Is this the beginning of the end??

[frontrow]

It may be a bit early to call "bring out your dead", but then again they were woeful over the weekend...

Taken from the roar website

Reds looking like Super 14 also-rans again
Rookie Queensland coach Phil Mooney faces his first big test as the Reds stare down the barrel of another barren Super 14 season following their 43-11 capitulation to an inexperienced Brumbies.

After confidently predicting the Reds first ever win in Canberra against a Brumbies outfit missing eight stars through injury, a stunned Mooney said he would consider wielding the selection axe before Saturday’s home match against the Stormers.

Queensland’s woes overshadowed a weekend of solid results for Australian sides as the NSW Waratahs rallied to pip the Highlanders 15-12 in a wet Dunedin and the Western Force completed their three-match South African tour with a second win, 18-16 over the Lions in Johannesburg.

But a Queensland side boasting Wallabies Chris Latham, Morgan Turinui, Berrick Barnes, Rodney Blake, Stephen Moore and Greg Holmes might have begun having flashbacks of the 92-3 loss to the Bulls which ended last season as the “Baby Brumbies” ran riot - even after losing Wallaby fullback Julian Huxley in the third minute with concussion.

“We’ve got a lot to work on so I think it’s back to basics and look at selections and a bit of self reflection from a few players,” Mooney said.

“You can turn it around in a week, it’s certainly going to be difficult but I’m not going to accept that and I know that group don’t accept it because they’re better so we’ve just got to be a lot tougher.

“We have to make change, clearly.”

One of those changes for the 2007 wooden spooners will be on the wing after Digby Ioane was rubbed out for three matches today for a dangerous tackle, while there could also be a call-up for exciting youngster Quade Cooper after centre Chris Siale strained a hamstring.

“At the end of the day we can’t throw the toys out of the cot now,” Mooney said.

“We’ve got another nine games and we’ve got to be better and we’ve just got to work hard and there’s no easy answers.”

The result left Queensland eighth on the table while the Brumbies moved up to sixth.

The Waratahs held on to fourth spot with their second win of the campaign but will need to assess an AC joint injury to fullback Lachie Turner this week.

NSW fought back from a two-try deficit at Carisbrook and coach Ewen McKenzie said it didn’t concern him that he wasn’t seeing his side’s best form early in the season.

“I think there’s still plenty of scope for improvement,” he told AAP. “I don’t really want to have everything sorted at the moment, I want to keep building as we go along.

“We’ll certainly go back to training and try and fine tune things but we’re not having to reinvent the game every week.”

The Waratahs host the red-hot Brumbies on Friday and McKenzie isn’t sure what to make of the Canberrans’ demolition of Queensland.

“I think the nature of the competition is you can’t really assess too much,” he said.

“At the moment I think the beauty of the Super 14 is everything can change in a week.”
Basically Ewen is not going to say anything because he would be nervous as hell after the Tahs escape in Dunedin, and the current form of the Brumbies...No Aussie team can afford to brag about its form just yet, even the Brumbies as the opposition seemed to forget to get off the bus...

The seventh-placed Force return to Perth with their tough South African leg - and the Matt Henjak controversy - out of the way after their narrow wins over the Lions and Cheetahs and a close loss to the Sharks.

The Blues lead the table outright on 15 points with the Crusaders (14) second and the Sharks, who avenged last year’s final loss to the Bulls with a 29-15 victory, third on 13.
by David Beniuk

[GIGS20]

Jeez it doesn't take much for the Brumbies to be called red hot! I'd suggest they had a lucky escape based upon the fact that the Reds were so shocking......They've certainly proven a couple of things....They know how to find the tryline, something that the other three Aussie teams are struggling with at the moment, and they have enough ticker to put some genuine pressure on a team..... are the only other team that has shown that! The Brumbies/Tahs will be a very interesting game next week, with the Waraths looking increasingly wobbly each week....It's a hard one to tip, will the Brumbies come in with enough confidence to finally knock the 'Tahs into the mediocrity they've been threatening lately, or will they be a flash in the pan! I personally hope the former, it's probably a better result for the given that we're getting all our tough games out of the way before the seventh round!

[jargan83]

I only saw the first half of the Brumbies vs Reds at the weekend and thought the Reds were pretty ordinary in that half. I certainly didn't expect the Brumbies to run away with it like that.

That Waratahs vs Brumbies game next week is a hard one to tip.........who would start favourite, you would have to imagine the Brumbies going on form

[Flamethrower]

They'll both fight for the underdog title

[GIGS20]

I'm shutting up after tipping this as the round the wobbly Waratahs finally bit the dust, but they're definitely teams headed in opposite directions. It's a coin toss...let's face it! The 'Tahs might be able to squeeze one more week out of their tired, lacklustre gameplan, but their days are numbered!

[chook]

Tahs will win. 14+ for the margin too. You read it here first.

[Thequeerone]

Maybe not 14 + but the Brumbies have lost Huxley, Morlock won't be back yet - so that leaves a lot for the Smiths - although they have both won my admiration - Tahs by 3 - home town advantage.

The Reds - hmm they have set themselves up for another shocker of the season - especially with Digby gone as well

[James]

I predicted a Reds win so I'd go against what I'm about to say if I were anyone else....

I think the Brumbies will have a solid game and a comfortable win over the Waratahs. The packs are fairly evenly matched but the Brumbies backs are finishing things off and the Waratahs backs just don't seem to be getting much happening. The clash of the backrows will be great to see. Brumbies by 12.