Rebels Ditch Beale and O’Connor

For hire: Utility back (not outhalf) who can run fast, sidestep, tackle, pass long off both sides and has superb hair. (c) WP Photography Geelong.

The majority of the reaction to the Rebels’ decision not to offer Kurtley Beale and James O’Connor new deals at the club for 2014 has focused on the duo’s off-field issues. That attention is justifiable and those problems were definitely a powerful motivating factor behind the Rebels’ call. However, the most important aspect of rugby is still the actual games on the pitch. The Rebels would certainly have studied whether or not Beale and O’Connor’s performances in Super Rugby meant it was worthwhile putting up with the off-field problems.

James O’Connor

After joining the Rebels in 2012, O’Connor played 21 of a possible 32 games. Just one of those 21 appearances came from the bench, incidentally his last. The 23-year-old stared nine times at outhalf, six times at fullback and five times at inside centre (second five-eight). The most consecutive starts he had in one position was five at outhalf. That movement between positions highlights one of the problems of O’Connor’s playing career so far: no one knows his best position.

Over the last two seasons, the Queenslander scored 201 points for the Rebels, including three tries. With O’Connor possessing the pace and footwork he does, one might expect his try-scoring rate to have been higher than 0.14 per game, especially when compared with a rate of .25 per game over four seasons at the Force. In terms of place kicking, O’Connor scored 44 penalties and 27 conversions, at an accuracy rate of just over 78%.

JOC played 10, 12 and 15 for the Rebels. (c) Jesse Fanthorpe.

In 2012, O’Connor was involved in just one of the Rebels’ four wins. That victory was at home to the Blues, when he played at outhalf. In the minutes that the Rebels had O’Connor on the pitch in 2012, they were 236-113 aggregate losers to the opposition. To sum it up, with O’Connor on the pitch in 2012, the Rebels’ record read: Played 8, Won 1, Lost 7, with a points difference of -123.

Without O’Connor, the Rebels record was more impressive: Played 13, Won 6, Lost 5, Drew 2. The aggregate score on those occasions was 303-277 in favour of the opposition, a much improved points difference of -26. It must be noted that these records include the spells when O’Connor was substituted off the pitch, but that only serves to highlight the main point. Without JOC on the pitch, the Rebels were statistically a better team in 2012.

In 2013, the Wallaby played more often for the Rebels, but the stats tell a similar story. With O’Connor on the field, the Melbourne club had a record of: Played 13, Won 3, Lost 10. The aggregate score was 368-270 against, a points difference 0f -98. Without JOC on the pitch, the Rebels were numerically better: Played 6, Won 3, Lost 3, with a combined score of 147-113, a points difference of -35. That said, O’Connor was involved in three of the Rebels’ five wins, starting both victories against the Force and making a telling impact off the bench last weekend versus the Highlanders.

Kurtley Beale

For hire: Outhalf/fullback with vision, searing pace, creative playmaking skills and footwork from another planet. (c) Graham MacDougall.

Beale also joined the Rebels for the start of the 2012 season, but played even less than O’Connor. Over the last two seasons Beale made 14 appearances, all but one of them in the starting team. He was selected at outhalf on 7 occasions, and fullback the remaining 7 times. Just like JOC, there are still differing opinions on Beale’s best position. Interestingly, of the four times Beale tasted victory in a Rebels’ jersey, he was wearing number 10 in three of them.

Beale’s scoring impact for the Rebels was understandably lower than O’Connor’s, given that he played less and was not the front-line place kicker. The 24-year-old contributed a total of 50 points, including four tries. That puts Beale at a try-scoring rate of .31 tries per full game at the Rebels, better than his .21 rate at the Waratahs. From the tee, Beale kicked 6 conversions and 14 penalties, with an accuracy rate of 87%.

In 2012, Beale was involved in three of the Rebels’ four wins. With the Sydney man on the pitch, the Rebels’ record read: Played 10, Won 3, Lost 7. The total scoreline was 300-208 to the combined opposition, a points difference of -92. Without Beale out on the field, the Rebels were: Played 8, Won 2, Drew 1, Lost 5. On those occasions the aggregate score was 220-154, an improved points difference of -66.

