Tale of the tape: Super Rugby Round 3 review

Another week, another fantastic round. With the early season blues now behind us, and the actual Blues behind everyone, teams are slowly beginning to take the shape we can expect them to maintain for much of the season.

This gives us a healthy insight into who our top teams just might be. It was tries aplenty this time round, as combinations are beginning to emerge, and it is from hereon in that world cup selectors will sit up and take notice of individual performances.

Highlanders versus Reds
White line fever puns aside, this match was not one short on entertainment. In front of a bumper crowd, the Zoo put on a show, as the balance of the game swung more than Tim Southee’s deliveries.

The Reds were on top throughout the first thirty, before being overrun in the penultimate stages of the game.

Despite this, both sides put in performances worthy of praise, with new recruits James O’Connor and Waisake Naholo standouts from each side.

Adam Thomson’s return to the new House of pain wasn’t what he would have wished, but his side showed some promising signs, with general fitness perhaps the greatest issue.

Importantly for Queensland and Wallabies fans, Will Genia looks to be returning to top form for the Brisbane-based side, and probably won his match-up with all black counterpart Aaron Smith amidst some gritty forward play.

For the ‘Landers, the forwards remain the biggest talking point, with the backs certainly not short on power. If they can up their game again, the sky is the limit. Onwards to Hamilton (gulp).

Force versus Hurricanes
For a game where excitement should have been written as a guarantee on the tickets, most Perth fans could have been forgiven for thinking this clash might not be so one sided.

But one sided it was, as new coach Chris Boyd just continues to impress, and must be commended for the way his all blacks are shining even this early in the season.

The ‘Canes have often been touted as the most electrifying backline in the competition, and this season they are living up to the billing as they laid five tries on a hapless Force side.

The Force’s performance in Sydney a fortnight ago is now very far away. For the visitors, who are now three from three without even stepping out onto the Cake Tin yet, their forwards put together another powerhouse effort.

Rey Lee-Lo filled Conrad Smith’s shoes with aplomb, although it must be said they weren’t given a particularly tough examination, and Victor Vito made a strong return to the starting side.

The Force however would be best to just forget this one completely. Don’t worry about analysing the game and where it all went wrong because ‘everywhere’ is probably the most accurate answer, and look forward to next week.

All in all it wasn’t a very memorable night for the Perth faithful, excluding the local bar, which probably took a hammering after this one.

Blues versus Cheetahs
Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory is fast becoming the mantra of this side, as despite coming within a whisker from a victory in the Free State the Blues should have put this one away much sooner.

Instead, being left to rue yet another close but no cigar-type performance that is becoming far too typical of the John Kirwan era.

Sugarcoat it all you wish, but this side is crying out for a decent playmaker, a problem which has been apparent for years now, as they again lacked direction and ruthlessness in the pivotal position.

I’m honestly just repeating myself at this point. The Cheetahs, despite being two from two now, still look a little rusty, and if it were anyone but the Blues they were up against, would be coming off a loss here.

Still, the Bloemfontein boys can still point at the standings in refute of this, and again showed their backline is full of promise, and for this they must be commended.

Chiefs versus Crusaders
The less said about this one the better. For a Crusaders side attempting to shake their typical early-season wobbles, a trip to Hamilton against a Chiefs side in this type of form was quite literally the last assignment they would have wanted.

It took ten minutes to see who was going to win this one, with the Chiefs simply outstanding right across the park.

The difference between this Dave Rennie-coached side and other contenders is that they have instilled such a strong bond within this group, creating a level of cohesion and trust among players that allows their players to flourish. This is noticeable in the way they seem to ooze confidence on both attack and defence.

On an individual scale, I said in my inaugural piece and ill say it again here, James Lowe will be an All Black within two years – perhaps not even that.

Running alongside a phenomenal 9, 10, 12 axis, he as well as any others who found themselves in the tramlines last night, made great metres off the back of some powerful forward play.

This team really does look the goods this year, and are far and away the best team in this competition at the moment. Good luck Highlanders, you’re going to need it.

For the Crusaders, the backs looked disjointed and flat. They made poor errors and decisions, and Tom Taylor again showed he is not a fullback.

This really isn’t anything new at all, and was a hallmark of this team before the June internationals last year. Yes, this team will fire after their bye week with some key personnel back, but if Todd Blackadder really needs a team stacked full of more than a dozen All Blacks to get back to winning ways then that’s simply not good enough.

This is the professional era, they need to drop the patriotic approach of not recruiting staff or players from outside the Canterbury region and look for a new head coach. Just look at what it’s done to the Chiefs.

Rebels versus Brumbies
Rain, rain go away. Come again another day. But preferably not another Saturday night, because it almost solely changed the way this match was played.

Coming into this game, it was clear the Brumbies pack had the upper hand, and thus the Rebels would be forced to avoid to slogfest up front if they were to win this match.

However, torrential downpour sullied their ability to do so, and it was advantage Brumbies from that point on. It’s not often a team can blame weather for a loss, but it was certainly a factor as a Wallaby laden pack took control.

For the home side, captain fantastic was at it again with another barnstorming display, and must surely be a lock for the wallabies eight jersey this year as he backs up his 2014 form.

Kudos must go to Nick Stirzaker’s David versus Goliath effort to take down a charging Rory Arnold, something which really encapsulated the Rebels commitment during the whole eighty.

For the Brumbies, they proved once again that they could well be the whole package, with the win over the Reds showing the spark and flash, while this one exemplified their ability to play the percentages should it be necessary.

A hearty congratulations should go to Stephen Moore for his solid return to the starting role, no doubt putting a smile on the dial of one Michael Cheika.

Bulls versus Sharks
They were never going to go zero for three at home. One loss at home was strange enough, but this would have been a new low, and the Bulls pack finally stepped up and delivered to ensure that was never a possibility.

Adriaan Strauss and Pierre Spies led the way for the home side, as some harsh words from Frans Ludeke would have ensured a dark week awaited them if a result did not come tonight.

But come it did, and although a opportunistic try sealed it at the death, fans can breathe a sigh of relief that uncharted territory has been avoided for now at least.

The Sharks meanwhile have some soul searching to do, as all three of their games this year, despite their bonus point victory in Round 2, have been well short of what they are capable of.

Their halves combination, despite performing as individuals well, need to play better as a collective, and allowing the bulls to dominate up front at home is always a recipe for disaster.

That was always going to be the key, and the Bulls simply wanted it more. Hard to predict where these teams will be in a few weeks time, as the potential is there, but the execution remains exempt.

Stormers versus Lions
Just as I was beginning to believe in the Stormers and their ways, they come within a whisker of suffering a very embarrassing loss. Almost. Had it not been for some last second Damien de Allende power, they would now be lamenting such a defeat.

Ironically, it is really only the Lions’ positive attitude that saved them in the end, as had they taken the three points on offer, a draw would have been the result.

A never say die attitude can only be praised to a degree, before reflection must be had on why they were in such a position in the first place.

Credit however must go to the Lions, as after a plethora of changes, they came out a different side in both a literal and metaphorical sense.

It is still a stretch to see them anywhere but the wooden spoon, but competitiveness looks a surety, and even if this only comes in patches, there are likely to be a few upsets at Ellis park this year.

The Stormers however, despite four competition points being banked, will realise this was a match that in all honesty should have been lost, and you would expect to see a much more determined side in cape town next week.

Three out of three ain’t bad, but the Sharks will fancy their chances.