Brumbies lead way as Larkham goes on attack

Rod Kafer believes the Brumbies will top the Australian conference but he’s not sure if they can be champions.

Christian Lealiifano breaks a tackle before scoring a try against the Waratahs on Friday night.

Former Wallaby Rod Kafer believes the Brumbies will finish on top of the Australian conference, but it is too early to tell whether they will win the Super Rugby title.

The Brumbies took an important step towards re-establishing themselves as the best team in Australia with a 32-15 win over arch rivals the NSW Waratahs in Canberra on Friday night.

Kafer, now an analyst with Fox Sports, thought the Brumbies would remain the top Australian team, but he needed to see more of the New Zealand and South African sides before determining a title favourite.

“Could they win the tournament? They certainly have the capability,” Kafer said. “Too early to make a call. Haven’t seen enough of the New Zealand sides to ascertain where they’re at. It might be a bit of a down year off the back of the World Cup and the way they approach the cycling of things.

“They might be giving their blokes a bit of a lighter year. In saying that, it doesn’t mean they are not going to be incredibly competitive.”

The Brumbies have displayed a new attacking style of game in their opening wins against the Hurricanes and the Waratahs with head coach Stephen Larkham deconstructing the conservative game plan of former mentor Jake White. Kafer said Larkham had been influenced by Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, who he assisted at the World Cup in England last year.

“They (the Brumbies) are very focused on some of the core learnings out of the World Cup and Steve’s association with the Wallaby team seems to have enhanced his concept of how he wants to play the game,” Kafer said. “They are very clear and particular about how they want to play.

“That’s pretty significant for them. In the past couple of seasons they have been caught between what happened with Jake White and Steve as the assistant coach and that sort of migration. Now they are very clear about their game strategy.

“Whenever you get the opportunity to coach at the higher level you learn stuff. Steve got that opportunity. He got an opportunity to coach with a very good coach in Michael Cheika and Mario Ledesma and Nathan Grey.

“That group of coaching staff will have all learnt from each other during that period of time. There is a real clarity in how the Brumbies want to play.”

Kafer said the Brumbies, who reached the Super Rugby final under White in 2013, had all the necessary ingredients to win the title.

“The Brumbies have that list of things you need to be successful,” Kafer said. “They have mature, excellent leadership in their team,” Kafer said. They have a team that’s been together as a senior group for a period of time.“I think they are going to be the best of the Australian teams. They certainly are at the moment and I don’t see that changing.”

“They are comfortable in the way they interact with each other and the way they play. There is a lot of harmony within the team and they have an excellent coaching staff.

“The combination of Steve with Peter Ryan and Dan McKellar and Dan Palmer, that is a pretty impressive coaching group. Young, hungry, but with a lot of experience.

Kafer said the team to watch in South Africa were the Stormers because they had an advantageous draw in the new 18-team competition.

“The team out of South Africa with the greatest advantage is the Stormers in terms of the draw.They don’t play a New Zealand side. That’s not a bad leg-up,” Kafer said.

“The Lions look good. Definite improvers. If you look at their draw there is a distinct advantage for the Stormers.”