Super Rugby Round 7: Quade, Thorny and one Super Suncorp night

Round seven of Super Rugby sees Newcastle, in Australia’s Hunter region, host a competition game for the first time. The Waratahs continue their nomadic existence amid the Sydney Stadium rebuild by taking a game to the McDonald Jones Stadium for the first, NSW playing host to the Sunwolves.

The action kicks of in Wellington and concludes in Buenos Aires with the Jaguares back at home after two games on the road in South Africa.

Read on for some of the big storylines across the three conferences.

AUSTRALIAN CONFERENCE

Biggest Suncorp return since Big Dell went blue

It’s a return some 18 months in the making, but Quade Cooper’s chance to show Brad Thorn what he might be missing has finally arrived as the Rebels head to Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.

In what is easily the biggest night for Queensland rugby since the 2011 final, and one that evokes memories of Wendell Sailor’s shock switch to the Waratahs in 2006, Cooper returns to Suncorp Stadium with a point to prove to the man who showed him the door ahead of the 2018 Super Rugby season.

In wanting to overhaul the Reds’ culture, Thorn condemned Cooper to Brisbane Premier Rugby despite his status as one of the highest-paid rugby players in Australia. As the Reds battled away to a 6-9 season, Thorn resisted calls for Cooper to be reinstated, sticking with veteran Jono Lance and rookie Hamish Stewart as his playmakers.

As the 2018 season played out, Cooper opted not to be drawn on the saga, the fly-half instead taking every opportunity to laud club rugby and how he’d rediscovered his love of the game. But once his season at Souths was done, and a one-year contract with the Rebels secured, Cooper couldn’t resist a parting shot at Thorn on Instagram.

In declaring that “sometimes you are forced out of the place you love but thank god there’s more than one place that loves me”, Cooper posted a picture of himself palming Thorn off during the 2011 Rugby World Cup semifinal against the All Blacks. Ironically, that was one of several forgettable outings Cooper had during a tournament that culminated in him rupturing an ACL in the third-place playoff with Wales.

With six rounds of the new Super Rugby season in the books, it’s hard to declare a definitive winner as to whom the situation has worked out for the better. Three weeks ago, you would said the Rebels after they had twice defeated the Brumbies as well as the Highlanders, with Cooper winding back the clock with some superb long passes and flashes of his 2011 title-winning form along the way.

But the Rebels have since gone to and returned from South Africa, registering a solitary bonus-point despite being in a position to defeat both the Lions and Sharks. Cooper showed glimpses of the very good and very bad that can exist in his game, the latter a failure to force a ball dead in goal which instead brought the Lions closer to the comeback victory they would eventually secure.

So it’s the 3-2 Rebels against the 2-3 Reds, in front of what may prove to be the biggest crowd the Reds have all year. There won’t be the same level of rabid Queensland abuse that Sailor experienced from the wing all those years ago, as it was never Cooper’s desire to depart Ballymore. For many Reds fans, Cooper gave them the greatest season in living memory when he produced all kinds of tricks on the way to the title in 2011.

But he is still playing in a jersey that isn’t theirs, and is surely expecting a few boos or the odd Bronx cheer should he spill a simple pass or kick out on the full by mistake.

Bryce Hegarty, on the other hand, has added a degree of composure to a Reds backline that is seeing the absolute best of skipper Samu Kerevi, who will no doubt head straight for Cooper’s channel at the earliest chance he gets. Cooper can be suspect defensively, and that surely played into Thorn’s original decision to cut him loose, too.

This promises to be must-watch viewing for Super Rugby fans regardless of their location and, as Sailor can attest, he who laughs last laughs loudest.

NEW ZEALAND CONFERENCE

Goal-kicking adds to Barrett-Mo’unga battle

It was the storyline that dominated New Zealand rugby discussions throughout 2018: Should Richie Mo’unga replace Beauden Barrett as the All Blacks No. 10? It was one of those debates where everyone had an opinion; but there was only ever one that counted, and Steve Hansen stuck solid with his two-time World Rugby Player of the Year.

Mo’unga was given his chances, however. He started against the Pumas in Nelson, enduring a mixed night in which nerves seemed to play a part, before looking far more settled when introduced off the bench later in the Rugby Championship and across the spring tour.

The discussions continued right through to the All Blacks’ final Test of 2018, against Italy, when it appeared that Hansen had the perfect opportunity to hand Mo’unga another start, only for the All Blacks coach to again leave him on the bench.

That decision had many in New Zealand scratching their heads, as it left the All Blacks only five Tests in which to finalise their best World Cup XV. When Mo’unga could have used the experience, Hansen wanted to send Barrett into the off-season with the knowledge he was very much still the main man.

We’ve had to wait six weeks for the duo to come face to face in 2019, but the showdown finally arrives when the Crusaders hit Westpac Stadium on Friday.

But an interesting sidenote has been added to the debate this year, with Mo’unga enduring a horrible season from the kicking tee. The Crusaders fly-half is striking at just 50 percent while Barrett is at 77 percent, after finishing the spring tour in outstanding form in front of the posts.

But Barrett, too, is known for an off-night, and you only have to go back to the All Blacks’ loss to the Springboks in New Zealand last year, on Barrett’s home deck to boot, to find an instance of the incumbent Test fly-half looking anything but competent.

