Tahs put cap on fans' excitement but their strategy is effective

IT is not a good look, let alone a good argument for a fifth team, when three of the four Australian sides are ranked 10th, 11th and 12th on the Super 14 table at the mid-competition point.

Derided and denigrated though they have been, only the second-placed Waratahs are carrying the Australian flag with any conviction. And not only have they risen above the three other Australian teams -- the Brumbies, Reds and Western Force -- but they have also risen above their critics.

Coach Chris Hickey had pleaded for time, asking the naysayers for six or seven weeks' grace to get NSW playing the way he wanted and he should have been given it because, right on schedule, the Tahs produced their best display of the season.

No one would have come away from their victory over the Blues shaking their heads in awe at the Waratahs' scintillating display but, for all that, it was earnest and mildly entertaining -- and, most especially, it was effective.

NSW is still not playing a whole lot of rugby but then where has playing a whole lot of rugby got the Reds, Brumbies and Force? All three sides were brought undone by turnovers in their most recent outings and while it looks fantastic to spread the ball wide, it looks something else entirely when a quick change of possession leaves your defensive line overextended and no amount of scrambling can plug all the holes.

Meanwhile, the Tahs rumble on, putting a cap on their fans' excitement and limits on their width but when they make mistakes, as inevitably they do, it's almost always in a well-populated part of the ground.

Much has been made of Daniel Halangahu's imput against the Blues and there is no doubt he is better equipped than Kurtley Beale to control a match from five-eighth. But arguably the more significant contribution came from his halves partner, Luke Burgess.

The pity was Burgess lasted only half a match in Auckland because he has had good and bad halves a number of times this season. And it would have been educational to see whether he could have stretched his brilliant vein of form of the first 40 minutes over the entire 80.

But on the evidence of his abbreviated display at Eden Park, he is back to his 2008 best. He was decisive, direct and physical, seemingly a man on a mission to make critics like me eat their words. If that's how he responds to criticism, then, hey, humble pie is not so horrible a dish. Just pass me the mustard.

By contrast, the Brumbies still have major problems at halfback. Josh Holmes does some wonderful things -- like saving the day in the opening seconds in the Shark Tank when Bismarck du Plessis looked like pinching a try from the kick-off -- but he brings to the halfback position many of the same faults George Gregan used to be criticised for, without the redeeming quality of being a commanding general.

It is nothing short of infuriating the time Holmes takes to clear the ball from the ruck base. It is one thing to work methodically with his pods of forwards to regenerate the play and speed up slow ball. But even when the Brumbies are on the rampage and the defence is in disarray, Holmes too often dithers until the ball has been gift-wrapped before clearing it.

By the time he passes to his backline -- having crabbed sometimes two or three paces across field -- the Brumbies are confronted by a reorganised defensive line. That's where a Stirling Mortlock shines, smashing through set defences, but in his absence against the Sharks, no one else proved capable of it, though Clyde Rathbone certainly gave it a go.

For all the criticism directed at the Waratahs, it is the Brumbies who most deserve to be draped with the "underachievers" sash this season. On paper they appear to have most key areas covered and even in the position in which they have looked most vulnerable, five-eighth, they have made some advances as Christian Lealiifano continues to mature as a playmaker.

But for a side long rated the most skilful in Super rugby, the Brumbies' pass and catch skills were dreadful against the Sharks and it doesn't matter what other improvements they have made to their game if they simply cannot hang on to the ball.

Any side suffers from poor handling but it's doubly distressing for the Brumbies, who still rely heavily on building through the phases to pick the lock of opposing defences.

As for the 11th-placed Reds, they have scored more tries than two of the sides in the top four -- the Waratahs, who have played one match more than them, and the Bulls. But until the rules of rugby are brought into line with those of American football -- now that would be some ELV -- their offensive side also will have to double as their defensive side and the Reds won't be going anywhere any time soon until they learn to react with far greater urgency to threatening situations.

Going into Saturday's match at Suncorp Stadium, the Reds knew that the Chiefs were a break-out just waiting to happen. They would have known, too, that their opponents would use turnover ball in precisely the same way as Jake White taught the Springboks to use it when he was South Africa coach -- by moving it by the fastest means possible out to the wings. Yet where was the corner-flagging defence of years past? Where, for that matter, was the trust in the inside man of the cover defence?

It's only at such critical moments that some players are truly appreciated -- by their absence. If the Chiefs match revealed nothing else -- and there were a heap of lessons there to be learned -- it's how much the Reds have come to rely on Peter Hynes to snuff out danger. Few wingers in the modern game read the play better or move more quickly to where they are needed most. Without him on Saturday night, holes that until now they scarcely even knew existed kept opening up all over the park.

The past two rounds of the competition have yielded precisely one win to an Australian team. Indeed, take out two derbies and there have been only two Australian victories over the past four weekends.

The Super 14 is entering its third quarter. In golfing terms, it's moving day.
The Brumbies, Reds and Force better get moving.



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