Iain Payten Super Rugby column: Waratahs lack where ‘real deal’ Rebels excel
JUST like Queensland exposed themselves against the Brumbies, the true measure of Melbourne wasn’t obvious in their opening game against the 14-man Reds. Iain Payten recaps the weekend talking points in his Super Rugby column.
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JUST like Queensland exposed themselves against the Brumbies (Jono Lance pun not intended), the true measure of Melbourne wasn’t obvious in their opening game against the 14-man Reds.
But their 37-17 victory over the Sunwolves had the distinct whiff of “real deal” about it.
They scored six tries with lovely interplay in the backs but the real reason why Melbourne overpowered the Japanese side is they’re so damn powerful in the forwards.
Melbourne have one seriously monstrous pack.
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The starting Rebels eight in Tokyo contained four players over 120kg, and the average weight was 117kg per man. The average height of the back-five was 195cm.
The average bench forward weighed 115kg, too.
It’s one thing to have size, it’s another to use it and the Rebels’ tries all came their forwards’ power.
Several tries came from scrums, and they had such dominance Lopeti Timani could stop pushing, detach and feed Will Genia away from the base. Extra man.
At other times, their metres-past-contract was so strong the Sunwolves couldn’t re-organise in time. When they had the right numbers, decoys and lovely short-passing skill from Melbourne’s forwards created gaps.
It was impressive stuff. Granted, we’re still to get a grasp on the Sunwolves strength but this was only Melbourne’s second game together remember. They should only get better.
TAHS STRUGGLE WHERE REBELS THRIVE
To see what is missing in the Waratahs game, please re-read the above.
That’s what is missing in the Waratahs game - a powerful forward pack.
The NSW big men just aren’t that big.
The heaviest bloke on the field in Durban was Jed Holloway at 118kg.
The average weight of the Waratahs’ forwards is 109kg per man, and their total weight was 872kg. Melbourne, at 938kg, are not far off having the weight of one extra player than NSW in their scrum.
The Waratahs are building plans around their fitness, pace and mobility but there is a truism in rugby - you have to go through them before you go around them.
And the Tahs are struggling to go through anyone.
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Their lack of penetration through the defensive line, and an under-siege set-piece, then has knock-on effects for the rest of the gameplan. The backs aren’t getting any front foot ball, let alone time and space.
Metres after contact numbers wouldn’t make good reading.
You can sometimes get around small by being clever, but smart passes to put forwards in half-gaps doesn’t seem to be working often either.
Jack Dempsey’s sharp feet at the line are being missed.
The Waratahs will find their overall struggles won’t subside until they get big men rolling forward.
MAD ABOUT JACK
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika drops Jack Maddocks’ name every chance he gets and we saw why in Tokyo.
The youngster unfurled all that potential in a eye-catching game, scoring three tries and laying on another. (He actually created one of his own tries with a lovely pass further up-field, so do you get assist for that? Ok, let’s say laying on two tries).
Maddocks was on the wing and there is talk of playing him at no.10 but that roaming receiver role was so effective, why bother?
The 21-year-old went on the Spring Tour last year and don’t be surprised if he jostles with Izzy Perese for the next Wallabies bolter headline this winter.
And here is the headache for Dave Wessels. He has Marika Koroibete coming back this week, and Maddocks and Sefa Naivalu already in the team.
Did we mention the Rebels could be the real deal?
FIX THE CARDS
Here is the simple fix to the current mess around yellow cards now getting handed out for incorrect handshake at the kickoff. (Or close to).
Change the citing threshhold from red to yellow.
Currently, the only offences that have to be explained in front of the judiciary are those deemed serious enough to have been sent off. It’s a high bar.
All the rest is left to the referees to decide in the game.
That seems bonkers.
Referees have a hard enough job policing the game’s 40,000 rules.
They shouldn’t be tasked with being an on-the-spot Judge Judy as well, watching replays on big screens from 60 metres away and trying to ascertain - sometimes from one or two angles - whether they can tick all the boxes and rule a player has irrefutably done something worthy of a yellow card.
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Yes, the TMO can help but they rarely do, let’s be honest.
And given delays in games are already out-of-control, match officials clearly feel under pressure to make a quick call. Game must go on and all that.
Sin-binning is a potentially game-changing sanction. There need not be such a rush.
The Caleb Timu yellow card for a no-arms tackle in the Reds-Brumbies game was a good example. Angus Gardiner ruled he had his arm tucked and used force.
If you had the chance to defend that at a judiciary, you could potentially dig up other angles that showed his elbow was bent and his forearm was up, and thus there was an attempt to use arms. Or maybe you couldn’t and you’d cop a suspension, or perhaps some demerit points.
But there’s none of that nuance in a 60-second, on-field trial.
Why not change the citing thresh hold from red to yellow, and Timu can answer that charge post-game? If he’s guilty, dock some demerit points or give a suspension and dish out enough of them, and guaranteed that’s effective deterrence.
If there is a clear and obvious piece of foul play, or there is dangerous head contact involved, by all means take action on the field. And take your time.
But all the rest: put it on report. Better to be right eventually than wrong immediately.
FINAL SAY
Last word on cards - if we’re now in a box-ticking refereeing world, how about: “That’s the sixth breakdown penalty conceded in your 22. I have no other choice but to give you a card”.
Originally published as Iain Payten Super Rugby column: Waratahs lack where ‘real deal’ Rebels excel
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