Loss in Buenos Aires painted a false picture of cohesive Waratahs
1. Loss to Jaguares beginning to look like an aberration
The Waratahs' defeat in Buenos Aires now appears a regrettable but forgivable loss that does not tell their story. We judged that performance harshly – perhaps too harshly – with one eye looking back at the 2017 season but after a strong win in Canberra, the bigger picture of the Waratahs is that they are a cohesive unit, albeit with limitations.
Pack mentality: The Waratahs forwards enjoy a moment of dominance over the Brumbies.
From Taqele Naiyaravoro's first try onwards, the Waratahs controlled the Brumbies. They had the edge in contact and post-tackle, their defensive set-piece work grew in authority, and they scored a brilliant set-piece try that again showed Alex Newsome's ability to make good decisions. And in that second half, they were all over the ball, especially when Will Miller came on. Buenos Aires was a blot on the book but the Waratahs have turned the page.
2. Iceman Bernard Foley warms up again
When the Wallabies No.10 is in the zone he's one of the best in the world. He was there on Saturday, which meant the early loss of Israel Folau was not game defining. Foley and Kurtley Beale really are a class above any other 10-12 partnership in the Australian conference, and Michael Hooper also got a points decision against David Pocock.
Points win over Pocock: Michael Hooper gets stuck in during the Waratah's win over the Brumbies.
Hooper is sometimes criticised for not having a dominant presence over the ball but he won at least one important turnover against the Brumbies as the Waratahs turned up the heat at the berakdown in the second half. It was quite an old-school game. In theory, the new ruck laws should favour the attacking team but the Waratahs showed if the first-up tackles are aggressive and low, and the first man in is quick, you can still play a strong ground game.
3. Reputations burned in Rebels loss
The Melbourne side have made it clear they want to be known as a big aggressive pack. The switched-on Hurricanes turned up with plenty of respect for their big men – and promptly took them down a peg or two. There were some eye-catching early runs from Amanaki Mafi but the key moment in the first half happened when the big No 8 was dumped over his own try line at the back of an under-pressure Rebels scrum.
Sam Lousi – the former Waratah that Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd recently revealed Michael Cheika was "furious" to lose – was again a dominant presence. Perhaps captaincy has encouraged Adam Coleman to seek respectability, but the second-rower has lost a bit of sting from his play this season.
4. Brumbies have forgotten what they're good at
They will hate reviewing those last minutes of the Waratahs game in Canberra – hate it. What will really sting is the Waratahs ability to pincer their lineout drive and shunt it a good 10m back towards the sideline. Previous Waratahs coaches Jake White and Stephen Larkham were criticised for the pace of change in taking the Brumbies away from a kick and set-piece game, but perhaps we are seeing now why they were relatively conservative.
The Brumbies' set-piece – scrum or lineout – is no longer a strength and their broken-field play is not at a level where it compensate for that. They play the Reds in Canberra on Saturday and you don't have to be a genius to work out where the Reds will attack them.
5. What do the Wallabies do with Taqele Naiyaravoro?
There was fairly chastening sight in Melbourne of Marika Koroibete struggling to cope with the size and pace of Ben Lam. The commentators believed Koroibete would have caught Lam for his second try had he not tried an early tackle. I'm not so sure. Lam actually gets faster as he hits top stride and Koroibete possibly isn't at his sharpest yet this season.
When stars collide: Taqele Naiyaravoro lines up Henry Speight of the Brumbies.
That brings us to Taqele Naiyaravoro, who frustratingly seems to be hitting his best form in Australia with an overseas deal already stitched up (a bit like Kyle Godwin). Naiyaravoro is fitter this year but no less terrifying, which raises the possibility of the Wallabies using him in the June series against Ireland as a short-term fix. There is still time for Koroibete to hit his straps and perhaps Chris Feauai-Sautia to continue his renaissance, but Naiyaravoro is not the worst option to have in the wings.
Team of the Week
1. Tom Robertson (Waratahs)
2. Damien Fitzpatrick (Waratahs)
3. Allan Alaalatoa (Brumbies)
4. Matt Philip (Rebels)
5. Rob Simmons (Waratahs)
6. Michael Wells (Waratahs)
7. Michael Hooper (Waratahs)
8. Amanaki Mafi (Rebels)
9. Jake Gordon (Waratahs)
10. Bernard Foley (Waratahs)
11. Taqele Naiyaravoro (Waratahs)
12. Kurtley Beale (Waratahs)
13. Curtis Rona (Waratahs)
14. Alex Newsome (Waratahs)
15. Bryce Hegarty (Waratahs)