As a club, the Rebels came to an end at the weekend in the quarter-finals. But the career of one Melbourne youngster is only just getting started.
The Rebels won a lot of admirers on Saturday. They took it to the Hurricanes in the first half, and although they couldn’t sustain it they did expose a few chinks in the Hurricanes game under pressure.
The homegrown Victorian lock - who is 202cm and played for Australia A last year - has always had some mongrel in his game, but now he’s a big dog after stacking on plenty of kilograms in the off season. His lineout ability has also gone to the next level. Lock him in, Joe.Since Super Rugby Pacific started in 2022, there have been 16 quarterfinals and semifinals: all of them won by the home side.
The Brumbies will be better than their 46-7 loss to the Blues at Eden Park in April, but the Kiwi side has developed a brutal template under coach Vern Cotter. They have looked almost unbeatable in Auckland this year.The Brumbies scrum, clearly, is a concern but the Brumbies’ biggest challenge will be trying to stop the Blues’ big ball carriers in and around the ruck, where their big midfielders and wingers are operating as extra loose forwards.
Finals rugby is different, but the Reds looked spooked by the Chiefs’ physicality, and Fraser McReight losing the ball in contact after a big shot by Samipeni Finau summed up their night.You’d probably get arrested in the ACT for even raising the subject, but Corey Toole’s defence is an issue in terms of the Test arena. He was brushed aside far too easily by the Highlanders’ Jona Nareki - hardly the biggest winger himself - on Saturday, highlighting an issue that does arise for him.
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