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Let’s have a quick peek at round four and talk about what is important to look for in each game this weekend.
There are certain objectives every team will be trying to achieve and it’s interesting to see how they might go about it.
We are up to week four now and some sides already need to do a bit of work to give themselves hope for the rest of the year.
Here is what I’m looking for in each match.
Highlanders v Hurricanes
Signs of life. Just kidding, but seriously.
The Hurricanes can perhaps be said to have some life at this point. They managed to beat a Crusaders team who look like they’re about to swing into the third week of preseason by virtue of an intercept pass, but a win’s a win.
So far this year the Hurricanes play has been a noticeable step down from last year.
Their forwards are not winning the battle in the middle and the opposition doesn’t seem to be pressured to keep possession.
Andre Taylor has been missing so far this year and looks way down on confidence. It can’t be long before he comes under pressure to kick things along.
For the Highlanders the “signs of life quip” is even more truthful.
They’ve only played two games this year and already have a -31 point differential to show for it.
Very poor. A sprightly start against the Chiefs has turned into a second half flogging in that game and a performance that never got out of neutral against the Cheetahs.
There is literally room for improvement in every aspect of their play at the moment.
Waratahs v Cheetahs
Look for the Cheetahs to try and put the Waratahs under pressure from the very beginning here.
That’s been the weak spot for the Tahs this year and the Cheetahs have started both of their games quickly on their tour.
Against the strong Chiefs it didn’t yield many points but being quick out of the gate effectively won them the game against the Highlanders. Can they repeat that trick?
On the part of the Waratahs the clear focus is whether the changes to the side add any sort of grunt to the forward pack and cohesion to the team’s overall play.
Look to see if the new look pack can support each other effectively and give clean ball to Brendan McKibbon for the first time this year.
If that happens then Berrick Barnes needs to put his much lauded communication skills to good use and have the troops in position to pounce.
Kings v Chiefs
What’s clear from the Kings first two matches in Super Rugby is they aren’t giving away free chances to score.
But the flip-side is, based on last week, they don’t score many themselves against good teams.
If I were in the Kings’ camp I’d be looking for them to double down on defence at home here.
They certainly aren’t going to win a free flowing match against the Chiefs.
Let’s see if they can frustrate them enough to make the most of a few mistakes. A win against the reigning champs would be a huge boost for the local fans.
At the end of their early South African trip, the Chiefs will simply expect a bonus point victory from this match. This reminds me of a Barcelona FC match away against a lower side – nothing to gain and everything to lose.
Crusaders v Bulls
Well here is a very interesting match. The Crusaders have been fairly lacklustre in their opening matches.
Against the Blues they were asleep it seemed and last week they weren’t their usual ruthless selves by not putting a team away. Blackadder will expect them to front up and start building a case for contention from now.
In a tight New Zealand conference they can’t afford to start any slower.
Look for Carter to have a heavier influence on the game this week – he’s the one who understands most what it takes to win with Sir Richie away.
The Bulls, in picking up a win away to the Blues, have arguably exceeded expectations on this tour already.
The trick will be seeing if they can keep up the physical dominance they achieved last week.
It will be more important because the kicking duels won’t be as easily won against the Crusaders.
Will they be as ruthless on every try scoring opportunity as last week?
They are one of the teams in the enviable position of working mostly on the small things this week.
Reds v Force
After a fairly listless start to the season the Reds are starting to get into gear.
Ewen McKenzie will know that this isn’t a race won at the start of the season, but it looks like the Reds may again be in a two horse race with the Brumbies for the Australian conference.
This means they need to take care of business this week to keep up the pressure early on.
They haven’t really found their attacking fluency yet this year. Cooper started playing much better against the Brumbies and the team needs to start syncing with him as they did in 2011.
For the Force this is going to be a tough match. Even though they are coming off a bye, they spent a fortnight in South Africa after beginning the season in Melbourne.
It’s not the best way to start but they need to do the best they can with the cards dealt to them.
What they’ll be looking to do is run the ball back as the Reds will aim to win the territory battle by kicking early.
Cummins is out and that means Will Tupou and Alfie Mafia are going to have to shoulder the load back there. If they try to kick it back all the time they’ll lose this comfortably.
Sharks v Brumbies
Strangely enough, the Sharks haven’t scored a try since February 23rd and yet haven’t lost a game this year. Penalties were enough to get the job done against both the Bulls and Sharks.
You get the feeling they’ll need to find a way to cross the line this week. Let’s watch closely to get a feeling of how they go in doing that.
The Brumbies are too clinical and will make the most of the few chances they get.
Now that they’ve handled the Reds, Rebels and Waratahs handily, we enter a little window where the Brumbies show us what sort of championship aspirations they have.
The forward pack has been great against the Australian competition but the South Africans always offer a new level of confrontation and claustrophobia on the field.
Can the Brumbies handle that pressure on the road and neutralise the Sharks pack enough for the likes of Jessie Mogg, Henry Speight and Christian Lealiifano to work their magic? It will be a huge test this weekend.
Roarers, what are you looking for in the matches you plan to watch?
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.