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Five things we learned from Super Rugby Round 3

4th March, 2018
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The Waratahs are bound to win this week, right? Right!? (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Roar Guru
4th March, 2018
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5301 Reads

After three rounds of the Super Rugby season it’s less about spectators and players feeling out squads early in the season and more about teams establishing consistency and starting to build momentum.

In the chock-a-block nature of the conference play-off system it’s important sides get the wheels ticking over sooner rather than later. So who’s ticking the boxes early in the piece? And who is lagging behind the pack?

Here are five things we learnt from Round 3

1. The Rebels are serious
Yes, they have benefitted from the mass exodus of Force players to the latte city, but the Melbourne Rebels have been ultra-impressive in their first two matches of 2018. In Will Genia, Dane Haylett-Petty and skipper Adam Coleman they have a wealth of experience. With that comes a sense of composure on the field that has simply not existed in their first few seasons as a franchise.

Add Reece Hodge and Amanaki Mafi to that list and you have one of the best spines in the tournament. Their win over the Sunwolves was clinical and could’ve been bigger if not for a few lapses in the second half. If they can find consistency, especially away from home, they’re favourites to top the Australian conference and play solid finals football.

Reece Hodge of the Rebels

(AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy)

2. The Brumbies are not
Friday night was ugly. A largely insipid performance from the Brumbies saw the Reds steal an upset win in their first home game of the season despite not scoring a single try. The Canberra side was absolutely obliterated at scrum time, and that was ultimately the difference between the two sides.

Their backline is misfiring at the moment too. They seem to be short of ideas when deep in opposition territory. Too often it is a Joe Powell dart or a Lealifano short ball to one of his centres running an unders line.

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They have genuine finishing potential out wide in Tom Banks and Henry Speight, and they desperately need to find the keys to unlock that. Beware of the wounded beast in Round 4, though.

Tevita Kuridrani of the Brumbies Super Rugby

(AAP Image/Dean Lewins)

3. The New Zealand conference is a different animal entirely
Despite the vastly improving Rebels outfit and a Waratahs side that has one of the more electric backlines in the competition, I don’t think it’s unfair to say that watching two New Zealand franchises play is just better viewing than any other fixture.

The Chiefs versus Blues game was a belter and the Crusaders continued their winning run with a pretty comfortable dismantling of the Stormers. The New Zealand sides play an attractive brand of rugby. They’re the Louis Vuittons and the Guccis of the Super Rugby. While their end-to-end style of play has existed for years, where they stand out is in their ability to consistently keep the ball alive in broken play.

The New Zealand franchises offload better than any rugby nation in the world. Period. The Waratahs in particular look to be aiming to emulate this style of free-flowing rugby early in 2018, but there’s still a way to go before we can consistently match it with our neighbours across the ditch.

Sonny Bill Williams of the Blues makes a break

(Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

4. Jake Gordon will keep Nick Phipps out of his starting spot when he returns
Jake Gordon is one of the most vastly improved players in Australian rugby. His form in the NRC in the last two years basically demanded a spot at the Waratahs in 2017, where he sat on the bench behind Phipps for most of the season.

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Come 2018 and an injury to Phipps and Gordon has not missed out on his starting opportunity. He was outstanding in his 65 minutes against the Sharks, scoring the first try and providing quick, accurate ball from the base of the ruck.

He is an energiser bunny in attack, and behind Genia he is the best genuine distributor in the country at the moment. When Phipps returns I imagine it will be off the bench and, assuming Gordon stays fit, don’t be surprised if it stays that way for the better part of the season.

Jake Gordon

(Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

5. Jack Maddocks could well be our next long-term Wallabies flyhalf
It’s early in his career, but with one spring tour as a development player under his belt and the backing of Stephen Larkham to play as a long-term number ten the future looks bright for the young Rebel currently residing on the right wing.

He scored a hat-trick against the Sunwolves on Saturday, but it has been his two delightful try assists in the first two rounds that will set tongues wagging. In Round 1 against the Reds he threw a four-man flat cut-out to Dane Haylett-Petty that saw him score his first try in Rebels colours.

Yesterday against the Sunwolves his 30-metre cut out to a flying Sefa Naivalu who scored untouched was inch-perfect. Special talent.

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