Suncorp Stadium played host to the final game of Super Rugby AU’s round-robin stage as the Reds hosted the Brumbies. With the Brumbies already having 1ˢᵗ place in the standings (and therefore an automatic spot in the final) secured, and the Reds already guaranteed of home advantage in the Qualifying Final by finishing 2ⁿᵈ, there was very little to play for ther than pride and momentum.
The Brumbies were coming in off the back of 2 convincing victories, but soon found themselves behind as Reds fullback Jock Campbell scythed through the defence out wide before offloading to captain Liam Wright to score in the corner. James O’Connor missed the conversion, but made up for this by kicking 2 penalties as the Reds took control of the game, before the Reds back line worked an overlap off the first phase of a scrum to put Chris Feauai-Sautia over in the same corner, O’Connor this time nailing the conversion. Things were looking bad for the Brumbies, but they managed to get on the scoresheet just before halftime as Pete Samu cut in from the left wing to score under the posts, giving Bayley Kuenzle an easy kick to make the score 18-7 at the break.
As the substitutions started early in the second half with a view to the coming weeks, the game presented very few chances for either team to score. O’Connor kicked another penalty in the 66ᵗʰ minute to extend the lead, and with the Brumbies unable to muster a response, Tate McDermott – who had saved a try in the first half by causing Tevita Kuridrani to knock on as he crossed the line – reacted quickest when Kuenzle muffed a high ball to score in the corner and secure a 26-7 victory for the Reds.
Straighten up
If the tries in this game showed one thing, it was the importance of running straight lines to maximise the space on the pitch.
Straight lines from the inside runners meant that when Jock Campbell got hands on the ball, he found himself still having almost a third of the pitch to work with, with 3 teammates outside him keeping the width, against 2 defenders who were both narrow, with Tom Banks covering the potential grubber kick in behind. This left Campbell with so many options on how to proceed that it was easier to score than anything else and he duly utilised his pace and the threat of his outside men to slip between the 2 defenders and draw Tom Banks to convert a 3v1 overlap.
Then again for their second try, the drift from James O’Connor (with Filipo Daugunu sticking on his shoulder) and then Jordan Petaia running a hard, straight line led to the Brumbies defence coming in too narrow and being completely exposed by the ball out the back to Hamish Stewart. This meant that the widest defender – Tom Wright panicked at the overlap and tried jamming up on Stewart too late (which was unnecessary as Tevita Kuridrani was able to drift out onto Stewart. With Wright biting too late, it was easy for Stewart to get the ball away to Jock Campbell, who again successfully completed the 2v1 against Tom Banks to put Chris Feauai-Sautia over in the corner.
While both these tries showed the impact of running straight in the middle of the pitch to create the space out wide, Pete Samu’s try for the Brumbies also showed the ease with which straightening up a play that is drifting can beat a defence. Tom Wright got the ball about 17m in from touch but the inside runners hadn’t successfully drawn their men so he was immediately continuing the outside arc that he caught the ball on, with Pete Samu the only man outside him. His arc failed to successfully draw the defender out wide (Tate McDermott), but even by cutting inside he still found him forced towards the touchline by the 4 defenders chasing over, with more on their way. Thankfully for the Brumbies, Samu gave him an option by cutting back inside and taking the offload from Wright, which immediately caught out the first wave of Reds defenders who had all over-chased and getting through the gap before the second wave could plug it. Samu makes it look easy, but too often you will see the wide man try to hold his wide line in these circumstances and find themselves eventually getting the ball with the defence already pushing them into touch.
There is a time and place to drift and arc outside, but if you want to create space, sometimes the simplest way to do so is just to run straight.
From red to gold?
If I’m being completely honest, there is no fullback in the competition that has stood head and shoulders above the others, but if I was selecting the next Wallabies squad, I would have a close eye on Jock Campbell.
The Reds’ utility back is making himself at home in the 15 shirt and looks more confident with every game. While his attacking stats were generally lower than Tom Banks in this game (10 runs for 44m versus 17 runs for 152), his impact on the game was much more noticeable. As a utility back, he has a great blend of pace with handling and footwork, all of which was highlighted for Liam Wright’s try as he used his pace to beat Tevita Kuridrani to the outside with an arcing run that took out Tom Wright, before drawing Tom Banks and slipping an offload to Wright out the back of his hand the moment Banks turned his shoulders inside.
With nobody else standing head and shoulders above him, I’d love to see him given a chance in the Wallabies 15 jersey. He certainly has competition for the position with Reece Hodge and Tom Banks both just a year older but far more experienced and Jack Maddocks a couple of years younger, but Campbell looks like he would provide that extra playmaking option coming into the line and is certainly one of the form players.
Will he get a shot? He’s certainly giving Dave Rennie some good headaches right now.
Kit talk
Something a little different to finish off today with a quick mention for the kits that both teams were wearing. Both the Reds and the Brumbies were wearing their indigenous kits.
Personally I love these kits as they immediately become something far more individual, while I can’t help find that the majority of professional rugby teams have somewhat boring designs. Personally, I love something with more individuality, which made me a fan of the Leicester Tigers home kit from the 2012/13 season, which saw the Leicester colours used in a design that imitated a tiger stripe pattern, while the alternate kit did similar in shades of grey and black for a striking effect.
I’ve been a big fan of Pacific Island, Australian and New Zealand club and national team kits that have a design heavily influenced by their indigenous history. It is a great nod to the people of the country while also making a much more unique and recognisable look.
Personally, I would love it if teams used one of either their home or away kits to always have some form of indigenous design. After all, why should the indigenous people only be celebrated a couple of weeks in the season?
Eyes on the Ball 