The Wrap: Hurricanes and Waratahs triumphant in South Africa

On a weekend where all the best action and controversy came towards the end of the round, the Chiefs did all they needed, professionally holding off a determined Sharks 24-22 in New Plymouth.

Without the swagger one might expect of a ladder leader, the Chiefs have found the knack of covering for injuries, and while their little men, Damien McKenzie, Aaron Cruden and Brad Weber, look in need of a rest, big men like Michael Leitch seem happy enough to carry the load for now.

On another day the Sharks may well have won; three well-taken tries reflected a willingness to use the ball positively, and if they take this as a benchmark for the remainder of the season they may yet challenge for a wildcard play-off spot.

Western Force fans, unfortunately, have no such playoff aspirations. A tough tour of New Zealand featured some spirited performances, a fresher, more inclusive style of play and a run of home matches signalled reason for optimism.

Which only makes their insipid performance against the Bulls all the more disappointing. Not because it refuels the argument of doom merchants to chop Australian Super Rugby sides back to four or three, but because it simply doesn’t have to be this way; there are enough good players in this squad to be far more competitive than this, as indeed they have been in the past.

But when a centre takes a clean intercept against the run of play yet is run down with ease; when there is no straight chasing line when following kicks, when soft tries are leaked through lack of collective will in the defensive line, these are fan killers. And quite likely, coach killers as well.

It’s hard to get a handle on exactly where the Bulls are at, so token was their opponent. We should know more after they visit Canberra next week.

In Auckland, things started off badly for the Rebels with the late withdrawal of Lopeti Timani, and continuation of their kick-off receive woes.

They paid the ultimate price, allowing Steven Luatua to storm through and take one on the fly, setting up Ihaia West for a try. That the Rebels were able to work themselves back into the match was testimony to their own tenacity, Sefanaia Naivalu’s 95-metre scamper, and the Blues still being unaccustomed to closing out games when ahead.

But the Rebels’ final lineout maul went awry, a theme for travelling Australian sides this week, and James Parson’s men took the chocolates. Or perhaps Parsons kept them for himself, stripping the spitting image of Matt Dunning in his podgy heyday, albeit without Dunning’s flair on the dropkick.

I’m not convinced that the Highlanders playing without the ball was a deliberate ploy to nullify David Pocock’s turnover ability, or perhaps coach Jamie Joseph is a student of Muhammad Ali’s “rope-a-dope” strategy, but the longer the match in Invercargill went on, the more obvious it became that the Brumbies didn’t have the nous or skill to take advantage of the Highlanders generosity – a whopping 73 per cent to 27 per cent possession skew.

Brumbies lock Sam Carter might wonder about the injustice of the maul obstruction law – it was a fine line – but he shouldn’t wonder why, if he repeats the exact offence three times, referee Nick Briant kept penalising him.

Saturday night provided a choice, an invite to the debut album launch for the delightfully named ‘Shepparton Airplane’, or the safety of the couch and the Reds versus the Cheetahs. A preview of their single “Got no head” made my mind up – subtlety isn’t their strong suit, nor is melody – yet by halftime of this very ordinary match I was ruing my decision.

As was, I suspect, Roar ironman blogger Diggercane, who, into his third game on the trot, might reasonably have expected a match of better quality.

So uninspiring was it I found myself easily distracted, learning that “The Voice” judge, Jesse J, has a tattoo on her right hip which reads “Don’t loose who you are”, a timely warning to all those considering a tattoo to do a spellcheck before the ink goes on.

And the rugby? Three votes to the Brisbane humidity, two votes to the Reds’ scrum and minus one vote for referee Ben O’Keefe’s bizarre decision to yellow card Cheetahs replacement Willie Britz. If it had been for Britz’s hairstyle perhaps fair enough, but to banish him for foul play, a supposed strike for which he had no vision to support that finding, was ludicrous.

Nick Frisby bagged a double, doing his Wallabies selection prospects no harm, unlike Samu Kerevi, who had the look of a man whose wrist injury may cruel his selection hopes.

Thankfully the quality of the rugby picked in South Africa, the Hurricanes irresistible in the first half, on the way to putting 50 points on the previously high-flying Lions. This match was won by assertive turnover play, a willingness by backs and forwards to contest at the breakdown, thus not allowing the Lions to stamp their pattern of play on the match.

