Crusaders hold first as South African merry-go-round continues
The Crusaders continue to set the pace in Super Rugby but the Blues and the Rebels stocks continue to rise as the eighth week of Super Rugby comes to a close.
On Friday night, the Highlanders hosted the Hurricanes in the only New Zealand derby of the round. The teams last met in Wellington in round four of the competition with the Hurricanes stealing the match in the final moments and it looked like the Highlanders might reverse that result after spending almost the final ten minutes of the return match in the Hurricanes 22 whilst trailing by only 3 points. The Highlanders had managed to build an 11-point lead over the men from the capital but some wayward kicking from Marty Banks combined with horrendous tackling gifted the lead back to the Hurricanes. Still, repeated infringements by the Hurricanes handed the Highlanders multiple opportunities to take control of the match as the game came to a close but an inevitable handling error after four lineout attempts in a row saw the final score remaining 31-28 in the Hurricanes’ favour.
The Reds, who are about to embark on an African safari, played host to the Stormers in the following match and needed to restore some confidence after only earning wins against fellow Australian conference members in their matches to date. The Stormers, half-way through their tour of Australasia, were in a similar situation, having not defeated any opposition outside of their conference. What resulted was a nil-all halftime score and it wasn’t until the Stormers were reduced to 14 men after captain Siya Kolisi was sinbinned that any points were finally scored. The Reds capitalised on the carding, scoring 14 points in Kolisi’s absence and never relinquishing the lead from that point on, ultimately winning 24-12.
Next up, it was the big derby between the Lions and the Sharks. Going into the match, neither team had yet to bank a win against any other South African team but, somewhat ironically, were still first and second in the South African conference. The Lions, losing finalists for the last three years of Super Rugby, went into the match as favourites courtesy of playing at home but it was the Sharks who emerged as the apex predator. A yellow card to Lions second rower Rhyno Herbst paved the way for the Sharks to score 35 unanswered points, with left wing Makazole Mapimpi bagging a brace. The Lions managed to score their only points of the game in the dying minutes, but it was the Sharks who had the final say, scoring on fulltime to give them a 42-5 victory.
On Saturday, fans were treated to an afternoon game in Christchurch where the Crusaders hosted the Brumbies in their first home match since the tragic shootings last month. It was an exhilarating and sometimes chaotic game at times that the Crusaders only took a hold of in the second half. The Brumbies scored first through captain Christian Lealiifano giving the Canberrians the only points in the first stanza, but the Crusaders quickly asserted their dominance once the game resumed and netted 33 unanswered points. Young Tasman outside back Will Jordan managed two tries in quick succession after Brumbies wing Tony Pulu was yellow carded for a high tackle while Jordan tried to fall over the try line in 53rd minute. From that point on, the Crusaders never looked back and earned a bonus point 36-14 win – leaving them with a six-point lead atop the Super Rugby standings.
Later that evening, the Blues hosted the Waratahs in the second Australasian derby of the day. The Blues, on the back of three straight wins, were high on belief and came out of the blocks firing, building a 17-point lead in as many minutes. The Waratahs, who beat the defending champions and then lost to last year’s bottom-placed team in successive weeks, managed to claw back to within three points after Israel Folau scored a trademark try, leaping high to catch an up-and-under placed just over the Blues’ try line. Folau’s try moved him above ex-Blues player Doug Howlett to now stand supreme as the top try scorer in Super Rugby history. The two teams traded penalties and tries after halftime but the Waratahs never quite managed to catch the Blues, with the match finishing 32-29 in the home team’s favour.
Japan’s Sunwolves – fresh off of besting the Waratahs for the first time in their short history – travelled to Melbourne in the next match of the round, hoping to finally win two matches in a row. The Rebels, however, had other ideas, and fullback Reece Hodge scored the first try of the match after only six minutes of play. The Sunwolves were guilty of poor decision making and even worst handling which saw them well behind at halftime, chasing a 28-10 scoreline. Adding insult to injury, Sunwolves goalkicking maestro Hayden Parker missed a shot for the first time this season when trying to convert Semisi Masirewa’s try in the corner, meaning his run of 28 successful kicks in a row comes to an end. Although Masirewa bagged a double shortly after halftime (to go with his three tries last week), it was Hodge who earned bragging rights with a hattrick in the 62nd minute, paving the way for a big 42-15 victory for the Rebels. This win now gives them a seven-point buffer over their nearest Australian rivals, the Waratahs.
In the final match of the round, the Bulls hosted the Jaguares in Pretoria, looking to find some consistency in their results that has been lacking in the last few rounds. The Bulls, undefeated against South African opposition this season, were the form team in the republic until a couple of weeks ago when they were crushed at home against the previously winless Chiefs. Last week saw the team return to their winning ways against the Sharks but it’s hard to given too much credit to a team that can’t secure victory over any foreign opposition so the home match against the Jaguares was the perfect opportunity for redemption. Coach Pote Human obviously had plenty of faith in his charges because he rested playmaker Handre Pollard – a decision which looked to be paying off when the Bulls had control of the match 20-10 with only ten minutes to go. The Jaguares, who last week ceded victory in the final minutes to a tiring Chiefs side, finally threw caution to the wind, however, and dotted down twice to steal the match from under the Bulls’ nose, 22-20. The end result is that we’re left with no team in the South African conference having more than four wins, and no team having more than four losses; the battle for supremacy is as close as ever.
Comments on RugbyPass
It’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
24 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
24 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
24 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
24 Go to comments