Australia v Wales 2nd Test Match Report

Wales let history slip in Melbourne as Australia claim a 25 - 23 victory in the second test match with a last gasp penalty from newcomer Mike Harris.

After last week’s disappointment at Suncorp Stadium Wales got off to the dream start. After sustained pressure and good work around the fringes, George North powered over from close range to open the scoring just 4 minutes into the game.

Berrick Barnes responded with a penalty and Australia began to dominate. The home team had the lion’s share of possession and territory due to a poor Welsh lineout preventing them from getting any sort of continuity.

Barnes slotted another penalty to bring the hosts to within a point and the more pressure Wales were put under the more mistakes they began to make.

Then on the stroke of halftime Berrick Barnes received clean ball off the top of the lineout, he went on to sell a dummy to the welsh midfield and go clean through to execute a simple two on one and send Rob Horne over for the try and the teams went in at the half with Australia leading 13 – 7.

The final try of the half is a prime example of the importance of giving your backline clean ball off the set piece; Wales had very little ball clean ball and were under pressure in the first 40, and as soon as Barnes gets good ball he glides through the defence to set up the 5-pointer.

Wales couldn’t have wished for a better start to the second half. A Wallaby set move goes wrong and Wales centre Ashley Beck hacks the ball downfield for his centre partner Jonathan Davies to win the footrace and Halfpenny converted to put Wales back in the lead.

In the second half the lead changed hands a total of 8 times as Barnes and Halfpenny traded penalties. However Wales missed a massive opportunity when Cooper Vuna was sin binned for tackling Leigh Halfpenny in the air, the correct decision and possibly warranted a red card. During that 10 minute period Wales only scored 3 points and with that a big opportunity had been missed.

It all came down to a Mike Harris penalty that came as a result of a powerful driving lineout and he stepped up to break Welsh hearts and give the home team a 25 – 23 victory.

This means that Australia have won the series and this tour is now considered a failure by the players, coaching staff and Welsh public.

Wales can be proud of their effort; their defence was extremely good and only leaked one try. They may feel they deserved a victory out of the game but ultimately the scoreboard doesn’t lie and once again Wales are looking for positives in defeat.

Wales seemed to lose composure with 90 seconds on the clock, with a knock on advantage rather than keeping the ball and closing the game out they kicked the ball 60 metres downfield allowing Australia the chance to march up field and claim victory.

Wales’ kicking again was extremely poor, they didn’t learn their lessons from last week. They kicked loosely and straight down the throat of Aussie full back Adam Ashley Cooper and Wales were simply unable to gain any territory.

I think it’s now time for Priestland to be dropped, Hook deserves to be given a chance because Priestlands form has been poor. Mike Phillips at times was guilty of trying to take on the whole of Australia by himself. I’d like to see Tipuric given some game time on the big stage because ultimately Sam Warburton has been second best to David Pocock this series and a few changes might help to revitalize the team.

So Wales set their stall out at the beginning of the tour claiming that nothing less than a series victory will do, and that hasn’t happened. Now it’s about trying to salvage something, a victory next week will make history and should begin to heal the wounds, now they have to pick themselves up as they head to Sydney still in search of the elusive ‘W’ in the Southern Hemisphere.

Australia v Wales Match Report

A wounded Australia turned in a clinical, streetwise performance to run out 27 - 19 winners over 6 nations champions Wales at the Suncorp Stadium.


After Australia gained parity in the kicking battle early on Berrick Barnes opened the scoring after 7 minutes with a three pointer caused by wales gave away a series of penalties at the breakdown.

Wales responded quickly after some lovely inter-passing between Rhys Preistland, Leigh Halfpenny and Scott Williams. But Wales lost a bit of composure and Priestland knocked on at the following ruck and the chance was gone.

It took 16 minutes to get the first try of the game and it went to Australian back row Scott Higginbotham. After some uncharacteristic poor defending from Wales, Australia got some quick ball and managed to rumble over the line for the try.

Wales got their first points on the board after Halfpenny slots a relatively simple penalty, given for Australia misbehaving at the ruck, a lot of which went unnoticed by referee Craig Joubert.

The rest of the first half went to and fro with Australia deservedly taking the lead in at half time 10 – 3.

The second half got off to the worst possible start from a Welsh point of view. Will Genia sniped and went through some more poor fringe defence from Wales, there was a hint of blocking from referee Joubert but Genia rounded the final welsh defender to score under the posts and it was a long way back for Wales.

Halfpenny began to chisel away at the lead with a penalty 5 minutes after Genia went over. This was then cancelled out by a drop goal from Barnes that kept the scoreboard kicking over.

Cue the Welsh revival. They hit the Wallabies defensive line hard and managed to get a simple penalty that Halfpenny knocked over.

