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The application of the new laws around enforcing the shot clocks and increasing fatigue is placing the onus on loose forwards to stop momentum of the opposition at source as well as ensuring your own ball is protected.
To date the Highlanders have the slowest ruck speed in the comp but even they are averaging just over 3 seconds, still pretty damn quick by historical standards. We are in a new world.
Last week I noted how the Waratahs were using their eighth man as a pseudo centre and it was causing them not only defensive issues but that the loose forwards were not playing as a combination. The best in class examples of compact loose forward trios now reside in both France and Ireland and you can often throw a blanket over the three. I am betting these guys share a taxi to the ground and an ice bath together afterwards so in sync are they.
Against the Hurricanes, the Waratahs made a notable change in the early part of the game using Langi Gleeson and Charlie Gamble as narrow channel carriers to good effect and they racked up eight really good carries between them in the opening 10 minutes and the Light Blues were really looking the business – right up until Charlie Gamble went off and then it all got a bit loose again (and it wasn’t the fault of replacement Will Harris).
The loose trio is about combinations and complementary skills, and when Gleeson and Michael Hooper record a combined tackle count of 16 made and 10 missed, you are not going to keep your opposition off your try-line. For comparison, the Canes trio missed a single tackle between them all night.
Had Julian Savea not had a ‘Marty Johnstone’ (the New Zealand drug dealer who was de-limbed by his mates, not the previous English rugby captain) day with his hands , things may have been a whole lot worse for the Waratahs.
The Canes young pair of Cam Roigard and Brett Cameron made far greater use of the ball than their NSW opposites, and in those channels was the match won and lost. Good to see ‘Naholo the Younger’ demonstrate the kind of form we have all been waiting for since he left school football.
The Rebels by contrast seemed to be adopting a policy of keeping as many players as possible on their feet and in the defensive line to protect against the rapier counterattacks that the New Zealand sides have shown but not slowing the Chiefs ball at ruck time was costly across the 80.
Worth noting first that after the Melbourne Super round I thought that the Rebels were a little slow and staid in their attack, esp swinging around the corner and at the start of this game they were producing a real array of attack tricks built off going forward in the middle of the park in the first instance, and as the game went on they showed a full range of first phase attack plans. Mea culpa.
(Photo by Michael Bradley/Getty Images)
The one that really struck me was early in the first half, They went left, made a break wide out but they had a full double stack of players behind the backline giving them a thousand options with the ball. (It’s in the 6th minute, a full 10 players in the formation and running from their 22).
It was a roaring start by the Rebels with Carter Gordon and Brad Wilkin at the heart of most of what was good.
The Rebels thereafter set about proving a few rugby truisms, a kick to the Chiefs back field with a poor chase saw them concede their first try and while they were still in it at halftime, two errors in quick succession after the restart saw them punished both times and the Chiefs were over the hill and far away.
The simple fact of the matter at the top level is that results are determined more by what you do poorly than what you do well, and the Rebels did a whole lot right in this game but paid the price repeatedly for their mistakes.
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I noted at 30 minutes how much slower the Rebels ball was becoming and that became a source of pressure for them for the remainder of the match.
One did not need to be a genius to figure out the Blues vs Crusaders was going to be the match of the round, but the intensity and quality even surprised on the upside.
Put two Bulls into a paddock, shut the gate and wait.
If nothing else, this game confirmed that rather than alter much from last year’s campaign, the respective coaches have doubled down on their strengths.
For the Crusaders that’s about having a rock-solid set piece, a defensive line that just gets up off the floor over and over again, control and distribution off 10 and the ability to get the ball to the edges faster than others can defensively adjust.
Remember, last year the competitions joint top try scorers were Sevu Reece, Will Jordan and Leicester Fainga’anuku who all scored 10. ‘Big Leicester nabbed himself another three tries.
The Blues are still intent on scoring from unstructured play and turnovers and this year it seems clear that they are playing more off halfback than before as the Beauden Barrett/Stephen Perofeta axis is not functioning as well as in 2022.
On Saturday Leon McDonald rectified last years error by elevating James Tucker back into the starting XV to good effect but it’s still not enough.
And this is where I see similarities between the Blues of Auckland and those of New South Wales, and the situation is amplified for the Australian side as they don’t have the long range try scoring weapons that the Jaffas have across the park.
Your set piece – both lineout and scrum – should first be at a standard where its performance is not going to hurt you, and preferably be of a level where it is an effective attacking launch pad. I am not sure either side is at the required level to win this comp without it.
Without having an established distribution pattern it just makes the Blues too dependent on the long range turnover stuff rather than playing to their obvious strengths. You know you have a distribution issue if a match that has a total of 1,348 run metres and Rieko Ioane does not beat a single defender.
Thought I should share the most ridiculously “Blues fan in the commentary box” quote of the day, by John Kirwan.
“While we haven’t seen a lot of Beauden, he is out there controlling it”. Some type of osmosis, JK?
If they are going to let Tony Johnson commentate on Blues games (and he is a shocker) then all others with Auckland affiliations, should not be allowed within 100 metres of the comm box or a microphone.
Interesting that while Roger Tuivasa-Scheck is having an improved season with his ball carrying, he has been dragged in three of the four games so far this year and must be dropping down the lists of All Black potential 12s for this season. Five missed tackles last night did not help his cause, and given the performance of Bryce Heem last night, that Blues starting jersey must be at risk.
For the Crusaders, Ethan Blackadder keeps hitting his straps, the second row was a differentiater again while Richie Mo’unga has added back field tackling beast to his impressive game management and attack skills, with Dallas MacLeod (17 tackles) and Fainga’anuku also having big matches.
One closing thought, having watched a number of games this weekend, what the hell is going on at the breakdown?
It’s a mess, every referee seems to have a different approach to it. James Doleman in particular had me seriously confused for the first hour last night.
We are not that far away from the games show case event, and the most critical part of the sport is being reduced to a lottery. Good luck being a player and trying to sort this out in game and from week to week.
There was one other game in Invercargill where two teams kicked the ball at each other for an hour in the rain until the Highlanders won. If you didn’t catch this game, don’t.
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.