Super12 2002 - Round Twelve

Brumbies 46 defeated Blues 25 (Canberra)

Their was precious little for Aussie rugby fans to smile about last weekend, but the Brumbies' performance against the Blues, in what amounted to a sudden death play-off for the semifinals, proved to be a highlight.

It took a little time for the Brumbies to work up a head of steam against Auckland, but in the second half something just seemed to click, and there before our eyes appeared the Brumbies we know and love. The ACT machine was firing on all eight cylinders, relentless as ever in attack, dominant at the breakdown, piling on the pressure through phase after phase, and then executing with clinical precision to convert that pressure into points. In the end, the Blues simply didn't have the discipline to match the Brumbies.

Stirling Mortlock - for the 58 minutes he was on the field - again played brilliantly. He must surely be a certainty for the Wallaby centres. Larkham and Gregan again played well, and both Bond and Bartholomeusz had productive games. Significantly, many of the Brumbies' forwards seemed to be back to their best, with Justin Harrison, George Smith, Scott Fava, and the front row all playing superbly. I think there is now a good case for the Brumbies' front row to become the Wallabies' front row. They are consistent, experienced, and used to playing alongside each other. And perhaps more significantly, Nic Stiles and Rod Moore have fallen away a bit in the latter part of the competition.

The Brumbies have played themselves back into contention. They will need to improve further to have any chance of challenging the rampant Crusaders, but their confidence will be justifiably high as they head into this weekend's semifinal against the Waratahs.

- Dan Fowell

Highlanders 40 defeated Reds 26 (Dunedin)

This game, and probably the Reds' season, can be summed up thus: didn't play badly, but didn't play brilliantly either. And in the end, they didn't play well enough to win.

Despite the hoopla that had been coming down from up north over the past few weeks, the Reds remained a team which was failing to produce performances on the field that, on paper, it should have been able to deliver. It is a team that is evidently stacked with talented players, but even in full swing often appeared to be playing a few notches slower than some of its fellow competition contenders. I don't think that there's any doubt that Mark McBain has failed to reinvent Queensland rugby - or inspire his team - in the two years of his tenure. They have been solid but unspectacular, and McBain's comments this week that he doesn't see any need to make any significant changes to the Reds' style of play should he continue next year must surely sound the death knell for him as Reds coach.

If Queensland was endeavouring to move away from the old school coaching philosophy of John Connolly by appointing McBain (and they were), then they will be sorely disappointed by him. I think it's safe to say he won't be around next year, as the QRU under Jeff Miller seeks to put in place a coach that is capable of developing the technical skills required of the team to be able to play more expansive rugby, and in so doing more frequently engage their back three, which must potentially rank amongst the best in the competition. Wendell Sailor, for one, will develop into a much better rugby player under a different coach. I look forward to seeing what Eddie Jones will be able to do with him.

The Reds certainly weren't terrible against the Highlanders, but - apart from perhaps the first ten minutes - they never seemed to be in the hunt. Chris Latham - a man who is in prodigious form at the moment - was the man who kept them vaguely in the hunt, but unlike in previous encounters where he had been the Reds' sole saviour, his exploits were not enough to turn it around against a Highlanders outfit that was missing three of its key players for much of the match - Tony Brown, Byron Kelleher, and Anton Oliver.

The Highlanders looked better coached, more composed, and seemed to have more options than their opponents. Put simply, the better team won on the day. Perhaps next year the Reds will finally discover the difference between being good and being great.

- Dan Fowell

Crusaders 96 defeated Waratahs 19 (Christchurch)

I must have seen that score line fifty times since Saturday night's debacle, but still it takes my breath away. Oh...my...God! How utterly devastating for the Waratahs, their fans, and their sponsors. A score line that makes a mockery of the fact that they are nominally the second best team in the competition. Well, of course that's rubbish, that much is now clear. But the Waratahs are definitely a better team than their awful performance against the Canterbury Crusaders would indicate. But where to from here?

Well - to Aussie Stadium on Saturday night to play the Brumbies in a historic first semifinal appearance in the Super12. What a shame that this weekend's game has been so badly tarnished by this incredible rout.

Much has been made of coach Bob Dwyer's decision to rest some of his usual starters. But give the guy a break - maybe, given that tactic, he wasn't expecting a win against the Crusaders, but never in his worst nightmares could he possibly have envisaged that his charges would so utterly capitulate, so thoroughly surrender. And the team was not so far off the best on paper - key players missing included Nathan Grey and Phil Waugh (both injured), and Marc Stcherbina, Duncan McRae, Mat Rogers (injured early in the game), and Brendan Cannon. As it transpired, McRae ended up playing most of the game anyway, and neither he nor Cannon and Stcherbina made any substantial impact when they came on.

What is does indicate is the importance of Grey and Waugh to the Waratahs. Grey is a defensive rock in the midfield, and it was there that the Crusaders repeatedly exploited the inexperienced Sam Harris. Matt Burke was off his game as well, and doesn't look as comfortable or confident without Grey alongside him. And Waugh, such a terrier at the breakdown, will be a welcome addition for the semifinal, as the Crusaders had it all over NSW in that area.

But the wretchedness of the Waratahs was matched by the sublimeness of the Crusaders. Theirs was an awesome display of inventive, adventurous and mistake-free rugby union. A more polished display by a provincial side - heck, any side - is hard to conceive. They full deserve the minor premiership, and their status as the only side to go unbeaten through the preliminary rounds in the history of the Super12. And, equally, the deserve favouritism to take the title. If they play to that level again - however hard that is to imagine - no one will be able to touch them.

This will be a long week of soul-searching and self-recrimination for the Waratahs, no matter what kind of spin they put on it for public consumption. Dwyer will be trying to get inside their heads and figure out where they went for those terrible eighty minutes.

For the sake of their fans, I hope they are able to dig deep and find some answers between now and Saturday's semifinal. I hope they are able to turn the good ship Waratah completely around and get her sailing back on course, three sheets to the wind. I hope they can rediscover the magnificent spirit that launched them so spectacularly and unexpectedly into finals contention at the beginning of the season. So much to do, so little time. Hey - I'm an optimist, but there's a point where even a true believer knows that the battle has been fought and lost.

- Dan Fowell