Eleven players made their Super Rugby debut in Round One, with a further ten making their first appearance for new Clubs, in what was an enthralling first week of Super Rugby.
This week, a further three players could join those lists, with Junior Laloifi (Reds) and Matt Sandell (Waratahs) named on their respective benches for possible Super Rugby debuts, and former Western Force scrumhalf Mick Snowden (Rebels) again named on the bench after being an unused reserve last Saturday.
It was a cracking first round, with wins for the Brumbies, Rebels and Waratahs. This week, barring a draw, either the Reds or Force will join that winners’ list for the first time in 2016 after Saturday’s match at Suncorp Stadium, while either the Brumbies or Waratahs will fall off the list as they clash on Friday night in Canberra. Will the Rebels be able to break their South African duck in Pretoria and possibly even go top of the Australian conference?
It’s been a big week in the media: here’s our selection of what our members have to say, in Look Who’s Talking Now!
See end of article for full list of Club and Super Rugby debutants.
We start in Sydney with former Crusader Zac Guildford, with the All Black telling Bret Harris in The Australian how much he enjoyed returning to Super Rugby after a couple of years abroad.
“It was great to be back in Super Rugby,” Guildford said. “I was a bit nervous; it was like starting again. I’m just thrilled to be back out there.
“I was more (nervous) this afternoon when I was sitting at home by myself just waiting for time to pass. It’s a long afternoon when you’re building up to a 7.30 game. Once I got in the dressing room around the boys I felt pretty comfortable… and when that first whistle went I was back into work again. You see we like to run the ball… not a lot of kicking going on. If we can thread those things together, we’ll be pretty dangerous.”
Guildford will mark Henry Speight tonight against the Brumbies; a challenge he is relishing.
“Speight is a very dangerous player,” Guildford said. “I marked him a few times when he was playing in New Zealand. I’ve kept a close eye on him since. I know what he is about; his strength.
“In the tackle he’s a pretty hard man to pull down. You don’t want to get into a game of scrag otherwise he’ll push you off. Get him around the legs and try to lower him is the easiest way.”
Guildford’s Waratahs teammate Kurtley Beale told Adrian Warren that as far as he is concerned, his side view the Brumbies as their biggest rivals.
"Over the last couple of years I think the Brumbies and Waratahs clashes have probably become more important than any other rivalries," Beale said. "I think the reason why there is that rivalry is there is because we think they are probably the best team in the conference and they do have a quality outfit."
The battle of the backrows looms as a beauty tonight, with the likes of last week’s man of the match Jed Holloway and Michael Hooper coming up against David Pocock and Scott Fardy, among others.
Holloway enjoyed playing his part in the big Waratahs’ win last weekend and is hoping to cement his place in the run-on side, as he told RugbyNews.
“Any chance I get to play for my state is a really important thing for me and my family,” he said. “It was a good win for the team but we know we have a lot we can improve on. There were some real positives in our performance, but a lot of things that we have gone and worked hard on at training this week and we are really looking forward to the clash against the Brumbies in Canberra.
“I was happy with my performance… it definitely gives me confidence to know I can play at this level but I’m not reading too much into it and just trying to focus on improving each week to become a better Rugby player and help the team. I’ve been waiting in the wings and bouncing around a few different positions in the last few years but I always wanted to play No.8.”
Fardy, meanwhile, has been talking up the brilliance of fellow Wallaby Israel Folau, telling Iain Payten that his side will need to bring their a-game to maintain a perfect record.
“When a guy like Izzy gets the ball you have to make sure your bloke either side of is looking after you as well, because he can be outside you and away from you pretty quick,” Fardy said. “You have to work together, communicate and solve problems as you go. That’s the key to defence against guys like him.
“I thought our defence was great on Friday but it will have to go up another level against NSW,” he said. “They throw a lot of threats at you; a lot of big ball runners.”
In an exclusive with Jamie Pandaram, meanwhile, Fardy’s Wallaby teammate Christian Lealiifano has shown he is taking RUPA’s advice to begin considering life after his playing career ends very seriously indeed, as he publicly declared his intentions to coach the Brumbies once he retires.
“If they’d have me I’d love to, it has been a massive part of my life the Brumbies. Bernie grew up here and is living the dream to be able to coach his childhood team,” Lealiifano said.
Lealiifano said he had to seriously contemplate his future after breaking his leg in 2012, and he has taken on some assistant coaching responsibilities in season 2016.
