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As I said in an article yesterday, it’s time to Watch the Throne in Super Rugby. The champion Chiefs have accepted the challenge from the red-hot Crusaders.
Meanwhile, the Bulls host the Brumbies to see which immovable object is the least movable in Pretoria.
Here are a three questions that need to be answered in each match, I believe each answer will go a long way towards determining their outcome:
Chiefs v Crusaders: Can the Crusaders shut down the Chiefs set piece moves?
All year the Chiefs have been absolutely devastating from the set piece.
They don’t discriminate between lineout or scrums either. Any chance they get to put on a move they do, often to brilliant effect.
Many of their tries have come from such first phase moves and others a few phases later once the final strands of defence have wilted.
One way the Crusaders could look to stifle this strength is to block the source – at the set piece.
The Crusaders should really look to target the Chiefs lineout and scrum.
The Crusaders have three good jumpers in the Whitelocks and Keiran Read, they should all get in the air on opposition ball.
And perhaps even more importantly, the Chiefs scrum hasn’t been absolutely airtight all year.
After a strong scrimmaging performance last week the Crusaders should look to get the Chiefs moving backwards there – as the Reds will testify, it’s hard to attack off back-foot ball.
Which Chiefs can halt the Crusaders momentum?
The Crusaders have shown in the past couple of weeks, and even before the Test break, they have a knack for holding on to momentum for a number of phases when other teams would make a mistake or slow down.
If the Chiefs are to win this weekend they’ll need to scramble and get behind the ball again and get on the ball in the ruck if they are to stop Crusaders tries coming from four or five phases of quick ball as they often do.
Last week Liam Messam and Tanerau Latimer made 32 tackles between them – a commendable effort, but there was a lack of ruck turnovers.
Sam Cane is going to have to step up in this area.
He’s been anointed as the All Blacks next long-term breakaway in recent years and will need to show why with a huge showing here to slow down the brilliant Crusaders phase play.
Does it get any better than Aaron Cruden against Dan Carter?
I know that type of question doesn’t really work for the exercise of this article, but it really should be commented on from that perspective. How lucky are we to have two players of such thrilling talent square off in this tournament?
The fact that Dan Carter’s All Blacks workload can be comfortably managed (and the possibility of a sabbatical) says so much about how good the second wave of New Zealand fly-half talent is.
And, yes, the winner of this duel will probably help determine the winner of this game because both sides are good enough to give each man front-foot ball for a number of passages during the game. How each decides to use it will go a long way to finding out how many points each team can post.
Both take the ball to the line, kick well, pass on time and know where the space is. It may come down to who has the most opportunities, but both with have a number of them.
Bulls v Brumbies: Will Matt Toomua and Christian Leali’ifano get the Brumbies’ outside threats into the game?
This game is obviously going to be a physical battle and neither side is looking to shift an inch during the close encounters, but the Bulls have shown on a number of occasions during the season that they can be expansive when the game calls for it, especially if they get front-foot ball.
At some stage the Brumbies need to involve the likes of Tevita Kuridrani, Henry Speight, Joe Tomane/Clyde Rathbone and Jesse Mogg to get the scoreboard to leap forward instead of shuffle. These players are game-breakers and can get the job done.
It’s up to Leali’ifano and Toomua to make the right choice about when to get them the ball, preferably in space.
Who will win the kicking duel?
Against the Stormers last outing the Bulls weren’t able to flip the field from their own end regularly enough. That might be because only Morne Steyn kicked the ball more than once out of the starting backs.
Jano Vermaak and Zane Kirchner in particular need to step up this week – and they probably will, because the Bulls don’t often drop the kicking battle twice in a row.
They’re facing off against Nic White, Jesse Mogg and Matt Toomua, who make up possibly the best kicking trio in Super Rugby. It’s strange to admit in this fashion; but the Bulls need to be at their kicking best this weekend, the Brumbies will punish any errors with an avalanche of field position.
Which back-row will blanket the game?
Both of these sides are renowned for their ability to suffocate the opposition. While both forward packs are extremely hard working, it’s the combined efforts of the back-row forwards that continually provides a defensive shield and annoying ruck presence for both sides.
The Bulls might not know exactly who they’ll have on the park come Saturday night South Africa time, but Deon Stegmann, Jacques Potgeiter and Dewald Potgeiter are going to have their hands full.
If anywhere on the field could tilt the game steadily in the Brumbies favour it is this area where Ben Mowen, George Smith and Peter Kimlin have been immense. Just last week they were the top three in carries and three of the top five tacklers in the Brumbies outfit.
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.