Diggercane's Super Rugby wrap: Round 8

Well, Round 8 of Super Rugby is consigned to history and The Wrap is running late this week – you know, family and all – but as they say, better late than never!

The Australian Conference
The Rebels and the Reds kicked off the West side of the Antipodes with a hard-fought match in Melbourne. The Rebels ran out eventual winners 23-15.

The Rebels were made to work very hard for this one, especially considering they were up against 14 for the majority of the match. Perhaps more credit needs to be given to the Reds but the Rebels certainly struggled to really put this match away, waiting until the 70th minute to capitalise on their possession dominance.

Of further concern for the coaching staff will be the rather lacklustre start, conceding two early tries to a Reds team ready for the challenge and the red card was certainly helpful to the Rebels. Plenty of improvement is needed for the Melbourne team.

The Reds arguably produced their best performance of the 2015 season, albeit in a losing effort. They started the match with high intensity, gaining a significant lead early before James Horwill’s ill-discipline set them back.

The team played with a cohesion rarely seen this season and got stuck into their work at the breakdown, displaying the sort of play some fans were hopeful of seeing before the season started. They also stuck to their guns despite the early setback and defended stoically before the Rebels extra man advantage finally told.

While you can appreciate the number of injuries the team has had this season you do have to wonder why it has taken 8 rounds before seeing this level of intent.

The Brumbies rounded out the Australian conference with a comfortable win over the Cheetahs in Canberra on Saturday night.

The Brumbies were dominant in this match and put in the best performance of any team returning from a bye. It was a solid all round performance. Perhaps one can point to the Brumbies inability to finish off the Cheetahs and gain a bonus point but I think that would be overly critical of a team that is creating opportunities and if they continue to do so, will eventually get it right.

The Australian conference is still a two-horse race between the Waratahs and Brumbies in my view and most likely the only two Australian teams competing for spots in the playoffs.

The Waratahs and Force had the bye this week and will be back in action for Round 9.

The New Zealand conference
The Hurricanes got the Kiwis under way and managed to keep their unbeaten run alive, prevailing over the Stormers in Wellington, the highlights are some superb attacking rugby in the first half and one effort spanning 100 metres which would take some topping for try of the year.

The Hurricanes certainly had their luck during the match, with a number of referring calls falling their way and having to withstand a terrific second half comeback from the Stormers. Only their new-found steel in defence winning them the match, being forced to make 100 more tackles than their opposition.

The bye has certainly come at the right time for the franchise. They can take care of some niggling injuries as they look to the second half of the season and a run of local derbies.

The Chiefs and Blues were next up, fighting out a local derby with the Chiefs eventually running away in the end to secure the win, keeping pace with the Hurricanes at the top of the conference while the Blues are left still searching for their first win of the season.

The Chiefs were static at times during the match and struggled for cohesion with a number of unforced errors, however with what seems like numerous changes to the starting side week in week out for a number of reasons it is not overly concerning from my point of view. Continuity of selection will help this squad and I think we will start to see this heading into the second half of the season.

The Blues unfortunately cannot take a trick at the moment but I think they are improving as the season moves forward and finally next week they can return to their home ground of Eden Park this week for the first time this year. Dan Bowden introduction to first five has seen a touch more composure to the Blues side in recent weeks. While a playoff spot is beyond them this season, there will be some nervous teams heading to Eden Park in coming rounds.

The Crusaders completed the round for the New Zealand conference with an emphatic demolition of the Sharks in Durban.

This was a bizarre match, to look at the stats from the match without revealing the score would not indicate a comprehensive win, especially when compared to the penalty count which was heavily in favour of the Sharks.

Chuck in three yellow cards to the Crusaders almost within five minutes of each other than a red card to the Jean Deysel, who obviously should not play the Crusaders and this match was bizarre in the extreme.

The Crusaders simply played at an intensity that the Sharks struggled to keep pace with. The backline in particular ran straight lines and didn’t drift as per previous matches and made the advantage line seemingly at will. Israel Dagg played his best game from fullback for quite some time. The forwards really stepped up this week and laid a fantastic platform to attack from and finally, as many have predicted, the Crusaders have seemingly woken from their slumber and are making a charge for the playoffs.