Prop Reggie Goodes provided a try for the highlights reel, slamming the ball down in the corner after a 20 metre run from a lineout, while Dane Coles once again reminded a South African audience of his explosive running, pace and deft passing skills.

The Lions will be back to cause trouble in the playoffs, and not just because captain Warren Whiteley says so. They are well balanced and play with good intent. Here, as much as anything, they simply struck a hot team having a hot day.

Dean Mumm shelling the opening kick-off in Cape Town didn’t bode well for the Waratah’s chances against the Stormers, neither did their stuttering lineout, yet two superbly taken set-piece tries to Kurtley Beale and Israel Folau were enough to keep them within striking distance at half time.

The to and fro which followed had a real test match feel to it, helped along by a noisy crowd, and when standout for man of the match, Pieter-Steph Du Toit crossed for his second try with only five minutes remaining, it seemed as if the Stormers had done enough to win.

Crucially, it was their scrum which let them down, eight versus eight, which conceded the turnover which allowed Michael Hooper to squeeze his way over, under the posts, and the Waratahs back into favouritism for the Australian conference.

That the crowd was so noisily engaged was no surprise, in the wake of Leolin Zas being marched in the 55th minute for taking out Bernard Foley in the air, causing Foley to land awkwardly and dangerously on his head/neck.

The emotional reaction afterwards was understandable; Zas had eyes for the ball, he slipped at a crucial moment, there was no intent to hit Foley illegally, all of which are true. And referee Mike Fraser’s initial reaction was indeed to play on, advantage Stormers, for Foley’s knock forward.

But Fraser deserves credit not condemnation, keeping his cool and getting the decision dead right, according to the law. All of those excuses or mitigating factors are furphies.

The law requires that a player jumping for the ball is not interfered with in the air, and there is no provision in the law for any such interference being non-intentional. Further, the law also guides the referee in the application of any sanction, stating that how the player lands determines whether a yellow card or red card is issued against the offending player.

In short, had Foley landed on his backside, Zas would have received a yellow card, but because he landed in a dangerous position – not unlike Willie Le Roux in Dunedin – he received a red card.

Also an overreaction are claims that players will no longer be able to contest balls in the air, lest they risk being sent off if something goes wrong. This is garbage. Attacking players will always be able to set themselves and jump in unison with the defending catcher, and may the best man win. Mid-air collisions between two fairly and equally competing players will be seen as normal or incidental contact.

What players can’t do is to enter these zones at high speed and make contact with a catching player who is already in the air. Eyes on the ball or not, they are courting with danger and, unless they are able to slow down and jump together with the defender, they should keep out of the contest until after the ball is caught and the catcher has landed.

What is being overlooked by those who complain about the game going soft, is that neither Zas nor Jason Emery last week, actually jumped for the ball. They may have intended to, but they didn’t. They just got themselves into awkward positions where they caused another player to land on their head.

If there is a price to be paid for that, it is a far more palatable price to pay than the alternative Foley and Le Roux could easily have been faced with.

As a guide, Rugby League is a game where there are countless high kicks and remarkably few controversies or injuries in this area. I have no doubt that Super Rugby coaches and players will similarly and quickly adapt, and the game will move on.

Notably, the Waratahs did what sides often fail to do when provided with a numerical advantage; they intelligently tested the edges of the Stormers defence to make the numbers count. The reaction of the bench to Hooper’s try shows that this maligned team, and its coach, if nothing else, have plenty of spirit, and may well have put their worst performances behind them.

It may have taken the Kings to be served up to them to do it, but at last Buenos Aries fans got some joy from their Jaguares side, which ran in tries in all directions, three of them to veteran No.8 Leonardo Senatore.

While this was always a match the Jaguares were going to win, it was important for their credibility (and the competition’s credibility) that they did so, and did so with style. And for the first time, they played with consistent, clinical precision.

What can you say about the Kings? They scored four tries, the last one a real corker. Shame though about the eleven they conceded.

With an eye to the ladder, most interest resides in Australia, where it appears increasingly likely that the Rebels, Brumbies and Waratahs are now competing for one playoff spot only.

The looming clash in Melbourne between the Rebels and Brumbies clearly becomes pivotal. Meanwhile the Waratahs are now back in charge of their own destiny, and moving from the outhouse to the penthouse with some purpose.