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The enduring image from Round 13 of Super Rugby was that of a beaming Andy Ellis, interviewed shortly after his 150th appearance for the Crusaders, in their 29-10 win over the Waratahs in Christchurch.
Like an excitable schoolboy making his first XV debut, Ellis name checked every member of his family in attendance, clearly humbled by the attention and his good fortune to be reflecting on a career which includes 28 Tests for the All Blacks, including the final, triumphant act of the 2011 Rugby World Cup final.
That a 32 year-old veteran can be so overtly and genuinely happy in that moment – a personal milestone ticked off and the Waratahs dispatched by a clinical team display – speaks volumes for Ellis’ personality and the Crusader’s culture. It also seems light years removed from the contemporary definition of rugby professionals; guns for hire plying their trade to the highest bidder in France, England or Japan.
The match itself was effectively over within 15 minutes, the Crusaders seemingly oblivious to the rain and slippery pitch, starting with the same fizz as last week against the Highlanders, but this time not meeting the same defensive resistance.
The Waratahs delivered true to their lot for 2016 – a not bad, not great, performance from a middle of the road side. Israel Folau was able to find space only once and Michael Hooper’s most telling influence on the game was a frustrated ball toss at Keiran Read. Not good enough for a side with genuine final aspirations.
Ex-Crusader Zac Guildford’s opportunist effort robbed the Crusaders of a handy bonus point, but that was more than offset by another cool and competent display by playmaker Richie Mo’unga. And the smile on Ellis’ face.
A healthy crowd enjoyed old-school Saturday afternoon rugby in Brisbane – an entertaining match where the Reds always held a little too much for an enterprising Sunwolves. The Sunwolves were perhaps feeling the financial pinch near to season’s end, apparently having to borrow the Waratah’s strip.
Wolves fly-half Tusi Pisi was the dominant personality in the match, earning plaudits for his clever reverse flick pass for Derek Carpenter’s second try. But it was his straight carry and flat pass, which actually created space and opportunity for the try in the first place, which really stood-out.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, if the Reds were to abandon their latest extensive, rigourous, world-wide search for a new coach, and instead invest all of their money and effort into teaching their backline correct alignment and how to pass and catch, they would finish far ahead on the ledger.
If Ellis’ post-match interview was a highlight, Fox Sports’ Stephen Hoiles’ effort with Wolves captain Harumichi Tatekawa scraped the bottom of the barrel.
That Hoiles obviously didn’t know Tatekawa’s name was bad enough, and nobody reasonably expects an episode of Q and A, but if all such interviews are going to achieve is Hoiles saying “tough game” and “good luck for next week”, then why bother in the first place?
On the plus side, the second most enduring image of the weekend was of the Reds team staying on the field after the match, mingling with hundreds of fans; another example of how professionalism does not have to mean losing touch with grass-roots supporters.
The sight of two Japanese girls giggling with delight after Ayumu Goromaru autographed the back of their mobile phones was priceless. And at least Goromaru used his arms this time.
In Hamilton, the Chiefs welcomed back hooker Nathan Harris almost 18 months after suffering a severe foot injury in the All Blacks versus USA Test match in Chicago. He was lively and constructive, and is a timely inclusion for the Chiefs heading towards the finals. At only 24 years, he has not been forgotten by the All Black selectors.
Like the Waratahs the night before, once they worked their way into the match, the Rebels gave as good as they got, actually winning the second half 12-10. Shame though about the opening half, where the Chiefs clearly operated on a level a couple of planes higher and faster.
Not for the first time this season, winger Toni Pulu impressed with his pace and energy, and Anton Lienert-Brown was an incisive replacement for Charlie Ngatai. The Chiefs scrum was the best it has been all year and, despite their hiccup against the Highlanders, they still look like a top four side.
