We’re just three weeks into a long season but this weekend has seen some serious contenders for match of the season.
Stunning back play, powerful set pieces and several come from behind wins have made this a properly entertaining round.
We hope that this brings the fans to the grounds in weeks to come but in the meantime let’s get stuck into the talking points from a thrilling round of matches.
Not all doom and gloom for the Reds
There were some great games this weekend but arguably the best came to those who waited until last and saw the Reds travel to Buenos Aires to face the Jaguares.
It was such an entertaining game, and while the Reds missed out on a deserved win, there is a lot to like about them. Many, including myself, have been critical of the Queensland side in the opening two rounds as it felt like it was going to be another season of A+ for effort but C for quality and results.
But the positives from these first two games were amplified against the Jags and the Reds looked good. Really good! James O’Connor at flyhalf looked good and Harry Wilson continues to impress at the back of the pack.
The Jags played to their strengths and took advantage of the Reds’ poor discipline to punish the Queenslanders with lineout-maul-try over and over again but the Queensland side aren’t far away from picking up some decent wins this season.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
D Mac’s back, back again
Chiefs fans have a lot to be excited about as their team remains undefeated in 2020 and Damian McKenzie is finding exciting form early in the season. McKenzie racked up 11 points of his team’s 43 as they picked up a simple win against the Sunwolves.
What’s great to see as well is that Warren Gatland isn’t playing him at ten. When he played there, McKenzie wasn’t able to scare opponents quite as much as when he plays at fullback. The great lines he runs, the pace he injects and the flair he adds were all on display against the Sunwolves.
It’s easy to dismiss this opposition and the Chiefs will come up against stiffer tests this season, but there aren’t many defences that can cope with an in-form McKenzie. The Chiefs host the Brumbies next week and it will be fascinating to see if McKenzie continues to tear it up against one of the better sides in the competition.
On a side note, it would be interesting to run a sweep stake on how many times the Sunwolves are referred to as the valiant, the proud, the brave or the doomed this season.
Say tah tah to finals footy in NSW
With the Rebels having lost both of their opening two games – including a loss to the doomed Sunwolves (that’s one for the sweep stake!) – the Waratahs could well have felt that their Round 3 trip down to Melbourne was their chance to get their season back on track. The Rebels had only beaten the NSW side twice before this weekend and there hadn’t been any evidence in the past two weeks to suggest this would change.
Change it did, however, and the Tahs’ terrible start to the season continues. In fact, it’s now their worst ever opening to a season and I can’t see a bright future ahead of them. Their next three games are the Lions and Chiefs at home and then away to the Brumbies. Is anyone truly confident that they will get a win from those matches?
What has been most concerning is not the lack of a compelling game plan or the low quality of basic skills, but the feeling that there is something a bit more fundamental that is wrong with the club. Whether it’s having quite a few new faces involved or that the coaching change hasn’t settled down yet, there is something that isn’t right with the Tahs at the moment.
You’ve got to close out those games!
This weekend saw two prime examples of how important it is for teams to close out games once they get the lead and the final whistle is approaching.
Both the Lions and the Brumbies had fought hard to be in the lead in their respective games and in both cases they ended up losing in heartbreaking fashion. The Stormers and Highlanders weren’t phased by the scoreboard being against them with seconds to go and managed to come away with great wins.
With home finals being so important in this competition, these slim margins really matter. For the Stormers, they continue a near perfect start to the season and will take so much from being able to sneak the win from their local rivals. For the Brumbies, this is a home win that got away and that slip-up should annoy them a lot.
(Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
A Berry poor decision
I spoke last week about how there was some concerning refereeing coming out of one of the South Africa games and I hoped that it wasn’t the start of poor performances from the men in the middle.
Well unfortunately this week Nic Berry got in on the act as he failed to deliver the tough decision to red card Sio Tomkinson for his hit on Tom Banks. The replays gave plenty of evidence to support the serious punishment and Tomkinson has been cited by SANZAAR already.
Following the World Cup where eight red cards were shown, there was a definite understanding that refs were going to come down very hard on high hits, especially those where there were no arms from the tackler.
With the Brumbies going on to lose the game, there are plenty of fans who are bitter at what looks like Berry taking the soft option and only giving the yellow card and it looks like the citing authorities agree with the fans that their team were hard done by.
Assume Beauden Barrett is incredibly well rested
Enough is enough. Can someone please get Beauden Barrett to pull on a Blues jersey and play a game?
Yes, he had a busy season last year with the World Cup. And yes, New Zealand want him to be fresh, playing for them for many years into the future. But he’s signed with the Blues, and the Auckland team and their fans could really do with something to smile about.
There are plenty of people who are getting a bit sick and tired of the All Blacks’ player protocols that mean we’re not getting to see much of the top talent in the competition for as long as we could and should each week. At least with other All Blacks, though, there have been glimpses of them playing in the opening rounds. Barrett has been off on holiday and has only been back into Blues training recently.
