1. What Vunivalu’s selection says about Jones
Suliasi Vunivalu’s selection in the first Wallabies squad of the year comes as his form in Super Rugby is in reverse gear. He appeared to be carrying an injury against the Crusaders on Friday, but all season his work rate has been poor. Andy Muirhead and Corey Toole clearly don’t fit the Eddie Jones model. Power it is, then, for the Wallabies this year, although Dave Rennie employed the same strategy with mixed results.
In fact, what strikes you about this squad is how similar it is to the one Rennie would have picked. The distrust of Harry Wilson and Noah Lolesio remains, despite the fact Ben Donaldson looked crestfallen after the Waratahs’ loss to the Brumbies – no doubt feeling like he had lost the game and his Wallabies spot. It is not a shocking squad by any means, and confirms how much value Jones puts in NRL form, even if that occurred years ago.
2. Max Jorgensen’s value goes up and up.
The figure that Rugby Australia had in mind for Jorgensen’s contract extension on Friday won’t be enough by Monday. The Waratahs fullback’s speed, footwork and mature decision-making was there for all to see against the Brumbies, particularly in the break that led to Lalakai Foketi’s try.
If the new benchmark is the $1.5 million reportedly being paid to Joseph Suaalii from 2025, what is Jorgensen worth? By the time Suaalii joins rugby, Jorgensen might already have a Rugby World Cup campaign under his belt, if Eddie Jones presses ahead with that plan. Welcome to the world of wage inflation.
Max Jorgensen races upfield ahead of a Waratahs try.Credit:Getty
3. Larkham’s entertainers
The Waratahs deserve credit for turning up in Canberra. They were physical and accurate, and winger Dylan Pietsch’s return has been an underappreciated boost on defence and attack. They might also question what looked like a blatant knock-on by Fred Kaihea in Lachlan Lonergan’s try.
But the overall contest was so easy on the eye in large part because of the Brumbies’ newfound love of giving the ball some air. Take a look at their backline depth in the second half. They were willing to stand 10 metres behind the gainline – or more – to put the ball through the hands and get on the outside of the Waratahs’ rush defence.
Corey Toole celebrates after scoring a try against the Wallabies.Credit:Getty
This isn’t the ubiquitous ‘back door’ play, it’s old-fashioned depth and it’s thrilling when executed well. Stephen Larkham has returned from Ireland as a better coach.
And let’s not dwell on chairman Matt Nobbs’ pre-match barbs. Surely we haven’t lost the ability to know when tongue is firmly in cheek?
4. Rebels fall into bad habits
The Rebels’ offloads didn’t stick and there were some kicking errors, but that won’t be annoying the coaches. Instead, they will be justifiably disappointed in their passive first-up tackling in that wild opening half-hour in Suva as the Fijian Drua piled on 33 points.
That was the ‘old’ Rebels on show, and the entire club will be filthy at that having generated so much goodwill so far this year. They get the Blues in Melbourne next Saturday, and if there is one team that’ll test your contact work in Super Rugby Pacific, it’s the Blues coming off a loss.
5. Three Australian finalists no guarantee
It’s been futile to look at the competition until this point, but it’s starting to take shape and assume relevance. Brumbies aside, the issue for Australian teams is simple: it’s called the Fijian Drua.
They sit in seventh after beating the Rebels, and they have four home games to come, including games against Moana Pasifika and the Reds to finish the regular season.
Two of their home games are against the Hurricanes and Blues – tough – but they’ll be looking at the round 12 game against the Western Force in Perth as winnable. Mick Byrne could come back to bite Australian rugby.
Cully’s team of the week
- James Slipper (Brumbies) – Player of the Round
- Dave Porecki (Waratahs)
- Harry Johnson-Holmes (Waratahs)
- Jeremy Williams (Force)
- Ned Hanigan (Waratahs)
- Liam Wright (Reds)
- Fraser McReight (Reds)
- Harry Wilson (Reds)
- Tate McDermott (Reds)
- Noah Lolesio (Brumbies)
- Dylan Pietsch (Waratahs)
- Tamati Tua (Brumbies)
- Len Ikitau (Brumbies)
- Jordan Petaia (Reds)
- Max Jorgensen (Waratahs)
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