Even Kiwis see the rise in Australian rugby as the gap closes

If Rugby Australia is forced to run a domestic competition next year, it won’t be the disaster that many had predicted.

Hamish Stewart scores a try for the Reds against the Rebels at Suncorp Stadium. Picture: Getty Images

Let’s turn our attention to the Reds-Rebels Super Rugby AU game in just a moment, but for now let us consider the Waratahs and the Western Force.

28-8 was the fulltime score, to the Tahs. On the face of it, a fairly comprehensive victory. And yet it actually felt that the Force were in the fight. Not that they were ever going to win. You got the sense it was a scrappy featherweight up against a hardened middleweight and in the end you figured there was only one way the contest could end. The featherweight was making sure to snipe from afar and his punches were crisp and stinging. Give him time and he could open up an eyebrow.

The Force actually were ahead on points up to the half-hour but even by this early stage they were being worn down by the relentless boot of Will Harrison. Then Jono Lance knocked on, Michael Hooper swooped, on to Jack Maddocks and Jake Gordon …. breakdown, Maddocks stepped into the halfback role and flung a huge pass out to winger Alex Newsome and suddenly the Tahs have cleared out to a 16-8 lead.

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That was the halftime score and naturally everyone realised that if the Force were to have any chance, they had to be the first team to score. They weren’t.

Maddocks couldn’t believe his luck when a Force pass neatly landed in his lap and he galloped away for an intercept try, pursued by Byron Ralston, who may have totally eclipsed the cricketer-turned-rugby player with his silky running style but had no chance of catching him.

Lance swigged from a drinks bottle, pretending he hadn’t been the one to throw the intercepted pass, but inside he must have been burning up. And there was Harrison remorselessly adding the extras. Every mistake was being mined for maximum points.

So it’s now 23-8 and the Force have only themselves to blame for the mess they are in. But the good news is that there is still 35 minutes of play remaining. Time aplenty for them to make things right.

In short succession, play unfolds in the following fashion …

52 min: Force attacking scrum, 10m out from Waratahs’ line. They power forward when suddenly the ball squirts out sideways and blindside flanker Henry Stowers grabs it and lunges for the line. He knows he didn’t quite get there and on getting to his feet gives his teammates his best Maxwell Smart impersonation: “Would you believe … missed it by that much,” he said, holding thumb and forefinger a centimetre apart.

54 min: Another scrum. Tighthead Kieran Longbottom seems to be revelling in his contest with NSW loosehead Tom Robertson. Force penalty.

55 min: Another scrum. Force penalty.

56 min: Another scrum. Force penalty.

57 min: Another scrum. There is a reason the Force keep packing them. They not only are looking for a pushover try. They want to get a Waratahs front-rower yellow carded for repeated infringements. They look to have succeeded when the scrum folds on the Tahs’ left-hand side. Robertson’s elbow is the first to hit the ground, a telltale sign he has collapsed. But wait … what’s this? Referee Nic Berry has indeed raised his arm to signal a penalty. But it is to the Tahs. He has ruled that Robertson did not collapse but that Longbottom was boring in on the angle. The Tahs celebrate like the noose has been removed from their necks.

Not saying the call was right or wrong. It may be Longbottom deliberately pulled back a fraction and Robertson overextended. But it certainly was a decision out of kilter with what had preceded it. The momentum shifts and this time it doesn’t swing back again. The Tahs have a couple of tries disallowed and the match ends with Harry Johnson-Holmes wriggling over at worm height for a pick-and-drive try. I read the match reports which suggests the Force lacked spark and were out of their depth. Again, not saying this was wrong. Just wasn’t how I saw it.

The action moves to a day later and an hour up the M1, from Cbus Super Stadium to Suncorp Stadium. Statistics rarely tell the full story and they certainly don’t here. But they still make absolutely gobsmacking reading nonetheless. Second-hand possession: Rebels 91 per cent, Reds 9 per cent; second-half tackles: Rebels nine, Reds 143. Tries scored: Rebels 0, Reds 3.

The Rebels played the second half without Matt Toomua, so that has to be factored in. Not that he dominated proceedings in the first half with some erratic play. Still, he would have recognised the Rebels needed to generate fast ruck ball. There are, of course, ways of achieving this. Moving the ball wide and going straight to ground for three or four rucks in succession is one method. Instead, the Melbourne side tried to bludgeon its way over, allowing the Reds to slow the ball down, quickly regain their feet and constantly resupply their defensive wall.

Each Australian team is having its moment in the sun, though the Force needn’t bother at this point with lathering themselves in 30-plus SPF. If Rugby Australia is forced to run a domestic competition next year, it won’t be the disaster that many had predicted. And it’s not just the Australians who are noting the steady improvement on this side of the Tasman.

“In an ideal world, I would love to have the Australian teams involved,” Blues coach Leon MacDonald said last week. “That just adds something different and new and they’re just going to get better.

“I’ve watched their rugby quite closely and week to week their teams are starting to get their mojo back. They look strong.”

Compare where Australian rugby was three weeks ago to where it is now. And then remind yourself that NZ had a three-week head start on Australia in getting its rugby running again. Think of the difference Jordan Petaia has made. Think of how much Harrison has adjusted to the demands of Super Rugby. And Josh Kemeny and Pone Fa’amausili and James Ramm. Ask yourself whether you would be happy with Hamish Stewart or Kyle Godwin or Karmichael Hunt now filling a centre spot for the Wallabies. Three weeks ago, how would you have felt?

The naysayers are right. It’s not a patch yet on NZ rugby.

But it’s closing the gap.