Midway through the second half, substitute Ashley Beck caught the Australians flat-footed with a lovely step and offload to Alex Cuthbert who finished well from 25 metres out and Wales were growing into the game.

Halfpenny slotted another penalty to bring Wales to within a point, and then disaster struck for the Celts. Australian fell into a similar grove to the first half and attack hard around the fringes. This led to Will Genia putting Pat McCabe through a hole in the welsh defence and he crossed from close range to seal the victory.

Scott Higginbotham made a fantastic cover tackle in the last 10 minutes to deny Cuthbert a second try and really make the dying moments exciting.

Australia will be very relieved with this victory after Tuesdays defeat to Scotland. Will Genia shone and Berrick Barnes controlled the game well from 10. The Wallabies dominated the aerial battle and were able to gain some good field position because of this.

Referee Craig Joubert had a very suspect game. His refereeing of the breakdown was always going to come under scrutiny with Pocock and Warburton against each other, and he didn’t handle that facet of the game well at all. I think Wales may need to seek advice from a southern hemisphere referee in the next week because they appear to be calling the breakdown differently to what Wales are used to.

Wales will be disappointed with themselves. They were not in the game for the first 50 minutes and they were lucky to still be in the game. The kicking game was poor as was the chase. Wales lost the battle of the breakdown against the maestro Pocock. The fringe defence was almost non-existent which is very uncharacteristic and defence coach Shaun Edwards will definitely be working hard with his team in the week. Another disappointing factor from a Welsh point of view is they let 2 big try scoring opportunities go begging and that is criminal in the southern hemisphere. On the positive side the set piece was solid and Wales never looked like they were panicking which is nice to see. Also they showed Australia can be vulnerable so they can take some confidence into next week.

Wales and the nation were quietly confident heading into this tour and quoting in the press that nothing less than a series win will do, they’ve got a lot of work to do to ensure that happens from here on in.

The Summer Tours: What are England, Wales and Ireland Looking to Gain?

International summer rugby is almost upon us, 3 enthralling test series’ that promise rugby of the highest quality – I for one, am excited.

As I thought of the upcoming tours I tried to throw myself into the shoes of Gatland, Kidney and Lancaster and imagine what all 3 teams will be hoping to get out of their respective tours.

England – Building Process

After a promising 6 Nations Championship, during which they proved a lot of doubters (including yours truly) wrong the England squad and their newly appointed head coach will be on high. This buzz will have only been enhanced by the way they dismantled the Barbarians 2 weeks ago to win 57 – 26 at rugby HQ. During the record-breaking victory there were tries from youngsters Christian Wade and Jonathon Joseph which will please the England coaching staff as well as Chris Ashton regaining form to score a hat-trick of tries.

Lancaster’s first tour as national head coach takes him to South Africa, arguably the toughest place to win in world rugby. England will be looking to use the momentum from the win against Ireland and the rout against the Barbarians and throw themselves into the lion’s den with no fears. I think this is a stage in the rebuilding process since a calamitous world cup. Lancaster has named 13 un-capped players in the squad, and I believe he is trying to give a younger generation a feel for what it’s like in the ‘deep end’ of international rugby, he’s looking to the future.

Lancaster will tell the press that England want to win every game etc. and as an international coach that is how it should be. However, I think England fans should be satisfied with victory in any of the three tests which I’m confident England can achieve, however it isn’t likely; I believe winning the series is out of the question.

I think an acceptable outcome from this tour is the team performs well, doesn’t get embarrassed, shows signs that they can take on SA physically and young players in key positions handle the pressure well, such as Owen Farrell because if he can do it in SA then he’ll have proved himself in my eyes. If England can achieve that, then steps are being taken in the right direction.

Forwards: Botha (Saracens), Cole (Leicester), Corbisiero (London Irish), Doran-Jones (Northampton Saints), Dowson (Northampton), Fearns (Bath), Gray (Harlequins), Hartley (Northampton), Haskell (Otago Highlanders), Johnson (Exeter), Kitchener (Leicester), Launchbury (London Wasps), Marler (Harlequins), Mears (Bath), Morgan (Scarlets), Mullan (Worcester), Palmer (Stade Français), Parling (Leicester), Robshaw (capt, Harlequins), Robson (Harlequins), Stevens (Saracens), Waldrom (Leicester), Youngs (Leicester).

Backs Allen (Leicester), Ashton (Northampton), Barritt (Saracens), Brown (Harlequins), Care (Harlequins), Dickson (Northampton), Farrell (Saracens), Flood (Leicester), Foden (Northampton), Goode (Saracens), Hodgson (Saracens), Joseph (London Irish), Lowe (Harlequins), Monye (Harlequins), Strettle (Saracens), M Tuilagi (Leicester), Turner-Hall (Harlequins), Wade (London Wasps), Youngs (Leicester Tigers).

