The Wrap: Rugby needs to keep the scrums up and put the ball down

James Slipper was rightly lauded last week for his silky distribution, sending Tom Banks away on the inside for a slick try in Melbourne.

Perhaps he got ahead of himself. This week he gift-wrapped a hospital pass for Hunter Paisami to smash the living suitcase out of Noah Lolesio.

From go to whoa, last year’s Super Rugby AU grand final re-match was perched with a toe on either side of a precipice. The Stan commentary team talked up the Test match-like intensity. Perhaps that was code for a messy breakdown and a lot of turnovers.

The scrums were no better. Fourteen were set, of which seven resulted in penalties. More work needs to be done to strike the right balance between the scrum being a contest for the ball and a means to restart the game with space on the pitch for the back-line players, and a means to advance upfield via penalties.

All four Super Rugby matches suffered. The experimental ‘brake foot’ law used in the Six Nations was not adopted here.

But even so, is the root problem too many scrums collapsing due to instability, or players hellbent on using the scrum as a contest in itself, being allowed to wrestle it out just to win a penalty?

Beyond the scrum, it was as if every play in Canberra was a micro battle in what now feels like a long-running Reds versus Brumbies war; each little victory barbed with a barrage of whoops, hollers and sledges.

(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

Will that be enough for when Australian franchises re-acquaint themselves with the New Zealand equivalents? Who knows.

The passion is laudable, ditto the defensive intensity, but almost certainly there will need to be more convincing rugby played at some point.

After being the provider for four tries against the Force, James O’Connor this time took on the scoring himself, easily stepping under the crossbar after Folau Fainga’a clocked off in front of his posts.

But from the kick-off, the Reds failed to exit, leaving Irae Simone to nudge a little left-foot dribbler through the line for Tom Wright’s benefit.

The half-time score was 10-7 in favour of the Brumbies, both sides cancelling each other out in the spoiling, shoving and trash talking.

There was a feeling that whoever parked their ego first and played rugby would take the game, but the second half only brought more desperation and tension.

Both had their moments before Darcy Swain found himself in the bin for a blatant offside, and the Reds edged closer at 12-13 entering the final quarter.

Swain needn’t have worried; his locking partner Nick Frost stepped up in what was surely his best all-round match in a Brumbies shirt.

The game could have been iced in the 70th minute but Luke Reimer inexplicably ignored an unmarked Jesse Mogg, flying free on his outside. As commentator Justin Harrison had observed earlier, rugby players sometimes struggle with “the conundrum of choice”.

The final stanza bought mass confusion. In possession and seemingly in control, the Brumbies thought they had penalty advantage and were far too casual when the ball fell loose.

(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

Fraser McReight, despite being tugged back, looked odds on to win the race for the ball and score under the posts. But in a cruel twist of fate, the ball bounced into the padding, allowing a relieved Rodney Iona to save the day.

‘Penalty’ came the shouts from north of the Tweed, and it was hard not to sympathise. ‘Penalty try’ shouted others, but even though McReight showed he had the gas to score, especially with the transgressor Iona being removed from the equation, no referee in the world is awarding a penalty try for an incident so far from the try line.

As for the TMO failing to step in, here’s a wee test: how many people furious that this incident wasn’t taken upstairs are the same people who complained last week about the game being slowed up by too much TMO involvement?

Rugby has a choice: officiate the whole game on replay, to try to ensure maximum accuracy, or allow intervention only for try scoring and dangerous foul play, maintain the flow of the game, and accept the swings and roundabouts as they arise.

There’s no ‘bit of both’ or ‘only when it suits my team’ option. It’s either or, and I know which one I prefer.

Even then, the match wasn’t over. From the five-metre scrum, Paisami wasn’t able to collect on the crash ball, and despite a massive Reds push in the final scrum, Pete Samu did superbly well under intense heat to clear the danger and close out the match.

At Leichhardt Oval, the Force seemed intent on making things difficult for themselves, entering the final ten minutes two points down, before three times kicking out on the full and turning down a midfield kick at goal.

Perhaps Ian Prior was put off by the quality of referee Nic Berry’s sledge: “Right on the edge of your range?”

No matter, after Prior was replaced, Bayley Kuenzle stepped forward after the siren to drill a wide penalty and seal a tense 20-18 win.

The Drua did everything to win, apart from win enough of their own lineouts. Once that area is tidied up, more victories will surely follow.

Moana Pasifika played some good rugby in the first half, but in line with expectations, they are going to struggle when the better sides ramp up the intensity and speed. They were outclassed 59-12.

(Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

At least we got to see replacement Fine Inisi play while donning a white chefs hat. That doesn’t happen every day.

New Zealand rugby has gone down the path of converting locks to blindside flankers many times before – usually with limited success.

