It’s all over. 12 weeks of Super Rugby AU came to an end at the weekend with the Brumbies defeating the Reds in the final to become the first Super Rugby AU Champions. The tournament gave us the return of the Western Force to top flight rugby and introduced the world to many of the next generation of Wallabies as many of the experienced players moved on to ply their trade abroad.
With the tournament over, there is just one more duty to uphold: picking the Team of the Tournament. These are all my own picks and go by my own feel from watching the matches rather than statistics – though I may throw in the odd stat to help my point. Let me know who would be your selections!
1) Cameron Orr: First up in the squad is actually a former Gloucester boy and I assure you that it was not through any bias. Orr did a great job as part of a solid scrum and as the tournament went on began to really show his ability in the loose, most notably with a wide pass to set Reece Hodge up for a try in Round 10’s win over the Force.
2) Jordan Uelese: There was some impressive play from many of the hookers in the competition; unfortunately much of that didn’t extend to the lineout. While he may not have been as influential as some of the other hookers, he also felt much more balanced than some of the others between his play in both the loose and set piece.
3) Taniela Tupou: I’d go as far as to call the “Tongan Thor” one of the best tightheads in the world right now. The Reds prop not only dominated his side of the scrum in most games, but highlighted his dynamism both in attack and defence and keeping this level of performance going for the full 80 minutes.
4) Jeremy Thrush: The former All Black played such an important role for the Force that probably went somewhat unnoticed due to their lack of success. Led from the front and took on the captaincy in the absence of Ian Prior for much of the tournament. To top things off, he finished with the most lineouts won in the tournament (39), despite many of the names immediately below him in the list having played extra games courtesy of the playoffs.
5) Lukhan Salakaia-Loto: The Reds have an incredibly talented foursome in the back row and that has allowed Salakaia-Loto to cement his place in the second row. With Izack Rodda leaving, the lock has taken on much more responsibility in the engine room and at the set piece – 35 catches saw him finish 3ʳᵈ in the competition for lineout wins – but he has also kept that dynamism from his time in the back row, making him a dangerous weapon in the loose.
6) Henry Stowers: Probably not the name many would have expected due to the Force going 0-8, but Stowers was a massive positive for them. It didn’t matter how things were going for the team, you could always rely on the Samoan to take the ball and take the game to the opposition, while he also finished the tournament with 109 completed tackles (joint 3ʳᵈ).
7) Will Miller: Australia creates such great opensides, this was not an easy pick. Liam Wright, Fraser McReight and Michael Hooper all had impressive performances, but Wright won the spot for me. He may have got on the wrong side of Angus Gardner in the final, but was a constant menace at the breakdown throughout the round-robin phase, while also contributing 4 tries during the campaign.
8) Pete Samu: All 5 teams had an incredible number 8 to try picking from, so this was far from easy, but in the end Pete Samu won out. The Brumbies number 8 played such a big role in both attack and defence with his big carrying, his willingness to tackle and his threat at the breakdown, while also finishing 8ᵗʰ overall for lineouts won (23).
9) Tate McDermott: The Reds halfback was on fire throughout the competition, keeping a high tempo for the attack while also utilising his speed and elusiveness to create and finish chances. Finished the tournament with 4 tries, 13 clean breaks (joint 3ʳᵈ), 32 defenders beaten (2ⁿᵈ), 7 offloads (joint 6ᵗʰ) and 360 metres carried (10ᵗʰ), while he also came up with some key defensive interventions.
10) James O’Connor: This was a tough decision between Matt To’omua and O’Connor and the Rebels’ inability to play without To’omua gave him the advantage for a long time, until I looked at the squads and realised just how experienced the Rebels were compared to the Reds. O’Connor played a key role in the Reds’ success, getting the side playing some great rugby, and even n the days where things weren’t working for the Reds, he was clearly doing everything he could.
11) Marika Koroibete: The Rebels winger is such a vital part of their game and as such was one of the only constants within their back line. Finished 5ᵗʰ for clean breaks (11) and 4ᵗʰ for both defenders beaten (25) and metres carried (556m). Koroibete doesn’t just stick to the wing either but will constantly go looking or the ball, something you always want from a wing with such talent.
12) Irae Simone: Carrying, kicking, passing… Simone did it all for the Brumbies and it’s arguable that had he not been there, it may have been a much harder challenge for Bayley Kuenzle. Simone finished in the top 10 for both clean breaks (8) and defenders beaten (19). Don’t be surprised to see him starting in the Rugby Championship.
13) Kyle Godwin: 13 was a difficult selection as there was a lot of rotation at the position for a multitude of reasons. Eventually though I settled on Godwin. While he and the Force may have had limited success, he did a great job of solidifying the midfield and was consistently a willing runner looking to cause problems for the opposition and put his team on the front foot.
14) Filipo Daugunu: He may have spent the tournament on the left wing, but there was no way I could leave out Daugunu. The new Wallaby call-up finished as the top try scorer (6), while also finishing top for carries (117), clean breaks (15), defenders beaten (35), offloads (14) and metres made (775 – 162 more than the nearest competitor). Like Koroibete, Daugunu goes looking for the ball to great effect, so it will be interesting to see if Dave Rennie picks between the pair or looks to play them both.
15) Jock Campbell: It’s probably no surprise that I picked Campbell here after suggesting he should start for the Wallabies (I may have jinxed him as he ended up not making the 44-man squad) a few weeks ago. He may not have carried as much as some of the other fullback, but made the most of those carries by finishing top 3 in clean breaks (13) and defenders beaten (26). If he can continue this form next season, a gold shirt must surely be in his near future.
Eyes on the Ball 