Nine talking points from Super Rugby Round 8

We’re almost at the halfway point of the regular season and teams know that they have to get themselves into contention now if they want to avoid watching the finals from the sofa.

You don’t have to be leading your conference at this point but there’s only so many points you can make up so form and momentum now is critical.

Given that, and a busy weekend of seven matches, there’s plenty to talk about – so let’s get stuck in.

Hansen can’t ignore Ardie Savea
The Hurricanes flanker has been one of the players of the competition this season and against the Highlanders he put on a masterclass that has not only booked his seat on the plane to Japan but must be close to getting him a starting slot.

The Canes have sometimes seemed a bit lightweight up front but in Savea they have a true weapon. He’s been winning turnovers all season long and on Friday he scored two impressive tries that many wings would be proud of.

The first saw him take an intercept and then outpace the Highlanders chasers over 70 metres, the second saw him put in two side steps that evaded covering defenders before he outsprinted more defenders to the corner.

It was only a few months ago that Savea had signed initial papers with French club Pau and many were convinced he’d be lost from New Zealand rugby.

Not only did he stay but he has really stepped up his game.

There might be others who are slightly better over the ball but Savea is in dynamite form right now and is making it almost impossible for Hansen to ignore him for a starting spot.

While Savea is in stunning form, his team around him aren’t in such tip-top state…

(Photo by Dianne Manson/Getty Images)

Hurricanes still blowing hot and cold
Now don’t get me wrong – the Hurricanes did win this weekend and it was an important win against a strong conference opponent.

They are also equal-second on the overall competition ladder on 23 points behind their Kiwi rivals the Crusaders.

So in many ways things are going fine for the Canes. But this weekend showed again that the men from Wellington haven’t hit their stride yet.

In the past four weeks they’ve won twice but neither victory was overly convincing, including their win against the Highlanders this weekend.

In the other games they got pumped by the Crusaders and drew with the Chiefs – a team who have only won twice from their seven matches. That’s not really competition-winning form.

Their back line would scare most international sides let alone Super Rugby sides, but they are just not as formidable up front and that’s causing them some real issues.

While their scrum is solid, their work in the loose could be better and their line out is the second weakest in the competition – they are losing one in five line outs on their own throw so far this year.

Of course the other way to look at this is to say that the Canes are second in the competition and yet haven’t hit their top form yet – everyone else needs to look out!

What’s in a name?
There’s lots of talk about the Crusaders changing their name. This isn’t a discussion about that topic as there has been plenty of interesting points of view shared on The Roar already.

But whatever the outcomes and whichever side of the debate you come down on, there is no doubting that the Crusaders are running away with this season.

This weekend they went up against the Brumbies and at half time they were losing 0-7. It’s not often that you see this Crusaders side unable to score a point in a half of rugby. In the next 40 minutes the men from Christchurch put on 36 points and picked up yet another win.

This isn’t hugely surprising but what was impressive was how the Crusaders were able to adapt, stay patient and trust that they would find a way to break the Brumbies down.

This ability is surprisingly rare even amongst the top international sides. So many sides have shown that if their plan A doesn’t work early then they struggle. Some have no plan B to go to, others try and force things and run into trouble.

The Crusaders keep trusting their teammates, keep probing and back themselves to find a way to open teams up. They have a number of scoring weapons and strategies and they are able to shift between them smoothly.

Are they beatable? Of course. Will they be beaten during the second half of this season? Probably. Will they win another Super Rugby title in 2019? Yup!

(Photo by Martin Hunter/Getty Images)

Old dogs can still have a bite
While there is an incredible amount of young talent on display in this year’s Super Rugby competition, one of the most impressive sights this weekend was Ma’a Nonu as he put in a stellar performance that helped his Blues beat the Waratahs.

The guy is fast approaching his 37th birthday and yet this weekend he turned the clock back and tormented yet another Australian side leaving Wallabies grasping at air as he put teammates into space and even scored his own try to complete a great win for the Auckland side.

Just think about that – what were you doing/will you be doing on your 37th birthday? Reckon you could get the better of a back line that is full of Wallabies?

It’s an incredible feat and while he might not have the gas of old, you can well imagine that his experience is almost more valuable to his Blues side.

They’ve put together four wins in a row – something they haven’t been able to do since 2011 – and are playing with a composure and confidence that is likely going to see them pick up plenty more wins in the second half of the season.

They’ve still got a way to go to make the finals but wouldn’t it be amazing to see Ma’a Nonu stepping out into a Super Rugby semi-final in 2019?

