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Five of the standout stars from round two of Super Rugby Aotearoa
Two rounds into Super Rugby Aotearoa, and the Blues have managed to maintain their place at the summit of the competition standings after a comprehensive outing against the Chiefs.
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The 24-12 victory at FMG Stadium Waikato broke a nine-year hoodoo in Hamilton for the Auckland franchise, and Leon MacDoanld’s men now look like genuine contenders to challenge for the New Zealand domestic title.
In the weekend’s other match, the Crusaders returned to action for the first time in over three months in dominant fashion, romping to a 39-25 win over the Hurricanes at Sky Stadium in Wellington.
Scott Robertson’s side showed little sign of rust despite their prolonged lay-off in their five-tries-to-one showing, which exemplified their status as the alpha side of the competition as they search for another title for the fourth year running.
With all that in mind, here are five of the best performers to grace the field in the weekend’s most recent round of action.
Will Jordan (Crusaders)
It took four months for one of New Zealand’s most exciting young attacking talents to take to the field again, but Will Jordan returned to action in sparkling fashion for the Crusaders as they dispatched the Hurricanes in the capital.
Named to start in his preferred fullback position, the 22-year-old made himself busy with ball in hand throughout the encounter, registering a competition-high 111 running metres.
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Constantly in support of teammates on attacking breaks, there were two or three times Jordan could have crossed the line, but he instead finished the match with a try assist, eight defenders beaten, three clean breaks and two offloads to his name.
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He didn’t miss a beat defensively either, which sets up a selection headache for head coach Robertson as he welcomes back another star fullback – David Havili, who was impressive off the bench on Sunday – from injury.
Quinn Tupaea (Chiefs)
He might only have just turned 21-years-old, but Chiefs starlet Quinn Tupaea has made a home for himself in Warren Gatland’s midfield since debuting for the Hamilton club back in January.
The youngster put in arguably one of his best performances at Super Rugby level in a losing effort to the Blues in front of 24,000 at FMG Stadium Waikato on a drizzly Saturday night.
Running for a total of 50 metres, Tupaea managed to beat seven defenders – the second-most of the round behind Jordan – and racked up two clean breaks, the equal-most of the match in slippery conditions.
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His defensive tenacity also didn’t go amiss, as the Waikato product forced the second-most turnovers of the round (two) and made 10 of his 12 tackle attempts to cap off a well-rounded display that hinted at his extraordinary potential.
Hoskins Sotutu (Blues)
Probably the most hyped young player in Super Rugby this year, Blues No. 8 Hoskins Sotutu took his game to another level on Saturday.
Leading the charge as part of an inspired Blues forward pack, the 21-year-old picked up man-of-the-match honours in a clash that saw him score his side’s first try in ground-and-pound fashion in the first half.
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Sotutu then went on to set up Mark Telea’s five-pointer with a delicate yet lethal pass late in the second half, but it was his defensive work that really added to his coming-of-age performance.
13 tackles from 13 attempts, as well as a lineout steal, illustrated his all-round ability, and it’s no wonder there are calls nationwide for the uncapped loose forward to be fast-tracked into the All Blacks squad come the end of this year.
Akira Ioane (Blues)
The weekend’s match against the Chiefs presented a rare opportunity for Blues veteran Akira Ioane to play this season as Sotutu’s spellbinding efforts have seen him dominate the No. 8 jersey all year long.
However, the one-time All Black took his opportunity with both hands, playing a starring role in the impressive Blues pack to send a message to head coach MacDonald that his talents warrant more game time.
Criticised in the past for his fitness and off-the-ball work ethic, the 25-year-old put those concerns to rest in Hamilton as not only did he make all 12 of his tackle attempts, but also he snatched three turnovers – the most of any player this round.
Should the Blues have dry ball when they face the Highlanders at Eden Park next week, Ioane’s attacking exploits could flourish to complement his enhanced defensive output, making for an intriguing selection battle for the No. 6 spot once Tom Robinson returns from injury.
Patrick Tuipulotu (Blues)
Ever since his career-best display for the All Blacks against the Wallabies at Eden Park last year, Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu’s game has continued to grow from strength-to-strength.
He’s carried that physically imposing form into Super Rugby this year, and that’s certainly one of the reasons why the Blues have emerged as a serious title contender for Super Rugby Aotearoa.
Evidence of his outstanding efforts could be seen against the Chiefs two days ago, when he ran for 34 metres – the most of any forward in the round – beat four defenders, made one clean break and threw an offload.
Factor in his 14 completed tackles from 15 attempts and four lineout wins, and it’s clear to see why some pundits believe he could well be New Zealand’s first-choice lock by the end of the domestic campaign.
Comments on RugbyPass
After their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
2 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’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.)
3 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.
28 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
2 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?
3 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.
3 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
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