Super Rugby 2015, round eight: Brumbies, Rebels record wins while things get worse for Reds
JAMES Horwill’s brain snap summed up the Reds’ season, while the Rebels snapped their home hoodoo and the Brumbies put on a clinic in round eight.
THE Brumbies produced another masterclass, the Rebels finally snapped their home hoodoo and James Horwill suffered another brain snap that just about summed up the Reds’ season.
It’s all in our round eight wrap.
GIDDY UP
ON Doncaster day it is only appropriate that the field for race one of our Super Rugby wrap is made up of Canberra’s finest equine machines.
We are of course talking about the Brumbies, who held their opponents try-less for the fourth time in 2015 when defeating the Cheetahs 20-3 on Saturday night.
Bernie Larkham may be the Wallabies attack coach but it is his Brumbies’ defence which has been phenomenal this season, conceding just six tries in seven matches this season.
But they weren’t the only positives from the game for the Brumbies. David Pocock started in the number seven jersey and as usual got through a power of work, while Henry Speight was lively at inside centre in place of the injured Tevita Kuridrani.
With their lead in the Australian conference now stretched to six points, the Brumbies can pull further away this coming Friday night when they face the floundering Blues in Auckland.
REBELS WITH A CAUSE
It seems almost inconceivable a team could lose seven on the bounce at home without playing that badly.
But that has been the case with the Rebels, who in most games this season, home and away, have appeared close to victory. It’s just that in most games, they haven’t finished it off.
But that all changed on Saturday as a defiant Melbourne side held out a vastly improved Reds outfit 23-15 at AAMI Park to snap the losing streak and move to a clear third in the Australian conference.
It looked like becoming eight in a row as the Reds, fielding their strongest lineup of the season to date, scored twice in the first 13 minutes to open up an early 12-3 lead.
But after 20 minutes the game was turned on its head, with James Horwill’s red card handing momentum to the home side, with Lopeti Timani and Tom English crossing before the break to square the ledger at 15-15.
Despite their numerical advantage, the Rebels were never able to comfortably kick clear of the gallant Reds, who were tough as old boots in the second half before eventually conceding a late try to Nic Stirzaker and penalty goal from Mike Harris.
The final 23-15 scoreline told the story of the match, with the Rebels doing just enough for victory without ever dominating the clash.
HORWILL’S SHOCKER SUMS UP REDS’ SEASON
DEBATE raged over whether James Horwill deserved a red card for his reckless swinging arm to Paul Alo-Emile’s head in the first half at AAMI Park on Friday.
But what wasn’t in question was just how far Horwill’s star has fallen since his days of captaining his beloved Reds to the 2011 Super Rugby title and leading the Wallabies to the World cup in the same year.
The veteran lock appeared to be on song in Melbourne when he dived over to open the scoring for the Reds in just the sixth minute.
But less than a quarter of an hour later he received his marching orders for the second time this season after yet another uncharacteristic brain snap.
With Horwill’s departure to Harlequins confirmed for next season, what was supposed to be a farewell tour for one of Australian rugby’s great servants is fast turning into a sad last hurrah.
It wasn’t the only disaster for the Reds on Friday, with Quade Cooper suffering a shoulder injury in just his second game back from injury. He is expected to be sidelined for the majority of the season.
And to top it all off, Will Genia’s post-World Cup departure to Stade Francais was confirmed just hours before the match.
It just ain’t all going to plan for Richard Graham right now.
CATEGORY SEVEN HURRICANES
The Saffir-Simpson scale measures the intensity of Hurricanes or cyclones on a scale of one to five. But we’ve found one exception to the rule.
Wellington’s yellow-clad Super Rugby outfit are currently off the charts, recording their seventh straight victory of 2015 with a professional 25-20 performance against a defiant Stormers (how ironic) outfit on Friday night.
The fixture was delicately poised at 3-3 after nearly half an hour when Nehe Milner-Skudder, the flashy fullback who is playing himself into All Blacks contention with some dazzling displays, collected an awkward bouncing ball and finished brilliantly over his head.
Ten minutes later Julian Savea crossed after some more good work from Milner-Skudder, before a quite spectacular end-to-end team move was finished by Beauden Barrett to extend the half-time lead to 25-3.
It was all the Stormers in the second half, but there was just too much to do — the eventual 25-20 scoreline reflective of the Hurricanes’ first half dominance and the gutsy Stormers’ showing in the second 40.
CRUSADERS DAZZLE IN DURBAN
They have been a temperamental outfit in 2015, the Crusaders. But when they’re on, they’re on and there is no side better to watch.
They took the 14-man Sharks to the cleaners on Saturday night, racking up eight tries to dispose of the home side 52-10 at Kings Park.
It was a relentless, brutal performance — two tries in the first five minutes, four by half time and seven by the 52nd minute.
The Sharks simply had no answers, with Jean Deysel’s 40th minute red card the icing on the cake.
The performance was especially encouraging for the Crusaders given that Dan Carter, their legendary flyhalf experiencing a form resurgence in recent weeks, was absent from the match after returning home for the birth of his child.
Colin Slade appeared to have little difficulty filling the void left by Carter’s absence, an encouraging sign for the All Blacks and Crusaders with Carter’s time in the drivers seat edging closer to its end point.
CHIEFS IN COMMAND
It was a case of no Sonny Bill, no worries for the Chiefs, who overcame their star centre’s late withdrawal due to injury to see off the blues 23-16 in Hamilton.
The match was one of ebbs and flows, as the Chiefs’ early dominance was countered by a stellar spell before half-time by the Blues, before the Chiefs’ class once again shone through in the second period.
Young backs James Lowe and Tom Marshall each picked up a try in the fixture, while a clever piece of play from veteran Blues skipper Jerome Kaino caught the Chiefs off guard and produced their only five-pointer of the match.
It was another sorry night for the Blues, who have now lost all seven of their matches in 2015 — all by 12 points or less.
Originally published as Super Rugby 2015, round eight: Brumbies, Rebels record wins while things get worse for Reds