Saturday night, in his 182nd outing for the club, will mark his first start for the Chiefs in 1037 days, dating back to the 2018 quarterfinal defeat to the Hurricanes in Wellington – Messam’s last match in New Zealand before leaving for French club Toulon. A week earlier he had played his final game in Hamilton (off the bench against the Hurricanes), while his last start on home turf was another week before that, when he lined up at No 8 against, coincidentally, the Brumbies. “It is a surreal feel, it’s quite buzzy,” Messam admitted ahead of running back out on FMG Stadium Waikato again, in that blindside flanker role he had made his name so prominently in.
After what’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks, he’s been named on the bench for what will be his third Super Rugby match.
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Crusaders prop Tamaiti Williams is congratulated by wing Sevu Reece during his debut against the Blues last month. “It’s definitely been a highlight of my life to put the jersey on. Not only for a game, but big games like that. It’s meant a lot to me and my family.” Whangārei-born Williams’ rise has been accelerated by Joe Moody’s foot injury, but he’s been touted as a point of difference player since the Crusaders named him in their squad ahead of the 2021 season.
While the Reds and the Brumbies have shown they should be competitive with most of the New Zealand sides, it is difficult to see the Melbourne Rebels, NSW Waratahs and Western Force matching it with the Kiwis. In Super Rugby AU the bottom three sides between them sprung only one upset win against the top two teams – the Force’s 30-27 win against the Reds in the final round in Perth – and that was in a game in which the result did not matter. How will they beat the Kiwis?
Even the Brumbies may struggle. Coming off the disappointment of losing the final, the Brumbies are still carrying injuries to key players and have been given a tough draw in the trans-Tasman competition, including a first round match against the Crusaders in Christchurch. It may be left to the Reds to carry the flag for Australia, but will they be any match for the likes of the Crusaders or the Chiefs?
The straight story: How scrum trumped lineout in the Super Rugby AU final A Set the default text size A Set large text size
Replay A Set the default text size A Set large text size
In the end, justice was done – probably. The Queensland Reds were the best team in Super Rugby AU over the course of the season, winning seven of their eight pre-final games and edging their closest rivals on all of the three occasions they played.
At the post-match press conference on Saturday night, Brumbies head coach Dan McKellar looked pale, struggling to disguise his anger at some of the refereeing decisions behind a thin mask of propriety.