In 2013, the fact that Beale played just four times means the stats cannot be relied upon as heavily as above. However, it is important to note the difference in the Rebels’ performances when Beale did play. With him involved, the Rebels were: Played 4, Won 1, Lost 3. But the key stat here is a points difference of -12 in those 4 games. Without Beale, the Rebels’ record in 2013 was: Played 14, Won 4, Lost 10. The aggregate score was 431-331, a vastly inferior points difference of -100.

Combination

O’Connor (left) ready to choose exactly the line Beale wants him to. The Rebels didn’t get enough from this combination. (c) richseow.

To the naked eye, O’Connor and Beale combine well on the pitch. They appear to read each others attacking intentions instinctively and usually pick ideal lines off each other when the chance arises. Rebels fans haven’t had too many opportunities to see the pair playing together though. Over the last two years, Beale and O’Connor have been on the pitch together only 10 times for the Rebels.

In 2012, the combination didn’t bring success, with the Rebels winning just once of the six occasions, with an aggregate scoreline of -88. In 2013, the combination showed signs of improvement, but unfortunately only had four chances to do so. The Rebels won twice, and actually had a points difference of +3 overall. The great shame is that Beale’s personal issues prevented us from seeing more of the combination that looked so promising in brief glimpses.

Cutting Losses

All of the above should be processed with the reminder that the Rebels are still a weak team. That’s entirely natural, given that they have only finished their third season in Super Rugby. Over the last two years, the Rebels have won just nine games. On four of those occasions neither O’Connor nor Beale, the club’s ‘best’ players, were involved. At times it has looked as though the Rebels squad have been liberated by the star duo’s absences. It will be interesting to see if that effect can last into next season now that the club has decided to ditch their two marquee players.

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Photos: WP Photography Geelong, Jesse Fanthorp, Graham MacDougall, richseow.

The Day Ireland Beat New Zealand

Were Munster the only Irish team ever to beat New Zealand? Read on… (c) Martin Dobey.

Ireland have never beaten the All Blacks. Each time we play the standard bearers of world rugby, we are reminded of this stat. In 27 efforts, Ireland have lost to New Zealand 26 times. The solitary draw came in 1973, a 10-10 stalemate in Lansdowne Road. At underage level, we have never beaten the Baby Blacks. Mike Ruddock’s U20 side came close last Thursday, but the record remains unbroken. Our women’s team has never beaten the Black Ferns, although they haven’t had a chance to do so yet.

It would appear that Munster are the only Irish rugby team to have beaten New Zealand, with that famous 12-0 victory in 1978. But if you dig a little deeper, there is a dirty secret to be exposed: Ireland beat New Zealand in 1973, by a scoreline of 22-18. How has this result gone ignored you will surely ask? Possibly because the game took place at the International Seven-A-Side Tournament at Murrayfield in Scotland. That’s right, sevens!

On the 7th of April in 1973, the Scottish Rugby Union held the tournament as part of their centenary celebrations. Eight international teams were involved, representing each of the IRB-registered rugby nations at the time: Scotland, Ireland, England, Wales, France, Australia, New Zealand, and an SRU President’s VII which included several South African players.

Ireland’s nine-man squad was a talented one. Vincent Becker was a lightning quick winger from Lansdowne who also represented Ireland in the 100 metres. He went on to win two Ireland caps in 1974. Arthur McMaster was a winger from Ballymena, who won 18 senior Irish caps, scoring 2 tries. Seamus Dennison was the the Limerick man who made that tackle for Munster when they beat the All Blacks. He won three Irish caps, scoring one try.

Kevin Mays was London-born but playing out of UCD. The lock won four full caps for Ireland in 1973. Donal Canniffe was the captain of Munster when they beat the All Blacks. In ’73, the scrumhalf was still with Cork Con, before later joining Lansdowne. Fergus Slattery was already a well established Irish international, and a non-capped Lions tourist in ’71. The flanker’s career finished with 61 Ireland caps and four for the Lions.

Hooker Pa Whelan was another involved in Munster’s win in ’78. The Garryowen man went on the win 19 Irish caps. Terry Moore was a big No. 8 from Highfield in Cork. He would end his career with 12 caps for Ireland. Last but not least was the captain, Mike Gibson. The Belfast man’s Ireland career had begun in 1964 and he had already toured three times with the Lions. After 69 caps for Ireland and 12 for the Lions, he went on to become an IRB Hall of Famer.

