Northern Edition
Select Edition
Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Recap: Super Rugby Pacific R3 night two blog

(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

Defending Super Rugby Pacific champions the Crusaders have travelled to Lautoka, Fiji, for an exciting clash against the Drua at Churchill Park.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Drua will host the competition heavyweights in their first Super Rugby home game this season at Churchill Park on Saturday.

Crusaders captain Scott Barrett will play his 100th game for the decorated New Zealand franchise, nine years after his debut against England in an exhibition match.

Video Spacer

Video Spacer

Barrett has been named to start in the No. 4 jersey, and will lead a new-look side out onto Churchill Park for the round three blockbuster.

Following their vintage display against South Island rivals the Highlanders in Super Round, the Crusaders have made eight changes to their starting XV.

All Blacks Mitchell Drummond and Richie Mo’unga have not been included in the matchday 23, with Crusaders coach Scott Robertson selecting an intriguing halves combination for this clash.

England international Willi Heinz will start at halfback, while Fergus Burke has been handed an opportunity to impress in the coveted No. 10 jumper for the Saders.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related

Once the full time siren has sounded in Fiji, the rugby world will turn its attention to a New Zealand derby between the undefeated Hurricanes and the Blues.

The Barrett brothers will go head-to-head in this mouth-watering clash at Wellington’s Sky Stadium.

Hurricanes fans are daring to dream after a promising start to the campaign against Australian opposition. The Canes beat the Reds in round one, before sneaking past the Rebels in Melbourne last week.

But their biggest test is yet to come.

The Blues will be hungry – desperate even – to avenge their five-point loss to the Brumbies in Super Round.

ADVERTISEMENT

It’s only round three, but this match is shaping up as a crucial encounter for both teams. There’s plenty on the line already.

Flyhalf Brett Cameron is set to make his Hurricanes debut, after missing the opening two rounds due to injury.

Super Rugby action continues into the night, as the Brumbies host the Reds in Canberra. This derby has become one of the most fierce rivals in southern hemisphere rugby.

Wallabies coach Eddie Jones has begun drafting a potential Test, but a number of players will be eager to remind him of their talents in round three.

Finally, the Western Force will host Moana Pasifika in a late game over in Perth.

Both teams are coming off big losses, and will want to repay the faith shown by their passionate supporters with a victory.

 

NIGHT ONE WRAP

Chiefs defeated the Highlanders 28-7 in Hamilton

Rebels beat the Waratahs 34-27 in Melbourne

The ladder-leading Chiefs recorded their third bonus point win over the season with a convincing display against the Highlanders at FMG Stadium.

As for the Highlanders, their season has gone from bad to worse – losing their third match to open their campaign.

Fullback Shaun Stevenson had another eye-catching performance for the Hamilton-based outfit, having crossed for a second-half double.

Across the ditch, rising star Carter Gordon had his best match in a Rebels jersey as they beat the NSW Waratahs by seven-points at AAMI Park.

The Waratahs showed plenty of fight throughout the second-half, but couldn’t reel in the Rebels’ desperate desire to win in front of their home fans.

ADVERTISEMENT
LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

f
fl 44 minutes ago
‘Props are awesome…so why don’t they win prizes?’

“The reason most props don’t last the whole game is that they expend proportionally more effort than players outside the front row. Should they be penalised for that?”

No, they don’t last the whole game because they are less fit than players outside the front row. I’d be interested to know if you’d apply this logic to other positions; do PSDT and Itoje regularly last longer than other players in their positions because they put in less effort?

None of this is about “penalising” props, its about being realistic about their impact on a game.


“While scrums are a small part of the game in terms of time spent in them, they have disproportionate impact. Dominant scrums win games; feeble ones lose them.”

Strength at the breakdown wins games. Good kicking wins games. Good handling wins games. Strong defence wins games. Good lineouts win games. Ultimately, I think that of all these things, the scrum is probably the least important, because it demonstrably doesn’t correlate very well with winning games. I don’t think Rugbypass will allow me to link articles, but if you google “HG Rugby Crowning the Best Scrum in Club Rugby” you’ll get a pretty convincing analysis that ranks Toulouse and Bordeaux outside of the 10 best club sides in the scrum - and ranks Leinster outside of the top 30.


“Or there’s Joe Marler’s epic performance in the Bristol v Quins 2021 Premiership Semi-Final, in which he finally left the pitch 15 minutes into extra time having signed off with a try saving tackle.”

Yeah - that’s a good example actually, but it kind of disproves your point. Marler played 95 minutes, which is unheard of for a prop.


“Maybe we need a dedicated Hall of Fame with entry only for props, and voted for only by props.”

Well we have the World Rugby XV of the year. Its only been going for a few years, but in time it’ll be a pretty good record of who are perceived as best props - although the lack of interest most people have in scrums means that perception of who the best props are doesn’t always match reality (e.g. Tadgh Furlong was great in 2018 - but was he really the best tighthead in the world in 2021, 2022, & 2023?).

7 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ A glut of Lions balances the less than rosy state of the Irish rugby garden A glut of Lions balances the less than rosy state of the Irish rugby garden
Search