Round 12 of Super Rugby Pacific was the most perilous round in the lead up to finals, and it did not disappoint.
There were banana skin games predicted throughout, and upsets were sprung right across the board, reshuffling the look of the top six and making for four weeks ahead of must watch fixtures.
While the Western Force failed to fire for 80 minutes in Auckland they certainly showed an aptitude for exciting rugby.
Across the Pacific, the Reds found out that bringing your strongest squad available isn’t necessarily enough to win in Fiji, and the Brumbies rediscovered a winning edge at the cost of another Waratahs loss on the road.
The bus trip back to Sydney should give Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii enough time to think about where he can truly give the Wallabies the best impact for the British and Irish Lions series in July.
King Carlo is not slowing down
There were strong performers right throughout the Force side on a wet night in Auckland, but none shone brighter than Carlo Tizzano.
His work rate is second to none, and he is being rewarded handsomely with his 12 tries.
His tackle stats are the highest in the comp, sitting 11 tackles clear of second spot held by DuPlessis Kirifi, but what has been most impressive this season is his ball carrying.
He’s often getting over the gain line, and on Friday night he showed he had a bit of speed and rugby nous to go along with his brute strength; as he palmed All Black Stephen Perofeta and surged down the left flank, the cutting inside to get away from the touchline.
Likewise, his pass is now not only a tool in his toolkit, but also a genuine point of difference, being able to throw a 20m spiral and put it on the chest of whoever wants it.
He is the Force’s beating heart along with Darcy Swain, captain Jeremy Williams, Nick Champion de Crespigny, Ben Donaldson, and Nic White, they are all crucial for this side’s lofty ambitions, to be the first Force side in history to make a Super Rugby finals series.
Whether the men from Perth reach this goal or not, Tizzano is making every post a winner, and with every storming run, with every week he remains top of the log for tackles, and every time he dots over for a try, he is clawing that Wallabies No.7 jersey from the hands of the incumbent, Fraser McReight.
Suaalii’s mixed performance shows where he should play against the Lions
Suaalii looks effortless with ball in hand but it’s his gritty determination and aggression which takes his carrying game to another level.
The best example of this came in the 22nd minute, when he ran over the top of Brumbies inside centre, David Feliuai, for a try off a 5-metre lineout.
Rarely, if ever, do you see a fullback take that line, but Suaalii’s bulk, speed and power, made the try look easy in the end.
With ball in hand, Suaalii looked dangerous, racking up nine of the 23 tackle busts for his side, six more than any other Waratah. He also carried 11 times, making two line breaks, accounting for a third of the Tahs’ team total.
While his attack was impressive, his positional play tainted an otherwise stellar performance.
He was caught out of position on a few occasions and handed off clearance duties to teammates around him, it’s clear he’s not quite comfortable yet to nail the exit every time, but that will come.
The pertinent factor to consider is it does not look like a skill he will nail before July, and nor is the positional side of the game.
The Lions are bringing some of the best kickers and most brilliant tacticians in the world of rugby to Australia, and they will find any weaknesses and exploit them, particularly one such as this.
Territory and possession will be everything for coach Andrew Farrell and his men, and you can bet they’ll be watching tape on Suaalii, because he put the world on notice at Twickenham last year, during his stellar debut.
But back to Saturday night, there was nothing Suaalii did that can’t be achieved from outside centre, fullback doesn’t seem like a viable option currently and while he may not walk into the Wallabies’ starting lineup yet, the No.23 jersey has his name written all over it.
Brumbies find a new gear, imbuing their game plan with intent
The Brums have always been well drilled, methodical, and had a respect for the fundamentals of the game, structures which have allowed them to punch well above their weight.
However, their run in recent years, as always being the semi-finalists but never making it to the big dance, has come down to an inability to go to another level, a different intensity, and to kick-away from teams when push comes to shove.
On Saturday, the Brums showed how they can get to that next level, by imbuing their well regimented systems with speed.
That speed was in everything they did, speed to set for scrums and lineouts, speed to set d-lines, speed to secure ruck balls, speed into contact, and speed into the tackle.
The Brumbies structurally looked the same as any other week, but there was a visible difference in their intent in everything they did. This change of pace likely comes from acknowledging the Hurricanes out enthused them last week, leading to their second loss at home for the season.
This newfound eagerness translated into better tackles, more purposeful carries, and a sense of responsibility around the field.
What’s clear is the Brumbies still lack enough consistent and dominant ball carriers to rely on a power game when the going gets tough. If Rob Valetini is covered, then no one else is guaranteed to be that metre-eater and subsequently their plan breaks down.
However, the intent they showed on Saturday night, that speed, and the purpose they had in every little task, can help offset this issue, which ultimately is a recruitment/roster issue, and allow them to be genuine final competitors this season.
Reds gamble in Fiji fails to down the bottom dwelling Drua
It would require a particularly spectacular fall from grace to see the Reds miss the finals series from here, with four regular season games left to play against the Waratahs and Brumbies away, followed by the Hurricanes and Drua at home.
Nevertheless, Les Kiss’ decision to take his full strength side to Suva, in a bid to roll the bottom at home and potentially pick up a winning bonus point, failed miserably.
Poor skill execution and brain farts robbed the Reds of any true opportunities to potentially level or win the game in the final moments of their 33-36 defeat to the Drua on Saturday Afternoon.
In round one, Brumbies’ coach Stephen Larkham sent a side light on Wallabies talent to Fiji, and it paid off, meanwhile the Waratahs did something in between for no pay and it will be interesting to see what Simon Cron does with the Western Force in round 14.
But on this occasion, the Reds sent their strongest side and in an exciting yet unpolished performance, in a relatively mild Fiji, the Reds were made to pay for their gamble.
Without Tom Lynagh at No.10 the Reds looked clunky and disorganised, and it fed into their inability to control possession and territory, stats they lost in the end.
The loss means they must now weather the Fiji hangover, with only the top two sides, the Chiefs and Crusaders, managing wins after their trip to the islands.
It’s an even tougher ask to break the hoodoo heading to Sydney to take on a Waratahs side which has yet to lose at home this season.
Putting the Drua game and the Tahs game in the context of the table, and their finals run, it makes the decision from Kiss to freight all his big names out to Fiji even more puzzling.
With a casualty ward full of Wallabies like Matt Faessler, Josh Flook, Filipo Daugunu, and Harry Wilson, the Reds are undermanned, but that excuse won’t matter in the do or die moments ahead.
