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Upcoming derbies will decide the Brumbies' fate

Sekope Kepu is tackled during match with Brumbies. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

The Brumbies are in the box seat to top Super Rugby’s Australian conference and play finals but three key derby clashes amid desperation for Wallabies jerseys make for an intriguing finish.

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Bonus point wins in round 15 have given the Brumbies (34 points) and Melbourne Rebels (33) a big lead from the NSW Waratahs (26) who are badly missing Israel Folau’s strike power after their eighth loss by eight points or less.

The Brumbies appear to have the better run home – facing the lowly Sunwolves (12) then the Waratahs and Queensland Reds (24).

The Rebels play the Waratahs at home before a daunting away assignment against the ladder-topping Crusaders and a home clash with the always-competitive Chiefs.

While the Waratahs’ hopes are slim at best and the Reds are out of the running, the competition for Wallabies spots in a World Cup year should ensure the derby clashes are ferociously contested.

Brumbies coach Dan McKellar was talking up playmaker Christi an Lealiifano’s claims for an emotional Wallabies return following his cancer battle after he maintained impressive 2019 form in a 22-10 win over the Bulls on Friday.

“He’s been outstanding, just consistently good every week and off the back of his defence, his leadership and direction,” McKellar said. “He’d be my 10 (at the World Cup), but I’m a little bit biased.”

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The coach would be equally impressed with giant Wallabies centre Tevita Kuridrani’s recent surge of form that included three tries against the Bulls.

The Rebels will have fingers crossed that talismanic halfback Will Genia is fit to play the Waratahs this week after being knocked out in his team’s 52-7 thrashing of the Sunwolves.

Without the sacked Folau’s rare ability to find the tryline, the Waratahs have were frustrated yet again when beaten 23-15 at home by Argentina’s Jaguares (36), who top the South African conference and look a genuine title threat.

“It’s like every game this year, you look up, 70 minutes and the game’s in the balance again. We just haven’t been able to grab the game and run away with it,” said skipper Michael Hooper.

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Adding to the Waratahs’ woes, tough centre Karmichael Hunt’s Super Rugby season appears over after he copped a medial ligament injury.

The improving Reds had their hopes snuffed out in heartbreaking fashion when falling just short of their first win in New Zealand since 2013, losing to the Chiefs 19-13.

The Crusaders (53) remain a class above every team in the competition after they put a controversial week behind them with a 19-11 win against the Blues.

The African conference remains the most open with just six points separating all five teams.

The Jaguares knocked the Bulls (32) off top spot, the Stormers (30) downed the Highlanders and the Sharks (33) were too strong for the Lions (30).

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J
JW 7 hours ago
How the four-team format will help the Wallabies defeat the Lions

Have to imagine it was a one off sorta thing were they were there (saying playing against the best private schools) because that is the level they could play at. I think I got carried away and misintrepted what you were saying, or maybe it was just that I thought it was something that should be brought in.


Of course now school is seen as so much more important, and sports as much more important to schooling, that those rural/public gets get these scholarships/free entry to play at private schools.


This might only be relevant in the tradition private rugby schools, so not worth implementing, but the same drain has been seen in NZ to the point where the public schools are not just impacted by the lost of their best talent to private schools, there is a whole flow on effect of losing players to other sports their school can' still compete at the highest levels in, and staff quality etc. So now and of that traditional sort of rivalry is near lost as I understand it.


The idea to force the top level competition into having equal public school participation would be someway to 'force' that neglect into reverse. The problem with such a simple idea is of course that if good rugby talent decides to stay put in order to get easier exposure, they suffer academically on principle. I wonder if a kid who say got selected for a school rep 1st/2nd team before being scouted by a private school, or even just say had two or three years there, could choose to rep their old school for some of their rugby still?


Like say a new Cup style comp throughout the season, kid's playing for the private school in their own local/private school grade comp or whatever, but when its Cup games they switch back? Better represent, areas, get more 2nd players switching back for top level 1st comp at their old school etc? Just even in order to have cool stories where Ella or Barrett brothers all switch back to show their old school is actually the best of the best?

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