks bigger and fit but whats with the angry pills and infringements?? ..Maybe he was frustrated with the lack of effort and ticker around him ( apart from Slipper and a lesser extent Gill ) ..SCHATZ, HANSON, O`DONOHUE, BROWNING were terrible...
gg
Guest
The main issue for Reds is not the backs - its the forwards! Until the Reds pack are consistently dominant or at least have parity in the set pieces and breakdown the backs can't win games consistently for them. It's the same with the Wallabies but we seem to spend most of our time debating about the backs. In the world cup it doesn't matter what backline we play against England unless the forwards at least match the English pack in set pieces and breakdown.
Lenny
Guest
The forwards are HOPLESS PASSIVE SLOW UNFIT i dont know ( ESPECIALLY THE BACKROW) ROBC.... SCHATZ continues to underwhelm and Browning is not big enough.. Gill Slipper only two who played well enough, Hanson had a shocker when he came on for Faaingaa....Thompson needs to rushed straight in and if fit BEAU needs to be there starting too... Can we give TONGAN THOR a go at 6 or 8 or 3 or 12 or 13 he cant do any worse than that rabble that was out there...The paper thin defence out wide OMFG that was ATROCIOUS...
Hoy
Roar Guru
All very pertinent questions... What is worse, myself and those I talk to (amongst many other non-experts), could see how bad Graham was going to be, and predicted how he has turned out... before he even picked up his clipboard over on the East. Not saying I am a seer or anything, but it was plain as day he is not a very good coach right now. It upsets me that we have to tread water with this bloke at the helm. Now I don't know what he was doing at the Force that Reds power brokers liked, but it was a mad decision then to hire him, and I have never heard a single justification for his hiring. To continue will cost membership. The fans won't cop terrible performances. Losses can be acceptable, but terrible performances will turn people off faster than old milk.
Buzzard
Guest
The Reds forwards were disgraceful. Liam Gill was no good. Apart from Slipper the Reds forwards are powder puffs, but the real problem is the coach Richard Graham! He has no idea & the Reds have gone backwards at serious knots since his arrival. After seeing the Rebels, Brumbies & Force in action the Reds will finish last just behind the Tahs in the Oz conference. I have to admit......the Brumbies look the goods.
Bakkies
Guest
Mentally in recent matches O'Connor has been poor in both positions
rugbyboy
Guest
K hunt begged the coach for the job and now disowns the result! Sorry K, u can't have it both ways.....
RobC
Roar Guru
K in the headlines. He had nothing to do with the loss: - Same for Sanchez. - They, QC JOC Kerevi wont make any diff - Game was lost by the forwards, and forwards leadership. You can bring in Julian Savea, Aaron Smith, Beauden Barrett for the Reds into that match. They would have been smashed all the same.
toa
Guest
If you’re happy to claim from my reasoning the requirement of 2 influential ball players that you suggest at 12 & 15, then who fills in at 10? And whoever plays 10 would be taking instructions from 12 or 15. I'm not arguing with you either you’re patronizing the reader or you truly believe that part of JOC influence at 15 can hamper the direction of his teammates. If I was to agree with you then neither 10 nor 15 is his position. I’m banking on JOC to undertake the role of either 10 or 15 purely on the basis of his mental reformation - the Reds need substance & a cool hand. Without knowing inside information I am certainly giving him the benefit of doubt. Hunt doesn’t need more time to be proven a 10 he needs an understudy or become the 2IC where he/someone else can roam around creating the position & shape that requires short/deep/shallow and open side raids defensively & offensively.
Marty
Guest
I've said it before, I'll say it again. Best thing that happened to the Force was Richard Graham joining the reds.
Qldfan
Roar Rookie
Didn't Frisby stand in as 10 last year? And didn't he do more than a good enough job? KH did NOT do ok, Peter, imo. It's no use blaming those around him, he (KH) didn't even know what to do next, so the others can have no idea what's coming. As others have said, No. 9 can't do much behind a pack like that, plus imo, the ref was somewhat biased against the Reds at times. I doubt that Horwill is so stupid as to behave the way the ref was interpreting his actions. There was one occasion when Horwill was struggling to get out of the ruck when being held down by at least 2 Brums forwards, yet was pinged for not rolling away.
Daz
Guest
I rest your case. 15 is JOC's best position and it has other benefits including him not destroying team morale. 12 is Hunts. What are we arguing about?
Clueless
Guest
Well said! The coach can't be entirely to blame for basic player errors, but he has to own the attitude and gameplay, there wasn't much of either. Hunt was ok for a bloke that was thrust into the key playmakers role first game back. He needs time to get back into rugby, that said 10 probably isn't his position. I like the idea of him at 12 though. A stint at 15 to gets his rugby brain and instincts working before moving him into the frontline and we will see a different player emerge.
Squirrel
Guest
Should have spent Hunts money on a forward pack. How can the wallabies carry so many reds forwards. It's a farce.
toa
Guest
You’re all over the place if you think JOC best serve at fullback simply because of the stigma that’s label him a pest. The objective is to provide 2 dominant ball players that can process information both instinctively & structurally. Kamichael has a track record of ensuring the structure shape is positioned correctly regardless if he plays 10 or 15, flat or deep, wide or short. The game plan needs authoritive & dominant thinkers to work within that scope, outside of Hunt on Friday night there was no one.
AJ
Guest
Experiment? JOC was not available on Friday. the only other option was the rookie or maybe Frisby. None of it matters anyway when your forwards are completely unprepared for the onslaught. Geez who would've thought that the Brumbies or any other franchise's gameplan vs Reds might be to knock the soft forwards off upfront. I couldn't bring myself to watch again but thought that the ref seemed way harsh and personally focussed on one player, but there's no arguing who had the ascendency. Reds- Too soft, too slow.
peter hughes
Guest
Agree but better Q's are - Why did Queensland 2 yrs ago employ the coach with the worst record in Super Rugby? - After last years terrible season why did they renew his contract? - Why is he still coaching Queensland ? - Who is responsible for these appalling decisions?
peter hughes
Guest
K Hunt did ok imo. He was one of the Reds best players. And he's doing great considering - he's trying to learn the hardest gig in Rugby. - he's playing under the worst coach in Super Rugby. - he was behind a well beaten pack going backwards. No flyhalf will do great with R. Graham as coach & behind that forward pack. Rather than concentrating on K Hunt people should be asking why did Genia & Horwill play so poorly again