1
Between Beauden Barrett’s defensive cross-kick and the Highlanders’ three-tries-in-five-minutes comeback, Super Rugby was at its most Super Rugby-ish last weekend. Jamie Wall recaps the madness.
ADVERTISEMENT
If you’re a northern hemisphere rugby follower who prides themselves on the appreciation of a good touchfinder or enjoys a good low-scoring forward battle, look away now. Last weekend summed up everything Super Rugby is about, with a record 562 points scored over eight games.
The lowest-ranked NZ team comfortably beat the Wallaby-stacked Waratahs, the Lions dined out on the Rebels in Melbourne and the Crusaders scored 50 points before the Bulls even really got a turn with the ball.
But two games in particular stood out. Wellington and Bloemfontein were the scenes of Super Rugby doing its absolute best to infuriate the traditionalists on Friday night, with two of the most ridiculous games you’ll see this season.
Just when you thought the Hurricanes, AKA ‘the Jordie and Beauden Barrett show’, couldn’t get more insane, they decided to throw the conventional wisdom of trying to win a game of rugby in the bin. Instead the 80 minutes against the Stormers at Westpac Stadium was simply an excuse for both of them to show off.
That's outrageous, even for a Barrett. #HURvSTO #SuperRugby
— Jamie Wall (@JamieWall2) May 5, 2017
I sent that in relation to Jordie’s absurd thief-like try when he wrenched the ball off Nizaam Carr. But, to be honest, the tweet could’ve been describing a whole bunch of things either brother did – Beauden’s commitment to cross-kicking at all costs, Jordie’s behind-the-back pass for Julian Savea’s try, or the younger sibling’s horrible night with the kicking tee.
Jordie landed only three out of seven conversion attempts, which is down there with Beauden’s garbage efforts of earlier in the season. This meant that while the Canes had run in four tries in the first half, they only led by six points at the break because the Stormers’ Robert du Preez was nailing everything – including converting a fundamentally perfect lineout drive try.
ADVERTISEMENT
It was around this point that the commentators pointed out that the Canes have only kicked three penalties all year, and two of them came in their only loss (to the Chiefs).
[rugbypass-ad-banner id=”1473723684″]
In the battle of conservative accumulation tactics and blatant showboating, the confidence of the home side eventually blew the visitors away. Beauden’s supremely confident cross-kick on his own 5m line to Julian Savea set up Ngani Laumape for the game-sealing try, encapsulating the Hurricanes’ entire existence.
Later on, in the Shangri-La of shoddy tackling and judicial capital of South Africa, the Cheetahs started the way they start pretty much every home game – with a long range try.
While the goal kicking was a lot better from the Kiwi side in this game, the Highlanders and Cheetahs eventually combined for a classic Super Rugby aggregate of 86 points and 11 tries by the time the final whistle was blown. The Highlanders eventually won 45-41 through an incredible comeback, running in three tries in the last five minutes, through some very weary defence that was never that great to begin with.
ADVERTISEMENT
It was a comeback so improbable that Highlanders coach Tony Brown was happy to admit that he’d ‘given up’ in the final stages. It was even more remarkable when you consider that the visitors managed to rack up all those points while only having 14 players on the field for a quarter of the game.
Of course, as much as northern pundits like to think so, Super Rugby isn’t always like this. Already this season, we’ve seen the Sharks and Rebels play out a 9-9 draw that would’ve looked right at home on a rainy night in an English stadium full of blokes enjoying a bit of time off from their wives and kids.
But, when it really comes down to it, I think we’re all happier that it’s known for high scores, Barrett brother antics, a champion team that’s scored 57 tries in just over half a season, the ability of the Cheetahs to telepathically transmit their defensive frailties to their opponents whenever they play at home, or comebacks that rival Jesus rising from the dead.
Long live Super Rugby.
Watch every game of Super Rugby streaming live on rugbypass.com, home of the best online rugby coverage including news, highlights, previews & reviews, live scores, and more!
Comments on RugbyPass
Dagg is still trying to get enough headlines to make himself relevant enough to get a job. The Crusaders went back to square one at all levels. Shelve this season and nail the next one.
4 Go to commentsHe was in such great form. Sad for him but only a short term injury and it will be great to see him back for the finals.
1 Go to commentsAfter 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.
3 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.
37 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 comments