Ireland – Any Win Will Do

After Ireland got through their group well in the RWC I predicted the winner of the quarter final between themselves and Wales would become serious contenders, however it wasn’t to be and they were outplayed on the day. This disappointment became inspiration to exact revenge on their Celtic counterparts at the start of the 2012 6 Nations, but a nation was left disappointed again. This set the tone for an eventually disappointing tournament, climaxing in an embarrassing defeat to the English. Ireland went down 29 – 28 to the Barbarians at Kingsholm during the week however much like Wales had already sent the majority of their squad to their summer destination. So I don’t expect them to be too disheartened by this result.

Kidney takes his team to the home of the world champions, New Zealand. I think the Irish fans may be getting slightly cagey in light of their lack of recent international success, especially considering that Leinster are European Champions and domestic play-off finalists. This cageyness may turn ugly should the All Blacks brush Ireland aside. This is why any win will do for Kidney and his men, whether it be pretty, ugly, by 1 point or 50 points they just need to get a win on this tour. Failure to do so will increase the pressure on Declan Kidney and I think he could be made a scapegoat for Ireland’s poor displays, as is the fickle nature of sport at the top level.

As well as a win, Ireland may be looking for younger players to find their feet by including 7 newcomers to international rugby in their squad. In the centre Gordon D’arcy and Brian O’Driscoll have been stalwarts for many years but they are coming to the end of their careers; so now is the time for the likes of Ulsterman Darren Cave to step up and show that he is the real deal.

The Irish should expect no less than at least a win against New Zealand. With some experienced heads in their team and class throughout the backline they have the firepower to contend with the AB’s. A series whitewash could leave Kidney’s future in doubt.

Forwards: R Best (Ulster), S Cronin (Leinster), S Ferris (Ulster), D Fitzpatrick (Ulster), C Healy (Leinster), J Heaslip (Leinster), S O'Brien (Leinster), D O'Callaghan (Munster), P O'Mahony (Munster), M Ross (Leinster), D Ryan (Munster), M Sherry (Munster), D Tuohy (Ulster).

Backs: D Cave (Ulster), G D'Arcy (Leinster), K Earls (Munster), R Kearney (Leinster), F McFadden (Leinster), C Murray (Munster), B O'Driscoll (Leinster, captain), R O'Gara (Munster), E Reddan (Leinster), J Sexton (Leinster), A Trimble (Ulster), S Zebo (Munster).

Wales – It’s Time To Prove It

What an outstanding year it has been for the Welsh team. After crashing out of the RWC in 2007 to Fiji in the quarter finals the nation has become one of the major forces in world rugby. On their way to winning the 2012 6 Nations, Triple Crown and Grand Slam the Wales team proved they could win ugly and dog out victories when they needed to. This was a sign that the 2011 RWC wasn’t just a one off; they had evolved into the complete team. Wales eased past the Barbarians last weekend with a 30 – 21 victory at the Millenium Stadium fielding a very much second choice team. They’ll be looking to use this momentum and go in to the series with Australia looking to make history as the tourists have not taken a major southern hemisphere scalp since the 1987 RWC when they beat Australia.

Wales are being talked up by a lot of people as one of the best teams in the world and now it’s time to prove it. You can’t be considered a great team until you prove yourself in the southern hemisphere, even though they are the form team in the northern hemisphere it counts for nothing until you can win a test series in the backyard of ‘the big three’.

The coaching staff and players have made their intentions on this tour very clear and failure is not an option. In a recent interview full back Leigh Halfpenny claimed that if Wales did not win the series then the tour would be a failure, and that is the view of the Welsh public.

For too long the Welsh have continually underperformed when they have taken the field against the tri nations and have failed to close out leads against all three in recent years; the supporters are tired of being good losers or the nearly men.

If Wales don’t win the series against the Wallabies then it isn’t quite a disaster but it would be extremely disappointing for the fans, players and everyone involved with Wales.

This is Wales’ best chance in my lifetime to get the ‘W’ and I firmly believe they have a better squad than their opponents this summer, many of which will still be angry with the way their ‘nearly’ RWC cup finished, losing to Australia. The potential is there, a nation expects, It’s now time for Wales to finally deliver.

Backs: A Beck (Ospreys), A Bishop (Ospreys), A Brew (Newport Gwent Dragons), A Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues), J Davies (Scarlets), L Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues), J Hook (Perpignan), G North (Scarlets), M Phillips (Bayonne), R Priestland (Scarlets), H Robinson (Cardiff Blues), R Webb (Ospreys), Lloyd Williams (Cardiff Blues), S Williams (Scarlets), Liam Williams (Scarlets).

