Opinion
Putting Super Rugby Pacific to the South Africa Test
Paul Cully
Rugby columnistWe know what South Africans think of Super Rugby Pacific, because their terminally online supporters tell us every five minutes. In short, it’s garbage since they left for the greener pastures of the majority-European United Rugby Championship, and probably on the way to bankruptcy, but most certainly short of the physicality needed to prepare players for Tests.
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has put his faith in Super Rugby Pacific players.Credit: Getty Images
That thesis will certainly be tested in Brisbane on Saturday with Joe Schmidt backing Super Rugby Pacific players to get the job done. They have a woeful record in Australia, but that was largely during the “old” Super Rugby years and we’re starting to see a new generation of players come through on both sides who are either SRP products or URC products.
It’s not entirely accurate to attribute the performances of a Test team to the underlying competitions, but there is no doubt we’re about to get an accurate gauge on the true quality of trans-Tasman rugby over the coming weeks.
2 Reimer reason
How do the Wallabies replace the injured Fraser McReight? The simple answer is you don’t. Neither Luke Reimer nor Carlo Tizzano offer the same combination of on-ball presence and link play that McReight offers.
In fact, it appears that the Wallabies are weighing up two very different philosophies: either go with Tizzano, probably the most like-for-like with McReight, or the Moneyball route, in which you don’t try to replace McReight but “recreate the aggregate” by picking a combination of other players who cover for him.
Luke Reimer (left) covers some of the “on-ball” elements the Wallabies lose with the absence of Fraser McReight.Credit: Getty
That’s where No.7 Reimer comes in. He throws up some unique statistics, playing 14 games in Super Rugby Pacific, but only for an average of 28 minutes. But he certainly covers the “on-ball” element lost with McReight’s absence, meaning Schmidt will have to find a ball carrier/support runner somewhere else in the pack. Either way, McReight is a massive loss.
3 Edmed’s Kiwi bonus
The influx of about 10 Australian players into the NPC in New Zealand has split opinion, with some provinces arguing they were left with no option after unsuccessfully scouring their club rugby ranks, while others suggested they should look a bit harder.
But the competition, which starts next weekend, is nothing short of an outstanding development window for players such as No.10 Tane Edmed. If you are looking for a Kiwi province to support, make it North Harbour, where Edmed and fellow Australian Ben Grant will be playing alongside the likes of one-Test All Black Shaun Stevenson, cult hero prop big Karl Tui’inukuafe and decorated former Crusaders halfback Bryn Hall.
Tane Edmed will benefit from a stint in the NPC.Credit: Getty
That Edmed-Stevenson combination at 10-15 should be fun, and it’s almost impossible to think the experience won’t make Edmed a better player – and the Kiwis are footing the bill.
4. Contraction equals concentration.
Australian rugby fans have been burnt before in terms of waiting for a performance uplift that never came when five Super Rugby teams went to four. But it is becoming apparent that the Rebels’ demise is going to have an altogether different effect than the fall of the Western Force.
The arrival of Taniela Tupou, Rob Leota and Darby Lancaster at the Waratahs is plainly good news, especially under the stewardship of Simon Raiwalui and Dan McKellar, while the Reds are looking nothing short of stacked after the arrival of Lukhan Salakaia-Loto.
The arrival of Wallabies prop Taniela Tupou is good news for the Waratahs.Credit: Getty
There is a line being drawn under the performances of Australian teams over the past few years, and it would be a surprise to see them fall beneath it next year. What the ceiling looks like depends on a whole range of factor, but the target has to be two semi-finalists in 2025.
5. The Bok the Wallabies must cancel out.
Springboks loosehead Ox Nche appears to have gone to the next level this year, relishing the extra responsibility of starting in the absence of the injured Steven Kitshoff.
He’s such a damaging scrummaging because of his build and natural strength and it’ll be through Nche that South Africa will try to get the scrum penalties they thrive on.
Presumably, Tupou will start in the No.3 jersey for the Wallabies, and it really is in fixtures like this that will decide Tupou’s standing in the game, and ultimately his contractual worth.
It’s been hard to get an accurate formline on Tupou this year, although he made it clear in an interview with colleague Jonathan Drennan that the uncertainty over his next move post-Rebels had been hanging over him. With that now sorted, will we see Tupou reach the heights we know he can? It’s arguably the most pivotal one-on-one in the Test.
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