It was certainly a formidable Irish selection. In their opening game of the tournament they came up against New Zealand and duly dispatched them 22-18, having led 10-6 at the break. It’s unclear who did the scoring for Ireland, with the available records not extending to that detail. The Irish team went on to beat Australia 16-4 in their next game, before securing a place in the final with a 24-12 win over Scotland.

The final saw the Irish face an English team of considerable strength themselves: David Duckham, Steve Smith, Andy Ripley, Roger Uttley, Peter Preece, John Gray, Peter Rossborough and Keith Fielding were captained by the enigmatic Fran Cotton. The English were victorious, claiming the trophy by another 22-18 scoreline. Although the tournament was never awarded official status by the IRB, the Irish team had essentially finished runners-up in the first Sevens World Cup, and beaten New Zealand for the first time in our rugby history.

Portugal celebrate their win at the European 7s in 2008. In Ireland’s squad at that tournament were James Coughlan, Darren Cave, Ian Keatley and Chris Henry. Ireland finished 4th to qualify for the 2009 World Cup, the last time we fielded a team.

There’s more to this than just a good story. The 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens takes place in Russia from the 28th to 30th of June, with the likes of Portugal, Hong Kong, Uruguay, Zimbabwe, the Philippines and Tunisia all involved in the party. Following the Italian rugby federation’s recent decision to implement a sevens programme, Ireland are now the only nation in the top 17 of the IRB World Rankings without a sevens team.

The developmental advantages which sevens offers to 15-a-side players are something I’ve written about before, but the fact that sevens is an Olympic sport adds even more value to the calls for the IRFU to get behind it.

Something is amiss…

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Photos: Martin Dobey, Stefanie.

Ruddock and his Wolfpuppies Ready For France

Ed Byrne scoring for the Wolfpuppies during their 31-26 loss to New Zealand. (c) IRB.

The Ireland U20s play host nation France in the Junior World Championship fifth-place semi finals tomorrow evening after narrowly missing out on a spot amongst the top four teams. Similarly to last year, the Wolfpuppies have impressed greatly at this tournament. The amount of talent at Ireland’s disposal and the high skill level throughout the squad offer encouraging signs for rugby in this country.

One of most impressive things about Mike Ruddock’s team has been their attitude. Over the last three years, the Welshman has worked hard to instill confidence in his U20 sides. The aim has been to convince young Irish players that they are every bit as talented as their international peers. That message is clearly getting across, with a win over Australia and an excellent performance against New Zealand in which the Wolfpuppies were clearly not overawed.

Following that loss, a quote from outhalf Steve Crosbie stuck out. Expressing his disappointment, he revealed just how ambitious the Irish U20s have become: “There is no way we are taking our foot off the pedal here now. We set our goals to win this competition, but that’s not possible now.” The fact that Ireland will see their performance as something of a failure is reason to laud Ruddock’s work at this level.

This winning attitude can only benefit Irish players in the long-term. Whereas five years ago, several of our players at this level wouldn’t have had serious thoughts about a professional career, every single one of these Wolfpuppies will expect to become a full-time professional rugby player.

The single most impressive aspect of this team is the style in which Ruddock has them playing. The Wolfpuppies have been fabulously entertaining to watch. The squad is laden with skillful players and Ruddock has played to that strength. He has given his team the freedom to offload and encouraged them to move the ball into wide channels, where their excellent support play has stood out. It’s intelligent, well-organised rugby and refreshing to watch.

Ruddock’s name was one of those in the mix to replace Declan Kidney when it became clear that Ireland would be employing a new Head Coach at senior level. With Joe Schmidt now in place, we should be thankful that Ruddock remains in charge of the Wolfpuppies. His role in the development of these young players is crucial and Irish rugby should be working hard to ensure it continues for some time yet.

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Tolofua at Toulouse is 120kg of beef at hooker for the French. (c) Pierre Selim.

Ireland’s opponents tomorrow night are France. The hosts have had a mixed bag of a tournament so far. In the opening game, they were 30-6 losers to England in what was a jarring disappointment. Didier Retier’s side bounced back with a  45-3 win over a weak USA side, who went on to be beaten 119-0 by England. France’s final pool game saw their most impressive performance, despite losing 26-19 to South Africa.

