Suaalii looked like a man on a mission in Perth. But he’s not the form centre in Australia

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii looked like a man on a mission against the Western Force in Perth, running a superb line from a second-half lineout move to crash through multiple defenders.

Only a remarkable defensive intervention from Force halfback Nathan Hastie stopped him; Hastie gave a good impression of Jerome Kaino lifting up Digby Ioane in the 2011 Rugby World Cup semi-final.

Suaalii showed no signs of his hamstring injury and looked like he was getting rid of some pent-up frustration after another disrupted Super Rugby campaign. That will delight Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt, although the Reds’ Josh Flook is the competition’s form Australian centre.

Flook is effectively giving Rugby Australia a two-fingered salute as he delivers a string of excellent performances for the Reds before joining Italian side Benetton.

Good and bad news about Gordon injury

Jake Gordon’s face said it all when he left the field during the Waratahs’ 31-25 loss to the Force in Perth on Saturday: he has a long rehabilitation ahead after rupturing his Achilles tendon.

These severe injuries immediately raise doubts about whether players can return as the same athlete, but there is a promising precedent on that front.

Former All Blacks halfback TJ Perenara suffered a similar injury at the end of 2022, but when he returned he looked as if he had actually added half of acceleration.

The bad news is that complications delayed Perenara’s return by about a year and a half. Gordon will already be thinking about next year’s World Cup, but in Perenara’s case the injury didn’t rob him of the speed that is such a big part of Gordon’s game.

Tough ask for Australian sides in play-offs

The Brumbies’ listless defeat against Moana Pasifika in Canberra on Saturday has condemned them to face the Hurricanes in the finals, which involves a short turnaround.

The table-topping Hurricanes chose the Friday slot in the first week of the play-offs and will get the majority of their stars back after resting a host of them against the Crusaders. The Brumbies struggled against Moana Pasifika’s raw physicality, and the Hurricanes will bring that and far more polish on Friday.

The Reds have a better chance of upsetting the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday, but the Kiwis will still be warm favourites. Even without All Blacks Damian McKenzie and Quinn Tupaea, the Chiefs looked lethal against the Blues on Saturday when their attacking game clicked.

Pellegrini in the shop window

Moana Pasifika’s Australian No.10, Patrick Pellegrini, showed his full box of tricks against the Brumbies.

For the past two years, Pellegrini has been one of the best Australian No.10s in the comp. If Moana Pasifika can’t continue, it will be a mystery if the Waratahs don’t snap up Pellegrini. Perhaps his international allegiance is counting against him – Pellegrini is a Tonga Test player – but the 27-year-old has a great attacking mindset and plays what is in front of him.

Pellegrini’s counter-attacking brilliance set up Moana Pasifika’s match-winning try against the Brumbies, capping a great individual performance that included two five-pointers of his own.

Blues farce looms in semi-finals

The Blues have suffered three comprehensive losses in a row and will travel to Christchurch to play the Crusaders on Saturday.

But even if they lose in the first week of the play-offs, they could still advance to the semi-finals as the “lucky loser″⁣ under Super Rugby’s finals format.

The Blues need the Hurricanes and Chiefs to beat the Brumbies and Reds, respectively. If that happens they will receive the lucky loser lifeline to remain in the competition for another week. Talk about flogging a dead horse. The lucky loser device – the three winners from the first week of the finals and the highest-ranked loser advance to the semi-finals – has not worked in Super Rugby Pacific and should be ditched next season.