Super Rugby Round 17 review: Waratahs on top of the ladder, Brumbies battling, Force let big chance slip

THE Waratahs have surged to the top of the ladder — so why is the pressure off? Check out our Round 17 Super Rugby review for the answer, and more!

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 28: The Waratahs celebrate a try by Bernard Foley during the round 17 Super Rugby match between the Waratahs and the Brumbies at ANZ Stadium on June 28, 2014 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)

SUPER Rugby is back after a three-week break and we have a new ladder leader.

The NSW Waratahs thumped the Brumbies to jump into first spot for the first time in 2014, and clinched the Australian conference.

It was a different story for their Aussie rivals Western Force who were blown away by the Blues in Perth.

The Auckland-based outfit burst back into the race for a playoffs berth, but it will be a tough run home with the New Zealand conference looking even tougher to predict after a wild weekend.

Read on for our full Round 17 review!

‘PRESSURE OFF’ AS WARATAHS JUMP TO TOP OF LADDER

The Waratahs returned from the Super Rugby break with two huge carrots dangled in front of them — a shot at revenge over the Brumbies and the chance to go top of the ladder.

They managed both thanks to a five-try, bonus point win over their fierce rivals at ANZ Stadium.

A close-range try from prop Benn Robinson and a runaway intercept from winger Alofa Alofa got NSW off to the perfect start before Jesse Mogg pegged back the deficit by pulling off a rugby rarity, catching a bomb over the top of Israel Folau to score in the corner.

That ensured a 14-5 scoreline at half-time and left Michael Cheika less than impressed, with the Tahs coach telling Fox Sports’ Rod Kafer he wasn’t happy with his side’s “physicality”.

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The message must have got across to his players, as they dominated an admittedly understrength Brumbies outfit up front and made them pay with further tries to the impressive Bernard Foley, Alofa and red-hot No. 8 Wycliff Palu.

The convincing win certainly impressed former Wallabies and Waratahs captain Phil Kearns, who was calling the game for Fox Sports.

“The thing that I really liked that they’re doing at the moment is they’re responding to Michael Cheika’s demands, and they’ve done it all year,” Kearns said.

“In the first half he wasn’t happy, he said they lacked physicality but second half they cranked that physicality up and did exactly what the coach wanted.”

The victory saw the Waratahs soar to first place, clinch the Australian conference and ensure that their destiny is in their own hands as they look to lock in a home final — as well as get a crack at a home grand final.

And rather than be weighed down by the burden of holding on to top spot, Kearns sees it differently for the Waratahs as they enter the final two rounds of the regular season.

“You know that you’re at the top of the table so in a funny way it takes a bit of the pressure off and they can just keep focusing on just doing their job,” he said.

DON’T WRITE OFF THE WOUNDED BRUMBIES ... YET

The injury-ravaged Brumbies left ANZ Stadium with even more wounds to lick after that 39-8 pasting at the hands of their rivals.

But it’s not curtains for last year’s grand finalists … yet.

Results elsewhere ensured that the Brumbies remained in the top six after the weekend, although it’s difficult to see them getting similar favours and staying there after the next round given that they have the bye.

It all points to the home clash with Western Force in the final round, when hopefully the likes of star flyhalf Matt Toomua will be back on deck to give them a much-needed boost in personnel.

Kearns was asked if the Waratahs defeat meant that the Brumbies were gone for 2014, and while he said it was tough he wasn’t ready to put the line through them completely.

“I probably think so, although Ben Mowen did say they’ve got eight (players) coming back,” he said.

“They do tend to improve as the end of the season comes along. So I’m not writing them off but it’s a longshot.”

BLUES BLITZ PUTS DENT IN FORCE’S FINALS HOPES

One team that can write off their season unless they bounce back quickly is the Western Force, who were blown away by the Blues in Perth on Saturday night.

With a place in the top six in the offing, things didn’t start well for the Force when star winger Nick Cummins was a late withdrawal before kick-off at nib Stadium.

It didn’t get much better from there as the Blues burst out of the blocks, opening the scoring in just the fifth minute through an opportunistic try to young flyhalf Ihaia West.

The visitors didn’t let up, running in three more five-pointers to incredibly seal a four-try bonus point inside 18 minutes.

The final 40-14 result was a massive let-down from Michael Foley’s side, which let slip the chance to take a giant stride towards a maiden finals berth.

