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I mentioned on the weekend that leading into the Super Rugby finals series I was genuinely concerned – fearful, even – that the best two teams in the comp to that point couldn’t meet in the final.
In numerous different outlets, and on numerous different mediums, it troubled me that if the qualifying finals went according to seedings, that the Hurricanes and Highlanders would meet in the semi-final, thus denying the final of one of the better teams of 2015.
In that regard, the Brumbies did the competition a favour in beating the Stormers in Cape Town in the first week of the playoffs. Their win meant that they became the lowest ranked winner in Week 1, punting the Highlanders over to the Waratahs’ side of the draw.
On the overall Super Rugby standings, the Hurricanes and Highlanders were ranked one and four respectively. By the actual records – and the records many would prefer were official – they’re one and two. At the end of the regular season, they were one and three in terms of tries scored.
And that last point is probably one reason – maybe the reason – why we’re really looking forward to this match as a decider. It could, hypothetically, be a 33-31 thriller, with the ninth and deciding try scored after 26 phases in the 83rd minute.
It could also be 15-12, though.
It’s certainly true that both teams like to throw it around, and equally, they like to make teams pay for their mistakes. They were again ranked one and three for tries scored from their own half for the season.
But they’re also very adaptable, as we saw on the weekend. Maybe the most adaptable in the competition, though I’m not really sure how that would be quantified.
Certainly the Hurricanes made no secret of their changed defensive focus for the semi-final. As I reported on Sunday, Conrad Smith spoke post-match of their plan to strike early and make the Brumbies chase.
“We thought that if we could get points on the board and they had to chase the game, that it could work in our favour as they try to play a game that they probably don’t like to play as much,” Smith said.
They had scored the most tries in the competition, and from all over the field, yet come finals time, here they were admitting that their plan was to post points and park the bus (Julian Savea injury pun not intended).
However, there was more to their defensive focus than that. The semi was the first time the side had played in Wellington since the death and funeral of former Hurricanes and All Blacks flanker Jerry Collins. The Canes played with ‘JC’ on their sleeves and will do so again this weekend.
I spoke with Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd on Friday after their captain’s run, and he explained to me what effect the loss of Collins had forced upon them.
“We found out about an hour before we played the Highlanders in Napier that JC had tragically passed in his car accident, and it was a pretty emotional time,” Boyd said.
“And then we played the Chiefs in New Plymouth, and you know, JC was a lot of things, but he was a pretty good defender, and so we re-themed our defence around JC, and that will continue tomorrow night.”
And there’s no doubt it did continue against the Brumbies.
“They covered the field well and put us under pressure there, particularly early on,” skipper Stephen Moore said post-match.
“We had some good ball there at the end of the first half and they held us out. And you do need good defence like that to win the competition, there’s no doubt. That will hold them in good stead next week.”
Then there’s the Highlanders. A little bit has been made of the Highlanders kicking 35 times for the match against the Waratahs, but they’ve shown all season an ability to switch between their kicking and running game-plans.
Working back all the way to the start of their South African tour in Round 13, the Highlanders kick tallies read as thus: 35 (v the Waratahs), 16, 28, 19, 39, 31, and 22 times against the Lions.
Realistically, they’ve always been a team that prefers to play away from their own half one way or the other, whether it be by contestable kicks or counter attack.
And even though they did kick out of their own half a lot against the Waratahs, they still capitalised on any half-chance presented. Richard Buckman only needed to lose the sensation of external touch to get up and keep going, and Waisake Naholo didn’t need much of an invitation to make Bernard Foley look silly and burn Nick Phipps in the race to the ball in-goal.
Lima Sopoaga had a shot at drop goal in the 25th minute – and had already kicked four for the season already – yet the Waratahs still didn’t notice him back in the pocket in the 75th minute, when he potted number five. Maybe the ‘Tahs defenders couldn’t see that far; so deep was Sopoaga in the pocket he was damn near pulling up the socks.
So sure, losing both semis wasn’t great for Australian rugby, but this week should now represent an opportunity for the Wallabies coaching panel.
Cream always rises to the top, but if you can’t learn something about much needed adaptability from these two teams in Saturday’s final, then some serious questions need to be asked.
And while those lessons are being learnt, I’m just going to enjoy the fact that the two best teams could face off after all.