Based on the reputations of the players, this is not a bad French squad. Hooker Christopher Tolofua has made 16 starts for Toulouse over the past two seasons, including two in the Heineken Cup. Playing his second year at this level, the 120kg battering ram takes some stopping. In the back-row, Yoruba Camara is joining Toulouse next season after developing at Pro D2 side Massy. The rangy flanker is quick, athletic and can offload out of the tackle.

Alongside him, No. 8 Marco Tauleigne is a chunky unit at around 115kg. He spent this season with Federale 1 champions Bourgoin, but is moving to Bordeaux in the Top 14 this summer. His carrying is muscular, meaning Ireland’s back-row will need to be alert. Out wide, the French can call on Biarritz flyer Teddy Thomas. He scored four tries in four Top 14 starts this season, as well as two against Gloucester in the Amlin CC. Already a 7s international, Thomas is elusive, pacy and full of flair from fullback.

Apart from those big names, the French can call on five other players who have experience in the Top 14: prop Cyril Baille (Toulouse), sub hooker Romain Ruffanech (Biarritz), lock Leo Bastien (Agen), scrumhalf Baptiste Serin (Bordeaux) and outhalf Vincent Mallet (Stade Francais). Flanker Mathieu Babillot has already made his Heineken Cup debut for Castres. Centre Thibault Regard and winger Gabriel Lacroix are regulars at Pro D2 level. In terms of senior club level experience, the French outdo the Wolfpuppies.

Teddy Thomas of Biarritz is a danger man for the French. (c) IRB.

However, in every other aspect of importance to this game, the Irish have more to call on. Based on the performance’s of both teams at this JWC, Ireland are the favourites. France have the advantage of playing at home, but that did them no good against England and South Africa. Furthermore, the Wolfpuppies were 22-5 winners when these sides met in Athlone back in March. Both squads have changed somewhat since then, but Ireland have developed far more rapidly.

The Baby ‘Boks made plenty of metres in wide channels against France, and Ireland should look to exploit that weakness too. The French wingers are quick but very lightweight and that should suit the Wolfpuppies. England created several line breaks of the French defence with short passes to support runners inside and outside their centres. Again, those trail lines are something Ruddock’s men are good at, and we should hope to see more of the same.

The French pack are strong in their carrying around the fringes of rucks through the likes of Tolofua, Tauleigne and Baille. No surprise really, with Les Bleus legend Fabien Pelous as manager of the team. Ireland will need to ensure their defence is solid either side of the breakdown.

Ireland appear to have all the tools to ensure a 5th-place playoff final at the JWC for the second year running. Either Australia and Argentina await in that game. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, the French must be dealt with first. Here’s hoping that the Wolfpuppies will be celebrating another win tomorrow night.

At the end of the day, this is a development tournament with the aim of producing professional players. Irish professionals for whom beating the likes of Australia and France is the norm would be greatly welcome.

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You can listen to me talking about the Ireland U20s and this game on yesterday’s Big Red Bench on Cork’s Red FM. Have a listen here:

Photos: Pierre Selim, IRB.

Video Post: James O’Connor Wallabies Outhalf?

O’Connor looks set to start at outhalf against the Lions. (c) Salman Javed.

Judging on the available evidence, I think James O’Connor will start at outhalf against the Lions in the first Test. My personal preference would be for Quade Cooper to start at 10, and use O’Connor at 14. If the Reds playmaker impresses on Saturday against the Lions, who knows? However, for now Cooper remains outside the Australian squad and everything Deans has said up up to this point suggests it will be O’Connor running out at 10. So what does the Rebels man bring to the outhalf position?

O’Connor defends bravely, can beat players with his footwork, place-kicks competently, is explosively quick, has a high work-rate and passes excellently. All in all he’s a very complete rugby player, as highlighted in the video below. His passing game from outhalf would allow the Wallabies to attack in wide channels from first-phase, as well as in open play. O’Connor is very accurate in this regard, and he’s good at spotting space out wide in defences.

However, that vision doesn’t extend to the space in behind defences and that’s one of the areas where O’Connor lags behind Jonny Sexton. He rarely puts grubbers, chips or cross-field kicks in behind defences. The first thought for him is nearly always either to pass or run. This should allow the Lions defensive line to push up quickly without worrying too much about the space left in behind.

