As the last of the pre-season trials takes place later today, with the Waratahs in action against the Highlanders in Queenstown, it’s hard to temper the excitement and knowledge that this time next week, we’ll be a few mere hours from the start of the 2016 Super Rugby campaign.
Our members have toiled tirelessly over the preseason, with various camps taking them outside of their comfort zones and fitness coaches revelling in the time of the year where they take centre stage. And while there can be only 23 winners on Saturday August 6th, as of right now there are five Australian teams who dare to dream that it will be them.
There are 45 current professional players in Australia who’ve been in the matchday squad for a Super Rugby final, dating back to Tamati Ellison with the Hurricanes in 2006 and including Australian Rugby Sevens convert Pat McCutcheon; will that number grow in 2016?
The Brumbies will be looking for David Pocock to play a big role in any charge they make towards the title in 2016, and Brumbies’ Co-Captain Stephen Moore is backing Pocock to shine despite the current speculation regarding a potential sabbatical in 2017.
"Poey is very mentally tough," Moore said. "I can imagine plenty of guys in his ear offering plenty of advice, but as a team-mate, he hasn't imposed us on it and there's been no distraction at all. It won't affect his play or ours as a team."
If Pocock does elect to take a sabbatical, and following that confirmation that Liam Gill will held to Toulon at the end of the season, greater responsibility will rest upon the shoulders of backrow mainstay Michael Hooper, who told Jamie Pandaram he will need to be smart when managing his workload.
Hooper, who has played more minutes of Super Rugby and international rugby than any other player in the past three years, said "Workload is a consideration or every player these days, there's a lot of footy to be played so you will need to be smart about how you stay on the field."
From reducing workloads to reinvigorated players, and that’s exactly how Anthony Fainga’a describes himself in an interview with the Courier Mail’s Jim Tucker.
Fainga’a, who has played more Super Rugby matches (80) than the entire Reds backline from last Friday’s trial against the Brumbies combined, has his eye on reaching a century of caps for the Club (other potential centurions in the next two years include Saia Fainga’a & Rob Simmons (90), James Slipper (81), Jake Schatz (79) and Ben Daley (78)).
"Like I say, I'm willing to play anywhere except the front-row, (and to) start and come off the bench. I've played 80 games but I'm not happy with that, just as I wasn't happy with just ten games. I want to get to 100 and I definitely feel I have plenty more to give the Reds."
Fainga’a’s former Reds teammate Mike Harris had a steady first season in Melbourne in 2015, but he is looking to raise the bar in 2016 to mirror the rising expectations of the Rebels themselves.
Across to the Nation’s Capital now, where star Brumbies and Wallabies centre Tevita Kuridrani has been given some pretty clear instructions from Head Coach Stephen Larkham.
"At the start of the season Bernie has been talking to me about talking to the guys," the softly spoken Kuridrani said yesterday. "They are starting to look up to me now, especially the young guys. I have been doing a little bit of that [talking] at training and just trying to work off [co-captain] Christian."
While the powerhouse midfielder is happy to assume more responsibility at the Brumbies, his main aim is to lift his own game.
"This year my focus is trying to improve my rugby from where I left off last year," Kuridrani said. "I'll try to continue that this year and try to be consistent."
After what seems an eternity, the Australian Women’s Rugby Sevens team are back in action this weekend for the second leg of the 2015/2016 World Rugby Women’s Rugby Sevens circuit, in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
As part of her regular column for the World Rugby website, Australian star Alicia Quirk said that it was a relief to be getting back into competitive action this weekend (even if her body doesn’t share her mind’s sentiments!)
"So us Aussie gals finally get to play this weekend, and against some bloody tough teams too. For our pool matches I think we drew every single team in the competition known for their physicality around the ruck and tackle zone. My shoulders were still recovering from playing England in Dubai."
"Fiji, Ireland and Canada. Three different styles of play but three teams no doubt looking to improve on their performances in Dubai. Contests with Canada are always tough and fierce, while Fiji are one up on us after the Coral Coast Sevens, beating our young and vasty improving development team in the semi-finals."
From the competitive nature of the World Sevens circuit to the lighter side of Rugby, and both Junior Laloifi and Christian Lealiifano had some pretty funny observations in interviews this week.
Speaking to Rugby News as part of a new collaboration between Rugby News and RUPA designed to help the Australian Rugby public get to know some of the newer professional stars of our game who have graduated from Club Rugby, Laloifi revealed that he is a serious cinema buff.
So what are his favourite movies of all time? We were expecting some of the usual suspects (including, ironically, The Usual Suspects, Shawshank Redemption, Anchorman and Scarface). With a new baby girl to look after and a partner to keep happy, we’d even have accepted Titanic or The Notebook. But no. Over to you, Junior...
Away from Rugby, what do you do with your spare time?
I don't really have too much spare time these days, but when I do get a day off I love watching movies. I'm a movie fanatic. At the moment though, I'm trying to spend as time as possible with my daughter and be a really good father.
If you're a fanatic, what are your top three favourite movies?
Top three, that's easy. There's this kids movies called the Mighty Ducks. My top three are Mighty Ducks 1, 2 and 3.
Finally, congratulations are due to Melbourne Rebels scrumhalf and RUPA Player Director Nic Stirzaker, who earlier today was unveiled as his Club’s youngest ever Captain in a leadership group which also features young stars Jack Debreczeni and Sean McMahon alongside the more experienced James Hanson, Tamati Ellison, Scott Fuglistaller and Harris.
Other highlights of the week include this spread in Inside Sport, where Cam Clark tells you how to train like an Aussie Sevens player, and our catch-up with four leading players who each identified the code’s greatest challenge heading into the new season. (Yes, we know it’s the same motley crew who were talking all things swimwear a couple of paragraphs above!)
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He might have needed a second grab at this, leaving followers to think for six hours that his new daughter’s name was Mia due to a typo spotted only by his eagle-eyed wife Maddie, but massive congratulations must go to the Jones clan as they welcomed their first child in the same week that Luke’s move to Bordeaux at the end of the season was announced.
Mum and Bub are doing well!
The list of current, Australian-based professional players to have featured in at least one Super Rugby final is as follows.
Ben Alexander, Kurtley Beale, Sam Carter, Ben Daley, Kane Douglas, Tamati Ellison, Anthony Fainga’a, Colby Fainga’a, Saia Fainga’a, Scott Fardy, Israel Folau, Bernard Foley, Liam Gill, Peter Grant, Zac Guildford, James Hanson, Greg Holmes, Michael Hooper, Rob Horne, Sekope Kepu, Tevita Kuridrani, Jono Lance, Tolu Latu, Christian Lealiifano, Pat McCutcheon, Stephen Moore, Dean Mumm, Wycliff Palu, Nick Phipps, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Ian Prior, Benn Robinson, Paddy Ryan, Jake Schatz, Siliva Siliva, Rob Simmons, Scott Sio, Will Skelton, Andrew Smith, Ruan Smith, Henry Speight, Ben Tapuai, Jeremy Tilse, Joe Tomane, Matt Toomua.