Tupou Vaa’i is the latest experiment, and while he will need to be tested on days tougher than this, a Chiefs loose forward combination of Vaa’i, Sam Cane and the fizzing Pita Gus Sowakula really looks the business.

The struggling Rebels made a point of leaning on their experienced Wallabies to lift their game, however it was a string of costly errors from replacement players that really hurt them at the SCG, going down to the Waratahs 24-19.

Upon entering the match, Carter Gordon’s first act was to slip off Lalakai Foketi to allow him direct passage to the try line. With the game still up for grabs, a crucial missed touch from a penalty would follow later.

Replacement hooker Efi Ma’afu’s first act was to tip Izaia Perese above the horizontal in a tackle and earn himself a yellow card. With the game still up for grabs, two crooked lineout throws would follow later.

Professional rugby offers up harsh lessons and little mercy when core skills aren’t executed. But of course, it was more than two individuals. The Rebels were only asked to make 76 tackles all night. Missing a third of those was close to inexcusable.

Another Achilles heel this year has been the Rebels’ exit plays after scoring, and once again, any chance of generating momentum was lost via poor ball control and loose kicking.

It was roundly agreed afterwards that the Waratahs didn’t have a lot to feel great about, other than after last year’s tribulations, to enjoy and bank the win. To be fair, injuries upset their momentum, and sitting third on the AU side of the ladder is probably slightly ahead of expectations at this stage.

(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

One thing that was noticeable was their superior strength in body-to-body contact, and on this count alone, it was no surprise to see Harry Johnson-Holmes and Jed Holloway named yesterday in the first 40-man Wallabies squad for the season.

Less pleasing was the sight of halfback Jack Grant, immediately upon hearing referee Graeme Cooper’s whistle to blow an infringement against his side, picking up the ball and back-pedalling with it.

Twice in close succession Cooper watched Grant do it, and did nothing. At Leichhardt, referee Nic Berry warned the Force once for using the same tactic, but then didn’t follow through with a ten-metre penalty.

Every side is doing this, simply because they know they can get away with it. It’s a blight on the game and an embarrassment for the referees who, in other aspects, are making an effort to help make the game flow better.

The AFL has this exactly right. Any player who touches the ball after a free kick to the opposition, or if they are in possession doesn’t immediately return it on a silver platter to their opponent, is pinged 50 metres. And if that costs their side a goal, so be it.

Meanwhile, rugby can’t even manage ten metres! If we want to see continuous flowing rugby, then let players tap and run from penalties and free kicks if they choose. But for that to happen, the game must first get serious about forcing players to keep their nose out of other people’s business, and to immediately put the ball down.

Also down were Scotland, Wales and England, all capping off disappointing Six Nations campaigns with losses to Ireland, Italy and France respectively.

Yes, that’s right, you read that correctly: Italy snapped a 36-match Six Nations losing streak by defeating Wales 22-21 in Cardiff!

It wasn’t just the win but the way the game was won that made jaws drop. Fullback Ange Capuozzo returned a kick with a scything run, spectacularly keeping his feet and rebalancing at speed, before sending Edoardo Padovani across.

With three losses and a World Cup looming fast, Eddie Jones’ next series takes on a critical weighting. How fortunate that it just happens to be in Australia!

Whether he engineers it or it happens by accident, Jones is a walking headline. That’s music to the ears of Rugby Australia, who desperately need a hot, high-profile home series to help re-set after COVID.

And if that music is amplified by a UK press contingent sniffing blood at Jones’ selections – and the inclusion of Kyle Sinckler only a week after being visibly concussed was inexcusable – then all the better.

In cleaning up the old enemy 25-13, France weren’t at their very best. But it was plenty good enough, and there can be no disputing their dominance this season.

(Photo by Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty Images)

Anything can happen in 18 months, but Fabien Galthie’s squad appears to have the perfect blend of youth, experience – and now combination – to take out a World Cup.

To finish this week with another dive into the whacky files, this time a report from the New York Post featuring Australian woman, 29-year-old Katy Bampton, opening up about her marriage to porn star Robbie Oz, stating how it doesn’t bother her that her husband has sex with other women every single week.

I know what you’re thinking. ‘How did this guy win life’s lottery?’ And sure enough, Oz explained, “the sex I have at work and the sex I have at home are completely different”.

What a trooper! Being able to leave all of his work hassles and the daily grind behind him, knowing that once the front door closes at home, he is able to focus all of his energy and attention onto his family, with Oz reiterating, “we’re just an ordinary couple”.

Quite. If Robbie Oz was a rugby player, there’s no way he would pick the ball up and roll it away to stop his opponent from taking a quick tap. He’s far too sensitive and honest for that.