Bad weekend for Aussie teams

A CALAMITOUS loss for the Queensland Reds, the surrender of a 29-point lead by the New South Wales Waratahs and a shockingly small crowd in Canberra captured all the ills of Australian Super Rugby in a handful of hours on Saturday.

At the close of a mostly miserable day of matches, two of Australia’s four teams were all but out of the post-season race and the nation’s losing streak to New Zealand sides stretched to 39 matches.

The rot set in when the Reds ran out in Tokyo, fresh after a bye and full of confidence after upsetting South Africa’s conference-leading Lions in their last start. That selfbelief was torpedoed as the previously winless Sunwolves claimed a rousing 63-28 victory, virtually ensuring Queensland will miss the play-offs for a fifth straight year.

The Waratahs then threatened the upset of the season when they stormed to a 29-0 lead late in the first half away to the champions, Canterbury Crusaders.

Instead, the Crusaders mounted the biggest comeback in Super Rugby history as the Waratahs collapsed to a 31-29 loss, with disputed calls rubbing salt into the visitors’ wounds. The Melbourne RebelsACT Brumbies match offered the chance for at least one Australian team to salvage something positive from the weekend and the sides battled hard at Canberra Stadium.

The crowd of 5 283 was the smallest in nearly 20 years of Super Rugby in the nation’s capital and those that turned up saw the hosts squander a 14-point lead to lose 27-24. Having stayed strong through recent years of strife in the Australian conference, the Brumbies are nearly certain to miss the post-season for the first time since 2012.

The threadbare crowd and the twice champions’ free-fall under new coach Dan McKellar, an appointment promoted from within after Stephen Larkham stepped aside, will raise alarm bells at under-fire Rugby Australia. “Certainly our form is playing a part (with the crowds) and I’ve got to front up and take ownership of that 100% and I’ll never hide away from that,” McKellar said.

Since the Waratahs clinched the nation’s last title under Michael Cheika in 2014, Australian teams have steadily declined as their New Zealand rivals have grown stronger.

The competition has turned off local fans, many of whom were enraged when Rugby Australia axed Perth-based Western Force last year after spurning an offer of a multimillion dollar donation from mining tycoon Andrew Forrest to prop up the team. —