The Wrap: Super final demonstrates all that is right with rugby

The reports of the death of rugby have been greatly exaggerated. The most telling outcome of the Highlanders’ historic Super Rugby final win was that, despite apprehension and concern in a number of areas, nothing is wrong with the rules of rugby.

This assumes that the objective of both sides is to win by doing things faster and better, which is exactly what the Highlanders and Hurricanes endeavoured to do in Wellington.

No other sport compares to rugby when it’s played in this exhilarating manner.

The promise of a smorgasbord of speed, power and strength, deft touch, teamwork and continuity is what draws us back every time, and when it actually happens, all we can do is draw breath and feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Warm and fuzzy aptly describes Jamie Joseph’s post-match demeanour, proud as punch that his unfashionable side had travelled to Sydney and Wellington in successive weeks and scored two convincing victories.

For everyone not wearing yellow, this is a popular result. The Highlanders have become many people’s second team mostly because they are a good, honest side devoid of prima donnas.

They play an entertaining brand of rugby and they haven’t looked like spoiling anyone’s party by actually winning the thing.

It’s fair to say that they carried a ‘nobody respects us’ underdog mentality into the finals, but if this did actually help galvanise them to win, it clearly no longer applies. They are worthy, and classy winners.

Not that Hurricanes supporters should feel down on their side. Favoured as they were to win, they still bought plenty to the table in the final and can rightly reflect on an excellent season with pride.

This outcome simply reflects that they were beaten on the day by a better side who simply were not going to let themselves lose.

There were turning points in the match and key moments which could have swung momentum to the Canes.

Julian Savea’s failure to finish in the left corner in the second half and Beauden Barrett’s early goal kicking misfires were the most obvious.

However, there were none bigger than Elliot Dixon’s try on the stroke of halftime, a wonderful individual effort which enabled his Highlanders to go to the sheds with the momentum and self-belief to finish the job in the second half.

Perhaps if the match had involved an Australian or South African side, or a television match official from one of the participating countries, Dixon’s wobbly put down might have been a more controversial moment.

But it was classic 50/50 call, TMO Ben Skeen was going to be half right and half wrong whichever way he ruled, and credit to the Hurricanes for making nothing of it even though they came out on the wrong side of the decision.

I’ll own up at this point to writing in positive terms about Dixon a couple of seasons back, marking him for higher honours down the track.

But despite his man of the match performance fulfilling this promise, calls for his instant elevation into Steve Hansen’s new All Black squad are a misguided, knee-jerk reaction. He still has some outstanding players in the queue ahead of him.

Dixon could always try the Bernard Tomic approach, by announcing that he will, out of respect to his teammates, agree to play for the All Blacks.

Except that he seems, unlike Tomic, to be a well grounded, humble individual who understands that a place in a national representative team is earned by selection nad not decided on a self-appointed whim.

The other significant moment came a week earlier, with Ardie Savea’s knee injury ruling him unfit for the final.

If the Hurricanes lacked anything on the night it was Savea’s dynamic thrust with the ball in hand, particularly his ability to get in behind the ruck and penetrate the Highlanders’ backfield.

There were good players all across the park, but the halfback battle is worth highlighting, with both Aaron Smith and TJ Perenara right on top of their game, as they have been all season.

In such a high paced, breathtaking game with multiple phases at all corners of the ground, it was incredible to see each of them busting a gut to be stationed behind ruck after ruck then firing off quality passes time after time.

Referee Jaco Peyper played an important role, fittingly proving that an invisible referee is a good referee.

However, the pleasure would have been all his, assisted as he was enormously by the positive intent of all the players.

This is not the time or place to open up yet another tiresome debate about the relative merits of New Zealand versus Australian rugby, but it is worth noting the comments of the Fox Sports panel post-match, who indeed went searching for reasons to describe the quality of the final in such context.

Rod Kafer pointed to an emphasis on skills development in New Zealand as the key point of difference, however my feeling is that it is not so much a skills disparity but the license provided to New Zealand players to use their skills, which illustrates the key difference.

It didn’t seem to matter that there were a total of 35 turnovers in the match. South African and Australian coaches would almost certainly be appalled if their sides were party to that number, and every cliché about working harder on minimising mistakes would be trotted out.

But New Zealand sides recognize that it is okay to give something up to get something back in return.

There is a risk and reward mentality which pervades New Zealand rugby at all levels. This in itself doesn’t guarantee winning at will, but it almost certainly provides an environment ensuring many more wins than losses.

It also hints at a difference in conditioning.

It was apparent that for most of the Graham Henry and Steve Hansen era, the All Blacks had a competitive advantage in this area allowing them to eventually run their opposition ragged.

But it also seemed obvious that this was a gap that could be easily closed, as players from other parts of the world matched them for fitness. But has this actually happened?

It is hard to remember any major match being played at such a ferocious tempo as the first half in this final.

Despite a handful of players ending up with cramps late in the second half, I never once saw a tight forward in this final go down with a manufactured injury, or waddle across late to a set piece like some of the Waratahs pack the week before.

Just as the aftermath of Phil Hughes’ death cast a pall over cricket and all sport earlier this year, the recent tragic loss of Hurricanes legend Jerry Collins and the shocking death of Adelaide Crows coach Phil Walsh ensured that this was another exceedingly tough weekend for sport in our corner of the world.

For what it’s worth, this superb final, and indeed the dignified and heartfelt response of the AFL sides this weekend, helped square the ledger a wee bit.

They reminded us all that whatever adversities each of us face along the way, we are all bound together by our common love of the contest and a mutual respect for all participants.