So basically Scott Fardy was the ultimate 6 and if Swinton can replicate that the jersey is his for a long time with the current backrow balance at 7 and 8.

Days gone by those stats would have suggested a comfortable win for the Wallabies. The games tactics have clearly moved on! Risk reward for high skill plays is just not there right now unless you are as skilled as the ABs, which nobody else is. It may be the right long term vision for Rennie’s Wallaby side but we’ve got to have half an interim target to aim for then build from. Analogous to business transformation programmes you always have various “transition states” on way to the end target state. At each transition state you put in place new capabilities that build on the previous state. Rennie just seems to be going straight target when the team isn’t ready. Rennie is trying to transform how the Wallabies play and he’d do well to leverage this type of approach. What this means is simple tactics and getting the basics right. The Wallabies current skill set lends well to going up the middle. Add to that a 10 who has a good tactical kicking game and we’ve got a start. I just don’t see this from Rennie’s side yet. As unfortunate as it is the side is so young and still learning. Not ideal to learn in a test environment but that’s where we are. Tests squad should be finishing schools, not high schools.

Has Kerevi sorted out his defensive reads yet though? Remember that and the lack of a distribution game really took away from his undoubted ability to bend the line.

Awesome breakdown of these crucial passages of play Brett!

For me the think that stood out in this piece is I just can’t believe WR doesn’t have an official sanctioned ball for internationals. That there is a such a noticeable difference between the Gilbert and Adidas balls boggles the mind.

At the Tahs Gordon was leading a lot of the plays whereas in the Wallaby setup it looks like he’s been asked to take more of a distributor first role rather than play making. Remember back to Beld 4 last year with Hodge at 10 nearly all the ball playing was off White at 9. That’s a bit more how Gordon played this year. Gordon is also captain at the Tahs and that seemed to really work for him forcing him into an even greater leadership role on the field. Like you I think Gordon was the form 9 by end of TT but to be fair to Tate he’s looked awesome in this series and Gordon only OK. To be fair to Gordon he is coming back from injury too so even if “fit” he may not have full confidence in his knee yet. Again, like you said, great problem to have choosing between White, Tate and Gordon.

Great stuff as usual Geoff. If there has been one thing I’ve taken most joy in since RA annoucned the Stan/9 deal it’s how well Rugby has been promoted. I am too young to remember what it was like when Rugby first went pro back in the 90s but ever since 2003 RWC I can’t recall Fox ever doing half so much, or half as well executed. Watching the partisan News Corp journos squirm under what must be some editorial guidance is shameful. Even Christ Doran, a long time rugby journo, seems to take the negative first News Corp line. Sad times indeed. Just glad to have 9 on our side who seem to be hands down the best producers and promoters of sports in Australia.

No not 40. They are managed but large part of the squad play 30+ games and they are still in camp and training when they aren’t playing on the weekend so are in a pro-setup being guided and monitored for a large chunk of the year.

Part of the problem!

Great set of observations mate. To point 9 I’d pick this starting pack for Bled 1. Swinton, Naisarani and Swain added so much. Great around the park and at ruck the lot of then. Swinton is also a genuine lineout target which can’t be underrated. Bobby V hasn’t replicated his Super dominance at test level, although his defence has been excellent. Wilson still very young. Star of the future but doesn’t give us as much grunt and ruck presence as Naisarani (yet).

Tupou best of the bench and that’s nothing to be ashamed of. He isn’t so dominant he can munch through starting Test packs so off the bench is best. At Super level Tupou will destroy a starting pack but not in Tests.

Re point 8 I agree depth at 9 is a bit iffy. White far and away the best and a bit of a drop to Tate and Gordon. Both decent and offer a lot but not up there with White (yet).

Given Daugunu has broken his arm, and with Wright out of form, Hodge rockets back into contention for starting wing spot. Some of his kick chase was outstanding tonight. Created crucial territory/possession tonight. Showing his experience at this level now. Vunivalu needs to get a run though as he’s just a freak and can do things that nobody else can. Still needs more time in the saddle to get the rugby nous back but his potential is sky high. Up there with Foalu who was so many times the difference between wins and losses for the Wallabies and Tahs.

If this Wallabies vs Les Bleus test series has taught me anything it’s that our pro players need to play more games each season. In the Top 14, ProD2, and Premiership play circa 40 games a year. Super is about 18. No wonder they have such depth in NH when they literally play 2x as many pro games as our guys. NZ gets over 30 by having a full NPC season after Super. In AU we have nothing to compare. Even the NRC was a bit of a short season. Shute and Hospital are just not good enough standard and the players are too spread out to continue developing combinations. A proper NRC to add at least 12 more “pro” games per year is essential for our development.

Great work this week Nic! Not that it’s been dud work any other week 😀

With those 2nd row stats it must be SOOOOOO hard for Rennie not to call back Arnold and Skelton into the squad. I’d expect to see one or both of them asked back for TRC. They are a step above everyone who played in AU outside of LSL. Good to see Philip took his form from last year and brought it to France. Not just a flash in the plan.

Out of curiousity how do Arnold and Skelton measure up against the other second rowers in the Top League or Premiership?

I’m picking up what you’re putting down LHG. As you say the question is the ration of AU to TT. Not either/or. Also, and perhaps quite cynically, if the Kiwis say they want full Super round robin then that’s exactly what we shouldn’t do. They don’t have our best interests at heart so why should we immediately fall in behind that idea. In saying that I don’t have the answers but right now for AU rugby it’s not a return to full Super. Rod Kafer had a great quote which was basically saying after 17 years of Super Rugby post 2003 RWC it’s been a complete failure on nearly any metric you choose to measure. Why continue in the face of sustained and consistent failure to deliver for AU rugby?

