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Brett McKay is one of The Roar's good news stories and has been a rugby and cricket expert for the site since July 2009. Brett is an international and Super Rugby commentator for ABC Grandstand radio, is the voice of ACT club rugby, has commentated on Under-20s Championships, Women's Uni Sevens and National Rugby Championship coverage, and has written for magazines and websites in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK. He tweets from @BMcSport.
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It really only feels like a few months ago that Australian cricket fans were on edge about the relative elasticity of Michael Clarke’s hamstring, but the 2019 Cricket World Cup starting later this month confirms the harsh reality that Clarke’s hammy lost national interest four years ago.
Not that long ago – only five weeks ago, in fact – the Melbourne Rebels had opened a seven-point lead over their next-closest challenger for the Australian conference, the NSW Waratahs.
So Round 13 really was lucky for some of us, but I kind of fear the worst for Round 14 in much the same way Saturday the 14th wasn’t exactly the greatest horror-comedy-parody film to follow Friday the 13th.
With just over a month to go, what’s felt like the most unpredictable Super Rugby season in ages will undoubtedly produce a few twists and turns yet, as we begin the run to the playoffs in earnest.
For 12 rounds the summary of the tipping panel performance is best described as ‘unlucky’.
A topical podcast discussion around the quality of Super Rugby on show in 2019 intrigued me in a way that I really hadn’t considered before recently, but actually made a fair bit of sense in this, a Rugby World Cup year.
Seven competition points separate eleven Super Rugby teams, and eight points separate five tipping panellists. It really has been a crazy year.
Referees handing out red and yellow cards aren’t ruining the game of the rugby; narrow-minded players making stupid decisions to earn the red and yellow cards are.
Twos all round last week, as this crazy year of Super Rugby found yet another way to punish the tipping panel.
At 20-7 up approaching the final half an hour of play on Saturday night at the Sydney Cricket Ground, the next great test of the highly-regarded Melbourne Rebels was upon us.
Well, there may be no better illustration of how crazy Super Rugby is going this year than considering this crazy little circle of craziness that was completed last weekend.
The week the Super Rugby season started, I wondered if we might be looking at the tightest Australian conference race in some time, and it seems that’s still on the money.
I have to admit, right at this very moment, the biggest surprise in this whole Israel Folau situation has been the speed with which decisions are being made, and the whole process is progressing.
Oh goodness, another weekend full of close games and results that could easily have been different to the way they finished.
The round after the weekend before couldn’t arrive quickly enough for some teams this week, if for no other reason than to help people forget about their most recent performance.
The annual report card was a column I first started a fortnight ago, before SANZAAR stepped in with all their experience and wisdom to drive us further down the path of shrinking our way to Super Rugby improvement.
Nope, nothing to see here. If it’s true that you can’t change tipping results after the fact, then it’s certainly true that there’s no point dwelling on tips that turn out to be less than accurate.
With all the reporting and leaking and reacting and denying going on over the weekend and late last week around the now confirmed demise of the Sunwolves from Super Rugby, though it’s difficult fully know who is pulling which stings, one thing stands out as a clear common denominator.
Exactly, so why not use it. And either way, it also means 3 in 4 come from other means!
The Rebels have left the Australian conference door ajar and it could cost them
12 tries from driving mauls from a total of 44 is hardly an over-reliance, Fox. Don’t get caught up in the perception-driven commentary…
The Rebels have left the Australian conference door ajar and it could cost them
Yep, right you both are. It’s been tough keeping track, I must admit..
The Rebels have left the Australian conference door ajar and it could cost them
Ha, my interpretation of Paul was that they’re over-reliant on trying to play pick and drive without the size to do it! They’re bringing plastic knives to sword fights!
I suspect Jez, like most things, is that the truth is somewhere in the middle of what we’re both saying..
The Rebels have left the Australian conference door ajar and it could cost them
1. South Africa conference tries in 2019:
41 Lions
40 Jaguares
32 Sharks
28 Bulls
23 Stormers
2. Handre Pollard played three consecutive years of U20s, and was named IRB Junior Player of the Year in 2014, after starring at his third tournament. He debuted for the Springboks later that year.
The Rebels have left the Australian conference door ajar and it could cost them
Has Genia sat a game out yet, Robbo?
I wonder if he won’t go to Japan..
