The Super XV: Australian team of the week, Round 6

Each week we’ll be looking at the best of the best in Australian rugby and piecing together the top 15 players out of the Aussie Super Rugby sides from the round gone by.

Come on Australia, you’re not even trying now.

Zero wins this week from the Aussie sides, losing all four games against New Zealand teams as the horror season continues within our conference.

The Rebels opened the round over in Dunedin against the Highlanders and were duly dispatched by the 2015 champs in a 51-12 drumming.

The Force put in a solid effort against the Blues away from home, trailing by just four points at halftime, but the Blues jumped out in the second half to take a grinding 24-15 victory.

Similarly, the Reds gave the Hurricanes a scare up in Brisbane, trailing by just two points at the break, but a pair of tries inside the final seven minutes sealed the deal for the Canes, winning 34-15.

To round out the weekend, the Waratahs were given the unenviable task of facing an undefeated Crusaders side in Sydney. To spare you the details, the Crusaders are still undefeated.

The only saving grace this week came from the Brumbies, who were fortuitous enough to have the bye.

So once again, Australia’s Super Rugby sides are making it far too difficult to pick a ‘best of’ starting 15, but here goes.

1. Sam Talakai (Reds)
Talakai opens the list this week at loosehead with what can be described as a decent game against a much better forward pack, that’s about as good as it gets at the moment in the Australian Conference.

He defended well around the ruck and did well to take on the line and gain some strong metres up the middle. Not an exciting opening to the list, but props aren’t usually standout players.

2. Tolu Latu (Waratahs)
Latu was a machine against the Crusaders on Sunday. His line-out throwing was consistent and he led a scrum that surprised a much-fancied Crusaders pack throughout the first half and into the second.

He was able to get his mitts on the ball a lot through the middle and was consistently driving over the advantage line. Latu just came across as a workhorse throughout the game.

3. Sekope Kepu (Waratahs)
This one isn’t really a standout performance either, Kepu was just the best of an average bunch this week at tighthead.

Tetera Faulkner and Taniela Tupou were quiet for the Force and Reds, while Laurie Weeks put in a fairly inconsistent performance for the Rebels. Thus, Sekope Kepu gets the rub by default.

Not to take anything away from Kepu who played fairly well for the Tahs, but his role was more of a supporting one, anchoring the scrum in the front row and being a defensive wall at the breakdown.

4. and 5. Matt Philip and Richie Arnold (Force)
These two come as a package deal because they tore it up in the back row as a deadly combination for the Force this week, standing out in their side’s loss to the Blues.

Arnold bagged a try in the opening half to jump out to an eight-nil lead, burrowing over from close to the line on the pick and go. Philip’s try assist was a joy to watch, as the big man found open space and threw the head back, pulling off a deft right foot step to beat the fullback before offloading to Haylett-Petty to do the rest of the leg work.

It wasn’t just those two moments; they were a force to be reckoned with in attack, with Philip, in particular, racking up the tackle busts and offloads in his best performance of the season.

Twin brother of Rory, Richie Arnold did his heavy lifting in defence, driving hard through the middle and keeping the Blues offence at bay in the first half with some hard hitting tackling and counter rucking.

This was the performance expected of them when they were signed to the Force, showing the potential they have as a combination.

6. Adam Korczyk (Reds)
The New Zealand-born 22-year-old put in a game that could see him finally nail down a permanent spot in the side, having played only a handful of games since his first cap back in 2015.

In a tough night for the Reds pack against the defending champs, Korczyk showed off a real fighting side to his game, grinding away in defence and standing up with ball in hand when it counted.

He was able to get his nose through the line on more than one occasion, racking up the offloads and keeping his side moving forward in tough conditions away from home.

7. Michael Hooper (Waratahs)
The Waratahs’ skipper had a ripper of a game against the Crusaders, racking up the most running metres for his side and even scoring a try of his own in the first half to get his team back in the game after conceding two in quick succession.

He made line breaks down the sideline and up through the middle, really tucking his head down in the second half when the Tahs threatened to take the game from the Crusaders. It was a typical Hooper performance.

8. Scott Higginbotham (Reds)
Higginbotham had a really strong game at the back of the scrum, but he could nearly be selected on his try alone.

The big man showed a side of finesse with a hint of speed to score his five-pointer, latching on to an offload to break through the line before giving off a behind-the-back flick pass to Eto Nabuli. He then followed him up down the sideline to recollect and cross over.

On top of that, he also racked up a nice little try assist and a few line breaks and offloads.

9. Jake Gordon (Waratahs)
In a tough week for halfbacks, Jake Gordon certainly stood out, coming out of the Crusaders clash as one of the best on ground, piling the pressure on Nick Phipps for that starting scrumhalf role.

Gordon did everything a halfback should be doing; quick ball, good passing and guidance of the forwards, but it was his aggression in taking on the line that shone through.

He was intelligent with his play, breaking the line and spotting the gaps nearly every time he ran it, and he was rewarded with a try in the second half, hitting a gap to perfection off a Mack Mason short ball and beating off two closing defenders to the line.

10. Jake McIntyre (Reds)
Mack Mason had a solid game on debut for the Waratahs, but it’s another young gun who takes it this week at flyhalf.

Jake McIntyre pulled off a great running game against the Hurricanes and, much like Gordon, was confident and dangerous when taking on the line, showing his worth as a running playmaker.

11. Eto Nabuli (Reds)
Nabuli was a key part of the aforementioned Higginbotham try, but he was more than a one-trick pony against the Hurricanes.

The Fijian was dangerous down the edges throughout the game, testing the Canes’ sliding defence with his pure pace and underrated tackle-breaking power.

12. Bill Meakes (Force)
Duncan Paia’aua was a stern force for the Reds with ball in hand, but he must make way this week for Meakes, who was a part of a strong 12 through 15 for the Force this week.

His penchant to break the line from set plays kept his side rolling forward when they continued to keep the Blues down throughout the middle of the game. It wasn’t quite an outstanding performance, but still a strong outing within a struggling team this season.

13. Samu Kerevi (Reds)
Over a hundred running metres in any game is the sign of a good performance and Samu Kerevi led the way for his side against the Canes this week, racking up the most metres of any Reds player.

He was a menace out wide in attack, causing major headaches for the defence and continually finding open air to run through. While defence isn’t a major facet of his game, he was able to keep the fringe defence tied up, for the most part, to back up his superior running game.

14. Chris Kuridrani (Reds)
The beneficiary of a nice little pass over the top from Higginbotham, Kuridrani bagged another try this week and was able to really take advantage of the dominant performance from his man on the inside, Kerevi.

Kuridrani was the only other Reds player to notch up a century of running metres as he and Kerevi tore it up out wide, enjoying a host of tackle breaks and offloads to keep the home side in the contest.

15. Dane Haylett-Petty (Force)
Rounding out the list this week is Dane Haylett-Petty, who not only broke triple figures for metres made but pulled in a whopping 157 of them, the highest in the game for either side.

His running game on the kick return oozed of confidence and kept the pressure on the Blues in broken play. He was silky along the backline, using the left foot step to really work over some of the tired big men and create opportunities out wide and through the middle.

A try in the dying minutes was a just reward for a tough and admirable performance in a losing effort.

Do you agree with the XV? You’re sporting fans, of course you don’t, so let us know who you think should or shouldn’t be in the side for this week.