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Form from 2010
Put simply: The Reds redefined rugby in 2010. In the past few years rugby had taken on the cynical and rather dull style of kicking away possession and never in a million years running the ball in your own half of the field. The Springboks won the 2009 Tri-Nations on the back of the tremendous, if perhaps uninspiring, kicking talents of Morne Steyn. Twenty-ten saw yet another change to the interpretation of the rules at the breakdown, however this change promoted ball-in-hand rugby and was a catalyst for the Reds’ revival.
The season started a little shaky with an unfortunate first up loss to the Waratahs followed by a truly awesome display to blow away the Crusaders. They started to find their rhythm in round four with three in a row against the Chiefs, Force and Cheetahs. Back to back wins against the Bulls and Stormers, the eventual finalists in 2010, had Reds fans hopeful of what was unimaginable at the start of the season: Their first finals appearance in almost 10 years. It wasn’t to be, however, with losses to the Hurricanes and Brumbies seeing the Reds finish in 5th, one place shy of the finals.
But finals or not, the Reds inspired in 2010. It wasn’t just seeing a team go from floundering to flourishing, but doing so in a style of play that is without a doubt the way rugby should be played. For Australian rugby’s sake, if not for the Force’s, fingers are crossed in hope that they can continue on in the same vein in 2011.
Comings and Goings
The Reds have taken out a mortgage on the young back row and outside back talent in Australia. They’ve added young tyros Liam Gill, Ed Quirk, and Jake Schatz to their senior squad as well as Kimami Situati and Dom Shipperley. These guys have impressed at Schoolboy and JWC level and will hopefully see a fair bit of game time in 2011. McKenzie has added some old heads to bring the average age of the Reds out of the teens. Radike Samo, who came in midway through last season, along with West Australian Adam Wallace-Harrison and Brumby Guy Shepherdson will all be wearing Red. The Reds have also snared the services of young North Harbour fly-half Mike Harris, who will make a solid deputy to Quade Cooper.
There has been a fair bit of turn-over at the Reds. The Rebels have poached a few with Richard Kingi, Laurie Weeks and Adam Byrnes heading south. Others, such as Morgan Turinui and Brando Va’aulu, have departed for Europe. While the two big stings in the tail are the departures of Daniel Braid, back to the Blues, and the now-retired Sean Hardman. All in all not a bad bunch to lose but mostly they have been suitably replaced.
Players to watch out for...
Scott Higginbotham had his breakthrough season in 2010. He showed promise in 2009, but it was only in the last season that he stamped his mark as a RWC contender. He established himself as a hard-working, aggressive and deceptively strong blindside flanker or number 8, and even posed a bit of a threat to Rocky Elsom. Unfortunately, injury kept him out of Wallabies until the Spring Tour in which he received little game time in the Tests he played. This will no doubt have wet his appetite and provide extra motivation to make this season a blinder.
There is so much talent in the Reds backline that you will have to keep an eye on everyone. I’m going to be boring and say Quade Cooper. Do you watch his feet or his hands? Is he going to spin it flat and wide, throw a short inside ball, put in a little grubber, or just start tearing off down the field? Half the time I don’t know if he even knows what he is going to do. Either way, he makes the players around him look so good that you could have Tah Man, Westy the Swan and Brumby Jack in the backline and they would still get a four try bonus point. But none of that matters really. What really matters is whether or not he has improved his defence. You can’t imagine McKenzie making it easy for him. So keep an eye out (and a prayer) in 2011 for some rock solid Cooper tackling.
The Strengths
There is a lot to talk about here but nothing that hasn’t really already been said: Exciting brand of rugby, effective attacking style, and talented players capable of making their ambitious game-plan work. Ewen McKenzie has tried to build on these strengths in the off season. He has added to his already immense backline and now has riches in depth to the point that the Reds can handle almost anything the injury gods throw at them. He has also bolstered the already healthy Reds’ academy with the likes of ‘southerners’ Beau Robinson, Ben Coridas and Dave McDuling. There hasn’t seemed to be this much depth in years. Along with the Waratahs, the Reds are far better stocked to cope with an extended season than the Force, Brumbies and Rebels.
The Reds will also have to pretty content with their draw. They have byes in weeks four and fourteen, which breaks up their season nicely. They also have the added benefit of not having to leave Australia until round 6.
The Weaknesses
People have spoken a lot about second year syndrome in the build up to the Red’s Super Rugby campaign. Will they be able to replicate their style of play? Will other teams get wise and find ways to counter their tactics? Will they have the same verve and enthusiasm that they had when they were the underdogs of the competition? It is hard to tell whether the 2011 Reds will be a better proposition or not. It is true they won’t take anyone by surprise like they did last year. It is also very likely that teams will run all day at Quade Cooper in the hopes of cracking him like England did and dampening his attack. People have said that the Wallabies lack mental toughness and if this extends to the Reds it is possible that hopes will be dashed and fans will be disappointed. But who knows? The Sharks went from dead last in 2005 to narrowly missing the finals in 2006 to narrowly losing to the Bulls in the final in 2007. Maybe the Reds can do it too.
The Reds have a very healthy looking squad; however there are a few key departures that may cause concern. The big loss is Daniel Braid. Braid would walk onto many international sides and is only unfortunate to be behind arguably the world’s best rugby player in Richie McCaw back home. Braid’s work at the breakdown and leadership will be sorely missed, particularly as none of his replacements for 2011 are in the same league. Genia and Cooper proved that they could do wonders with turn-over ball but this may not be the golden goose it was in 2011. The other loss is that of Sean Hardman. While not the same class of player as Braid, Hardman was a very experienced campaigner and provided leadership, depth and a cool head. He leaves hooking duties to Saia Faingaa and James Hanson who, although talented, are relatively inexperienced.
Prediction for 2011
The Reds will be an exciting side in this instalment of Super Rugby. You can see them picking up where they left off and winning quite a few, although unnecessarily losing a few here and there. They’ll probably end up wracked with injuries as their style of play takes its toll, but they now have the cattle to handle that. I think they’ll come second in the Australian conference, 5th overall and lose their final to the 4th placed Bulls.
James’ Reds XV
1. Greg Holmes
2. Saia Faingaa
3. James Slipper
4. Rob Simmons
5. James Horwill
6. Scott Higginbotham
7. Beau Robinson
8. Jake Schatz
9. Billy Genia
10. Quade Cooper
11. Digby Ioane
12. Anthony Faingaa
13. Will Chambers
14. Rod Davies
15. Peter Hynes
Thoughts? Comments? How do you think the Reds will go?
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