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In the second (and best) movie of the Star Wars trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back, the climactic scene is a lightsaber duel between Rebel apprentice Jedi, Luke Skywalker, and Sith Lord, Darth Vader.
Luke, cocky in his newfound abilities with the Force, says to Vader: “You’ll find me full of surprises”, before unleashing a wave of blows with his weapon, only to be promptly disarmed by his vastly more experienced opponent and, as we subsequently found out, his father.
The Reds vs Rebels Super Rugby game on Saturday night was the exact opposite of that, because this time it was the Rebels who surprised the Reds with a thorough disarming.
Perhaps the dark Brisbane skies following a thunder storm, which some of us hoped would limit the Rebel back line’s live-wire running and passing game, should have been an omen that it was not going to be a good night for the home team.
It wasn’t. The Rebels exploded the Reds’ Death Star like it was a mere bounty hunter in a cantina.
The Rebels were frankly better in every way than the Reds and it was particularly noticeable in the forwards, the Reds’ usual area of strength under Brad Thorn’s coaching.
The Reds pack looked listless and mistake-ridden from the get go. By the time Rebels blindside flanker Luke Jones pulled a Reds rolling maul apart like Chewbacca would pull apart an imperial Stormtrooper, it was apparent that there was nothing going right for the Reds’ piggies.
It seemed like the Reds had not recovered from the high-octane win over the Brumbies at the same stadium six days earlier.
Captain Samu Kerevi stated that during that game they had sought to run and muscle their hapless opponents off a park that resembled the surface of Tatooine and it worked in that game.
But did it come at a cost a week later? Do game plans need to be tweaked to manage fatigue? Are there adjustments needed in the Reds’ fitness program to prevent burn-out?
Whatever the case, the Rebels also faced a considerable challenge in the preceding week, having returned from the gruelling tour of tour of South Africa.
Two of their key Wallabies, Adam Coleman and Will Genia, had been rested but most of the Rebels squad had to deal with the consequences of a long international flight.
So be it preparation or game planning, whatever their coach Dave Wessels did for the Rebels would appear to be better than what the Reds received.
(Photo by Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images)
Perhaps it is evidence of how he had benefitted from his apprenticeship with World Cup winner Jake White at the Brumbies, who was known to plan entire rugby campaigns, rather than one game at a time which White considered to be an unusual Australian way of coaching.
One observation is that the Reds seem to be putting an excessive amount of emphasis on burrowing over to score with pick and drives, when they are close to the opponent’s try line.
They have a pretty good record of success with this, with big tight forwards like Brandon Paenga-Amosa and Taniela Tupou being experts at scoring in this manner.
However, on Saturday night, these sorts of efforts towards the end of the game with the Reds still trailing just took too long.
Not only did it use up time that the Reds didn’t have, but it must also be physically draining for the already exhausted Reds forward pack, who uncharacteristically gave up a try to a Rebels rolling maul right at the end of the game.
During one attempt, the Reds had Duncan Paia’aua and Isaac Lucas screaming for the ball. Either of these lads can beat any opponent one-on-one and score a try. That decision-making is still a work-in-progress for the Reds.
While the game wasn’t a great spectacle, it was certainly educational, showing that while culture, passion and a commitment to supreme fitness can get the Reds some big successes, they do need to evolve their game and play smarter.
Brad Thorn has always challenged himself to be the best, and he’s copped his fair share of hard lessons and ultimately succeeded in every instance, so it will be great to see how he picks up this team from this defeat and takes the Reds forward.
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.