After three rounds of Super Rugby, a few random thoughts come to mind.
Jaguares not showing much
The Argies are in clearly in a bad spot, having lost their first three games and picking up no points in the process.
This leaves them in the last spot, while their opponents on the bottom have a game in hand. I expected better at this stage from the team with a new coach.
The top three are the top three – for now
After an immensely unfair couple of years where the ninth-ranked team accumulated more points than the fourth-ranked due to an unbalanced conference system, its good to see that the top three conference leaders are the same as the highest ranked top three for now, keeping the critics in their place.
Kenya’s 14 minutes of fame
When one thinks rugby sevens, Kenya are hardly the first that come to mind.
They did well in Las Vegas though, notably beating Fiji in the third round to go to the quarters. Other results were: (vs) France, 19-14 loss. Russia, 19-12 win. Argentina, 17-12 loss.
Ref outfits
Talk about referees being the centre of attention. The man in the middle for the Jaguares-Hurricanes game, Nick Briant, was decked out in a ’95 Rugby World Cup-like garb, or more accurately like an over-45 football player in Chile.
Interesting to note the vertical stripes, which aren’t common in the rugby world in my experience.
It’s debatable whether it enhanced his performance with many frustrated about the 26 penalties in the game, let alone the other stoppages.
Bulls are here to play
The Bulls this year seem, well, different.
From an upset win over the Hurricanes to a 14 point loss to the Lions – a game which would have been lost by plenty in the last couple of years.
While the new jerseys are dividing fans, they’re uniting the team, with two very good performances to start the new season.
Mo’unga’s broken jaw
The man who many expected to compete for the All Blacks no.10 jersey will take a long rest on the sidelines with a fractured jaw. As of yet, he is uncapped for the All Blacks but played well for the Baa-Baas against New Zealand last November.
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