100% spot on mate. I was screaming at the TV with all the aimless kicks and crap ruck work, especially our offensive ruck i.e. supporting the ball runner. Just a repeat of the last 5 years. Unless our sides have a clearly dominant pack, which they rarely do, they just go completely to pot. I’d have thought with the 50/22 in play all year our kickers would have learnt but alas. Ruck is harder to fix but Brums and Force show what can be done.

Didn’t RA cut $30 mil cost last year….it was unsustainable cost sure but they managed to carry that for a number of years.

Given the success of Super Rugby AU I would think any move to change the comp structure next year would need to show clear and obvious upside benefits over the now incumbent setup. RA will and should do what’s best for rugby in Australia and that means balancing finances with actual competitiveness of Australian teams and local fan engagement. I’m now really curious to see what the financial cases are for full TT vs Domestic then TT. I think this will drive a lot of the decision making. Engagement and competitiveness I think is clearly in favour of Domestic then TT. Regular games each week with guaranteed Australian winners in a relatively even comp (Tahs aside this year) has been a god send and I’d hate to lose that for the illusory benefit of a few more broadcast $ from a full TT only comp.

I know Wright is quality but forcing him back into a winning side was a bad move IMO. Pushing ASY to lock didn’t work out and Reds looked weaker for it. He is a bench player right now for the Reds regardless of his position as Captain last year. Not taking the points on offer just did my head in and as Captain Wright had to cop that. Full credit to the Force though as they came to play. If I was a Reds fan I’d still be salty about the knock on try the TMO somehow let through. But for that Reds win.

Nice summary as always Geoff. Think the last paragraph is actually the most interesting. As soon as the 2 provisional licences for Fiji and MP were announced I thought bugger that could meant he end of Super AU which I believe has been an accidental success and one we should not abandon in haste. The benefits have been well documented, including:
– Convenient timezones
– Tribalism with every game a grudge match (Force v Rebels, Reds v Brums, everyone vs Tahs)
– Australian sides winning weekly
– Austrlian side getting a trohpy!
– Developing a winning culture (as opposed to getting smashed by the Crusaders twick a year)
– Increased viewing audiences and attendance (except for bums on seats at Tahs this year, although suprisingly more viewers despite the terrible season so far)

I’m now really looking forward to the TT where we test ourselves against the best without having to worry about only 1 or 2 Aussie teams featuring in a final series of a combined comp.

Ultimatley though I think the money men (i.e. the broadcasters) will have a big influence on the final structure of the comps. If the financial case for a full Super 12 is significantly better than a AU/AO (including the PI teams) + TT then will be hard for RA resist. Still, competitiveness is the most important thing in a long term viable comp and I fear that rushing back to a Super 12 will just mean more lop sided games with NZ on top. Until our 5 sides, plus the 2 PI teams, are regularly competitive I think we should be wary about going back to the old model. Also based on my Twitter feed (I only use it for rugby) there are precisely 0 fans in Australia who want to get rid of Super AU. It’s been a resounding success so far with fans as far as I can tell.

So Tom Decent and Sam Phillips at SMH literally make this up and Ian Payten who is kind of their boss lets them get away with it? We aren’t talking about the News of World or tabloid press here. I’m sure Brett isn’t defending the credibility of the small crew of rugby journalist out of blind trust but one on actual knowledge of how they operate.

Great read Brett. Journalists don’t make stuff like this up so the question is very much what are the motivations of those making the comments rather than the veracity of the comments.

For mine I hope Scott Johnson and the heavies at RA are piling the pressure on NSWRU. The situation is simply not good enough so whether they replace Penney or not people need to be held accountable and attempts made to fix the systemic problems that’s got them to where they are. Hell, can they even take the Tahs franchise off NSWRU? Would be better off having Twiggy run the franchise at this rate!

Good point. The head coach brings a lot more than just a single person to the gig. In saying that though I believe Chris Whitaker, Matt Cockbain, and Jason Gilmore are pretty well regarded in coaching circles so I feel it’s an administration schemozzle rather than anything inherent to the Tahs. Penney et al have done as best as they could with the hand dealt.

Great article Brett. You mention Eddie Jones, Steve Hansen, and Scott Robertson woud struggle to turn around the Tahs. I’d go one further and say they would be too smart to take on an impossible challenge which is exactly what Penney has in front of him. If NSWRU seriously expected anything different to happen than what has then Jones et al would be too smart to sign up to that.

Thanks Nic! Great reading here. Would be interested for you to revist this analysis of the Reds backline at work after they’ve played the Brums, Force and Rebs to see the state of play. Clearly not as effective against the Rebels last weekend as they were against the Tahs.

Great stuff Geoff! The rolling maul is a blight straight up. It’s like they created a special exception to the offside rule. If you can get pinged for offside when the ball runner accidentally runs into the back of one of his own players what the hell is happening when 7 forwards are in front of the ball carrier in a rolling maul? Keep the maul sure but just have normal offside rules apply. Failing that, just allow the defending team to “sack” the maul and drag it down by whatever means. Just why you can’t do that in the first place is a bit strange anyway.

One thing is for sure, punters will still complain that Hooper is overrated even when he isn’t playing in the comp.

Was it “bum” or “hobo” because he basically lives on a bench? Not very PC but believe it was chucked around back in the day. I actually had this conversation on a Rugby Ruckus twitter thread about best rugby nicknames of all time and Morgs chimed in saying that nobody ever called him “Anthems” in the playing group and that it was a bit disrespectful. Fair point. It could be a media created nickname but also I could see team mates using it tongue in cheek. Quite an Aussie trait really…the more stick you give someone the more you actually respect/love them…otherwise you wouldn’t bother and you’d just call them a d!ckhead!