Opinion
Faulty engine saw Waratahs arrive at the end of the road
Paul Cully
Rugby columnistHarry Johnson-Holmes looked underdone, and Dave Porecki was missing entirely: try driving a car with a faulty spark plug. That’s what the Waratahs looked like in Hamilton on Saturday, with the multiple errors and lack of accuracy signalling that they had hit the end of the road.
And, to be successful at this stage of the season, things really need to line up for a team: the return of a refreshed Brodie Retallick for the Chiefs, for example, has given them a shot of beating the Crusaders in Christchurch in the first semifinal.
By contrast, Porecki’s loss was massive. His replacement Tom Horton is a good player, but was caught out for the Chiefs’ first try when he failed to trust the inside defence of Michael Hooper, allowing Chiefs No 9 Brad Weber to beat him on the outside.
The Waratahs aren’t quite the same side without Porecki, or with a half-fit tighthead.
2. Brumbies’ ‘Stop Ardie’ plan works a treat
The Brumbies were lining up to tackle All Blacks No 8 Ardie Savea in Canberra - in the knowledge that the Hurricanes don’t have many other big carriers in their pack. They executed the strategy to perfection, with Savea making just 26 metres from 16 carries - you don’t see those statistics too often.
Ardie Savea was smothered by Tom Hooper and the Brumbies defence.Credit:Getty
Captain Allan Alaalatoa and big No 6 Tom Hooper led the defensive efforts, and the latter was also strong with the ball in hand as the Brumbies took control in the final quarter.
Hurricanes fans might point to the loss of Jordie Barrett after 58 minutes (HIA) as the pivotal moment, but the tide was already starting to turn in favour of the home side.
They won most of the pressure moments in the second half, and when you have young Wallabies such as Darcy Swain stealing a lineout and Noah Lolesio then putting the Hurricanes deep inside their own territory with a lovely kick, no one can argue that the better side won.
3. Sole Australian semifinalist will test the Wallabies.
There are two ways of looking at this: the -glass half-full approach is to say Dave Rennie will get a bunch of fresh players to prepare for England. But, the glass half-empty view is that too few Australian players will be exposed to the sort of footy they need.
The latter rings true, because the intensity of the four quarterfinals was at least 25 per cent higher than the round-robin games. Some of the contact work in the Chiefs v Waratahs and Blues v Highlanders games was brutal, and across the weekend the importance of having a strong scrum went up a level.
It was unforgiving, and if Australia can get to the stage where they have two semifinalists in Super Rugby, the Wallabies will hit that July window with some momentum.
4. Filipo Daugunu’s late-season surge
The Reds’ wings were both good against the Crusaders - Suliasi Vunivalu’s finish confirms why he will be named in the Wallabies next Sunday - but Daugunu’s performance stood out because he has been struggling all year.
A cold night in Christchurch would have given him every excuse not to front, but he was busy, powerful and largely accurate.
It may come too late for Wallabies selection, but there is also an Australia A team to be named and Daugunu has sent a ‘don’t forget about me’ reminder over the past two weeks.
5. Gratuitous head rubs must go
The practice of players in the men’s game - you don’t see it in women’s rugby - rubbing the head of opposition players after they make a mistake leaves a sour taste. The Chiefs’ Quinn Tupaea - great player, and favourite to wear the All Blacks’ No 12 jersey - was a repeat offender against the Waratahs.
No one wants to take the edge out of the game, but is it really necessary to taunt an opposition player for an error? Tupaea was already letting his game do the talking with his bruising carries and strong ruck work.
Team of the quarter finals
1. Ethan de Groot (Highlanders)
2. Samisoni Taukei’aho (Chiefs)
3. Oli Jager (Crusaders)
4. Brodie Retallick (Chiefs)
5. Tom Robinson (Blues)
6. Tom Hooper (Brumbies)
7. Ethan Blackadder (Crusaders)
8. Hoskins Sotutu (Blues)
9. Brad Weber (Chiefs)
10. Beauden Barrett (Blues)
11. Filipo Daugunu (Reds)
12. Quinn Tupaea (Chiefs)
13. Rieko Ioane (Blues)
14. Sevu Reece (Crusaders)
15. Stephen Perofeta (Blues)