“It really came about through all my injuries, you watch the game differently, you’re studying different clips and footage and seeing things differently,” he said. “I really got a kick out of that. When I broke my leg that was a key time for me, I was cutting clip after clip and showing Bernie (Stephen Larkham) what I’d found.
“He was surprised by it and said, “Mate, you’d make a really good coach one day’. We followed it up and I started to think about more genuinely. I’ve always loved Rugby, I never thought coaching was something I’d do down the line but I’m getting a bit older now and when it’s time to move on it might drive me.
“I’ve spoken to Bernie about my aspirations to coach one day and he was more than happy to accommodate that for me this year without overworking me, because obviously I’m co-captain now and play-calling, kicking goals.
“He didn’t want to overload with me too much so it’s been a subtle adaptation, but quite rewarding too because he has given me little segments for the backline to introduce and to take over and study and have input into some of our meetings and trainings.”
While many are predicting a comfortable win for the home side tonight, former Wallaby and Brumbies star Owen Finegan told RUPA that the Waratahs are more than capable.
“A portion of the Waratah’s performance (last week) was on a similar level to the Brumbies, so it’s great to see that sort of form early in the competition and I am looking forward to heading to Canberra this week to see them in action against one another,” he said.
To Saturday’s clash between the Reds and Western Force, and young Queensland backrower Michael Gunn spoke to Jim Tucker earlier this week about the responsibility which comes with helping cover the loss of injured teammate Liam Gill.
Just as Gill watched videos of former All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw and Wallaby David Pocock to pick up hints, pint-sized Gunn has done the same.
“It’s almost a cliché but I have watched McCaw a lot on tape because he pushed the boundaries to get maximum advantage for his team,” Gunn said.
“The way I look at it, if you are a bit underweight you need another point of difference,” he continued. “What I might lack there, I feel I make up for in speed so I can have the same impact at the point of contact by getting there early.”
Former Reds star Ben Tapuai is eager and excited to return to his former home ground for the first time as a visitor, as he told David Berrie.
“Coming up against my old teammates had actually been on my mind a little bit,” he said. “It will be a bit weird running out on to Suncorp Stadium and playing against the Reds, but I can’t wait to get out there and compete against them.
“I had some great times with those boys, played some good Rugby but when it comes down to the game there are no mates on the opposition, I know I’ll be going hard and doing everything I can to help us get the win and I’m sure they won’t be taking it easy on me either. The Queensland crowd can be pretty vocal so I’m sure I’ll cop it from them a bit but it will all be in good fun.”
The Melbourne Rebels, meanwhile, are in action in Pretoria against the Bulls at midnight on Saturday, and stand-in Captain Sean McMahon told Beth Newman his leadership style had been influenced by his time at last year’s Rugby World Cup.
“Going to the World Cup and learning from players like Stephen Moore and leaders like David Pocock, they’re all players that lead by example and they’re really dominant through their knowledge of game,” he said.
“Learning from them that’s probably what I want to continue to do is be a ‘lead by example’ leader and have the knowledge of the game where I can make the right decisions throughout the whole of the game if I’m given an opportunity as a leader on the field.”
Social Supremo
By now, most people are familiar with Ben Daley’s Be Great, Do Good campaign, and this week’s headgear incarnation was proudly displayed by Cadeyrn Neville on Instagram; a great way to raise funds and awareness for #CycloneWinston relief.
Other highlights of the week
Ben McCalman speaking to Brett McKay about his stint in Japan with the Panasonic Wild Knights, as he returns to the Western Force side this weekend
Returning Australian Rugby Sevens star Pat McCutcheon speaking to Beth Newman ahead of the Las Vegas Sevens this weekend, his first outing in the abbreviated form since 2010
Full list of Round One Super Rugby debuts
Super Rugby debuts (Round One): Jermaine Ainsley (Western Force), Tomas Cubelli (Brumbies), Ayumu Goromaru (Reds), Jamie Hagan (Rebels), Reece Hodge (Rebels), David Horwitz (Waratahs), Leslie Leulua’iali’i-Makin (Brumbies), Semisi Masirewa (Western Force), Ben Matwijow (Reds), Eto Nabuli (Reds), Henry Taefu (Reds)
Club debuts (Round One): James Hanson (Rebels), Peter Grant (Western Force), Zac Guildford (Waratahs), Bryce Hegarty (Waratahs), Jono Lance (Western Force), Cadeyrn Neville (Reds), Angus Ta’avao (Waratahs), Ben Tapuai (Western Force), Adam Thomson (Rebels), Aidan Toua (Brumbies)
