PREVIEW: Super Rugby, Round 15 - Part One
AUSSIE SWEEP: The Bulls will look to turn back the clock when they face the Brumbies in Canberra on Friday.
Bulls coach Pote Human stated it is a goal of his team to complete an Australian clean sweep in 2019 – having already beaten the Reds (32-17 in Pretoria in April), the Waratahs (28-21, Pretoria – earlier this month) and the Rebels (32-17, Melbourne – last week).
“It would be great to beat all four Australian teams,” Human told the media in a teleconference call from Canberra.
“That [Australian sweep] is a big challenge for us.”
The last time the Bulls managed the sweep – beating all four Australian teams in one season – was back in 2012.
They beat the Waratahs (27-24), Rebels (41-35), Brumbies (36-34) and Reds (61-8) that year.
Duane Vermeulen, who will captain the Bulls on Friday in the absence of the injured Handre Pollard (calf strain picked up in training earlier this week), will lead the Bulls in this quest.
However, the veteran No.8 will return to South Africa on Saturday – missing the two-match New Zealand leg of the tour, as part of his Springbok rest agreement.
Burger Odendaal will take over the captaincy in New Zealand.
The Brumbies head into the match with injury issues of their own.
Brumbies coach Dan McKellar admitted David Pocock’s Super Rugby season could be over, with a decision to be made in the coming days.
Pocock, who is still nursing a frustrating calf injury, has played just 138 minutes in three games through 14 rounds this season and hasn’t featured at all in 10 weeks, but was expected to return after the bye and face the Bulls.
The 31-year-old flank was in Wallabies camp earlier this week and McKellar conceded national team medical staff could end his club season.
The Brumbies have three more games after the Bulls and will also likely feature in the play-offs, but Pocock could be rested to better prepare him for the World Cup in September.
Pocock is off contract at the end of the season and he is expected to end his Super Rugby career by signing with a club overseas.
“The Wallabies medical staff and Brumbies medical staff will have a chat over the next few days and we’ll come to some sort of clarity there as to where he heads over the next two weeks,” McKellar said.
“There are things we’ve got to look at to see whether he plays Super Rugby or whether we now put his attention towards the World Cup.”
We look at Friday’s matches!
Friday, May 24:
Chiefs v Reds
(Waikato Stadium, Hamilton – Kick-off: 19.35; 17.35 Brisbane time; 07.35 GMT)
Both teams are desperate to keep their already flimsy play-off hopes alive.
Chiefs coach Colin Cooper pulled no punches, labelling the game against the Reds was a “must-win”.
“Particularly this one at home in front of our fans,” Cooper told superrugby.co.nz.
“The brutal fact is, it is a short turnaround and we have to win.”
The Chiefs, having played a game more, are tied on 23 points with the Queenslanders – with the struggling sides 14th and 13th on the ladder respectively.
Six points shy of the top eight, both need a win to boost their fading play-off hopes – with only the hapless Sunwolves languishing beneath them.
Frustrated Reds coach Brad Thorn expressed his frustrations last week when he said after the loss to the Waratahs in Brisbane, his side wasn’t ready to win such an intense, high-stakes game.
He accused the players of being “passive” and lacking a “hard edge”.
“We’ve got some growth to do about what’s needed to get there [the play-offs] and to be a part of it,” Thorn said.
The Chiefs coach said he has “moved on” from his emotional post-match outburst after the loss to the Blues last week.
However, he was still going to ‘communicate’ with SANZAAR referees boss Lyndon Bray over the need for some consistency.
With time to reflect on the Blues game Cooper, said he probably shouldn’t have made the post-game comments that he did.
“In the emotion of a loss, you say things that you probably shouldn’t have said,” Cooper told superrugby.co.nz.
“There were some calls that really affected the momentum of our game, so you talk about that. I don’t usually, but I was so disappointing, it just stopped the momentum of us being in that fight.
“Speaking straight after the game, that was my gut. Now I’ve had a good look at things and at the end of the day we didn’t deserve to win the game, we weren’t good enough, we didn’t have enough ball, we lost our shape and those decisions stopped that.”
Recent results:
2018: Chiefs won 36-12, Brisbane
2017: Chiefs won 46-17, New Plymouth
2016: Chiefs won 50-5, Brisbane
2015: Chiefs won 24-3, Brisbane
2013: Reds won 31-23, Hamilton
Predictions: The Chiefs have won their last four Super Rugby matches on the bounce against the Reds, neither side has managed to win more consecutive games in the history of this fixture. The Reds have won three of their last four Super Rugby games in New Zealand against the Chiefs, losing the most recent fixture by a record margin in such fixtures (29 points). The Chiefs have won only two of their six games on home soil in Super Rugby 2019, despite leading at half-time on four occasions in that span. The Reds have made an average of just seven offloads per game this Super Rugby season, fewer than any other team in the competition and five per game fewer than the category-leading Chiefs (12). Anton Lienert-Brown (Chiefs) has made a league-high 28 offloads this Super Rugby campaign; while only the Reds’ Samu Kerevi (53) has beaten more defenders than Lienert-Brown (48).
