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Who will enter the Super Rugby Pacific season with the best pre-season form?
In less than a week’s time, the inaugural season of Super Rugby Pacific will kick off with the Wartahas taking on the Fijian Drua in Sydney.
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While new team Moana Pasifika were set to play the Blues to open the season, positive Covid results in the former’s camp mean that game has been postponed – although a lack of space in the calendar raises the question of when that fixture will actually be fitted into the schedule.
It’s a big blow for Moana Pasifika, who many have been giddily waiting to see take the field this year for the first time in a competition game, but the other perhaps more pressing flow-on effect will be the tournament’s newest side will face off in Round 2 against a Chiefs team that will have two additional games under their belt.
Moana Pasifika were set to take on the Highlanders over the weekend in their second pre-season match but that game was understandably cancelled too. As such, the solitary match the new team have under their belts is the 61-7 thrashing handed out by the Chiefs last weekend. In that match, the Chiefs rolled out a mostly second-string side, as is often the case in early pre-season games. With their All Blacks back in action, as well as their first-stringers, plus the extra games they’ll have played by the time the second round of the competition rolls around, the Chiefs will go into their match against Moana Pasifika as heavy, heavy favourites. All in all, it doesn’t bode well for Moana Pasifika’s introduction to the competition.
In fact, it’s the Chiefs who have that most successful pre-season – not that it counts for anything down the line.
After belting Moana Pasifika last week, the Chiefs managed two half-game wins over the Highlanders and Blues in their second pre-season run-around. Their final tally for the pre-season shows 92 points scored and just 19 conceded over 170 minutes of action.
The Highlanders were New Zealand’s next most impressive side throughout the pre-season, holding on for a 20-19 win over the Crusaders last week after going into the break up 17-7. This weekend, in their two halves against the Chiefs and the Blues, the Highlanders were bested 5-14 in their first clash but nabbed a 21-19 win in the second. The Highlanders, in comparison to other sides, effectively used all their top players in the weekend just gone and will enter the proper season knowing most of their men have at least some minutes after their belts.
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Although the Blues went down in both half-games this weekend, they managed a 28-21 win over the Hurricanes in their first pre-season match, giving precious game time to new recruit Roger Tuivasa-Sheck in all three encounters.
After last weekend’s loss, the Hurricanes scored a come-from-behind victory over the Crusaders – who had many of their All Blacks at their disposal – with the match finishing 27-24. The defeat marked the Crusaders’ second of the pre-season, after their loss to the Highlanders last weekend.
The game between the Chiefs and Moana Pasifika aside, however, every single match was a close contest – as was the case throughout last year’s Super Rugby Aotearoa competition.
Chiefs head coach Clayton McMillan said it best when summing up his side’s performances – and that of their NZ competitors’ – throughout the pre-season:
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“It’s always pleasing to be on the right side of the points table in any fixture but what I saw today was three pretty evenly matched teams. It was much the same as last year, there’s fine margins between each team and so you’ve just got to prepare well.”
Meanwhile, across the Tasman Sea, the Waratahs have been the best performers in the lead-up to the competition kick-off, scoring solid wins over both the Reds (21-14) and the Brumbies (24-14). Again, while pre-season form doesn’t count for much, the results do bode well for the Waratahs, who weren’t able to nab any victories in 2021.
Super Rugby Pacific’s other new entrant, the Fijian Drua, also impressed with a 28-26 win over the Rebels in their only pre-season game while the Western Force defeated the Reds 42-33.
Super Rugby Pacific will kick off on Friday night.
Round 1 fixtures:
Friday – Waratahs v Fijian Drua
Saturday – Chiefs v Highlanders, Crusaders v Hurricanes, Reds v Rebels
Sunday – Brumbies v Force
Comments on RugbyPass
Utter grub, hope he gets his leg broken. Shocking he is still playing after intentionally breaking quinn tupaeas knee
2 Go to commentsGreat to see NZ 7s teams finally coming into form and playing at the level that is expected of them.
2 Go to commentsChief Cheapshot on the market again.
2 Go to commentsCrusaders went all in to buy Hotham and Kemara staight from Hamilton Boys. Then they picked up Reihana and Hohepa; all have been dropped for superstar Havili, who is a very good fullback, that’s it. Ennor and Goodhue were schoolboy stars too but went backwards at the Crusaders. Maybe they have finally decided to give another poach Levi Aumua the ball?
10 Go to commentsJoe S has some talent to pick from. The Reds loosies look the best in Super? Aus might just give Razor a headache this year. Int. experience v Cantab greenhorn:) Should be fun.
10 Go to commentsEnd to end play, “THE FANS” this game was entertainment of the best. The conditions added to the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsSorry to say, but sadly the sadas were just ordinary and havilli at 10 as an abs selection just won’t cut it. He’s better suited in the centre’s and is a victim of past charge down kicks, he’s too slow under pressure. There’s better talent further north and I don’t mean dmac however I believe razor will sort him out. A feature of his presents on the park is the fact that the guys will follow him.
10 Go to commentsMarler was brilliant throughout both in the scrum and open play. His slap made virtually no contact with Ramos who milked it for a penalty when he could have been a decent sportsman and laughed it off, it was non-violent and shouldn't have been penalised. Smith failed repeatedly to kick when necessary and put up a couple of bombs into the TLS 22 that just handed back possession at key moments to the other side.
3 Go to commentsCros was outstanding and rightly awarded France TVs player of the match award. Mallia was brilliant as usual (the y is below the 6 on a UK keyboard and he deserves better than that). Level also seems to have been scored harshly as he walked the ball into touch under pressure from a Lynagh kick from well outside his own half which should never have led to a 50-22. Agree with BullShark that Dupont, while class at times, seemed to go missing for patches in the second half with props, hookers and wings frequently filling in at 9 as he couldn't get off the deck and up to the next ruck on time. A 7 by his standards at best, his kicking was also too long, too often. Kinghorn's overall contribution was worth well more than a five.
3 Go to commentsThe Harlequins team must be in minus figures. Did the reporter actually watch the game?
3 Go to commentsHow on earth did Walker escape a red card? Not dangerous? Dupont has his face in a mask earlier this season. Shocking decision. What is the point of TMOs? We had the Fassi ‘non-penalty try’ yesterday and now this.
2 Go to commentsCould have been a different result but yet again French tv able to affect the result by not showing the very clear high shot on harlequin centre if this would have been on a French player would have been on screen at least five times
3 Go to commentsAmazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
3 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
2 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
3 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to comments