Round 3 Super Rugby review: Waratahs’ defence shuts down Reds; Rebels off to a flyer
MICHAEL Cheika’s pop-star impression, his side’s brutal defence and the Rebels off to a flyer - we review round three of Super Rugby.
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Does Michael Cheika dig Lady Gaga or does the Waratahs coach just love Sydney’s The Star casino? Whatever the case, his pre-game “Poker Face” speech – complete with drawing – worked wonders on Saturday night as the Waratahs shut out the Reds at ANZ Stadium.
Will Genia and Quade Cooper haven’t looked that ineffective as a halves partnership since the 2011 RWC semi-final against the All Blacks. There was no Cooper magic, no blindside sniping from Genia.
The Wallabies halves had no answer for the Waratahs’ defence with the Reds managing just two linebreaks and one try – which Lachie Turner scored while Israel Folau was sin-binned.
Wycliff Palu was brutal in midfield, and the decision to start Jacques Potegieter a masterstroke. The South African import threw himself around the paddock in the exact manner for which he was recruited.
Israel Folau again grabbed the headlines following his fifth try in two weeks but the real story was the Waratahs’ defence. In a season where all the talk has been about attack, it was an old school coach and his pre-game speech that showed us defence is king – even in Super Rugby.
Excuse us, Ms Gaga. But Michael Cheika’s union with the Waratahs is anything but a bad romance.
Rebels’ rousing win worth the wait
The Rebels had to wait until week three of the competition to kick-off their 2014 campaign – but it was well worth it.
Any kind of win over last season’s finalists the Cheetahs would have been celebrated in Melbourne, but the manner of their 35-14 victory – running in five tries against a side that had yet to concede a five-pointer in 2014 – was impressive to say the least.
The comeback kings – skipper Scott Higginbotham, back from shoulder surgery, and halfback Luke Burgess, back from France – led from the front but there were any number of top performers for Tony McGahan’s side.
Lock Hugh Pyle was everywhere , fullback Jason Woodward was a constant threat with his powerful running and former sevens player Sean McMahon – just 19 – looked a loose forward on the rise in his Super Rugby debut.
The Rebels defence – an area they have worked on diligently all pre-season – also lived up to expectations. Willie le Roux, who terrorised the Rebels last time the two sides met in Melbourne, was barely given a sniff.
Next up for the Rebels is a horribly out-of-sorts Western Force in Perth, and a great chance to match their current record win-streak (2).
What is going on out west? Clearly not much tackling.
Two matches into 2014 and the Western Force have already conceded a whopping 70 points, following up their season-opening 43-21 loss to the Waratahs with a 27-14 defeat at home to the Brumbies.
Force under pump after opening losses
The worry for the Force is that it could have been worse – their two tries on Saturday night came right at the death, long after the Brumbies had put the proverbial cue in the rack.
The size of those two losses will do little to ease the pressure on coach Michael Foley.
Last week Fox Sports Rugby expert Tim Horan predicted Foley would be under the pump unless the Force could win “at least two or three games” in the opening eight weeks.
They get the chance to notch one of those victories when they host Melbourne this week, and they would want to take it.
There was some good news to come out of Perth over the weekend – namely on the injury front.
Fears that Brumbies stars Pat McCabe (neck) and David Pocock (knee) had suffered serious recurrences of the injuries that sidelined them for much of 2013 were eased late on Sunday.
Force lock Hugh McMeninam (neck) also looks to have escaped any major damage.
Usual Saders’ start or something different?
No wins, no points, no Dan Carter, now no Richie McCaw – there has been no good news for the Crusaders in 2014.
The Super Rugby heavyweights stumbled to a shock loss to the Blues in Auckland on Friday night, seeing a 17-3 lead turn into a 25-17 deficit in a matter of minutes either side of half-time.
They never recovered from that Blues blitz, slumping to a second-straight defeat to sit bottom of the New Zealand conference without even a solitary bonus point.
And the pain of that defeat has been compounded by the loss through injury of McCaw, who will miss two months of rugby after breaking his thumb against the Blues.
Matt Todd shapes as a quality replacement at No.7, but even with captain (and IRB World player of the year) Kieran Read also back on deck the Crusaders will surely miss the inspirational All Blacks skipper.
It’s not quite panic stations in Christchurch, however. Last year they lost their opening two games … and went on to storm into the playoffs.
They didn’t have McCaw for any of the regular season either, although they did have Carter in the No.10 jersey, which has so far been worn by Tyler Bleyendaal and Tom Taylor already this season.
There’s no time for pity though, it’s straight into a Saturday clash with South Africa’s Stormers, who built up some confidence with a late come-from-behind win over the Hurricanes.
Keep the tries coming, fellas
Early contenders for try of the year? Possibly. The standout tries of the weekend? Absolutely.
The first nominee came on Friday night as the Rebels signed off their impressive 21-point victory over the Cheetahs with an 80-metre special at AAMI Park.
Determined to make the most of turnover ball, the Rebels swept up field firstly through a Jason Woodward grubber. And despite it being the 80th minute of their first competition match for the season, no less than eight Rebels players charged up field in support in arguably the most pleasing aspect of the win for coach Tony McGahan.
The ball was then whipped across the field to skipper Scott Higginbotham, who set off for the corner. Exhausted from a superb performance, Higginbotham could have been forgiven had he been bundled into touch by the chasing Cheetahs defence. But in a move that surely brought a smile to the great David Campese’s face, Higginbotham goose-stepped and fended his way to the corner to dot down his side’s fifth five-pointer.
Turnover ball and sensational team support was also the recipe for the Waratahs as they produced a long-range special of their own at ANZ Stadium.
It may have been finished off by man-of-the-moment Israel Folau but this was very much a team try, one that travelled through seven sets of hands.
From Bernard Foley to Tatafu Polota-Nau and Nick Phipps to Jacques Potgieter, it was backs and forwards working wonderfully in unison.
More of the same thanks.
AROUND THE GROUNDS IN ROUND THREE
BLUES 35 d CRUSADERS 24 at Eden Park - MATCH CENTRE
REBELS 35 d CHEETAHS 14 at AAMI Park - MATCH CENTRE
STORMERS 19 d HURRICANES 18 at Newlands - MATCH CENTRE
CHIEFS 21 d HIGHLANDERS 19 at Waikato Stadium – MATCH CENTRE
WARATAHS 32 d REDS 5 at ANZ Stadium - MATCH CENTRE
WESTERN FORCE 14 d BRUMBIES 27 at nib Stadium - MATCH CENTRE
BULLS 25 d LIONS 17 at Loftus Versfeld - MATCH CENTRE
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