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Christchurch residents who yearn for a return to life pre the 2011 earthquake, were afforded a wee taste of the good old days on Friday night, in the form of Israel Dagg announcing his return to Super Rugby in dashing style.
It remains to be seen if his days in black are over or not, but it must have warmed Steve Hansen’s heart to see Dagg bursting through the Jaguares’ front line defence, then burning the cover on a trademark outside swerving run to the corner, for his second try of the night.
Not that he was the only Crusader to break the Jaguares’ defensive line. The first half was a procession of home players being half-tackled then, finding themselves not held, rolling or running again for more metres. Which only served to amplify the Jaguares lack of intensity; a lame attempt at a drop-kick at 19-3 down another sad indicator.
Everybody loves a stroppy little halfback taking on a big guy, but Crusaders halfback Andy Ellis can count himself lucky his right cross wafted past Guido Petti’s chin without connecting. Ellis is an essential cog in the Crusader’s machine and Todd Blackadder reacting immediately to bench him was good coaching.
Blackadder, a man who has copped plenty of criticism over the years, mostly from folk who believed that the Crusaders should win Super Rugby every year instead of just most years, must be feeling very pleased with where his side sits just now.
Roughly an hour after Dagg’s exhilarating effort another supposed hack also turned back time; Cory Jane finding a lane of turf not yet churned into a sandpit, scorching away from three Rebels defenders for a try.
Ironically this was laid on by Rebels reject Jason Woodward, who in one moment showed more flair and skill than the whole Rebels side manufactured all night. Woodward is the ultimate hot and cold player, capable of some intensely dumb moments on the field. But this night, at least until he was injured, was one of his hot ones.
Sean McMahon, a standout all season, paled by comparison to a virtuoso performance by Rio bound Ardie Savea, who was everywhere with and without the ball; perhaps another indicator of the trans-Tasman quality gulf that currently exists.
Another to stamp his class on the match, finally taking on the defensive line with confidence, was fly-half Beauden Barrett. While his second try had an element of luck, the skill to catch the sharp rebound, and then extreme pace to streak away for the try, was breathtaking.
On this evidence, Barrett’s place in Hansen’s match-day 23, as a utility bench player, remains secure.
It was commonly predicted that travel and a deficient pre-season would catch up with the Sunwolves at some point. After a 92-17 mauling at the hands of the Cheetahs we can safely say that time has arrived now.
If the Wolves hitting the wall isn’t a surprise, it may shock some that the Cheetahs could actually hold on to the ball for long enough to score 14 tries. With their confidence up and the Rebels desperate for a better home performance, the match in Melbourne next week shapes as a cracker.
The Blues scraped to a nervy five point win over the Sharks in Auckland, their first success in over ten years over the Natal side. The Sharks went ahead early in the second half, off a blistering try to centre Paul Jordaan, but after Reiko Ioane out-dagged Dagg, and scorched away on the outside break, they were never headed.
It wasn’t truly convincing, but it was yet another small step forward for Tana Umaga’s side, and evidence that they are indeed learning once more how to win.
The Brumbies v Waratahs rematch was an entertaining affair, despite an unhelpful, puggy pitch. The home side appeared better organised after their bye, but still came up well short of the level required to be a finals contender.
They need more dynamic fizz from their ball-runners, Dean Mumm in particular at no risk of frightening and bending the Brumbies defence; even when he did hang on to the ball.
At least fans got to see an Australian derby with some flow, and slick finishing by ‘three-try Joe’ Tomane, although the architect of most things good for the Brumbies was impressive skipper Stephen Moore.
Given that the forward battle was fairly even, a good comparison can be made between the two sets of halves. None played badly, but on the night, Tomas Cubelli and Christian Lealiifano were cleaner and more composed, provided a better link to their outsides, and kicked more effectively (also using Matt Toomua), than Nick Phipps and Bernard Foley.
Any thoughts that the Reds had turned the corner came to nothing in Pretoria. Aside from one early shove, the Red’s expected scrum dominance wasn’t sighted, and they spent most of the first half without the ball.
Reds fans take away another strong performance from Samu Kerevi and a rare 40m drop goal from Liam Gill but very little else. Too many times their upright ball runners were smashed behind the advantage line and their exit strategy was the wrong one for the conditions.
At altitude sides look to clear their 22 with kicks well into the opposing half, from a set fly-half or fullback. All halfback Nick Frisby’s repeated pop-gun efforts to the defensive 10m line achieved was to allow the Bulls to re-load on attack. The possession stats tell this tale, 58per cent to the Bulls, of which 70per cent was in their attacking half. Coupled with 29 missed tackles by the Reds, it’s a wonder that they only leaked 41 points.
Johannesburg provided the climax of the round; unfortunately on yet another sub-standard pitch. Whatever the problem is – too much sand in the soil, too much power in the scrum, different boot design, the nematode worm – smart people need to come together urgently and solve it. Serious injury and litigation lurk just around the corner, not to mention the impact on the standard of rugby.
This match was a litmus test for the Lions, to show if this 2016 version has matured enough to win an attritional battle against a hardened opponent. And win they did, impressively and deservedly, offering more bite in their line defence, and more punch in their attack, than the Stormers.
While Elton Jantjies nailed all the kicks that mattered, little halfback Faf de Klerk took individual honours, sneaking over from a tap penalty, and snuffing out the Stormer’s final attack with an audacious steal and kick to touch. He was impressive all night.
In the big scheme of things Robbie Fleck’s side has such a friendly schedule that this loss means little on the points table to the Stormers. But, having now beaten the Chiefs and Stormers, the Lions have everyone on notice that they are bona-fide contenders for the title.
The combined table is fascinating. With all leading sides having played seven matches each, there are three New Zealand teams on top, the Chiefs, Crusaders and Hurricanes, followed by the Stormers, Bulls, Highlanders and Lions.
Australia’s top team, guaranteed a play-off spot no matter what, is the Brumbies, languishing in eighth place!
Everyone knows that Super Rugby results don’t correlate directly to Test rugby. But if Michael Cheika is sleeping soundly at night he must be made of very strong stuff indeed.
I hope nobody has told him that Tomane is about to pull up stumps and head to France. To borrow an old line from baseball, ‘say it ain’t so Joe!’