Toole cruises over for Brumbies
Brumbies winger Corey Toole scores a simple try in the Super Rugby Pacific match against the Force in Perth.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
15 hours ago
- The Age
The Brumbies could have won the Super Rugby title. A loss in February scuttled it
Every time an Australian team has won a Super Rugby title, they finished minor premiers. And to get enough points to do that, you must start by banking maximum points in home games, and then pick up a handful of wins on the road too, particularly in derbies. The second part is hard, so the first part is non-negotiable. In 2014, NSW won all their home games and in 2011, the Reds only dropped one. Likewise the Brumbies in 2004 and 2001. This year, however, the Brumbies lost three of eight games at home, with a win rate of 62.5 per cent. It was their lowest win rate since 2018 (50 per cent). Along with the Force, they dropped home games to the Canes and the Crusaders. Those losses negated good points earned on the road against the Blues, Reds, Moana and the Drua, and the Brumbies ended up finishing third; two wins behind the Chiefs in first, and five points behind the Crusaders in second. Instead of finishing top two and playing a home semi-final, the Brumbies had to get on a plane (and yes, Super Rugby Pacific's contentious rules had a say in that too). But had they finished second and kept winning, the Brumbies would be this weekend hosting the final instead of the Crusaders, courtesy of the Blues beating the top-seed Chiefs in the qualifying finals. It turned out this could have been the year the Brumbies took the final step. They had the talent. But they were a home win, and change, short on the ladder. Over the years, the seasons of fallen contenders have tended to swing on one or two kick-yourself results. The Brumbies' loss to the Force will go down in that bracket. Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham conceded post-game the Chiefs were the stronger side in Hamilton, and he and his staff will review the semi-final loss to work on weak points, and be better equipped to handle those tough final steps next year. It was the same approach used last summer, and into this season. The question whether the Brumbies can be there again next year is debatable, given they'll be without Noah Lolesio, Len Ikitau, Tom Hooper and possibly Rob Valetini. But presuming the premiership window does stay open, their best – and maybe only – path to success is to flat-out avoid playing in the same game. The Brumbies have lost four straight semi-finals in New Zealand. No Australian side has ever won in 21 play-off games in New Zealand. It's an unusual stat, but it's not as shameful as it sounds. Winning a play-off in New Zealand is bloody hard to do. Five of those play-off losses came in Australia's golden era, when great teams and legendary names couldn't even get it done. No South African side ever won a Super Rugby play-off in New Zealand either, from 15 attempts. Even all-powerhouse Kiwi teams have only won 10 from 32 play-offs offshore. Loading Winning a competition is not figuring out how to defy huge odds and win a semi-final in the wet of Waikato. It's how to play that semi-final in the cold of Canberra, instead. The key to that is to never have an off night at home, or as few as humanly possible. Easier said than done, sure. But no less true. You can't win a competition when fans are still in T-shirts. But as history keeps showing us, you can go a long way to losing one.
Sydney Morning Herald
15 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
The Brumbies could have won the Super Rugby title. A loss in February scuttled it
Every time an Australian team has won a Super Rugby title, they finished minor premiers. And to get enough points to do that, you must start by banking maximum points in home games, and then pick up a handful of wins on the road too, particularly in derbies. The second part is hard, so the first part is non-negotiable. In 2014, NSW won all their home games and in 2011, the Reds only dropped one. Likewise the Brumbies in 2004 and 2001. This year, however, the Brumbies lost three of eight games at home, with a win rate of 62.5 per cent. It was their lowest win rate since 2018 (50 per cent). Along with the Force, they dropped home games to the Canes and the Crusaders. Those losses negated good points earned on the road against the Blues, Reds, Moana and the Drua, and the Brumbies ended up finishing third; two wins behind the Chiefs in first, and five points behind the Crusaders in second. Instead of finishing top two and playing a home semi-final, the Brumbies had to get on a plane (and yes, Super Rugby Pacific's contentious rules had a say in that too). But had they finished second and kept winning, the Brumbies would be this weekend hosting the final instead of the Crusaders, courtesy of the Blues beating the top-seed Chiefs in the qualifying finals. It turned out this could have been the year the Brumbies took the final step. They had the talent. But they were a home win, and change, short on the ladder. Over the years, the seasons of fallen contenders have tended to swing on one or two kick-yourself results. The Brumbies' loss to the Force will go down in that bracket. Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham conceded post-game the Chiefs were the stronger side in Hamilton, and he and his staff will review the semi-final loss to work on weak points, and be better equipped to handle those tough final steps next year. It was the same approach used last summer, and into this season. The question whether the Brumbies can be there again next year is debatable, given they'll be without Noah Lolesio, Len Ikitau, Tom Hooper and possibly Rob Valetini. But presuming the premiership window does stay open, their best – and maybe only – path to success is to flat-out avoid playing in the same game. The Brumbies have lost four straight semi-finals in New Zealand. No Australian side has ever won in 21 play-off games in New Zealand. It's an unusual stat, but it's not as shameful as it sounds. Winning a play-off in New Zealand is bloody hard to do. Five of those play-off losses came in Australia's golden era, when great teams and legendary names couldn't even get it done. No South African side ever won a Super Rugby play-off in New Zealand either, from 15 attempts. Even all-powerhouse Kiwi teams have only won 10 from 32 play-offs offshore. Loading Winning a competition is not figuring out how to defy huge odds and win a semi-final in the wet of Waikato. It's how to play that semi-final in the cold of Canberra, instead. The key to that is to never have an off night at home, or as few as humanly possible. Easier said than done, sure. But no less true. You can't win a competition when fans are still in T-shirts. But as history keeps showing us, you can go a long way to losing one.
Sydney Morning Herald
21 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
The hard questions needed to be asked about Super Rugby
There was some outstanding rugby played throughout Super Rugby, with tournament organisers justified in talking up the increased competitiveness of games and uptempo rugby. But there are hard questions to be asked of the competition based on the following: in the four years since its inception, only three teams have made the Super Rugby Pacific grand final (Crusaders, Chiefs and Blues). Further, in the 12 semi-finals and grand finals in the 2022-2025 period, only one game involved a team that wasn't the Crusaders, Chiefs, Blues or Brumbies. This is atypical of not just comparable tournaments around the world, but of Super Rugby itself, especially in the 2011-2016 period that produced a diversity of finalists and winners. Competition owners Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby should be asking themselves three things: what changed (or didn't change) after the end of the 'old' Super Rugby to create this four-team dominance?; will it change in the coming years? (in my opinion, no); and if not, what are they going to do about it? Lolesio loss really hurt the Brumbies The Brumbies gave it a crack against the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday, although even the most committed Brumbies' fans must have had a sinking feeling when James Slipper was penalised just before halftime, an area where the Brumbies had to dominate if they wanted to cause an upset on the road. However, the key moment of the game was the loss of Noah Lolesio in the early stages due to a failed HIA. Not surprisingly, it took Jack Debreczeni about 15-20 minutes to find the rhythm of the game, and even when he settled he was always going to find it hard to replicate the influence that Lolesio has on the Brumbies' game. The Chiefs got a big bump from their bench - the replacement props maintained the scrum pressure while halfback Xavier Roe and playmaker Josh Jacomb were sharp. Combustible Cheika may be too hot to handle Michael Cheika almost went out in a blaze of glory with Leicester at the weekend, narrowly losing the Premiership final 23-21 to Bath, but he had one last spray for match officials. Calling a yellow card to prop Dan Cole 'embarrassing for the game', Cheika was also critical of how the scrums were officiated and was clearly irate on the sidelines. It's all part of the package with Cheika, who has an amazing record of turning teams around but also comes with obvious baggage. Wallabies legend Tim Horan this week called for Australian rugby to find a role for Cheika somewhere in the system but there is no mystery while administrators at national or state level don't seem to be rolling out the red carpet. He's an enormous character, obviously very smart but complex, and not the coach for any chief executive who already has enough on his or her plate. New Super Rugby AU competition will be a step forward There appears to be a diminished appetite in New Zealand for Australian players, which is just one more reason why the much-expected Super Rugby AU competition in September would be a good thing. It's thought to be one round and a final, and therefore quite limited in scope, but it will still plug a gap in the calendar for those players who aren't involved in the Wallabies. Everyone is struggling with the 'third-tier' format - debates in New Zealand and South Africa are fairly constant about the role of the NPC and Currie Cup, respectively, but the consensus remains that although the perfect model is elusive, an imperfect competition is preferable to the void that Australia has been a constraint on Australian rugby for years.