Forwards: L Charteris (Newport Gwent Dragons), B Davies (Cardiff Blues), I Evans (Ospreys), T Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons), R Gill (Saracens), R Hibbard (Ospreys), P James (Ospreys), G Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), A Jones (Ospreys), A-W Jones (Ospreys), Rhodri Jones (Scarlets), Ryan Jones (Ospreys), D Lydiate (Newport Gwent Dragons), K Owens (Scarlets), M Rees (Scarlets), A Shingler (Scarlets), J Tipuric (Ospreys), J Turnbull (Scarlets), S Warburton (Cardiff Blues, capt)



If you subscribe to Sky Sports, make sure you check out The Rugby Club at 7pm on Sky Sports 2. They'll be previewing the summer tours with Jamie Roberts and Shane Horgan, should be a good watch.

Also, keep an eye out on twitter for the ever-growing rugby community #rugbyunited and meet rugby fans from all over the globe.

Super Rugby Preview: Australia (Part 2 of 3)

Queensland Reds

Coach: Ewen McKenzie

Previous Wins: 2011

Last Season: 1^st

Last season was incredible for the Reds, and quite frankly it came from absolutely nowhere; between 2006 and 2009 they didn’t finish inside the top 10. They went on an outstanding unbeaten run between week 2 and week 11 of the competition; they also won an impressive 9 out 10 home games. In total they won 15 out of 18 matches, scoring over 30 points on 8 occasions displaying outstanding attacking quality, it really was a joy to watch.

 The post-season was crucial for the Reds if they are going to continue to progress and ensure that they can continue to be successful. It could have potentially been a very bad few months for the franchise with several players out of contract, players in key positions, for example; Digby Ioane – this was a very long, drawn-out process. His future became uncertain in September 2011 and he eventually said in November that he would make a decision on his future after the Australian tour of the northern hemisphere. There was plenty of speculation surrounding his decision due to his impressive performances. He eventually ended the whole saga when a 3-year deal was confirmed at the beginning of December. Also Radike Samo - who was whipped from semi-retirement by coach McKenzie in the summer of 2010 – signed on with the Reds until the end of the 2013 season. Samo has revived his career in 2011, even making a return to the Australia squad to face South Africa in 2011 – over 6 and a half years after making his initial debut.

The Reds also retained less high profile, but arguably equally important players. Beau Robinson stays with the franchise and I think he is going to be a regular in the back row with Samo and Higginbotham. Also back rower Liam Gill stays in Queensland; Gill is a young player but already has 9 Super Rugby caps and is definitely going to develop into a good player. I think the coaching staff definitely have Gill in their future plans and don’t want to lose his talents to another team.

Experienced second rowers Van Humphries, Adam Wallace-Harrison and Rob Simmons sign back on. Rob Simmons will be partnering Horwill in the second row a lot next season but it’s important to have quality backup, and different to other teams, they have experienced backup that’s going to be key to their continued success.

There is however some bad news for Reds fans. Aussie playmaker Quade Cooper will miss a large part of the tournament and is expected to be available for selection against the Brumbies in round 7. Cooper damaged his ACL at the Rugby World Cup during the third place play-off with Wales. He had surgery back in October and coach McKenzie is optimistic; “Quade's operation went smoothly with surgery results confirming the circumstances of his injury are typical to what you normally expect from a torn ACL," McKenzie said.

"We're confident he'll return in the quickest time possible and hopefully in time for the Brumbies in early April.”

Stepping in for Cooper will be New Zealand born Michael Harris. The Auckland born utility back has made 9 appearances for the Reds and was awarded Reds Young Player of the Year award for 2011. He is perhaps most recognized for his 20-minute cameo against the Rebels in which he scored 2 fantastic tries and really grabbed his opportunity. Harris admits this is an unfortunate situation bit it’s definitely a chance too; “Quade is a big loss to the team but other guys will step up and it's a big opportunity for myself.”

I really expect another good season from the Reds, the only trouble being that they now have so much expectation weighing down on their shoulders. The franchise has no less than 13 internationally capped players with bags of experience in every position. The thing that sets them apart from most is that they will very rarely make a substitution that lowers the quality or experience of the 15 on the field. Their back row will dominate most in 2012, with Samo’s dynamism and Higginbotham’s work in defence and at the breakdown they are extremely tough to outgun.

Also you have the genius of Will Genia with impeccable service and a snipe that would exploit any lapse in concentration around the fringes. Then further out wide you have the solid Anthony Faingaa and tricky Ben Tapuai, but further on is when it really gets dangerous. You have the clinical Luke Morohan who rarely blows opportunities and then the pacey, agile and world class Digby Ioane to bag tries left right and centre. It really is a machine that is destined to work well.

