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Fans of the heavenly game across the holy trinity of SANZAR nations were undoing their belts and letting their guts sag over the waistline on Saturday, after gorging themselves on a three-course helping of blue ribbon Super Rugby.
It commenced in the brilliant sunshine of a priceless Sydney Saturday afternoon at Allianz Stadium, when the lately-cheeked Waratahs packed down against South Africa’s powerhouse Sharks outfit.
It was a game that had an eerily raised level of importance for so early in the season, mainly thanks to the previous round’s garbology tutorial delivered by the locals.
For pleasure-parched Waratahs fans, it turned out to be a daytime reverie of glossy cut-out passes, fierce phase-play and counterattacking razzle dazzle, dotted with the occasional error from an over-exuberant offence.
Despite a few clangers, this supermodel version of the game was welcomed with open arms after the lurid buck-toothed production against the Force a week earlier.
And the most appreciated aspect was the fact that the catwalk attitude didn’t compromise the sweat-shop substance.
The competition points were banked with a pressure-relieving 34-30 victory that was sealed with a late try to greenhorn flyer Tom Kingston after trailing the Sharks with five minutes to play.
Special tribute must also be paid to the hostile fend that Dean Mumm delivered on the run, completed with a Shark face-plant that should see a small crop of South Africans sprouting from the Allianz turf within four to six weeks.
NSW fans were seen gleefully bounding out across Moore Park at full time, rubbing their eyes in disbelief after witnessing the bucking of local science that says games can only be won by playing the percentages.
The formula had been fractured, albeit in attack-friendly conditions, and the faithful’s emotions were buoyed by the reality that the ball was given some rare oxygen, a feeling most probably accentuated by stadium chardonnay.
Following the setting sun in Sydney was the Crusaders versus Cheetahs meeting from Christchurch.
It’s hardly a “cancel all plans” prospect on paper, but this must be considered; this involved the Crusaders finally concluding their phase of couch-surfing by debuting at their new digs, as well as the reappearance of Kiwi rugby royalty in Daniel Carter after tearing his junk-muscle at the World Cup.
There was a spot of rust from both teams but counteracting the clog were some handsome tries from the Crusaders, straight from the playbook of vintage backline moves that would’ve had the strictest defence junkies clapping.
The Cheetahs were enthusiastic party-goers themselves, throwing in a length-of-the-field circus trick to contribute to the fiesta of positivity.
They could’ve been forgiven for being the flimsy tenpins at the Canterbury homecoming gala, but they continued the recent corrosion of their easybeat reputation with a strong and assured display, which saw them parallel with the hosts right up until the death.
The Crusaders sent the faithful into rhapsody when semi-trailer centre Robbie Fruean latched on to the end of another sugary set of passes.
He crashed over for the clincher in the 76th minute and complete another five-try Super treasure with the final score at 28-21.
You could’ve been forgiven for getting horizontal with the hot-water bottle after the madness of the first two games and giving the Brumbies versus Highlanders game a wide berth.
But if you fronted up, you would’ve observed some more lateral-ball movement that set the outer edges of the Canberra Stadium turf on fire in the challenging chill of the nation’s capital.
The Brumbies continued their provincial rugby renaissance by torridly denying the Highlanders on the trenches of the try line in the closing stages, and gallantly hanging on for a thrilling 33-26 triumph in front of their frozen-arse fans.
Some pundits were labelling this one of the games of the year so far for it’s flair and flamboyance.
And if this pro-rugby piece still isn’t enough to convert the haters, then here’s a tip. At least keep an eye out for knockabout Highlanders skipper Jamie Mackintosh and his post-match interviews.
He drops cuss words like a well-oiled profanity robot and didn’t disappoint in closing the triple-header on Saturday night by describing the Brumbies breakdown work as “bloody top notch”.
A flamin’ fantastic way to bring down the curtain on a spectacular evening of thrilling eye-candy rugby.
Except for Waratahs supporters.
They were served a dessert of sorts with the spanking of the Reds in South Africa early on Sunday morning.