It’s a measure of rugby’s diminished standing in Australia’s ultra-competitive sporting landscape that the New South Wales Waratahs are playing the Queensland Reds – Super Rugby’s supposed version of rugby league’s State of Origin – on Saturday and barely a word has been said in anger. No mind games, no provocative statements to wind up the opposition, no premonitions of violence – just deafening silence. Alas, Australian rugby it seems is now well and truly in the slipstream of the A-League and the Socceroos. Australian rugby does have a group of core supporters, though, who will stay loyal through all the Kurtley Beale/Di Patston scandals. However, recent seasons of Wallabies mediocrity and questionable administration appear to have taken a toll. Indeed, going into this weekend’s fourth round of Super Rugby, things just don’t feel like they used to.
Alas, without further ado – the big match of the weekend nobody is talking about: the Reds at home to the Waratahs. The first observation here is throw the form book out; this is a game the Reds, no matter how poorly they might be travelling, always show up for – and especially in their beloved Suncorp Stadium. Karmichael Hunt’s legal matters won’t be a distraction. This will be a primal contest of old – the Queenslander versus the southern invader. The Waratahs’ titleholder status will count for nought in Brisbane. And there’s James Horwill to deal with. The former Wallabies skipper has been a penalty magnet for some time now, to the point, some say, that he has become un-selectable. Against NSW, however, he has to be the first name on the team sheet. His off-the-ball niggle and general abrasiveness is exactly what the Reds need against a NSW forward pack who, dare we say it, might still possess a soft underbelly, a trait coach Michael Cheika may have disguised very well last year, but nonetheless remains a part of the Waratahs’ DNA. Time will tell.
The half-back/fly-half match-ups will be intriguing: Will Genia and James O’Connor against the Wallabies incumbents Nick Phipps and Bernard Foley. Genia has talked a lot of gibberish in recent seasons on why his form declined so rapidly from the Reds’ title-winning heights of 2011. It’s simple – he was carrying injuries and couldn’t maintain the fitness levels required to play top flight rugby. Not anymore. Genia is now fit – the best he’s ever looked in fact. If he finds his running game again, he might well teach his former understudy Phipps a thing or two. O’Connor, of course, is an outside back who can play at 10. Some say he’s an average fly-half at best. However, while he’s not a true pivot in the traditional sense (say, like a Jonathan Sexton), he can certainly cause opposition defensive systems severe grief with his running game in and around the 9/10 channel. He’s always done that well. He could be handful on Saturday night if Genia feeds him quick balls off a dominant forward pack. O’Connor’s opposite, Foley, has more strings to his bow at 10 but struggles to adapt to rush defence (as he showed against the French on last year’s Spring tour). Other notable match-ups include foreign import loose forwards Jacques Potgieter against former All Black Adam Thomson. It will be a fascinating contest at the breakdown – Potgeiter’s blunt force trauma versus Thomson’s jackal-like forays.
The other local derby, on Friday, sees the Brumbies host the Western Force. The Force were appalling against the Hurricanes last week, and one suspects it could be one-way traffic for the Brumbies at home. It’s worth keeping a close eye on the Brumbies this season. They’re a superbly-coached side. But the Chiefs figured them out rather easily a couple of weeks ago. The best team after three rounds are the Chiefs. And that’s because they’re chameleons; an incredibly hard team to prepare for as they can play in many different ways, and all beautifully orchestrated by Aaron Cruden at 10. They are without question the team to beat.
In other matches of interest, the Blues must surely get their first win of the season against the Lions at Eden Park, while look to the Sharks to spring an upset against the Stormers on Sunday morning.
Super 15 round four fixtures
Friday
Chiefs v Highlanders - AEDT 5.35pm
Brumbies v Force - AEDT 7.40pm
Saturday
Blues v Lions – AEDT 5.35pm
Reds v Waratahs – AEDT 7.40pm
Sunday
Cheetahs v Bulls – AEDT 2.05am
Stormers v Sharks ADET 4.10am
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