Problem is if you throw a spanner in the works – the Quade Cooper injury – then things may begin to stutter. As much as I am optimistic that Mike Harris will be more than capable of steering the ship whilst Cooper is recovering – he isn’t Quade. After the form Cooper was in last year he left massive shoes to fill, and there is always that little worry that Harris will fold under the pressure and expectation from the fans. If there is one position on the field where you can’t afford for that to happen, it’s at 10. If Harris is poor then the backline can’t fire, the team will begin to lose their confidence and the season could be dead and buried before King Quade returns. But as I say, I’m optimistic that Harris has enough quality and experience around in the form of Genia and Faingaa that he should be okay.

How can Digby Ioane not be my man to watch in 2012? The man is absolutely scintillating. He picks majestic lines and is powerful and fast enough to burst through them before you realise what has just happened. In 20 Wallaby appearances he’s scored 9 times, which is a decent return at international level; in Super Rugby he will score a try in roughly every 3 games since his career has began (although in recent years I feel he may have been more prolific). Outside defences should ignore the threat of this man at their peril; he’s going to be big again in 2012.

The Reds face a tricky journey to the Waratahs in Week 1. This is going to be another tight one to call; a massive factor in this game is whether or not Mike Harris steps up. He’ll be facing either Halangahu or Barnes and both have proven that they know how to steer their teams to winning positions and are experienced which may be a contributing factor. Other than that the battle in the back row is going to be interesting with Rocky Elsom and Wycliff Palu facing off against Higginbotham and Samo. I say it a lot but whoever wins the battle of the back row will have a massive say in the outcome of this match. I really don’t want to try and predict this one but I’m going to stick my neck out and go with the Waratahs.

Western Force

Coach: Richard Graham

Former Wins: None

Last Season: 13^th

Last season was another mediocre season for the Force. Even though they didn’t win until round 5 vs Lions – they had drawn a game and grabbed a couple of losing bonus points, so I thought the Force might finally become the franchise of it’s potential. However they then lost heavily to the Stormers and then lost their next 2 matches, killing their momentum. In my opinion, to be a successful team you need to have a good home record; for example last year the Reds won 9 out of 10 home games, and the Crusaders 8 out of 10, the Force however only managed to win just 1 of their home matches and 5 out of 16 overall. I think the Force always look like ‘a team for next season’ and by that I mean a team that possess quality, but isn’t quite ready to challenge – and the story hasn’t changed.

Young outside back Patrick Dellit was causing somewhat of a stir in July when he signed on for another 2 years. I don’t know an awful lot about Dellit but the coaching staff at the Force seem to be very excited by the 25-year-old. His ability to play both midfield and as an outside back makes him a valuable commodity, he started the final 9 matches of last season taking his total appearances up to 12. Force coach Richard Graham says: "What appealed to me in recruiting Patrick was that he had done a fair apprenticeship at club rugby and I believed that by giving him an opportunity in a professional programme he could improve”

"He worked hard to get an opportunity and his performances warranted continued selection. Given his physical size and attributes as a player he has plenty of potential still to be realised and I think he'll be a consistently good Super Rugby player. "

The Force also secured the signing of centre Winston Stanley, formally of the Auckland Blues. The young New Zealander shows a lot of promise and has a big career ahead of him. He won the Junior World Championship with New Zealand at under 19 and under 20 level; he was also nominated for IRB young player of the year in 2009. Stanley joins some decent midfield players at the Force in the form of Nick Cummins and Gene Fairbanks who have plenty of experience at this level, and is under no illusions: ”I know there are some pretty handy midfielders already there so I have no misgivings about how much work I'll need to do to challenge those guys for a place in the side. Competition is good though and I'm sure it will make all of us better players overall."

One of the things that has attracted Stanley, and some other signings in the off-season is the new $17 million state of the art training facility in Perth. Also Stanley highlights the strong foundations being laid by the forward pack: “The club has a really strong forward pack with plenty of current Wallabies and also boasts some exciting backs which I hope I can add to and be a strong contributor.”

The Force have also signed young Lachlan McCaffrey, an exciting young back rower who will be surrounded by international experience which can only can only bring him along. Also they have moved previous rookie Phoenix Battye into the full squad packing out their stocks in the second row. Two young players who are definitely in to gain experience and build for the future.

The stand out signing for the Force has been Fijian ace Napolioni Nalaga. The winger set the French league on fire upon his arrival in 2007-08 by becoming top try scorer in his first 2 seasons, scoring 16 and 21 tries respectively. He has also been crowned Top 14 Player of the Year and is definitely prolific and is somebody who has to be respected by opposition defences. Nalaga is looking forward to joining up with the Force and the new challenge: "I'm pretty excited about coming to Super Rugby, it is a competition I have been following for a long time,"

“I enjoyed my time in France and I'm thankful for the opportunities Clermont gave me but I'm looking forward to a new challenge as well. I haven't ever been to Perth but I know it is a good place and it will be good for my rugby.”

