Firstly, apologies for the delay in posting this report, had a few issues to sort out with my business this week. No, they weren't anything to do with opening bottles or somesuch.
Secondly, a belated congratulations to both the Brumbies and Tans for an excellent display of rugby. A high quality match, most enjoyable to watch.
Thirdly, a much improved performance from the Tahs. Well done.
Some observations:
- The Tahs scrum was surprisingly competitive against an all-Wallaby front row. Is Ryan (finally) coming to grips with the LH side?
- The weight difference between the two packs (20kg?) was significant in the end. We need another big lock or two to move opponents at the ruck, I counted only one such ruck all night.
- The Brumbies' defence shutting down big Willie, Beale and Folau was well-organised and mostly effective.
- I still think the Tahs' backrow is unbalanced. For me the template for a 6 if Fardy, abrasive, physical, good in the lineouts and BIG. Dempsey's as game as Ned Kelly with a huge motor, but he's not big enough and plays like a 7 to me. He could be extremely effective at the death replacing a more traditional 7.
- Injuries forced Gibson to select that backline with Carraro on the wing. In hindsight Daryl might've put Matt at 13 and left young Kellaway on the wing. The wingers were poor on the night with both of them making defensive errors, and Matt now not fast enough to score from a break. Robinson doesn't seem to've picked up the rich subtleties of rugby, he's only good in a straight line down the tram tracks; when play becomes unstructured after a few phases Reece looks lost and didn't know where to defend on the left wing for Tomane's second try.
- Young Kellaway was good on the night, and bad. That injection into the backline to take Beale's pass and put Folau away was lovely to watch. Not so his attempts to return kicks, very tentative. And his one-on-one defence at the back needs a lot of work. I know he's played a lot of 15 in the NRC but at this level he needs to learn the ropes on the wing.
- That Tahs had enough possession and territory in the second half (which was all played out in front of me) to win two matches, but the Brumbies defence was too good. The experience and composure of the Brumbies pigs at the breakdown was lovely to watch, they knew when to compete and put pressure on Tahs ball. There were also too many occasions when I felt the Tahs lacked urgency at the breakdown in this period and were either pushed back, lost the ball or lost composure; they weren't working hard enough off the ball to retain attacking structures. Deans would be quite disappointed with this aspect of their play.
- The Tahs handling is still not up to pro rugby standard. There's no reason this shouldn't be fixed on the training paddock.
- The youngsters who've played this year are keepers. Roach is the third choice hooker and doesn't look out of place wearing 2. Robertson's the future THP for many years. Dempsey should seriously consider moving north or west to get more time wearing 7, he's that good. Holloway should be selected for gold if the form of other Oz 8're any guide. Horwitz and Kellaway need more time on the paddock and they'll be OK. I'd like to see how Hanigan, Sandell and Orr go with a few minutes on the paddock.
This is a settled and skilful Brumbies side, they should win the Australian conference easily and do well in the finals. I didn't watch their recent loss against the Chiefs so I can't comment about their chances against Kiwi sides. For all the Tahs shortcomings they were very competitive against the Brumbies in Canberra and bloody near beat them in Sydney; all isn't doom and gloom ATM. But I would like to see them put some of the weaker sides away.
Two comments about the referee. I was towards the front of the upper deck down the southern end, about halfway between the 10 and 22m lines, and from that distance even I could hear the ref call "use it" at the contentious scrum. It matters not one whit the scrum started to moved forwards after his call, he MUST whistle the scrum up if the Brumbies don't get the ball out ASAP, his actions were perfectly in accord with Law 20 where it states "The purpose of the scrum is to restart play quickly.....". And secondly, there were far too many pointless stoppages let go in the second half. I noticed quite a few where there weren't any injuries, just a few moments to have a drink and a breather. We're in the entertainment game here, up against three well-funded football codes for the punters' dollars and support, it didn't look good.
The current Tahs squad has a lot in common with the federal parliamentary Liberal Party: a lot of former stars are now past their "best by" dates and should be moved on, although some of the Libs' best days were a decade or more ago, not just two years. The Liberal hierarchy have bitten the bullet and put their geriatrics out to pasture, let's hope the Tahs' management do the same.
