Round four Super Rugby review: Pat McCabe stars for Brumbies; Reds, Force record vict
Dominic Burke, Sam Bruce
FOX SPORTS
March 10, 2014 11:02AM
POCOCK’S GONE BUT DON’T FORGET ABOUT MCCABE
They were without him for all but two games last season and it seems the Brumbies will again have little trouble managing without David Pocock.
That was certainly the case on Friday night as last year’s finalists accounted for a hugely disappointing Hurricanes outfit, inspired largely by the effort of another injury-prone Wallaby Pat McCabe.
The hard-running inside centre was a late addition to the starting line-up and it proved to be a masterstroke from coaching team Stephen Larkham and Laurie Fisher as McCabe cut the Hurricanes to pieces in midfield.
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The Test centre finished with two linebreaks and seven tackle busts in a blistering 80-minute effort, sending a gentle reminder to Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie that he shouldn’t be forgotten in the run-up to next year’s World Cup.
The Brumbies will face greater tests of their breakdown mettle next week with Michael Hooper and the Waratahs headed to Canberra but Jarrad Butler did an admirable job at No. 7 and looks like he could fill that role for the remainder of the season.
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes have big problems. Coach Mark Hammett is under growing pressure with rumours circling he’ll be dumped for former All Blacks skipper Tana Umaga. They have too much quality in their backline not to be performing. Hammett’s days look numbered.
QUADE’S CRAZY NIGHT AT SUNCORP
A real mixed bag. That’s the best way to describe Quade Cooper’s performance against the Cheetahs on Friday night as he became the Reds’ leading point-scorer in Super Rugby.
There were forward passes, flick passes, no-look passes, an intercept and Cooper’s usual array of other tricks in what at times looked more like a game of touch footy in the park instead of a Super Rugby encounter in front of nearly 28,000 fans.
The Cheetahs have that effect on opposition teams and while the Reds can play that style of rugby, it won’t be one they’ll be repeating against the Sharks next week.
Already in South Africa, the Reds should be able to move on from a victory that achieved the desired result of five competition points but lacked the conviction to worry the undefeated Sharks.
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There were however several pleasing individual performances for coach Richard Graham with Chris Feauai-Sautia starring in midfield and hooker James Hanson getting through a mountain of work up front.
The Reds still have plenty to work on and they’ll need much-improved effort to trouble the Sharks but two wins from three patchy matches is a satisfying return for a team still finding their feet under Graham.
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News
March 7, 2014 2:42
FIRED-UP FORCE SNARE MUCH-NEEDED WIN
Was it a flash-in-the-pan Force of nature or a sign of things to come for Michael Foley’s men?
Whatever it was, the opening 27 minutes at nib Stadium was something to behold as Western Force ran riot against Melbourne Rebels, absolutely smashing the visitors off the park and securing a four-try bonus point before the half-hour mark of the match was up.
Halfback Alby Mathewson was everywhere after opening the scoring on just two minutes, Luke Morahan showed his class out wide as he opened his Force account and Ben McCalman was a powerhouse as he led the home side’s pack.
They didn’t trouble the scorers after Angus Cottrell bagged that fourth try but no matter — they had just played “the best 30 minutes” in the club’s history, according to milestone man Matt Hodgson, and they weren’t about to let it count for nothing.
Hodgson should know. The skipper ran out for his 100th Super Rugby match for his club on Saturday night — and it was the Force’s 116th in total in the competition, so he’s a good a judge as any.
He will also be aware that the Force need to replicate that all-guns-blazing opening and repeat it in their next match — a much sterner test against the Highlanders in Dunedin on Saturday.
But after a horror opening two rounds, the Force’s first centurion and his teammates could be forgiven a little for reminiscing about a fantastic first win for the season.
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March 8, 2014 1:48
REBELS FORCED BACK TO DRAWING BOARD
A lot can change in a week in rugby, as the Rebels were quick to discover in Perth on Saturday night.
All the goodwill that they had built up following an impressive season-opening victory over the Cheetahs disappeared in a disastrous opening to their clash with Western Force.
From the moment winger Tom English was forced to withdraw due to a virus nothing went right for the visitors, who trailed after just two minutes and hardly looked like scoring until Teluas Veainu crossed for their only try after the full-time siren had sounded.
They couldn’t keep the ball from the Force, who just about scored at will in the opening exchanges, and when they did finally win possession they wasted it with basic errors.
Was it too many midweek pats on the back? Too many selection changes from coach Tony McGahan or just an off night?
Rebels skipper Scott Higginbotham, who never stopped trying, admitted the Force had “caught us napping.”
They will want to be wide awake come Friday night when they host a Crusaders outfit that might have just turned the corner, with a much-needed win over the Stormers in Christchurch.
HUNGRY SHARKS LEAD WAY IN SOUTH AFRICA
The Sharks continue to flex their muscle in South Africa, rolling past another local opponent to stamp their authority at home — and overall.
Jake White’s men returned from the bye to comfortably account for the surprise packet Lions, winning 37-23 at Kings Park Stadium.
That was despite losing flyhalf Patrick Lambie in the build-up — he withdrew due to tick bite fever — with Frans Steyn moving into the No. 10 jersey to guide his side to victory.
Marcell Coetzee’s late try sealed a crucial bonus point for the hosts, who jumped back to the top of the Super Rugby ladder with the win.
That’s three from three so far for the Sharks, who knocked over last year’s conference winners the Bulls and then the Hurricanes in the opening two rounds.
Next up is a home clash against Queensland Reds, themselves the conquerors of South African opposition (the Cheetahs) at the weekend.
The Sharks have a formidable home record against the Queenslanders, having not lost to them in Durban since 2005, and with the form they have shown so far in 2014 will be strong favourites to continue that streak on Sunday morning (AEDT).
BURGER CAN STILL BE A STORMER OF A PLAYER
His side didn’t win — cruelly — but it wasn’t for a lack of effort from Schalk Burger who turned in one of the individual performances of the season in Christchurch.
The Stormers flanker has slowly been working his way back to form after two years out of action through injury and illness, and he ramped up it with a powerhouse display against the Crusaders.
He was everywhere at AMI Stadium, making a game-high 18 tackles, charging ahead for a team-high 11 runs that reaped 50 metres, threw two offloads and even had a hand in the visitors’ lone try — his perfectly timed pass put Jean De Villiers in the clear before the skipper chipped ahead for Damian de Allende to score.
If only his teammates could have matched the intensity with which he threw his body into every contest — then they might have held on for a historic first win in Christchurch.
As it was they fell to Tom Taylor’s late penalty, losing 14-13 to sit equal last in the South African conference with one win and two losses from their opening three matches.
AROUND THE GROUNDS IN ROUND FOUR
BRUMBIES 29 d HURRICANES 21 at Westpac Stadium - MATCH CENTRE
REDS 43 d CHEETAHS 33 at Suncorp Stadium - MATCH CENTRE
CRUSADERS 14 d STORMERS 13 at AMI Stadium - MATCH CENTRE
FORCE 32 d REBELS 7 at nib Stadium - MATCH CENTRE
BULLS 38 d Blues 22 at Loftus Versfeld - MATCH CENTRE
SHARKS 37 d Lions 23 at Kings Park Stadium - MATCH CENTRE
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