Coach Graham spent some time looking for a winger to replace the departed David Smith, and is ecstatic to secure such a talented winger: "Nalaga obviously has the ability to score tries but also importantly he has shown that he can quickly gel into a new environment and different styles of rugby on the back of his efforts when he first arrived in France," Graham said.

"Given we lost David (Smith) and his try scoring I wanted a like for like replacement and I'm confident we've achieved that.”

The Force are not blessed with quality in every position, but what they do have is a lot of experience, players who have been around the block a few times. Their forward pack is particularly experienced, which is going to be massive for them next year, with 12 forwards all internationally capped, namely Nathan Sharpe and David Pocock. They also have 8 players who have over 30 Super Rugby appearances. I expect they forward pack to set a very solid platform for their backline next year, Pocock is going to have to disrupt opposition ball on a regular basis to protect their backline from the quality that other teams possess, and I full expect him to do so.

I think the backline may prove to be their downfall in 2012. They do however have some experience particularly in the centre with Gene Fairbanks and Nick Cummins, and at fullback with Cameron Shepherd; but their backline is far from exciting, on paper. I can only really see a significant number of tries coming from Nalaga and they have two rookie fly-half’s in their ranks, which could prove to be a massive problem. I just expect other teams to have far too much quality in the backline for them to deal with.

David Pocock is going to need to continue performing at the highest level to give his team a chance this season. His work at the breakdown is outstanding, and his ability to disrupt and turnover opposition ball could prove to be a thorn in the side for many opposition. He has bags of experience for a 23-year-old, 40 caps for the Wallabies and 55 in Super Rugby, which is going to be crucial. If Pocock is absent in games this season then I believe the Force are going to struggle, he is that important to them.

In their opening match of the Super 15 season the Force face a tricky trip to Canberra to face the Brumbies. The Force have got a good forward pack who may be able to get the upper hand and set a good foundation for the backline. They could prove to be awkward opposition for the Brumbies, and if I had to call I’d say the Force may snatch this one. But the Brumbies have a big point to prove this season so expect them to give everything.

Just as a side note for all my Southern Hemisphere readers that are on twitter, keep an eye out for the hashtag - #rugbyunited - and @trevorlarge. 


It's great what Trevor is doing, bringing rugby fans together from all around the world to discuss and meet fans from other countries. Also there is an event starting on February 8th, in the lead up to the start of the Super 15 season each day will be dedicated to a different franchise to get their fans involved in the #rugbyunited community, which is growing by the day. See their website for details http://rugbyunited.wordpress.com/events/ 

Super Rugby Preview: Australia (Part 1 of 3)

The Brumbies

Coach: Jake White

Former Wins: 2001, 2004

Last Season: 13^th

Last year the Brumbies were the most disappointing team of season in my view. When you look at all the internationals and quality they had, they really should have done better. In the first game of the season they survived a scare when they nearly gave up an 18 – 3 halftime lead against the Chiefs, but eventually ran out 28 – 20 winners. However things went downhill for the rest of their season, they went on a 6-week winless streak; their season was probably over by week 8. Their away form was to blame, losing 6 out of 7 on the road. They leaked 81 points in a trip to South Africa against the Cheetahs and Sharks respectively. The only real highlight of their season is ending the Reds’ impressive winning run with a 14-22 win in Brisbane. The Brumbies had never finished outside the top 10, until 2011.

If the 2011 season was bad, then the off-season has been worse. Throughout 2011 the Brumbies lost no less than 15 players including; Matt Giteau (Toulon), Adam Ashley-Cooper (Waratahs), Rocky Elsom (Waratahs), Mark Chisholm (Bayonne), Salesi Ma’afu (Western Force), Josh Valentine (Western Force) and ex-captain Stephen Hoiles.

There hasn’t been much sign that the Brumbies are trying to replace the quality that they’ve lost; other than the attempting signing of Danie Roussow to replace the departing Mark Chisholm and Mitchell Chapman, which ultimately never came to fruition. Instead they settled for Leon Power. At 2 metres tall, the Kiwi-Aussie impressed whilst playing his rugby for Bay of Plenty in the 2011 ITM Cup.

The Canberra-based franchise also signed Queensland youngsters Ian Prior and Kimami Sitauti to give more depth to the Scrum half and Outside back positions heading in to the 2012 season. Prior is excited to make the switch and become part of an up-and-coming, young setup: “I spoke to Jake (White) earlier in the negotiations and he let me know this was an opportunity for me to be in and around the 22 week in, week out.

It sounds like White has big plans for the 21-year-old. Sitauti knows a few of the other youngsters already at the Brumbies and is excited about reuniting both on the field: “I'm looking forward to playing with some of the younger guys there like Michael Hooper, Colby Faingaa and Robbie Coleman - we've played together at the Sevens and with the Under 20's and had some positive combinations working there.”

