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The National Rugby Championship hits the knockout stages this weekend coming, and if both semi-finals go with the seedings, we’ll have the competition’s first all-NSW final. And that won’t be a bad thing at all.
NSW Country face Melbourne Rising in the first semi, in Newcastle on Saturday, then the Sydney Rays host Perth Spirit at Pittwater Rugby Park on Sydney’s northern beaches on Sunday.
Happily, the four best teams have got through to this stage, which we wouldn’t have been able to say had the Rays really thumped Melbourne on Sunday and the Uni of Canberra Vikings fell into fourth.
Despite some pretty handy young talent on their roster, Canberra shuffled their backline combinations throughout the competition, ensuring no continuity, no confidence for said young players, a midfield that leaked points in waves, and as a result, left a team who once again had to fall back on the lineout drive to find points.
Melbourne, despite being slow starters in the last fortnight, have still shown throughout the NRC that they can construct tries and find points when they’re needed.
Country and the Rising were separated by just two points when they faced off in Round 3, and despite getting out to a decent halftime lead, the Eagles were very nearly run down. Melbourne will take plenty of confidence from that game, but they’ll also know that if they can start well, they’re a good front-running side.
Country could yet be boosted by the return of Wallabies tourists Tom Robertson and Tolu Latu, which would shore up the scrum issues they’ve experienced in recent weeks, but by the same token, Melbourne could also get James Hanson and Lopeti Timani back.
But the Eagles weren’t minor premiers by accident. They’re a very good attacking side, and particularly a very good counter-attacking side, who can run in tries from any distance. They are deserved favourites.
The Rays will probably start favourites in the second semi, but they and Perth are pretty evenly matched, both with good defensive setups.
Perth’s hopes ride on Jonno Lance’s shoulders, and they’re a significantly better team when he’s on the field. The Rays don’t rely on any one player, and they boast so many players in excellent form.
Both the Spirit and Rays like to pressure sides with their defence and then capitalise on the mistake – on this front, the centre pairing battle between the Rays’ Irae Simone and Con Foley and Perth’s Ben Tapuai and Billy Meakes is more than a bit mouth-watering.
If the two matches go the way of the favourites, then Country and the Rays will meet in the final on October 22, which I understand Country will take back to Newcastle if they’re to be hosts.
This will be an important clash for several reasons.
Over the first two seasons of the NRC, and even with one NSW-based side making the semi-finals in both seasons, the uptake of the competition in Sydney had been underwhelming; lukewarm at best. (Click to Tweet)
In 2016, even before a ball was kicked in anger, it was noticeable how much more engaged the Waratahs were with the three NRC teams, and this would be likely down to the arrival of Andrew Hore into the corner office.
Coming through the ranks with Canterbury and the Crusaders in New Zealand, Hore knows the importance of a strong domestic competition, and how the Waratahs will ultimately benefit.
“I’d like to congratulate our three NSW teams on their success so far this season,” he said just last week in the run-in to the final round, and with all three teams still in the finals race.
“The Rays, Rams and Eagles have each delivered some very thrilling rugby, and it is very exciting to see so many talented players, from the country, city and west, shine throughout the season. It is extremely pleasing to see all three sides with the opportunity at a finals gig and I would like to wish them all the very best.”
The Waratahs have finally embraced the competition this season, and their social and online contributions and promotions have been as good as any organisation involved. In actual fact, the Waratahs have even picked up the online and social media slack left by some of the NSW teams at times.
This, in turn, has definitely seen more ‘buy in’, to use that clichéd term, among NSW and Sydney rugby fans. Crowds have been steady all year, but the Rays and Rams certainly saw more people through the gates for their last home games.
Further, the long-hailed strength of the Sydney club rugby scene took a bit of a hit over the first two seasons, when the average Shute Shield player was shown to be not significantly better than their counterparts from the around the country.
On that front, the decision to cull the Sydney Stars was well and truly justified within the first few games. There’s no doubt the Eagles, Rays, and Rams were stronger in 2016 because of the consolidation.
Two semi-finals in NSW will help TV audiences this weekend, and that will likely remain the case should the decider be played in Newcastle or Sydney the following weekend.
There’s still resistance among the club faithful, of course, and that is entirely their prerogative. But that resistance has certainly waned in 2016; not just on these pages, but on social media and other rugby outlets too. The general feeling about the NRC this season has been overwhelmingly more positive than in 2014 or 2015. Any remaining criticisms now are largely superficial.
The closest NRC competition to date will see a new champion emerge in 2016, and if it’s a NSW-based team – like I think it will be – it might just be the biggest shot in the arm the competition has received since its inception.