No-one wants to be the odd team out that misses the finals in cruel new Super Rugby format
The new Australian Super Rugby competition has thrived amid the COVID-19 crisis because of how close the teams are to each other, but the cut throat format only makes it more gut-wrenching for the sides that miss the finals.
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The quirky format of Super Rugby AU always meant the new competition was going to end cruelly for one team.
In the full Super Rugby tournament, Australian sides that missed the finals would console themselves with the knowledge they could share the pain with all the others who failed to make it, but not in the new abbreviated domestic version.
With three of the five clubs making the finals — but the Western Force unable to mount a serious challenge after rejoining their Pacific Coast rivals at short notice — one of the four regular Super Rugby sides was going to miss the cut on their lonesome.
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We now know that’ll be either the Waratahs or the Melbourne Rebels – depending on next week’s final round.
As things stand, NSW are currently in third spot, but have the bye in the final round and the Rebels, four points adrift, will leapfrog the Waratahs if they beat the Western Force by four or more points next weekend.
“We’re effectively into a quarter-final now,” Rebels coach Dave Wessels said.
“We’ve got our destiny in our hands now.”
No team is more desperate than the Rebels to make the finals. They’ve never made a final before and have been branded as chokers after blowing the deal previously when they looked to have it in the bag.
“That would be huge for us,” Rebels captain Matt Toomua said. “So we have plenty to play for.”
The Waratahs are clinging to the hope that the Force can break their duck and win for the first time this season.
They almost beat the Rebels the first time around only to lose in extra time, and the Waratahs coach Rob Penney has offered to shout them some grog if they can win and help NSW make the finals.
Everything points to the Rebels winning but Penney isn’t ruling out an upset. He’s been impressed by the Force and reckons they are due a win and he knows they despise the Rebels after they were retained in Super Rugby at the expense of the Western Australians.
Toomua knows that as well. It was his late penalty that got the Rebels a bonus point in Saturday‘s 38-32 loss to the Waratahs that has made their job a little easier next weekend.
“If they beat us, they‘ll consider it a pretty decent finish to the season,” Toomua said.
“For us, we‘ve got the chance to make history for our club and that’s all we’ll be thinking about.”
The Waratahs will know their fate a few hours earlier than usual next weekend with the match brought forward to an afternoon kick off as a part of last round Super Saturday, though the main event no longer counts for anything.
The Brumbies are seven points clear of the Reds after Friday’s 31-14 win over the Force and with the following week, they don’t have to take risks with injuries in next weekend’s one day return trip to Brisbane.
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