Lock him in,Joe:The rookie who can keep Rebels spirit alive in a gold jersey

The Rebels won a lot of admirers on Saturday. They took it to the Hurricanes in the first half,and although they couldn’t sustain it they did expose a few chinks in the Hurricanes game under pressure.

Josh Kemeny,Josh Canham and Rob Leota were terrific,the latter enjoying by far the best game of his campaign.

Melbourne Rebels lock Josh Canham in a maul against NSW Waratahs.Luke Hemer

But the big winner of the weekend in terms of Test selection was Canham.

The homegrown Victorian lock - who is 202cm and played for Australia A last year - has always had some mongrel in his game,but now he’s a big dog after stacking on plenty of kilograms in the off season. His lineout ability has also gone to the next level. Lock him in,Joe.

2. Brumbies draw the shortest straw

Since Super Rugby Pacific started in 2022,there have been 16 quarterfinals and semifinals:all of them won by the home side. That could change next weekend,but it’s more likely to take place in the Hurricanes v Chiefs game on Saturday than the Blues v Brumbies game on Friday.

The six-day turnaround certainly won’t help the Brumbies,but the biggest factor is that the Blues will be on a different planet physically than the Highlanders were in Canberra on Saturday.

Andy Muirhead showed superb touch to first control a Noah Lolesio cross kick before toeing ahead for himself to score.

The Brumbies will be better than their 46-7 loss to the Blues at Eden Park in April,but the Kiwi side has developed a brutal template under coach Vern Cotter. They have looked almost unbeatable in Auckland this year.

The Brumbies scrum,clearly,is a concern but the Brumbies’ biggest challenge will be trying to stop the Blues’ big ball carriers in and around the ruck,where their big midfielders and wingers are operating as extra loose forwards.

3. Reds get it all wrong

It’s too easy to say the Reds players have blown their Wallabies chances with their performance against the Chiefs on Friday. Frankly,Australian rugby doesn’t have the depth to be that picky.

The Reds were blown away early by the Chiefs.Getty

But while Les Kiss has got a lot right this year,he clearly didn’t get the preparation spot on for the Chiefs game.

The Reds were so slow out of the blocks that the game was virtually over after 25 minutes - a complete contrast to the Reds’ previous efforts against the Chiefs,including the tight 29-20 defeat to the Chiefs at the same stage last year.

Finals rugby is different,but the Reds looked spooked by the Chiefs’ physicality,and Fraser McReight losing the ball in contact after a big shot by Samipeni Finau summed up their night.

4. Toole’s defence a concern for Wallabies

You’d probably get arrested in the ACT for even raising the subject,but Corey Toole’s defence is an issue in terms of the Test arena. He was brushed aside far too easily by the Highlanders’ Jona Nareki - hardly the biggest winger himself - on Saturday,highlighting an issue that does arise for him.

By apparently jettisoning Mark Nawaqanitawase,Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt does need a bit of size on the edge - unless he has plans to play Filipo Daugunu on the wing. Toole’s saving grace - at least as far as the July Tests are concerned - could be that the young Welsh squad is undersized in the outside backs compared to the monsters Warren Gatland has had at his disposal in the past.

Still on the Brumbies,the losses of Tamati Tua (Exeter) and Jahrome Brown (back to New Zealand with the Chiefs) will be felt next year.

5. Can anyone get Taniela Tupou fit?

You can almost set your clock to it - the Rebels scrum goes well at the start of the game but is struggling by the end of the first half.

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Let’s not dance around this issue:Tupou is one of the highest earners in Australian rugby and he’s not fit. In fact,he’s not even close to being fit enough for Test rugby.

The silver lining from the Rebels’ exit is that it should give the Wallabies some more time to get conditioning work into him,because he is obviously a force of nature at his best.