McKibbin’s speed around the ruck has been a feature of the evolving style under Michael Cheika – Photo: Carl Peterson

by Paul Cook –

Now in his third season with the New South Wales Waratahs, Brendan McKibbin looks to have cemented his spot as the starting half-back in 2013, a position deemed to be fully up for grabs in the off-season, with Grayson Hart having finished 2012 as the incumbent no.9 and the highly rated Matt Lucas coming on board from the Queensland Reds. However, with new coach Michael Cheika no respecter of reputation and having a penchance for making clinical changes on a weekly basis, the 27yr old is all too aware of the fragility of his tenancy.

“I’m certainly pleased with the amount of minutes I have played this year,” he says “and I thoroughly enjoy being out there, in the heart of it. The other two boys are keeping me on my toes, and I am sure will do well when given their opportunity. We have a very healthy competition between us, we get along really well and push each other hard at training.”

The day-to-day challenge of jousting with his fellow scrummies for the highly prized starting berth is nothing new to McKibbin, and it’s a situation he thrives in. He spent his first year in the Cambridge Blue learning his Super Rugby trade alongside Josh Holmes as back-up to Wallaby, Luke Burgess, but with precious little game time.

When Burgess left for foreign shores, many admirers of his Shute Shield exploits – he was the Ken Catchpole Medal winner in 2010 – thought ‘Kibbo’ would take the next step but along came a certain Sarel Pretorius.

McKibbin on the attack – Photo: Carl Peterson

Again, McKibbin bided his time behind the South African import, reduced to 10-15 minute cameos where he had the thankless task of trying to ignite a team that was fumbling it’s way towards a Super Rugby nadir, while trying to impress enough to be worthy of a greater role. As the season wore on however, Pretorius’ star waned and McKibbin’s patience was rewarded with seven straight starts.

Despite Grayson Hart featuring in the final two games of the year against the Reds and the Brumbies, McKibbin had put some serious runs on the board for Michael Cheika to take stack of. It was then a question of impressing the incoming coach in person and eight starts from eight games (including tonight’s clash against the Chiefs) tells it’s own story. The appreciation is mutual.

“He [Cheika] has certainly made this group believe in themselves and has instilled a certain level of confidence within us. We want to be able to provide a brand of rugby that is enjoyable to watch and one that our fans can be proud of and although we are playing an expansive type of football, we are still able to grind out the tough ones and muscle up when needed – for example, the Force game.”

Ah, the new ‘expansive’ style. You can’t read many stories on the Tahs this season without the new ‘expansive style’ being mentioned and while some critics remain unconvinced, the general feeling seems to be that a transition of sorts is definitely taking place, albeit at a slower rate than supporters crave or perhaps, expected.

While they have entertained at times and shown a willingness to run from deep and let the ball sing, the ladder still shows only three wins from seven games. The true believers will exercise a reluctant patience and an endorsement of ‘the plan’, everyone else dealing with the pure yardstick of results will say ‘nothing’s changed’.

McKibbin has certainly been enthused by the changes that are afoot, they suit his running game to a tee, but admits that it’s hard to make too strong a case for improvement until the results come on a consistent basis. “The reality is that we don’t have as many wins as we would like,” he reflects. “You make your own luck in rugby and some areas of our game, especially our transition from attack to defence have hurt us in matches. In Super Rugby, you cannot afford to have those lapses for any period during the game or the opposition will put points on the board.”

“Our discipline was poor at the start of the season,” he continues. “We were trying to cost the opposition at ruck time and in return we gave away too many penalties and cheap points early on which meant we were chasing the scoreboard from the outset. I think we are all disappointed with the way we started the season, and with some of the results, however this team is not going to dwell on the past. We want to improve with every match.”

The halves partnership with Bernard Foley is showing real signs of promise with each game – Photo: Carl Peterson

Watching him buzz around the back of the ruck, his infectious enthusiasm exhorting greater efforts from his forwards and imbuing his backs with the confidence and desire to run off his shoulder, you sense a player that genuinely loves being out there, every precious minute of it. The half-back’s role in setting the stage for Cheika’s vision of how the Tahs should play is a pivotal one and has only enhanced McKibbin’s enjoyment of the game.

“I enjoy the style of play that we have adapted but I feel from my own performances that I need to be more consistent. From a statistical point of view, I have never thrown more passes – I’m averaging above 90 per game – which means we are getting through a lot of work with the ball in hand.

“Speed to the breakdown and passing accuracy has been our main focus this year, controlling the breakdown so that we can get clean, quick ball, allows the Waratahs to play on our terms. This is something that we have done well at times, but will continue to work on as the season progresses. It is our job to provide energy, enthusiasm and have a clear understanding of how we want to play and how to execute that and this is something that we have worked very hard on.”

His blossoming relationship with halves partner Bernard Foley, has been a feature of the season so far and – as evidenced by the fly-half’s performance against the Hurricanes last time out – one that is starting to bear genuine fruit.

“Bernard and I have a pretty good understanding of each other,” says McKibbin, “and certain cues throughout the game allow us to play the way we want to. He is the type of player that likes the ball in his hand, and having the threats outside of him that our back three pose creates doubt in the oppositions’ mind, which allows him to run more. Bernard has a great skill set and the more I can get the ball into his hands, quickly, the better off the Waratahs will be.”

That burgeoning partnership will be tested to the full tonight, against a Chiefs team still reeling from their defeat at the hands of the Reds last weekend. The reigning champions were outmuscled and outsmarted by the Queenslanders and will be keen for a swift return to the winners table. McKibbin is duly wary but is confident that the Tahs have the weapons and plan, to come out on top.

“The Chiefs are a class outfit and the current title holders. They have experience all over the park and key players in Brendan Leonard and Aaron Cruden in the halves and Lelia Masanga as a strike weapon out wide. However, they are just three of fifteen starting players that we need to get on top of to get our desired result.”

McKibbin’s goal-kicking has been a vital weapon at times in 2013 – Photo: Carl Peterson

“They thrive on broken play and turnovers so we are going to have to kick out when kicking and be extremely alert during the transition phase or they will hurt us on the score board. I think we will be able to apply pressure at set piece time and if we can hold the ball for long periods of time it may frustrate them. They are one of the hardest working teams in the competition, they have a very simply game plan and execute it well. It’s going to be a high tempo work-a-thon and we have prepared well for that.”

A win over the title holders would be a massive shot in the arm for a growing team and a frustrated fanbase, and a ringing endorsement of the ‘project’, but with the Australian conference leading Reds and Brumbies playing each other tomorrow night, it’s also a chance to make up some vital ground in the race for the finals.

Some people saw the loss against the Hurricanes as a season ending result, even Michael Cheika conceded it might be one defeat too far in terms of finals football this year but for McKibbin and his fellow players, all is still left to play for and it all starts tonight.

“There is plenty of belief within the squad and we are all committed and hungry to achieve our own personal and team goals. Every person is there because they are 100% committed and are true competitors, there is no lack of pride in this jersey, we want to do our state proud every time we put it on and we don’t want to let each other down.

“We feel that we are well and truly still in this competition, we are hungry to get the wins and will continue to push to get on top of the Australian conference. We are not going out there just to compete with sides, we are going out there to win and I feel that we have the game plan, strategy and players to do so.”