So whilst it may seem discouraging for them at least Sitauti has some pre-existing chemistry with some of his ex under-20 teammates.

But what is very daunting for the Brumbies is the prospect of facing the start of the Super Rugby campaign without Wallaby centre Pat McCabe after he had shoulder reconstruction at the end of October. He should be back in action by early April. However McCabe is optimistic and is looking to make his return by March: "I wanted to have the surgery as early as possible because it's a six-month recovery and I wanted to miss as few games as possible for the Brumbies," McCabe told the Canberra Times.

"I have to look at it as an opportunity to improve my skills and physical attributes for when I can play again in March."

I suppose the positive thing is to see McCabe’s commitment to the Brumbies which supporters will find comforting.

The Brumbies board spent most of the off-season playing down reports the coach Jake White was leaving the franchise. First of White was quoted as saying he would put his name forward to re-take his job as coach of the Springboks, White then did a U-turn and a day later said that he would be interested one day, but for now he has a contract with the Brumbies: “I've got a contract here in Canberra, I'm enjoying putting the program together with a great group of staff and players and I'm definitely not leaving."

Then in the same month White was then linked to the vacant England job and indefinitely ruled himself out: “The timing with England is not right for me because I have a contract with the Brumbies and so there can be no speculation about my future."

It doesn’t look good for the Brumbies next year, but it is important that you keep in mind that this is a young team building for the future. The retention of internationally capped Ben Alexander and Stephen Moore was big for the brumbies this year. Their experience will help the young second rows and other props so I’d expect them to be solid up front and possibly dominate a few packs.

I think second row Leon Power is going to thrive in this professional environment (which is new to him). Standing at 2 metres he is definitely going to be a massive help in the lineout situation and weighing in at over 18 stone he’ll add some weight to scrum. He impressed in the ITM Cup with his huge frame and tough style of play, and Brumbies forwards coach was impressed: “I've watched a bit of Leon with the Bay of Plenty this year and what impressed me the most was that he just played for the full 80," Fisher said.

"He's got a good engine and he just worked away, made his tackles, chased the play and worked hard at the ruck so if that's your basis, that you've got a really strong work ethic, then that suits where we want to go.”

I think the Brumbies are going to struggle in the backs next season, and the loss of McCabe is going to impact the midfield massively. Without McCabe, they only have two centres with any Super Rugby experience (Robbie Coleman and Andrew Smith) so it looks like these guys are going to be under pressure to perform – whilst not getting injured! Further down the backline I’m very concerned. Out of the 3 selected wingers only Henry Speight has experience in Super Rugby and neither of the fullbacks have played in the tournament before.

Being inexperienced doesn’t automatically make you a bad player, in many ways the enthusiasm and raw talent of these youngster may provide us with some exciting performances, also the theory of playing against the unknown may mean that the youngsters won’t be intimidated and reputations will count for nothing. But ultimately I feel they are too weak, and lacking in strength in depth out wide to challenge this year.

For the first time in this series I’ve chosen a forward for you all to look out for next season in the shape of hooker Stephen Moore. The 28-year-old has made an impressive 84 appearances in Super Rugby and has 65 caps for the Wallabies, so he’s not short of experience. Moore is impressive in the loose and is very mobile for a front rower, his work at the breakdown is relentless and he is often used as a battering ram to drive through the fringe of the opposition defensive line, with a few tries to boot. His experience is going to be crucial if the Brumbies are going to mount a challenge next year in the Australian conference.

The Brumbies first game of the season sees them at home against former player Salesi Ma’afu and the Western Force. The Force have been busy in the off-season and I think that they might have this one in the bag, but it will be a potential banana skin up against a Brumbies franchise with a point to prove.

Melbourne Rebels

Coach: Damien Hill

Previous Wins: Never Won.

Last Season: 15^th

Things didn’t quite go to plan for the newly established Melbourne franchise in their first season in the newly formatted Super 15 which began with a 43 – 0 thrashing at the hands of the Waratahs. They won just 3 games out of 16, winning just once away from home. They took heavy defeats against the Reds, Highlanders, Blues, Bulls, Cheetahs and the Stormers which saw them finishing bottom of the table. Things can only really get better for the youngest franchise in the competition, and it seems the board has been taking steps in the right direction.

The Rebels made 6 new signings in the off-season. Young prop Paul Alo-Emile has joined, he is known for his scrummaging ability and his remarkable athleticism for a man of just under 19 stone. He was a regular for 2 years in the Australian under 20’s squad and was part of the team that finished third in the Under 20’s World Championships in Italy.

Mitch Inman joins from the Western Force. His season in 2011 was hampered by injury however the talent and potential was there for all to see when he managed to take the field. Inman is capped for Australia under 19’s and has represented his country on the 7’s circuit. Many expect him to go on and receive further international honors, but he’ll have to work had to work his way into the starting team at the Rebels first.