You also have to wonder how Barrett’s new Blues teammates are feeling with him off enjoying the Super Bowl and warm beaches while they’ve been getting beaten up in the opening three rounds.
Nobrain
Roar Guru
Sorry, yo may forgot one more thing. Reds should have played with 14 men since minute 20:00 of the first half. That would have been a real challenge for the Reds.
jcmasher
Roar Rookie
Nah. Once they are put under pressure they fold. Reds showed that in the first half. I admit I may be wrong but I’m picking they don’t make the finals this year. Last year it was a bit of others not ready for them and them pushing for RWC, where they got stuffed, and now that they haven’t got that they’ll fold
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Nah
Malotru
Roar Rookie
Having watched Sio Tomkinson for a few years now I'm definitely of the view that he isn't a malicious player. He got three weeks and on that basis a few others should be having a blow over the next few weeks.
The Ferret
Roar Rookie
No... we all complained about how stupid the red cards were during the World Cup and now we all want that stupidity to continue into super rugby. It was a simple no arms tackle that bounced up. He probably should have got 10 in the him as he did make contact with the chin after initial contact but a red would have been more of the same that we all complained about in the World Cup.
Harry Jones
Expert
They look ok to me. Slick backs. Mongrelly forwards. Confident.
jcmasher
Roar Rookie
Jags will crash out when they’re not at home with biased refs
Harry Jones
Expert
I would not like my little Stormpies to face the super fast Sharks in a playoff match. Fassi, Mapimpi, Bosch, Nkosi, Am: that’s the future of SA rugby. Big and fast.
Carlin
Roar Rookie
Going to be hard for Beauden Barrett to fix the Blues fortunes by the time he suits up in April. The squad really needs to get themselves in a position that their wont be too much pressure on him joining late. Personally think he should be coming back earlier than April. The Blues are not going to get much out of him with this extended break plus another clause to have a sabbatical in near future. The Crusaders unearthed another quality forward on Friday in Callum Grace. His workrate and impact on the game was immense. I thought Tomkinsons tackle was a red and was expecting a red to come out. On the ref front I saw an interesting that today that South African refs have given South African teams a +159 penalty count over a certain period. Did Dane Coles get cited? That was totally unnecessary.
Jimbo81
Roar Rookie
If you card CFS (maybe justified), and you don’t card Wright (farcical), that leaves the balance of the dodgy truck n trailer rolling maul tries (all illegal) which only came from the dodgy ruck penalties (not supporting your weight = illegal technique). There were many more poor refereeing decisions like the scrums and talked without the ball. Have a yellow and take away five tries and that’s the ball game.
Harry Jones
Expert
Yes, I like the brand they are playing, but they’ll need to go strong in R4 to get points.
Gepetto
Roar Rookie
Poor old Hoops needs a Beauden Barrett style break - He busted a gut trying during the World Cup.
TimO
Roar Rookie
I've seen people get phased in Star Trek
Tooly
Roar Rookie
Around the goitre .
Jimbo81
Roar Rookie
Anselmi clearly told Wright he was fine to pilfer then sin binned him. Anselmi failed to award a penalty to the reds for their two dominant scrums in a row. Anselmi failed to penalise the player for tackling Tupou without the ball. Anselmi failed to award a yellow card for dangerous aerial challenge which led to the Jaguares scoring, incredibly off their player knocking on (what more do you have to do?). Anselmi failed to police the ruck with consistency or accuracy with multiple penalties despite none of the Jaguares surviving the cleanout or remaining on their feet and supporting their own weight. Anselmi failed to police the truck and trailer obstruction in every one of the Jaguares rolling maul tries where the "trailer" completely detaches from the "truck" to impede defenders. The laws clearly state that this is illegal. It was a case of the Jaguares being wrongly awarded a ruck penalty followed by being wrongly awarded a try. That was the game. It's not whinging - defence of fair comment - the home town ref was appalling and not even the team dominating every facet of the game could combat the completely biased refereeing. Robbed!
jameswm
Roar Guru
And get help. Makes it harder to win away against a good team.
Michael
Guest
The word is ‘fazed’ not phased.
Rugbyrah
Roar Rookie
so the 13- 3 count was professional and justified?
Rugbyrah
Roar Rookie
it felt like the reds were reffed out of the game again. Who was the ref?
Monorchid
Roar Rookie
No dispute with your comment Greysy. But I saw a tackle with the shoulder on a chest/shoulder that slid up and hit the head. And I think that's what the referee saw and he acted on it because the tackle law is now about protecting the attacking player from head trauma. The referee has a split second to decide on what they saw and the effect of the tackle. So this won't be the last decision of this type as we saw in the RWC. Maybe tacklers just have to make sure that they don't contact the neck or head.