The Rebels have left the Australian conference door ajar and it could cost them
The only thing I can be certain about Chookman is that there’s nothing certain over the next four weeks…
The Rebels have left the Australian conference door ajar and it could cost them
yeah, they definitely will be, FWM, and even without the win in Wellington, the win in Sydney last season would’ve been enough to give them confidence again this year anyway.
And I agree, the Tahs will need to win everything – but there’s no games in their next four that stand out as games they can’t win..
The Rebels have left the Australian conference door ajar and it could cost them
That’s certainly all true, Daveski. But we’re not that far apart on all this.
For one thing, teams working out the backs is exacerbated by the lack of go-forward from the pack. And that in turn forces to try and find ground any way they can, hence the aimless kicking.
The big challenge for them over this last month is going to be how to rediscover what was working at the start of the season..
The Rebels have left the Australian conference door ajar and it could cost them
yeah, that’s a decent point, Paul. The Waratahs’ approach is clearly to play with a mobile forwards pack, but too often they appear to be playing a pick-and-drive game plan..
The Rebels have left the Australian conference door ajar and it could cost them
Yeah, can’t disagree with that, Jez.
At the start of the year, the backrow of Cottrell-Hardwick-Naisarani had a really good, balanced feel about it, and even performed pretty well, too.
But since the first month or so, it’s been a revolving door. Hardwick had been injured, Cottrell missed a couple of games, and they’ve been a bit all over the place. That’s got to be a big reason why they’ve lacked on-ball presence in this latest period of struggle…
The Rebels have left the Australian conference door ajar and it could cost them
McCaffrey looks more likely than Pocock, definitely…
The Rebels have left the Australian conference door ajar and it could cost them
I talked about it because despite what we may think, this is the biggest rugby story in Australia by some margin. And the news yesterday that to the CoC process was effectively over doesn’t make it a smaller story.
But we still made the point that hopefully this is it, because there is some fantastic rugby to come that deserves more attention than it’s getting.
How would a Folau legal challenge affect RA?
I’m going to copy this and use it on Thursday, Bobby! Great summary!!
The Rebels have left the Australian conference door ajar and it could cost them
Yep, agree TWAS. And fighting with the likes of the Lions, Sharks, Highlanders, and Waratahs. Maybe the Stormers too..
The Rebels have left the Australian conference door ajar and it could cost them
Funnily enough, Rob, it’s been the Tahs undersized backrow leading the way for the forwards to have more influence in recent weeks, because their attack now amounts to whatever whim Beale is running with…
The Rebels have left the Australian conference door ajar and it could cost them
Geoff’s out of action this week, Jeff.
The Rebels have left the Australian conference door ajar and it could cost them
yep, that’s spot on Jamie. The Brumbies better than any other Australian side this season have worked out there’s a time and place to go wide, and when to truck it up the middle..
The Rebels have left the Australian conference door ajar and it could cost them
yeah, I am, Fionn, and you should be too!
The Bulls aren’t great away from home, which drove the confidence to begin with, and the whisper getting around the Pollard might be sitting Friday night out certainly helps.
Plus, I just think the Brumbies have shown a great ability to vary their game plan this year, both home and away. They’re in very good form currently, and know the right strings to pull to take on different varieties or opposition…
The Rebels have left the Australian conference door ajar and it could cost them
Bang on, Istanbul…
The South African conference has had three different leaders this season, and I think the weekend was lead change number 7 or 8!
One BP win separates the four Australian sides.
“Clear as mud”, indeed…
The Rebels have left the Australian conference door ajar and it could cost them
Entirely my thoughts, too. It feels like the penny is a long way from dropping…
How would a Folau legal challenge affect RA?
Great memories, Dan. Gilchrist was batting with pure wild freedom on this day, and I’m with you, no specific shots ring out, but the greater carnage is unforgettable.
Of course the most ridiculous flow-on from this was discussion around whether squash balls in batting gloves should be banned – an idea clearly tossed up and debated by people who’ve never experienced just how bloody uncomfortable it is!!
The Roar's Cricket World Cup countdown: Adam Gilchrist's blistering final century
I watched again while putting this together – it looks worse four years on!! Genuinely looked like it was hitting middle two-thirds of the way up…
The Roar’s Cricket World Cup countdown: Chris Gayle’s rubbish-but-brilliant 200