Round 2 saw some closer battles. In Perth, the Western Force broke a tight game open in the final ten minutes to beat the ACT Brumbies 32–19. In Brisbane, the Queensland Reds held their nerve in wet conditions to edge…
Sent in by reader and contributor PeterK Alongside our performance-based Team of the Week, we’ll also publish a Fantasy XV. The fantasy model is objective and consistent. It rewards metres, tackles, involvements and positive outcomes, while docking points for errors…
Round one rarely delivers precision. What the opening weekend of Super Rugby Pacific offered was not polish or complete cohesion, but early evidence of which sides could close, which could control their discipline, and which are still assembling combinations under…
Week one wrapped up with winners and losers, but even in heavy defeat a player can stand out. Here’s our Super AU Barbarians Round 1 XV. Who cracks your Platypus side? 1. James Slipper (Brumbies) The Brumbies’ scrum set the…
The ACT Brumbies have opened their Super Rugby Pacific campaign with a 56-24 win over the Western Force at HBF Park. Force led 10-0 early and finished with 55 per cent possession and 53 per cent territory, but the Brumbies…
The Chiefs have opened their Super Rugby Pacific campaign with a 19-15 win over the Blues at Eden Park. The margin was four, and it was close throughout the match. The Blues finished with 123 carries to the Chiefs’ 99,…
Moana Pasifika have opened their Super Rugby Pacific season with a 40-26 win over the Fijian Drua at Churchill Park in Lautoka. The margin was 14. Stats suggest it should have been tighter. Drua had 54 percent territory, 51 percent…
Rugby fans love a derby, and NSW vs QLD can’t be beaten for expectation of big moments. Mix in a derby, a one-score margin and a touch of ill-discipline and it will do the rest. The NSW Waratahs did exactly…
Forsyth Barr does this to teams. It squeezes games late. The roof holds the noise in, the clock speeds up, and if you’re the bloke with the tee you suddenly feel very alone. Cameron Millar didn’t look it. Down one,…
Round 1 was fun. Ridiculously fun, even. Ninety-seven points in Sydney. Twenty-eight tries in two games and more missed tackles than most defensive coaches would care to count. Now it settles. Next Gen is a short and sharp 3 week…