Foley didn’t pull any punches after the match, saying the reason for the flat performance was obvious.

“There’s some technical things that we’ve done better in other games, but it comes down to hunger,” he told Fox Sports.

“They were definitely more hungry.”

The disappointing defeat means the Force now face must-win games at home to the resurgent Reds, and then on the road against the Brumbies.

REDS RUN RIOT OVER DISAPPOINTING REBELS

With Quade Cooper and Will Genia on the injured list the Reds were supposed to struggle in attack against the Rebels but that couldn’t have been further from the truth as replacements Ben Lucas and Nick Frisby dominated at AAMI Park.

A utility player at the Reds for the last few seasons, Lucas turned in a composed performance in the No. 10 jersey while Frisby was energetic around the fringes and picked up a double thanks largely to the offloads of Greg Holmes.

Running into a howling gale in the first half the Reds were keen to keep ball in hand and it took just nine minutes for replacement winger Lachie Turner — brought on following a sickening leg injury to Dom Shipperley — to score.

The former Waratahs flyer was then sin-binned for a dangerous tackle but the Rebels were unable to make the most of the advantage as the Reds continued to control proceedings.

A try to Mike Harris and twin blows from Frisby all but secured the points at the break and while the Rebels briefly threatened a comeback in the second-half they were too far in arrears.

Biarritz-bound winger Rod Davies rounded out his best individual performance in recent memory with a try inside the final 10 before Rebels centre Mitch Inman nabbed a consolation five-pointer after the final siren. Luke Burgess and Bryce Hegarty had scored the Rebels’ earlier tries in the 52nd and 57th minutes.

The Reds will now attempt to play the spoiler role in their final two clashes as they head across the Nullabor to face the Force this Saturday before a final-round showdown with the table-topping Waratahs.

The Queenslanders would love nothing more than to derail the Perth side’s playoff hopes and deny the Waratahs top seeding.

KIWI CONFERENCE AS CLOUDY AS EVER

It was supposed to be the weekend where things became a little clearer across the Tasman — or so we thought.

But after entering the weekend with 10 points separating first from fifth there is now just six points between the first-placed Crusaders and the fourth-placed Blues and Chiefs.

All five teams can still make the semi-finals after the Blues kept their semi-final hopes alive with a breakout win away from home — a 40-14 hammering of the Force in Perth.

The Kiwi action began on Friday evening where the Highlanders and Chiefs turned a thrilling encounter typical of their recent clashes as the result again went down to the wire.

The Chiefs outscored the Highlanders three tries to two but it was the boot of Lima Sopoaga that was the difference — the flyhalf nailing four penalties and two conversions for a 16-point haul.

The Highlanders big guns brought their Test form back into Super Rugby with Aaron and Ben Smith, and Malakai Fekitoa all playing key roles in the four-point win.

They face a difficult assignment against the Waratahs this Sunday in what looms as one of the games of the season but with the Crusaders waiting a week later it looks to be a game they simply must win.

The Chiefs started to look like the two-time defending champions they are in the second half in Dunedin but left their run a little late and it may just be the case with the playoffs too.

They return to Hamilton this Friday to face the Hurricanes who have it all to play for in their final regular-season match. The Canes ticked the first box on Saturday as they held off the Crusaders in Wellington.

The seven-time champions still head the conference from the Highlanders but must bounce back at home against the Blues this Saturday. A thrilling final two weeks awaits across the ditch.

THE RUN HOME — WHO THE CONTENDERS FACE

1. WARATAHS 48 points

v Highlanders (H)

v Queensland Reds (A)

2. SHARKS 45 points

v Cheetahs (A)

v Stormers (A)

3. CRUSADERS 42 points

v Blues (H)

v Highlanders (H)

4. HIGHLANDERS 42 points

v Waratahs (A)

v Crusaders (A)

5. HURRICANES 41 points

v Chiefs (A)

BYE

6. BRUMBIES 40 points

BYE

v Western Force (H)

7. FORCE 36 points

v Queensland Reds (H)

v Brumbies (A)

8. BLUES 36 points

v Crusaders (A)

v Chiefs (H)

9. CHIEFS 36 points

v Hurricanes (H)

v Blues (A)

10. BULLS 33 points

v Stormers (A)

v Rebels (H)

Originally published as Super Rugby Round 17 review: Waratahs on top of the ladder, Brumbies battling, Force let big chance slip