What is going on in the South African conference?
On the upside there are only 7 points between the top and bottom of the South African conference. That compares to 13 points in the Australian conference and a worrying 17 in the New Zealand conference.

But while this might imply plenty of close matchups what is actually happening is that teams are playing so inconsistently that trying to predict a result with South African teams involved is a fool’s errand.

This weekend saw two South African sides held to zero points in the first halves of their games – that’s two sides who weren’t able to score a single point in 80 minutes of rugby and this included last year’s grand finalists, the Lions, who were playing at home.

Those same Lions got absolutely torn to pieces by the Sharks this weekend in a way that made it look like boys versus men.

The gaps between the South African sides’ best and worst performances is just so vast at the moment that you don’t know what you’re going to get from one week to the next. This includes the Jaguares who are just as inconsistent.

If one of these sides can stop being so topsy turvy for a few weeks then they could well book their place in the finals – but that’s a big if.

McDermott trusting himself
Nick Phipps should be worried. As the World Cup draws closer and the number of opportunities to impress decrease the race to be back up Wallabies No.9 is heating up and the Reds’ Tate McDermott has just put his hand up loud and proud.

His performance against the Stormers was his best for the Reds in his young career and what was most exciting was the way in which he seems to be starting to trust himself more and more.

He’s always had energy and is always busy, but against the Stormers there was a confidence in his game, especially his running game, that hasn’t been present before.

The best example of this was when he took a quick tap penalty and darted through some Stormers’ defenders to score an important try.

It would have been easy to defer to the skipper but he saw an opportunity, backed himself and he executed perfectly.

If he can maintain that confidence over the coming weeks then he could well be a bolter for the Wallabies.

Beale going sideways, literally
Kurtley Beale is facing a big challenge. His form, which hasn’t been amazing over the past couple of seasons anyway, is missing in action at the moment.

Against the Blues this weekend Daryl Gibson decided to start him from the bench with many feeling that this was as a result of his poor defensive performances recently.

When he did then come on against the Blues his attacking performance was equally as poor.

In the 55th minute the Tahs had a great opportunity and were deep inside the Blues 22. Beale had the ball and he needed to either ship it quickly out wide, or straighten the attack to commit more defenders.

Instead he did what he does so often – run sideways. The attack was snuffed out in that moment.

The Tahs did manage to score a few phases later thanks to some nice work by Israel Folau, but that didn’t cover up Beale’s crab-like effort.

Later on, just before Nonu scored his intercept try, Beale was again involved. This time it wasn’t entirely his fault but he was certainly one of the guilty parties and as Nonu touched down. The Tahs and Beale had to face up to yet another poor outing.

Have we seen the best days of Kurtley Beale? Can he fight his way back into form? Time will tell, but there’s not much time left.

(Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)

Composure
Speaking of another Tahs loss, there’s been some really clear evidence this weekend of how the teams that are able to maintain their composure are the ones who are picking up the wins.

The Blues, the Canes and the Jags all picked up wins this weekend where they could have easily lost. On the flip side, their opponents – the Tahs, Highlanders and Bulls all had opportunities to get the victory but made mistakes at key times.

This ability to stay composed, to keep making good decisions even when fatigue and pressure kick in, is critical in all sport of course – but as the Super Rugby season progresses it’s interesting to see that there are some teams that are improving their performance not by gaining new skills or scoring incredible tries, but by minimising mistakes when it counts and staying in control.

As the season progresses and the stakes get higher, many players and teams will be under pressure. Those that can make good decisions quickly in these pressure situations will thrive. Those that make poor decisions, no matter how much flair they have in their side, will fall away.

There are teams in the competition who can achieve more than you might think if they focus on their ability to stay in control rather than trying to force the way they play.

It’s all about form and combos, apparently
Michael Cheika made a comment on Saturday that there are two key factors he’s considering as he looks at his plans for 2019 – form and combinations.

Now that makes perfect sense but it will be interesting to see what his version of form and combo is compared to everyone else’s.

One specific combination that many eyes will be on is the halves. Who do you think are the in-form Australian halves pairing right now? Of course it’s Will Genia and Quade Cooper. But will Cooper get his shot to wear the Wallabies jersey again?

This comment from Cheika also raises plenty of interesting discussions – front row combos (surely the Brumbies?), locks, centres (surely not the Tahs who Nonu made to look like turnstiles), back three (Rebels?).

Right now, if you focused on form and combos – who would be in your Wallabies starting 15?