Goal-kicking takes on a far more important role in World Cup years. Having confidence in your kickers, particularly during the knockout stages, is vital for any side wanting to go deep into the tournament in Japan later this year. The All Blacks certainly had that in Dan Carter four years ago.

But can you say the same about Barrett? And given what Mo’unga has shown so far this year, it is in no way the case for the Crusaders playmaker. What Hansen would give to be able to transplant the boot of New Zealand-born Sunwolves playmaker Hayden Parker, who has nailed a perfect 22 from 22 this season, onto either Barrett or Mo’unga later in 2019.

Mo’unga hasn’t been in the same scintillating attacking form from 2018 either; he has so far failed to create a try assist or line break assist, but does have two tries and three line breaks his own. If you compare that with Barrett’s six line break assists and two try assists, to go with one line break and one try himself, Mo’unga’s Test starting case loses further weight.

Still, there is no better example for Hansen to monitor than this Friday’s battle at the Cake Tin. No Super Rugby match this year will carry the same level of New Zealand intensity, nor the same concentrated focus on one positional battle.

Barrett can seemingly put the discussion to bed once and for all if he controls the game and continues a fair goal-kicking percentage. But should Mo’unga find his range from the tee and dominate behind what Hansen dubs “a Rolls-Royce forward pack”, then the biggest decision in New Zealand rugby may just be that little bit murky once more.

SOUTH AFRICAN CONFERENCE

Sharks need to be Bulls-like and play in Bulls territory

“Backlash” has been a word spoken quite widely in South African Super Rugby circles this week, certainly in Pretoria and Durban with reference to what the Sharks expect to see from the Bulls, and what the visitors hope to deliver, in the big derby at Jonsson Kings Park on Saturday.

Certainly, you’d think the Bulls won’t fail to “pitch at all” two weeks in a row; if they do, they’ve got problems bigger than those that appeared in last week’s lame performance that saw them slip from first to fourth in the South Africa conference.

The trouble with turning up this week, rather than last, however, is that we still won’t have a real answer about the Bulls’ attitude in adversity, or against more dynamic inter-conference rivals, or what went on in their collective head last week. Was it just “a blip” or do they just perform against South African rivals? The Bulls still rank highly in terns of tackle percentage, turnovers (both conceded and won) and lineouts, and frankly, you’d expect them to “pitch” this week for a local derby against a fierce conference rival regardless of what happened against the Chiefs last week.

Handre Pollard said as much this week, while playing down the role of defeat as motivation.

‘You can’t look at results and find confidence in results or put pressure on now that you have lost.” the Bulls’ playmaker and captain said.

“You have to trust your process, and we have a great process. We get confidence from our prep in the week and that’s it. There’s no extra pressure after a loss or a win. It is what it is and you just have to pitch on Saturday.”

So, really expect, nothing less that fierce defence and hard running from “pitched” Bulls; expect them attempting to be on the front foot from the opening whistle, and for Pollard to direct the pressure and territory game plan they’d produced in their previous derby fixtures. And, surely, on the other side of the pitch, we can expect the Sharks to “really” muscle up having been found wanting in terms of their physicality in their previous two derby games.

Beyond fronting up, and bashing each other with heavy defence, this game could easily come down to the head-to-head between the two fly-halves: the Sharks’ Robert du Preez, and the Bulls’ Pollard; each has a calculating mind and the ability to manage a game, while, most notably, each is very good from the kicking tee. Du Preez, and the Sharks more broadly, will probably look to replicate the Bulls game plan, at least early in the feature, mindful of how the game was played almost exclusively in their territory when the teams faced off three weeks ago. Territory, and discipline, will be important as du Preez and Pollard will each kick their goals.

More key, perhaps, might be the selection of Embrose Papier once again as the Bulls’ starting scrum-half, and the “head-to-head” battle between the two outside centres, the Sharks’ Lukhanyo Am and the Bulls’ Jesse Kriel; at least in looking for nuances rather than battering rams.

The two 13s have been in good form this season, each putting their hand up visibly and often to catch the attention of Erasmus and the Springboks selectors, and Kriel, alone, was good for the Bulls last week with a try, an equal game-high 13 runs, a team-high 68 points and two clean breaks. Indeed, that was perhaps Kriel’s best individual performance of the season, given the circumstances; certainly it was better than his one try-two clean breaks-nine runs for 57 metres effort against Am and the Sharks when the teams met in Super Rugby Round 4.

Am, at his best, offers slightly more of a linking threat, with perhaps a better passing game and slightly better vision, and no doubt the Sharks will look for him to create space outside and behind the Bulls wingers for his own flyers, Makazole Mapimpi and the recalled Lwazi Mvovo, and Aphelele Fassi, but he was notably quiet in his productivity against the Rebels last week.

In the halves, Papier, rather that Ivan van Zyl, offers slightly swifter service to the Bulls backs, although the latter was excellent in Round Four.

The Bulls will head to Durban confident regardless of last week, for their form previously had been solid and they are undefeated in eight games against the Sharks since the opening round of the 2014 competition. Conversely, the Sharks have won seven of their past eight home games — losing only to the Stormers in that period.