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Bloody mungo! ;-)
C'mon the
Lets consider the upside.
The Brumbies are championship material and gave us a belting on their home turf. The Brumbies defence was near on un beatable. They changes a few things in attack that we hadn't prepared for.
The Reds have beaten all kiwi opposition
The big picture is that Australian rugby has evolved into a powerful union.
The Force have been very competitive in most games. The Rebels look very good on their day as well.
I think the Force just got towelled by the new super power in Super rugby. At least they are an Australian franchise.
The rise and rise of the Brumbies is a good model for the Force who have some advantages the Brumbies don't...........a bigger membership base and a wider and more cashed sponsorship group.
The Brumbies were in the doldrums 3 seasons ago. They broomed the joint, brought in elite coaches and set about putting together the best of generation next. It's a great story.
Yep, while I hate what they've done for us, I can't help but admit a grudging respect for the way the Brumbies go about their business.
When asked before the game how it looked I was saying the Brumbies are looking ominous, nothing has changed. They might just win the whole thing this year, much more complete a team than the Reds.
I'm still disappointed at how badly the Force played though!
C'mon the
How do you figure that? The Reds just swept the Kiwis - first time ever for an Aussie team. And the Reds have the same number of wins to date as the Brumbies.
Not taking anything away from the Brumbies, they look good, but to say they are "much more complete than the Reds" is an exageration.
At the captains run,we were escorted out of sight for a short time while the team worked on some plays
worked a treat
true, but the reds have more losses too...
to be fair I think that both teams are pretty even at the moment, despite playing fairly different styles of rugby.
if anything the Reds have a slight edge because of their experience, they have been at the top consistently for 3yrs now. however I feel the Brumbies are hot on their heels and if their young guys can keep their cool they will be there in the final this year.
The Force result was exactly what you would expect 9/10 times if you go out and try to defend to a win. It works once in a while, about half the time or so you'll lose but be in touch, and the rest of the time you'll get poked. Defense is important, but it is only half the story. If you "try to play in the other half" but don't find touch or actually move your players up and pin them there, you'll spend most of the time in your own half. A team in half decent form will make you pay for that, let alone one feeling its oats.
Our attack was very static, very simple, one out plain vanilla that was easily managed. No moves or anything to test them, possibly as everyone was windy about holding onto the ball. Until we sort out the basics, get everyone confident in that and then marry it with the defense, we are where we'll stay.