Lloyd Johansson is the first Victorian to join the franchise. The powerful inside centre returns to Super Rugby after he left the Reds in 2008 to play rugby for Viadana in Italy. The powerful runner – often described as a wrecking ball – returned to Australia in the 2011 post-season and was handed a spot on the Rebels development tour to the UK, his performances on that tour earned him his contract with the Rebels.

New Zealander James King joins the Rebels next year from the Auckland Blues. King showed a lot of promise in 2009 and was tipped for future All Black appearances, he was then selected for the Blues’ wider training group in 2010 but a shoulder injury ruled him out of contention. King eventually made his Super Rugby debut for the Auckland franchise in 2011. He is noted for his play at the lineout, standing at 6’5” it’s easy to understand why. King will probably be a backup second row because he will be competing for a place against some experienced players.

The Rebels’ marquee signings were that of Wallaby duo James O’Connor and Kurtley Beale. This is a fantastic deal for the franchise; picking up the signature of 2 of the most exciting players in the world is definitely going to enhance your chances of success. They have a combined experience of over 100 Super Rugby caps and over 50 caps for their country.

The arrival of James O’Connor sparked a flurry of statements from Danny Cipriani – the current number 10 – suggesting that he is a new man after his season last year was marred by controversial nights out and sanctions from the franchise. Cipriani then said that he was hoping to play his way back into the England setup – which we now know didn’t happen for the 6 Nations. Cipriani and O’Connor faced off against each other in November when Cipriani played for the Barbarians at 10 with O’Connor opposite him for the Wallabies, many people saw this as the battle for the number 10 jersey at the Rebels, and O’Connor certainly outshone the Englishman that day. However after the game Cipriani stated that he would be the fly half for the 2012 campaign, but he appears to have spoken too soon.

Coach Damien Hill spoke to the press and said: “It's great to hear Danny so enthusiastic but with all respect to him, it's not how we work here,

“We select players based on performance, behaviours, the talent we have available, there's going to be some selection challenges ahead.

"It's going to be what's best for the team."

In that same interview Hill had nothing but praise for the Wallaby: “Definitely. He's shown himself now at 10, 12 on the wing and at fullback so he's a talented player," Hill said.

"James' work in the contact was excellent, he's ability to direct the play, his offloads, just his general go-forward was excellent."

This looked pretty ominous for Cipriani, however since then O’Connor has come out to say that he would be happy playing at 12 and thinks with Cipriani at 10 they could form a great partnership.

In 2012 the Rebels will have a better season, they now have a very experienced squad with just one player without a super rugby appearance, they have a very good front 5 with the like of Laurie Weeks and Alister Campbell. They also have some exciting combinations in the backline with Cipriani, O’Connor and possibly Stirling Mortlock (currently sidelined with a knee problem), also with Kurtley Beale picking running lines from fullback it makes for a very exciting prospect.

I am slightly concerned about the fact that they have only named one out-and-out winger in their squad in the form of Cooper Vuna. I appreciate that O’Connor can play wing as can Beale but I feel they’d be wasted out there, Mark Gerrard can also be used on the outside but it wouldn’t be ideal, as is the case with Julian Huxley. Obviously coach Hill knows his team better than me, but it just seems like a confusing decision.

Kurtley Beale has to be the player that excites me the most out of this squad. He picks some sublime running lines and has pace to outrun most, his chemistry with O’Connor is unrivalled and his finishing is second to none. He’s scored 9 tries for the Wallabies and 12 in Super Rugby; He often splits defences up the middle so expect him to enter the fray during some midfield strike moves especially from 15 – but he isn’t really a battering ram, so also look to see him running a hard line off 13 or possibly even wider, where there is more space. He is such a danger when the play breaks up so he’ll be looking to counter attack whenever the opportunity presents itself. He is going to have to perform well if the Rebels are going to be contenders in 2012 – which Beale believes they are.

The Rebels have three warm-up matches against the Chiefs, the Blues and the Crusaders. Hill believes these warm-up matches are crucial: "It's always good to trial against New Zealand teams, they do the basics extremely well," said Hill.

"You end up with a really good indication of where you're at in regards your set piece breakdown and your defence."

The Rebels have a bye in week one, but they host the Waratahs in round 2. They’ll be looking for revenge after last years embarrassing opening fixture, and I think it could happen. It’s a tough one to call in my eyes, but I’m going to go with the Rebels, I think they have a slightly more enterprising backline. The battle in the back row is going to be huge in this one with the likes of Gareth Delve going up against Rocky Elsom, if the Rebels can contain Elsom and provide a test for the Waratahs back row I think we could see the Rebels taking this one.