Super Rugby Power Rankings: This Can't Be the Bulls
The Blues hold their breath for a win against the Rebels and the Hurricanes come back with a vengeance in South Africa. Scotty Stevenson brings us the latest Super Rugby power rankings.
1. Chiefs
Rd 10: 24-22 v Sharks
Last week: 2 (up 1)
You have to hand it to the Chiefs – they have become adept at winning games by any means possible, and they were at it again this week against a Sharks team that just may be slowly responding to the spark of Garth April. The Chiefs may have started the season by piling on the points, but if the last two weeks have proved anything it’s that the Chiefs are harder to shake than a celebrity stalker.
2. Hurricanes
Rd 10: 50-17 v Lions
Last week: 4 (up 2)
To say the Hurricanes were angry after last week’s loss to the Chiefs is like saying Ted Cruz is just moderately crazy. This was a team desperate to unleash the beast against the Lions and they unleashed a beast, and a Bus, and a Cory Jane as well.
A seven-try effort at altitude against the Lions is a pretty good way to bounce back, and to see the Canes wings scoring four tries between them, and off very little ball, is the most pleasing thing for fans of backline brilliance. The 33 missed tackles is the only real blot in the copybook here.
3. Crusaders
Rd 10: BYE
Last week: 1 (down 2)
Bye weeks suck. I say get rid of bye weeks.
4. Highlanders
Rd 10: 23-10 v Brumbies
Last week: 7 (up 3)
You know the Highlanders hate your team when they take the game to Invercargill. It’s not that I have anything against Invercargill. In fact, I happen to love the place for its people, its blue cod and its Bluff Oysters, not to mention its strangely wide streets and lack of verandahs. Ah, but I am not the Brumbies, and I can guarantee you this: not one of the Brumbies wanted to be in Invercargill. The Highlanders were possessed on defence. Head-turning exorcist-level possessed.
5. Waratahs
Rd 10: 32-30 v Stormers
Last week: 6 (up 1)
Do not underestimate how big this victory was for the Waratahs. There have been times this season when the Waratahs’ play has been tougher to swallow than a tequila thick shake, but the big names are starting to do what big names should be doing – winning games. Israel Folau, Rob Horne, and Kurtley Beale all looked like genuine stars this week and Michael Hooper has found the perfect foil in Jed Holloway who is surely playing his way into international contention. Yes, the Leolin Zas (arguably the best name in the game) red card certainly helped, but give the Tahs some credit.
6. Bulls
Rd 10: 42-20 v Force
Last week: 8 (up 2)
Offloads! Ball movement! Offloads! Clean breaks all over the show! Who are these guys, and what have they done with the Bulls? Clinical play blended with miserly defence. I gotta tell you, the Bulls have come to play this season. Also, their scrum was shit, and they may want to fix that.
7. Stormers
Rd 10: 30-32 v Waratahs
Last week: 5 (down 2)
The Stormers will know better than to use the Leolin Zas red card as an excuse for losing this game. The Stormers had plenty of ball and an abundance of opportunities to put this match to bed but came up short courtesy of their now customary lack of genuine game-breaking ability. There is too much talent in that Stormers backline to have first five Jean Luc du Plessis top the run metres for the team.
8. Lions
Rd 10: 17-50 v Hurricanes
Last week: 3 (down 4)
There is nothing wrong with the Lions’ intent but for all the ball, and all the territory they enjoyed in this game, they need to be better than they were against the Hurricanes. Tackling at 80% or less is unacceptable at this level, and crucial turnovers (25 in the game) at key moments gave the Hurricanes enough scrounge ball to make the Lions pay dearly for every mistake. The Lions are guilty sometimes of trying to play too much rugby for too little return.
9. Blues
Rd 10: 36-30 v Rebels
Last week: 9 (N/C)
The Blues decided it is sometimes easier to play rugby without having the ball for the entire game, but may want to re-evaluate their approach here. Not scoring a point after the 53rd minute is probably not the ideal way to go about it. As always the Blues held their collective breath for pretty much the entire last quarter of the game, but they still got the goodies, and six tries is nothing to be sniffed at. If I’m a Blues fan I’m walking away pretty happy about this week. Who am I kidding? Blues fans will never be happy. Tana says he’s still looking for the killer instinct. He should get the team to practice finding parking in downtown Auckland.
10. Sharks
Rd 10: 22-24 v Chiefs
Last week: 11 (up 1)
On the plus side the Sharks scored more tries than the Chiefs. On the negative side, the Sharks lost. On balance, nothing much changes with the Sharks. This, though: Paul Jordaan is surely the best defensive centre in Super Rugby.
11. Rebels
Rd 10: 30-36 v Blues
Last week: 10 (down 1)
I’ll give the Rebels this: they are one of the most entertaining teams in Australia, and they’ll probably look back on this game and wonder what might have been had their pack muscled up a little bit better in the first half. Jack Debreczeni could probably make a few more line breaks if he wasn’t carrying around a silent ‘z’.
12. Brumbies
Rd 9: 10-23 v Highlanders
Last week: 12 (N/C)
Never before in the field of super rugby history has so much been done by so many for such few points.
13. Reds
Rd 10: 30-17 v Cheetahs
Last week: 16 (up 3)
I’m telling you there is something in this humidity argument. The Reds looked a million times better at home than they have for the last couple of weeks, during which they got pumped like a porn star’s pecker by two South African teams. If I were a betting man I would say Big Bad Brad Thorn walked into the gym during the week and death stared the entire team. Also, Samu Kerevi is the real deal.
14. Cheetahs
Rd 10: 17-30 v Reds
Last week: 13 (down 1)
Harder to read than a face full of botox, the Cheetahs really do play this game in the most unorthodox fashion known to man. I love to watch them just to try to figure out what they will do next. It’s like the Rugby equivalent of binge watching Lost.
15. Jaguares
Rd 10: 73-27 v Kings
Last week: 17 (up 2)
So let me get this straight: the Jaguares have spent the last four weeks getting beaten up on the road and then they go home and put seventy points on the Kings? Great, we officially have a French team in Super Rugby.
16. Sunwolves
Rd 10: BYE
Last week: 15 (down 1)
Can you imagine how much Sake went down this week? I’m going to say plenty. Who knows whether or not the Sunwolves can win another game this season. What we do know is the euphoria of last week’s maiden victory will have given this team one hell of a boost heading into the home stretch.
17. Force
Rd 10: 20-42 v Bulls
Last week: 14 (down 3)
No.
18. Kings
Rd 10: 27-73 v Jaguares
Last week: 18 (N/C)
I’m all for expansion. The sooner this franchise moves to the West Coast of the United States, the better.
Comments on RugbyPass
I think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to commentsIt’s the massive value he brings with regard team culture/values, preparation, etc. Can’t buy that. I’m hoping to see the young locks get their chance in the big games though.
10 Go to commentsAll good, Gregor, except that you neglected to mention Sam Darry amongst that talented pool of locks. In fact, given Hannah’s inexperience and the fact that Holland won’t be eligible until next year, Lord and Darry might be the frontrunners this year, to join Barrett, Tuipoluto, Va’ii and possibly Whitelock. In fact there might be room for all of them if Barrett played 6 (like Ollie Chessum).
10 Go to commentsHis value is stabilizing the ship 20 - 40 minutes out from the final whistle plus his valuable experience to the underlings coming through.
10 Go to comments