There are still four teams from the New Zealand conference with a reasonable chance of qualifying for the playoffs with the Chiefs and Hurricanes looking the most likely at this point to duke it out for top spot. The picture will become clearer in the coming rounds as the majority of derby matches are held in the second half of the season.

The Highlanders had the bye and will be back into it this week.

The South African Conference
The Stormers kicked off the South African conference losing a nail biter to the Hurricanes in Wellington. After surrendering a 22-point halftime lead after struggling to contain the Hurricanes attack, the Stormers played a tighter game in the second half, using their forward strength to great effect, keeping the Hurricanes scoreless but unable to overtake them, going down by 5 points.

The Stormers solution is a simple one I feel, and that is to produce an 80-minute performance. In the last three games which they have lost, they have enjoyed periods where they were on top of their opposition but have been unable to do so for the entire match. They certainly have the forwards and a capable backline, consistency is their issue.

The Cheetahs were next up on Saturday night but were generally outclassed by a clinical Brumbies team in Canberra. They started slowly and from that point were chasing the game. They fought hard, but at times I felt the Brumbies lack of ability to finish really saved them more blemishes. They have now lost three games on tour and look destined to be an also ran this year and in danger of bringing up the rear in the South African conference.

The Sharks were thumped by the Crusaders in South Africa in what was arguably one of the franchise’s worst performances at home in Super Rugby.

Something is not right in Durban considering the roster they have and after conceding their third red card this season I cannot help but think this is a frustrated team. Coach Gary Gold must be feeling some pressure.

For the roster they have, they should simply be doing better and certainly should not be getting thumped like that at home. Roarer Allanthus made an astute observation on the live blog in regards to Pat Lambie’s comments after the match where he suggested that nothing seemed to be going their way today, which ignores the heavy penalty advantage the Sharks enjoyed and the period of time they played 12 men. It’s an attitude thing at the Sharks and it seems highly unlikely to me that the Sharks will push through to a playoff position this year.

The Lions and Bulls completed the conference, easily playing out the best match of the round. The game was decided by the only try to the Lions in a last gasp play in the final minutes to continue their momentum after a successful Australasian tour.

This was a hard-fought match with punch and counter punch throughout. There was some excellent defence throughout played in tremendous spirit with both teams looking to attack even given the demanding conditions.

In the end it was a triumph for positive play. The Lions, three points down, choosing to take the tap in the closing stages rather than the easier option of kicking the points for a draw and coming up trumps, securing the win. The Lions ability to maximise their output means they will certainly finish a lot higher than most pundits would have expected.

For the Bulls, it was a lesson in playing for the full 80 minutes. It was a lazy finish to the game which cost them the win. After securing what looked like the match winning penalty, they conceded the kick-off to the Lions and were caught napping in the closing stages with some lethargic defence. My fear for the Bulls is that their inconsistency at the start of the season will cost them in the wash up at the end and with their Australasian tour still to come; it is a hard road to hoe for the men from Pretoria.

The South African conference really is shaping up as the most even, but at the same time this can hurt their playoff chances. Realistically I believe only the Bulls, Sharks and Stormers will challenge for the playoffs however I would be willing to suggest the Sharks won’t be able to turn their fortunes around. It is a two-horse race between the Stormers and the Bulls, with the Stormers currently sitting in the best position considering the draw to come.

So in summary I would suggest that there are eight teams in the running, four from NZ, two from OZ and two from SA. How do you see it?

My thought this week is with regard to James Horwill’s red card for his swinging arm which made contact with the head of an opposition player. There has been a bit of commentary regarding the severity of this punishment, suggesting it should have been a yellow at most and that such a severe course of action simply ruined the match as a spectacle and that the game is going a bit soft.

This would have been my viewpoint also a few years back. However, with a more thorough understanding around concussion and head injuries, the measures the game has put in place mean that there could simply be no other decision as I believe it would make a mockery of the efforts made to date.

I fully understand the viewpoint that rugby being a contact sport is by definition not a safe endeavour to play, but at the end of the day such actions, regardless of intent, should be made an example of and a red card was the right option. With no attempt to bind to the ruck and a deliberate swinging arm, the right call was made and backs up the effort of the game in protecting its players.