"This game has descended into chaos" - What a week in rugby

It was a big weekend in rugby. I’ve got a few opinions about it all, which will surprise everyone.

Here are a few quick taps to see if I can get you on my wavelength.

That’s why they pay me the big bucks
Obviously Michael Cheika and the rest of the Waratahs squad read my column about the Waratahs’ mediocrity last week.

They suddenly learned how to catch and pass. The forwards laid waste. And the scrum got stronger as the game went, instead of weaker. Also an underrated improvement – Will Skelton seemed to get league-average height on a line out jump.

If someone on their staff wants to give me a buzz once a week I’ll continue to pass on my tips.

Even Israel Folau proved he could catch and pass better than his opposite-while-on-attack Tevita Kuridrani. And run. Some people have said Folau should now be considered for Wallabies 13 over Kuridrani.

I’d counter that by saying Kuridrani just showed all the flaws that Adam Ashley Cooper highlighted in his game last year until he hit form before the end of the year. It’s not the strength and size you need to worry about with Kuridrani, it’s the polish.

Seriously, it was an amazing improvement. We knew it was in ’em, after the number of times they mercilessly beat people senseless and then ran around their tired bodies last year.

Doing that against the Brumbies is no mean feat either. For the first time this year the Waratahs forwards bashed their opposition so thoroughly that by the time the ball was dished wide to Folau, Kurtley Beale et. al. the cover defence couldn’t crowd them out.

For the Brumbies, I think Scott Fardy – who was unlucky to be sent off – was probably the only forward who really matched it with Sekope Kepu, Wycliff Palu, Jacques Potgeiter and Michael Hooper in terms of work rate and moving bodies around.

Those Crusaders look ominous
A home game against the Cheetahs didn’t seem like a banana skin waiting to trip the Crusaders but that was a switch flicker of a performance.

Prior to this game the Crusaders looked like the team of early last year – pin the opposition back and work on their set piece until it crumbles.

While they did have scrum dominance in this game in the second half everything clicked and they were suddenly able to capitalise on every small mistake and make the opposition pay on the scoreboard.

They flicked the switch.

Look at the running metres for these three players: Israel Dagg 139m, Daniel Carter 110m and Nemani Nadoli 178m. The Crusaders are finally starting to use the platform built by their forwards. Colin Slade and Daniel Carter look like a version of the Bernard Foley and Kurtley Beale double-threat midfield axis at the Waratahs again. Carter even played without sustaining injury, which is a good sign. Hate to say it but the Crusaders might be coming good for another year. The Hurricanes will be made to work for it.

The Northern Hemisphere is bringing the chaos
“This game has descended into chaos,” was a line from the commentator at one point during Ireland’s win over Ireland.

Rob Kearney went for a good run at fullback, and then Sean O’Brien broke the line and made even more ground. Tommy Bowe burst onto the ball and was brought down just five metres short of the line. He looked to pop the ball up to a support player but Scotland’s Stuart Hogg intercepted it and went on a short run of his own.

That was the game descending into chaos.

A quick jab first and then onto the main point. Obviously Northern Hemisphere commentators aren’t used to expecting excellence from their rugby teams. (Ok, done.)

That chaos was actually a Northern Hemisphere team playing the kind of game that will win them a world cup next year. Yes, world cups, sometimes to their detriment, are usually tighter affairs at the pointy end.

Even when the Southern Hemisphere teams play.

However, a team needs to have the ability to break the game open during those pressure moments if they aim to dictate terms. That takes individual brilliance and good skills.

The likes of Rob Kearney and Sean O’Brien – who I think might be the best number seven in the world *ducks* – need to break games open for Ireland.

I’ve only highlighted Ireland here, but other Northern Hemisphere teams are discovering that gear.

England 55, France 35. I mean really. If you want to talk about descending into chaos, the men in their jackets and women in their dresses at Twickenham might have wondered if that was even rugby. If they’re not careful they might even enjoy Super Rugby!

We won’t even talk about the Wales versus Italy scoreline, people will think we’re crazy.

Don’t worry so much about the defence, that’s something that can be improved much quicker than the combinations, trust and belief in attack that these teams had.

Glad to hear he’s sorry
I’m glad the ARU took over the investigations into allegations of gay slurs reported by David Pocock during the Brumbies versus Waratahs game.

It sounds like they didn’t have to take things into their own hands as Super Rugby could have been relied upon to complete an investigation. But it was the right thing to do.

So credit where it’s due. Last year saw the ARU bungle investigations across the board but looking into the allegations quickly and punishing Jacques Potgeiter with a $20k fine within about 24 hours of the incident is a good start. Rugby has done some good work in the sporting community on alleviating discrimination towards gay people and dealing with this quickly is putting their previous advocacy and words into action.

On the part of Potgeiter, it sounds like he’s been contrite and his public apologies are a good sign. Policing what’s said on the field of play is a bit tricky, but there are lines and a gay slur crosses one. What would be great from now is for Potgeiter to talk to someone about the incident in a more open way.

Give Georgina Robinson or Ian Payten a call Jacques, they’re understanding people. Rugby players yell, scream and swear on the field as part of psyching themselves up and to put off the opposition. Hearing about that from a professional player with a discussion about how to keep within boundaries of decency could be a good way to turn this into a bigger positive.

As for David Pocock, I’ve read that a prominent rugby figure believes his bringing this to the official’s means he’ll never captain the Wallabies again. That would be a very sad state of affairs.

If looking after the well-being of others precludes you from captaincy we need to re-evaluate our game. I think the most likely reason he wouldn’t be captain again is because he’ll be competing with Michael Hooper for playing time for the rest of his career.