Prediction: Chiefs
Margin: 12 points
Teams:
Chiefs: 15 Solomon Alaimalo, 14 Shaun Stevenson, 13 Tumua Manu, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Etene Nanai-Seturo, 10 Marty McKenzie, 9 Brad Weber, 8 Pita Gus Sowakula, 7 Lachlan Boshier, 6 Sam Cane (captain), 5 Tyler Ardron, 4 Jesse Parete, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Nathan Harris, 1 Atu Moli.
Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Aidan Ross, 18 Sosefo Kautai, 19 Daymon Leasuasu, 20 Mitchell Karpik, 21 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22 Jack Debreczeni, 23 Sean Wainui.
Reds: 15 Matt McGahan, 14 Jock Campbell, 13 Seb Wileman, 12 Duncan Paia’aua, 11 Sefa Naivalu, 10 Bryce Hegarty, 9 Tate McDermott, 8 Angus Scott-Young, 7 Liam Wright, 6 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 5 Angus Blyth, 4 Izack Rodda (captain), 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Alex Mafi, 1 Harry Hoopert.
Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 Feao Fotuaika, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Adam Korczyk, 20 Scott Higginbotham, 21 Scott Malolua, 22 Teti Tela, 23 Liam McNamara.
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Dan Waenga (New Zealand)
TMO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)
Brumbies v Bulls
(GIO Stadium, Canberra – Kick-off: 19.45; 11.45 SA time; 09.45 GMT)
The two teams sit at the top of their respective conferences – Australia and South Africa.
However, such is the nature of the tournament this year that defeat on Friday could see the losers slide dramatically in the standings.
In the Aussie conference, six points separate one from four – the Brumbies (29 points), Rebels (28), Waratahs (26) and Reds (23).
The SA conference is even tighter, six points separating one from five – the Bulls (32), Jaguares (32), Lions (30), Sharks (29) and Stormers (26).
Bulls coach Pote Human acknowledged congested nature of the conference.
“Every week anything can happen,” Human said.
“We are still on top [of the SA conference], but we can be last in two weeks’ time.”
Brumbies coach Dan McKellar said they expect the most brutal charge from the Bulls, who are in the same desperate situation as the Australian franchise.
“We’re expecting physicality,” McKellar said, adding: “Scrum, maul, big men running hard, nice and direct.
“There will be no surprises there in terms of what they bring.
“But the Bulls have a little bit more footy in their game this year. They’re a little bit more dangerous off the cuff and have players who can change a game very quickly.”
Human said the Brumbies play very much like a South African team.
“They scrum for penalties, kick to the corner and use their maul to score tries,” Human said.
“They have scored the most maul tries [in the competition] – 13 maul tries.
“Their pack is definitely a big threat.”
Bulls captain Duane Vermeulen said the defensive effort that the squad showed in the win over the Rebels last week, must be repeated.
“We defended very well when under severe pressure and the Brumbies are going to test us the same way,” Vermeulen said.
“They are so skilled and determined, we cannot let our guard down or we will pay the price,” Vermeulen added.
Recent results:
2018: Brumbies won 38-28, Pretoria
2016: Brumbies won 23-6, Canberra
2015: Brumbies won 22-16, Canberra
2014: Bulls won 44-23, Pretoria
2013: Brumbies won 26-23, Pretoria (semifinal)
2013: Brumbies won 23-20, Canberra
Predictions: The Brumbies have won five of their last six Super Rugby matches against the Bulls, including the last three matches in succession. The Brumbies have won nine of their 10 Super Rugby matches against the Bulls at home, their only defeat coming in the Bulls’ title-winning season of 2007. The Bulls have won four of their last five Super Rugby matches against Australian teams, their only defeat in that span coming against the Brumbies. The Bulls have the best line-out success rate in Super Rugby 2019 (93 percent), a full four percentage points higher than the Brumbies (89 percent). Sam Carter has won 49 line-outs on his team’s own throw this Super Rugby season, more than any other player in the competition; however, he’s managed to steal only one line-out against the throw this campaign.
Prediction: Brumbies
Margin: Seven points
Teams:
Brumbies: 15 Tom Banks, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Irae Simone, 11 Toni Pulu, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Joe Powell, 8 Pete Samu, 7 Jahrome Brown, 6 Tom Cusack, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Rory Arnold , 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Folau Fainga’a, 1 Scott Sio.
Replacements: 16 Connal Mcinerney, 17 James Slipper, 18 Leslie Leuluaialii-Makin, 19 Darcy Swain, 20 Murray Douglas, 21 Rob Valetini, 22 Ryan Lonergan, 23 Tom Wright
Bulls: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Johnny Kotze, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Rosko Specman, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Andre Warner, 8 Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7 Hanro Liebenberg, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Rudolph Snyman, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Lizo Gqoboka.
Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Wiehan Herbst, 19 Jannes Kirsten, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Embrose Papier, John Jackson, Divan Rossouw.
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Egon Seconds (South Africa), Paul Williams (New Zealand)
TMO: James Leckie (Australia)
Compiled by Jan de Koning, additional reporting by AAP
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* Statistics provided by Opta Sports
