The trouble with Taniela Tupou

Taniela Tupou’s yellow card against the Force for a bizarre slide tackle is a big issue for the Wallabies. Joe Schmidt must be wondering if he can genuinely trust Tupou against the British and Irish Lions, because any such act will cost them a Test. That incident will put the Lions wind-up merchants on notice, and it doesn’t take a massive stretch of the imagination to envisage players such as Ellis Genge trying to get under Tupou’s skin. The shame in all of this is that Tupou appears to be a very likely player that everyone is willing to come through this rough period, but that combustibility is a big red flag ahead of a series that will be intense in every phase of play.

Club World Championship will outshine Nations Cup

Christmas came early for Super Rugby over the weekend with confirmation from Europe that the club world championship will finally and miraculously come into effect in 2028. Although the details are yet to be unveiled in detail, the outline of the 16-team comp is extraordinarily generous towards Super Rugby, with the top six teams at least set to be included to face that year’s Champions Cup quarter finalists. It means the URC winners, or England Premiership winners, could miss out if they have a bad Champions Cup campaign, yet the door would be open for the Super Rugby outfit that finishes sixth. As a concept, this competition is far more appealing than the Nations Cup concept, and the Herald predicts that supporter interest will be through the roof, with the first edition of the quadrennial tournament to be held in Europe. This is a big moment for the game, and a brilliant deal for Super Rugby.

Tahs show grit but they can’t be a yo-yo team

The Waratahs deserve a heap of credit for winning a tough game against the Force in appalling conditions in Perth – especially their bench. A week after the players were called out by their own coach, the phase of play that led to Jack Bowen’s game-levelling penalty typified the spirit – the initial punch by Langi Gleeson, then great carries and skills by Tom Lambert, Teddy Wilson and Ben Grant up the middle of the field. The Waratahs rode their luck at times but deserved the win against a Force team that has put a heavy workload on Jeremy Williams, Darcy Swain and Nick Champion de Crespigny and arguably ran out of battery during the past month. However, the Waratahs can’t get stuck in the cycle of poor performance-public roasting by the coach-gritty comeback. That has a limited shelf life and Dan McKellar has a big job getting them up for the game against the Blues in Auckland on Saturday before addressing that issue during the off-season.

How will the Lions play? Look at the Hurricanes

The Reds couldn’t quite match the Hurricanes’ dynamism on Saturday, with an exciting game offering a real contrast in styles (losing most of the 50-50 calls didn’t help the Queenslanders either). In many ways, the Hurricanes were your classic Kiwi team, plenty of ball movement and athletic loose forwards. But their coach, Clark Laidlaw, is a proud Scot who is tuned into the Six Nations and also a major admirer of the French style. He reflects the outlook of the modern European coach, too, and there is no doubt that the Lions will come here with major attacking intent. Like the Hurricanes, their backline will be serviced by a brilliant, ambitious No 9 and all eight of their pack will be genuine ball-carrying options. They’re being set up to be expansive – why else would you choose Finn Russell, Fin Smith and Marcus Smith as your No 10 options?