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Five key match-ups in the Brumbies v Waratahs World Cup audition

Brumby Tom Banks tackles Waratah Alex Newsome. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

The NSW Waratahs host the Brumbies in a blockbuster Super Rugby match that will double as an audition for Wallabies spots at the World Cup on Saturday.

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There are five key match ups in the penultimate round clash that could go a long way to deciding who starts for Australia in Japan later this year.

Tighthead props Sekope Kepu (Waratahs) and Allan Alaalatoa kick things off in the front row, while second-rowers locks Rory Arnold (Brumbies) and Rob Simmons will lock horns behind them.

Arguably the most interesting battle is at No.10, with inspirational Brumbies skipper Christian Lealiifano facing under fire Waratahs playmaker Bernard Foley.

That contest will have a big influence on the next, with red-hot Brumbies outside centre Tevita Kuridrani looking to run through veteran Adam Ashley-Cooper.

Finally, it’s the battle of the fullbacks looking to fill the void of exiled star Israel Folau. The showdown features the immensely talented Kurtley Beale against Brumbies young gun Tom Banks.

The 10 players have 588 Test caps between them but half will be relegated to the bench or even drop outside the game day 23.

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Brumbies coach Dan McKellar said he was looking forward to the head-to-head battles and believes Lealiifano is the form five-eighth in Super Rugby.

“I don’t think (Wallabies coach) Michael Cheika will be picking his Wallabies 10 off the back of Saturday night but all of these games certainly play a role,” McKellar said.

“It will be as close to Test match footy as you can get at Super Rugby level, so you just get a gauge of how players handle that environment.

“Christian has played in more of these games than most and he’ll be very relaxed and calm and will know he’s just got to do his job well.

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“Christian has been the form 10 of the competition, consistently .. I don’t think he’ll be thinking a whole lot about Bernard.”

McKellar also backed his fullback.

“Banksy and Beale isn’t a bad one, he’s playing well Tommy, he gets a lot of raps when he’s scoring tries, but for me, the strength of his game this year is his ability to clean up kicks in the back field,” McKellar said.

“His defensive work is a real area he’s improved as well and we all know he can attack.

“I think Kurtley (Beale) is more dangerous at 15 (than 10 or 12), it allows him to sit in behind the play and chime in and spot opportunities when they present.”

The Brumbies are leading the Australian conference after winning six of their past seven games, and can all but secure a home quarterfinal by ending NSW’s season at Bankwest Stadium.

“There’s a lot on the line for us and them, and (for) individuals, so she’ll be on,” McKellar said.

– AAP

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Flankly 1 hour ago
'Absolute madness': Clive Woodward rips into Borthwick in wake of NZ loss

Borthwick is supposed to be the archetypical conservative coach, the guy that might not deliver a sparkling, high-risk attacking style, but whose teams execute the basics flawlessly. And that's OK, because it can be really hard to beat teams that are rock solid and consistent in the rugby equivalent of "blocking and tackling".


But this is why the performance against NZ is hard to defend. You can forgive a conservative, back-to-basics team for failing to score tons of tries, because teams like that make up for it with reliability in the simple things. They can defend well, apply territorial pressure, win the set piece battles, and take their scoring chances with metronomic goal kicking, maul tries and pick-and-go goal line attacks.


The reason why the English rugby administrators should be on high alert is not that the English team looked unable to score tries, but that they were repeatedly unable to close out a game by executing basic, coachable skills. Regardless of how they got to the point of being in control of their destiny, they did get to that point. All that was needed was to be world class at things that require more training than talent. But that training was apparently missing, and the finger has to point at the coach.


Borthwick has been in the job for nearly two years, a period that includes two 6N programs and an RWC campaign. So where are the solid foundations that he has been building?

4 Go to comments
N
Nickers 1 hour ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Very poor understanding of what's going on and 0 ability to read. When I say playing behind the gain line you take this to mean all off-loads and site times we are playing in front of the gain line???


Every time we play a lot of rugby behind the gain line (for clarity, meaning trying to build an attack and use width without front foot ball 5m+ behind the most recent breakdown) we go backwards and turn the ball over in some way. Every time a player is tackled behind the most recent breakdown you need more and more people to clear out because your forwards have to go back around the corner, whereas opposition players can keep moving forward. Eventually you run out of either players to clear out or players to pass to and the result in a big net loss of territory and often a turnover. You may have witnessed that 20+ times in the game against England. This is a particularly dumb idea inside your own 40m which is where, for some reason, we are most likely to employ it.


The very best ABs teams never built an identity around attacking from poor positions. The DC era team was known for being the team that kicked the most. To engineer field position and apply pressure, and create broken play to counter attack. This current team is not differentiating between when a defence has lost it's structure and there are opportunities, and when they are completely set and there is nothing on. The reason they are going for 30 minute + periods in every game without scoring a single point, even against Japan and a poor Australian team, is because they are playing most of their rugby on the back foot in the wrong half.

43 Go to comments
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