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Five of the best: The top five players from round one of Super Rugby Aotearoa

By Alex McLeod
(Photo by Dianne Manson/Getty Images)

Super Rugby Aotearoa is back for another year, which means our ‘Five of the best’ series returns for another season as we highlight the best five players from each round of the competition.

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Many key figures stood out in the opening weekend of the new campaign, most of whom flourished in the first-up match between the Highlanders and Crusaders at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on Friday.

Ill-discipline from the visitors and the hosts’ inability to score from multiple rolling mauls deep inside enemy territory were the major talking points of a game that was eventually won 26-13 by the Crusaders.

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Hurricanes vs Blues | Press Conference | Super Rugby Aotearoa

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Hurricanes vs Blues | Press Conference | Super Rugby Aotearoa

The following day, the Crusaders’ biggest threat to retaining their Super Rugby Aotearoa crown, the Blues, dispatched the Hurricanes 31-16 with a composed and accurate performance at Sky Stadium in Wellington.

With all that in mind, here are five of the best players from the first round of Super Rugby Aotearoa 2021.

Codie Taylor (Crusaders)

In his first outing in the season after losing his place as New Zealand’s No. 1 hooker to Hurricanes counterpart Dane Coles, Codie Taylor was simply outstanding for the Crusaders against the Highlanders.

His involvement across the park was unparalleled as he dominated the stat sheet like no other player in throughout Super Rugby Aotearoa.

Busting through the Highlanders’ defensive line to score a scintillating 40 metre try, Taylor also assisted Sevu Reece’s try, all while running for a total of 53 metres (second-equal most of any forward in the round), beating two defenders, breaking the line twice (equal most of any forward in the round) and throwing an offload.

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He was defensively sound too, as he completed 11 of his 12 tackle attempts, won a round-high three turnovers and hit all 10 of his targets at the lineout.

It’s no surprise, then, to hear Crusaders head coach Scott Robertson describe Taylor’s efforts as “special”, and it may have given All Blacks boss Ian Foster some food for thought selection-wise early on in the year.

Asafo Aumua (Hurricanes)

In saying all of that, it isn’t exactly as if Taylor is in a one-horse race to challenge for the All Blacks’ No. 2 jersey – not if Asafo Aumua’s display on the weekend is anything to go by.

Named in the Hurricanes’ starting lineup in the absence of seasoned veteran Dane Coles, Aumua took his rare starting chance with both hands has he bulldozed his way through the Blues’ defence on numerous occasions.

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One of the times he wreaked havoc with ball in hand led to an impressive try that left four defenders reeling in his wake, while he fought off another two throughout the remainder of the game.

Furthermore, Aumua equalled Taylor’s figures of 53 running metres and two clean breaks, produced an unblemished tackle count of six completions from six attempts and was equally as tidy at the lineout as he hit all nine of his targets.

“He was powerful, wasn’t he? He was destroying things,” Hurricanes head coach Jason Holland said of Aumua post-match.

“He’s had a good pre-season and so that’s what we expected … with a guy of his talent. He was outstanding, I thought.”

If Taylor stood out as arguably the best player of the weekend, then Aumua can’t have been too far off of him, leaving New Zealand’s hooker stocks in good stead should Coles retire at the end of the year, as he has hinted at.

Sevu Reece (Crusaders)

Crusaders star Sevu Reece showed exactly what the All Blacks missed out on last year after he was limited to just one appearance in an underwhelming test season in 2020.

Under-utilised by the national side, it’s highly unlikely the Crusaders will opt to play without the fleet-footed 24-year-old any time soon given how well he played for the reigning champions on Friday.

Reece’s best highlight of the night was his sensational finish to score a wonderful try in the corner early in the second half, but he was similarly instrumental in the first half as it was his chip kick that assisted Bryn Hall’s try.

Both of those plays illustrated how good he can be with ball in hand, which is also reflected in his stat sheet, which reads 89 running metres, four defenders beaten, one clean break, two offloads and one turnover won to accompany his try and try assist.

“His work off the ball was incredible, his running metres will be off the charts, his precision and finishing… That’s a world-class finish in the corner,” Crusaders boss Robertson said post-match.

“He’s pretty unique. He left his mark out there tonight.”

Connor Garden-Bachop (Highlanders)

As tempting as it was to include both Connor Garden-Bachop and Jona Nareki in this week’s top five, there is only enough room for one of the two wings, and it’s gone to the man who starred on debut for the Highlanders.

After both missing the whole of last year’s Super Rugby due to injury and hardly setting the world alight at provincial level, Garden-Bachop has exploded into life from out of nowhere for the southerners.

Highlanders boss Tony Brown admitted just over three weeks ago that he had never seen the 21-year-old play, but the youngster impressed so much throughout pre-season that he earned starting honours for the season-opener against the Crusaders.

He didn’t disappoint, as he capped off a brilliant try that was orchestrated by his side’s backline and assisted by Nareki, ran for 65 metres, beat three defenders, made two line breaks, registered two offloads and didn’t miss a tackle.

“It was everything I could have ever dreamed of,” Garden-Bachop told media of his debut post-match.

“The energy was unreal. To be honest, I was just thriving off it. I was dancing, I was just having the time of my life.”

Considering his efforts in recent matches, the prospect of Garden-Bachop dancing through or around defenders across New Zealand over the coming weeks seems very likely.

Akira Ioane (Blues)

It wouldn’t have taken much convincing to include Hurricanes captain Ardie Savea, playing in his 100th match for the franchise, on this list, but to exclude any Blues players would have been criminal.

There were plenty of names from the Auckland side who stood out during their win in the capital – Rieko Ioane was fit and firing, Caleb Clarke looked as his blockbusting best and Otere Black pulled the strings very well from first-five.

However, it’s blindside flanker Akira Ioane who gets the nod after he carried last year’s form into the 2021 campaign as he busted through tackles at will and didn’t shirk away from his defensive duties.

 

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Running for 65 metres (the most of any forward in the round), Ioane also beat three defenders, made two clean breaks, completed nine of his 10 tackle attempts, won a turnover and even won a lineout throw for good measure.

Part of an extremely competitive group of Kiwi loose forwards, Ioane probably has the inside running to join Savea and Sam Cane in the All Blacks back row on the basis of how he finished last year and how he has started this one.

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A
Adrian 57 minutes ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

7 Go to comments
T
Trevor 3 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
B
Bull Shark 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

29 Go to comments
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