That inability to vary his game leads to the biggest problem with O’Connor playing outhalf: he doesn’t ‘boss’ his team around the pitch. He’s relatively inexperienced at outhalf and, as anyone who has ever tried to step into the number 10 shirt from another position will tell you, controlling a team from 10 is very demanding. O’Connor seems to struggle with making decisions about where he should direct play, when to kick and when to attack.

The Wallabies likely ploy to counteract that deficiency is to use several playmakers throughout the team. As you’ll see in the video, they’ve done this in the past by using a distributing second-five-eighth outside O’Connor, namely Berrick Barnes. Also, Will Genia at 9 will take on a lot of the responsibility for marshaling the forwards around the pitch and deciding when to kick. Also, I think Kurtley Beale will have a big role to play in this regard, stepping up from fullback.

That should allow O’Connor to focus on his strengths. If Australia use other playmakers intermittently, that will allow O’Connor to pop up in wider channels, where he is lethal. If Deans does decide to go with a system similar to this, it will ask demanding questions of the Lions’ defence. With O’Connor, Beale and Barnes/Lealiifano (if they play a creative 12 rather than a bosher like Horne) swapping around the pitch, there will be danger from all angles.

I’m still unconvinced that outhalf is O’Connor’s best position, but he’s still a good option there. While I feel that Cooper would be a better choice for the Wallabies, having O’Connor at 10 is not going to weaken them greatly. The 22-year-old (with 37 caps!) is among the best players in the world. He comes across as very mentally strong and I think this Lions tour will see him stepping up a level on what we’ve seen before.

Check out the video below for some examples of what O’Connor can offer from outhalf, and some of the areas where the Lions could have an advantage.

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Photos: Salman Javed.

Super Week for South African Sides

By Nsovo Shimange

It was a great weekend for the SA sides in SupeRugby.

In the first couple of rounds of the SupeRugby competition we watched as the New Zealand teams took each other on with a break-neck style of running rugby, with play being taken from end to end in a matter of seconds. The result of this was an exciting feast of tries. In the eyes of the rugby-mad public it seemed as though the Kiwis had discovered a hidden chapter in the rugby manual and were now stunning the world with this secret knowledge.

A sharp contrast to this was the lacklustre brand of rugby which was being played on the southern tip of Africa, a brand of rugby where games were ground out and victories came mostly won by the boot. Fears were growing in South Africa that our teams would not be able to compete with the 7-point scores of the Kiwi sides if we were only moving up in increments of 3. However, something happened this past weekend that still has us stunned.

The first shock of the weekend came in the form of the Cheetahs where the young fly half Johan Goosen showed a superb return to kicking form and hints of what a great Bok flyhalf he will be one day. Cheetahs rugby in South Africa has always been a style of running rugby where the opposition find themselves chasing shadows more often than not. However, their let-down has usually been their defense. This time however they seemed composed, committed and very patient on their defense, thus allowing them to score off the mistakes of the Highlanders. With a final score of 36–19, this should be the confidence booster that they need for the rest of the campaign.

Bryan Habana and his Stormers teammates had a 36-34 win over the Chiefs. (c) Paul Barnard.

Down in Cape Town, the Stormers were to face the current SupeRugby champions, the Chiefs, who were coming into the game with two wins compared to the Stormers zero, after having lost to the Bulls in Pretoria and the Sharks in Durban. Although the Stormers were expected to win in Newlands their ability to score tries was in question, having only scored 2 in 160 minutes of rugby.  They managed to hold on to a two point lead of 36–34 against the champions.

After a dismal showing against the Western Force last week, the Blue Bulls coach Frans Ludeke made wholesale changes which saw seven new faces in the starting line up to face the Blues in what is known as the Garden of Eden. This strategy worked as it saw the Bulls record their first ever win in Auckland with a 28–21 final score line and a game which saw Pierre Spies returning to form.

I had previously written about The State of South African Rugby and expressed my concerns. It may still be too early to get overly excited about the Springbok results from this past weekend as the competition is a marathon rather than a sprint. I do however take encouragement to see that we can take on the “world’s best” and beat them. Let’s hope that this will translate into a Rugby Championship trophy for the Green and Gold.

How do you think the South African teams will fare in this season’s competition? Feel free to leave a comment below with your views on their strengths, weaknesses and the SA players who have impressed you so far!

You can follow Nsovo Shimange on Twitter @NSOVOworksHARD.