It takes a special team to make the Blues look good and, for the first half at least, the Force were that side. For the second half, it seemed as if the Blues were offering a swap of sorts, their game dissolving into nothing more than holding out for the final whistle. But despite the kind invitation, the Force couldn’t muster enough clear thought and basic skill to take advantage. Dumb and dumber.
Force captain Matt Hodgson isn’t someone who shirks responsibility, but it will be no surprise if he conjures an urgent dental appointment for the same time as the team video review. His decision to forgo a gift three points with his side only four points down and plenty of time left on the clock was unfathomable. To knock-on the tap kick was laughable – well, not for coach Michael Foley.
Off the back of a 15-3 penalty count, over 50 per cent of the game was spent in the Blues half with the Force in possession, including numerous attacking lineouts within 10m of the goal-line. It seems that nobody expects Foley to produce a backline capable of taking advantage, but to not have a set-piece capable of driving at least one of those line-outs to the line? Surely not.
After controversy over the TMO try review/quick conversion situation last week, another concern raised its head at match end, after Blues replacement prop Nic Mayhew was yellow carded for a professional foul, denying the Force a last minute opportunity to pressure the Blues scrum, referee Jamie Nutbrown ordering it to be uncontested.
With no other replacement prop available, this was technically correct, but how a desperate, defending side can be penalised for a cynical foul, lose a player, yet derive a net on-field advantage for it, is blatantly unfair, and is another anomaly that needs fixing.
The two early South African matches went to script, the Lions too inventive and clinical for a Jaguares side who again showed patches of promise, but lacked the mental strength to grind out 80 minutes of Super Rugby.
Allowing Courtnall Skosan’s second try straight from a kick off – nothing more than a simple run back and interchange of passes without anyone being touched – was the sign of a team which still has much to learn. But we knew that already.
There was another lopsided penalty count in Durban, 13-2 in favour of the Kings, which didn’t stop the Sharks beating the clock to half-time, 43-0. Perhaps applying the mercy rule, only another ten points were added in the second half, although regardless of the score, the Kings were never competitive. But we also knew that already.
The real interest in South Africa was at Pretoria; a decent sized crowd and an old-fashioned arm-wrestle between the Bulls and the Stormers. Whistle-happy Ben O’Keefe found another 25 penalties – too many Ben – although to be fair, this was just the type of attritional battle the Bulls were hankering for.
Conceding 63 per cent possession to the Stormers, and player of the match honours to the superb Pieter-Steph du Toit, the Bulls simply tackled their way to victory, slipping up only once in what otherwise proved to be an impenetrable blue wall.
This defensive steel also served to push Stormers flyhalf Jean-Luc Du Plessis into over-playing his hand, and becoming too lateral in attack, Reds-style. It’s difficult to line the Bulls up properly, given that they haven’t been to New Zealand, but any side that tackles like this, on any given night, is going to prove hard for anybody to beat.
The South African conference is suddenly where there the spotlight sits – the highly favoured Stormers now sitting outside of a wildcard position and, for as long as the Sharks and Bulls keep winning, in danger of being the odd man out.
Personality of the weekend proved to be boxing promoter Dean Lonergan who, aside from Cameroon fighter Carlos Takam, was seemingly the only person in New Zealand left unhappy in the wake of Joseph Parker’s decisive 12-round points victory, and guaranteed shot at Anthony Joshua’s heavyweight IBF belt in early 2017.
Possibly showing the effects of one too many hit-ups in his rugby league career, Lonergan angrily took issue with how fans reacted to his arrangement with Sky Television to charge NZ$49.99 for pay per view coverage of the Auckland fight, vowing to “mercilessly hunt down” over 100,000 “lowlifes” who streamed the fight for free, from TV footage provided by others who had purchased the coverage.
Setting aside the delicious irony of a boxing promoter describing someone else as a lowlife, one can only imagine how Lonergan might go about doing this, and what exactly he might do to these folk, if and when he actually comes knocking.
If Lonergan really wants to do something useful with his time and money he could do worse than arrange for compensation for all who sat through the Blues versus Force match.