Suaalii’s dream Twickenham debut is a millstone around his neck
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s quiet comeback against the Western Force in Sydney on Friday night was partly due to the visitors’ clever tactics to leave the Waratahs without the ball.
This was further proof of how adept Australian teams are at shutting each other down.
This was also because he had missed over a month of rugby due to a hamstring injury and his timing wasn’t quite in sync with his teammates.
But the third part of this narrative is that the quality of Suaalii’s first performance against England at the end of 2024 has been inflated far beyond the reality.
There is an expectation that he will dominate every competition and no No. 13 in the world does that. The Twickenham Test against England, which the Wallabies won 42-37, has been like a millstone around his neck ever since, but it’s clear his rugby career is still in the learning phase.
But don’t be surprised if he is much more effective against the Highlanders in Dunedin next Saturday afternoon.
The strength’s ability to limit Suaalii’s influence was reflected in how cleverly the Waratahs limited Zac Lomax’s influence under the high ball, reflecting a bigger picture: the four Australian teams were each other’s worst enemies in Super Rugby.
Look at the ladder: Although the Brumbies have a 4-1 record against the Kiwis, the Reds are 2-2 in Trans-Tasman matches ahead of Friday’s clash with the Chiefs, with the Reds fourth, the Brumbies sixth, the Waratahs eighth and the Force 10th.
So the Waratahs’ use of Lawson Creighton to tackle the high ball against Lomax was the latest sign of how adept Australian teams have become at neutralizing each other.
The Waratahs have beaten the Brumbies and the Reds, while the Queenslanders have beaten the Brumbies but lost at home to the Power and so on.
Equality is hurting Australia
The great irony of the dilemma described above is that the equal distribution of talent, which should be the key to good, actually harms Australia’s hopes of making the home play-offs. Man-to-man Australian teams are relatively even compared to the situation in New Zealand, where the weakest side (the Highlanders) is one level below the other four teams.
Four other Kiwi sides have beaten the Highlanders so far and the Hurricanes and Chiefs have a chance of beating them twice before the end of the regular season. Proponents of the trans-Tasman player draft are on the right track, but they are overstating things.
Australia should tell New Zealand that it needs to replicate the talent spread available in its systems; here the Australian No.9, No.10 and outside back form are all in Perth (see item below).
Failing that, Rugby Australia should push for a conference system next year in a 10-team competition with Australia’s top two teams advancing to the semi-finals.
Super Rugby team of the week
1st Sef Fa’agaese (Force), 2nd Brandon Paenga-Amosa (Reds), 3rd Zane Nonggorr (Reds), 4th Seru Uru (Reds), 5th Lukhan Salakaia-Loto (Reds), 6th Joe Brial (Reds), 7th Fraser McReight (Reds), 8th Nick Champion de Crespigny (Reds), 9. Henry Robertson (Force), 10. Ben Donaldson (Force) – Player of the Week, 11. Dylan Pietsch (Reds), 12. Hunter Paisami (Reds), 13. Josh Flook (Reds), 14. Filipo Daugunu (Reds), 15. Mac Grealy (Reds)
Good signs for Joe Schmidt
The Reds-Brumbies game in Brisbane was the best game of the weekend. It was intense but punctuated by moments of individual skill, including Joe Brial taking the right wing line and Jock Campbell finding a great touch from his left boot.
It was a reassuring sight for Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt as the July Tests approached. Top-placed Leinster in Ireland showed their quality once again at the weekend by beating Toulon to qualify for the Champions Cup final, so the Wallabies will need to get up to speed quickly.
Great Lukhan Salakaia-Loto was in great form, Hunter Paisami was a good and direct player and the Reds’ back row of Brial, Fraser McReight and Harry Wilson dominated their opponents.
Robertson, Donaldson show
Force No.10 Ben Donaldson is in the best form of his career, but it is almost impossible to separate his excellent performance against the Waratahs from the quality of his halves partner Henry Robertson. Force No.9 will make his Wallabies debut this year; You can also include your home in this.
No other halfback in Australia has linked his forwards and full-backs as much as Robertson has over the past month, and his running threat up the pitch creates space for Donaldson. His boxing punches are also outstanding.
As mentioned in point one, only the strength of the Waratah’s No.10 Creighton under the high ball in Sydney prevented Lomax from having a field day.
But even Creighton couldn’t stop Force winger Dylan Pietsch, who is now setting the standard for Australian outside backs.
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Paul Cully is a rugby columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect with: X or email.
