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Already, there’s plenty of talk about the Brumbies having one of the better Super Rugby forward packs in Australia next season, with their announcement this week that they have snared rampaging ex-Western Force No.8 Isi Naisarani.
Coupled with the looming return of the David Pocock, and even though the replacement for Scott Fardy on the blindside is a long way off being resolved, the thought that the best Australian backrow will reside in Canberra in 2018 is already there, too.
Do they? Will it? Maybe.
If there’s one thing Australian rugby fans do well, it’s a chronic and shocking ability to overhype. That’s not to say that the Brumbies won’t have the best backrow or pack next year, but I might just wait until a few other spots are filled before I pass judgement. Until then, I’ll concede it’s certainly looking promising!
Naisarani’s signature followed Ben Daley signing with the Melbourne Rebels last week, and I suspect we’ll start seeing more and more of the displaced Force squad confirming their future from now on.
And if there’s one positive for these players, it’s that the majority of them are still playing. For those not in the Wallabies squad, and even though they’ve had their ‘plan B’ bubbling away for a few months, probably, the National Rugby Championship has suddenly become their shop window.
A few weeks ago, I spoke with scrumhalf and Perth Spirit skipper Michael Ruru, and he confirmed as much.
“There will be people out there watching, or we hope they’re watching, because we want to be playing our best footy and put our best foot forward,” Ruru told me.
It may well be that coach Dave Wessels is the keystone. Once he declares his future, I certainly suspect the players will take that as a sign that it’s time to get on with their planning for 2018.
If Wessels goes to the Melbourne Rebels, a host of players may well follow. Maybe the Rebels will have the best pack for 2018 then?
I suspect a few will end up at the Waratahs. The likes of Billy Meakes and Ben McCalman, both being NSW boys have been linked with a move to Sydney, as has winger Alex Newsome, who only just re-signed with the Force for two years at the conclusion of the Super Rugby season.
Newsome confirmed to me this week an intent to stay in Australia, and that “I’ll hopefully have that sorted in the next week or two.”
Matt Philip, I suspect might be in this group, too. One thing’s for sure, he’s too good a player to be lost to the game in Australia, and his form across the NRC over the first three rounds proves that. There might be locks in the Wallabies squad currently not playing as well as Philip is for Perth.
But it’s not just the disaffected Force players in this boat. The strength-by-contraction decision means that there are fringe players from all four other Australian Super Rugby sides now using the NRC to play for their future.
(Photo by Will Russell/Getty Images)
Some of them, like some of the Force players will be squeezed out. There simply aren’t thirty-odd spare contracts waiting to be filled around the country, and some very handy players will miss out. I particularly feel for the injured guys, like Ryan Louwrens, or Jordy Reid, or Angus Cottrell to name a couple just as an example.
They’re all too good to be lost, but they’re invisible while they’re not playing. It’s quite likely players of their ilk will miss out or be forced overseas.
Will the IPRC proposal really be enough to keep them in Australia, to stay here while Super Rugby is going on?
This is why the NRC this year might be more important than it’s ever been. Some genuine Super Rugby-quality players are hoping to play well enough to make the phone ring.
Squad and EPS players around the country, players ranked 25 and above in reality, are having to play out of their skins just to keep up with the Super Rugby players.
And the best of the club rugby talent is having to find career-best form and maintain it for two months just to get noticed.
It might be a reason why there isn’t much between the NRC sides this year. After three rounds, one bonus point win separates first and seventh.
This weekend features four games which you could a mount strong case to tip against the four teams I have. And remarkably, I don’t think I could argue with you.
It’s a really exciting round ahead. Enjoy your NRC rugby this weekend.
NRC ladder
Perth Spirit 10, Fijian Drua 10, Canberra Vikings 9, Greater Sydney Rams 9; Brisbane City 8, Queensland Country 5, Sydney Rays 5, NSW Country Eagles 0, Melbourne Rising 0.
Round 3
Saturday
1pm: NSW Country v Canberra; Bellevue Oval, Armidale – Live streamed
5pm FJT/3pm AEST: Fiji v Perth; ANZ Stadium, Suva, Fiji – LIVE on Fox Sports 501
Sunday
1pm: Sydney v Queensland Country; Pittwater Rugby Park, Sydney – Live streamed
3pm: Melbourne v Greater Sydney; Harlequin Oval, Melbourne – LIVE on Fox Sports 501
Brisbane City have the bye.
Tips
Three from four last week; didn’t put enough belief in the Quade factor for Brisbane City.
This weekend, Canberra over NSW Country in a really close one and Fiji over Perth on Saturday; the Rays to shade Queensland County just, and Greater Sydney to bounce back Sunday.