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Each Super Rugby team has flaws, even the Chiefs. If they were perfect they would be unbeaten, but they lost at home to the Lions.
The Chiefs may have already figured out was wrong and fixed it, but the rest of the teams have big problems to work on.
If each coach could repair one thing, this is what I’d suggest they focus on.
The Bulls must scrum better. That sentence would have sounded heretical in almost any other decade since the Bulls were established – their union is founded on uncompromising forward muscularity and cohesion – but this squad is getting pushed around at scrum time.
The Cheetahs must stop missing. They miss more tackles than anyone (147), miss the gate at the breakdown, miss the referee’s signals, and miss catching the ball (more knock-ons than anyone).
The Kings must get their hands on the ball more. That’s it. After that, we can talk.
The Lions must kick more. They have only kicked about 75 times so far; they try to build phases or break the line all game long from everywhere. This lets their opponents score too many easy turnover tries.
The Sharks must pass (offload or spiral or pop or 50-50 or skip or cutout – it doesn’t matter). It’s been three metres and a cloud of dust for their ball carriers.
The Stormers must break the line more, a problem hopefully fixed by the return of Damian de Allende this week against the poor Sunwolves.
The Blues must miss fewer kicks from the tee. They can’t afford to squander precious points.
The Crusaders must run their lineout better; if they do, they could win this thing.
The Highlanders must tackle better.
The Hurricanes stopped dropping the ball, but now Julian Savea is returning, so they must continue to stop dropping the ball.
The Sunwolves must stop conceding so many penalties; they’re making it too easy for their foes to survive pressure.
The Brumbies must offload more. A lot more, but with intent.
The Force must score tries, they cannot win with one try a game.
The Reds must score any kind of point. If they can invent a new way of scoring a point, they should. Drop goals are not a bad thing.
The Waratahs must fix their discipline.
The Jaguares must pass more accurately. Too many of their flings are wild, as flings tend to be.
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.