The Super Rugby seasons are properly up and running now, and there is a lot to like.
The domestic focus in these early stages means we’re getting local derbies week in, week out, and it’s a lot of fun.
This weekend saw some fantastic matches – some with blowout scores, others with hardly a try to mention, but all of them with plenty to get excited about.
Let’s get stuck into some of the key talking points.
Sacking Rob Penney would make things worse for the Tahs
Unfortunately it was another rough weekend for Tahs players and fans. In fact it was arguably their roughest of the competition so far – and that’s saying something.
In the losses to the Reds and Brumbies the scorelines made for hard reading, but those opponents are the two best sides in the competition. In the loss to the Force, the Tahs were at home, were up against one of the weaker sides and had a man advantage for 15 minutes.
The sounds of disappointment were quickly replaced by a tense post-match interview for Penney, and who can blame him for giving some terse answers to questions about his future.
But blaming Rob Penney is as foolish as thinking that getting rid of him will make things better for the New South Wales team.
The Tahs are in this mess because of decisions made at senior levels over a number of years. From roster management to fitness standards to financials, there have been a number of missteps from those in charge in Sydney that have dealt Penney a tough hand.
Is Penney the right man for the Tahs in the long term? I’m not sure yet. But to get rid of him now will only make things worse.
Rob Penney. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Canes missing TJ more than Beauden
Being beaten by the Crusaders is hardly cause for concern, but in losing this weekend against the men from Christchurch there are some voices of worry coming from the Hurricanes faithful.
On paper they have some scary talent, especially in their backs. Their centre pairing of Peter Umaga-Jensen and Ngani Laumape should be among the best in both competitions, and with talents like Jordie Barrett and Julian Savea in the back three the Canes should be raining points on the opposition.
Unfortunately they haven’t. The performances have been lacklustre. They lost their warm-up games as well as the opening two rounds of the competition proper and are looking out of sorts. Against the Crusaders they lost their way, and despite all the talent in the midfield and out wide, they never got the ball out to these stars.
Of course the Crusaders are hard to play against, but the Canes are a good side and should be better.
Over the past few seasons the Canes have lost both Beauden Barrett and TJ Perenara, but it’s the No. 9 that they are missing most. Without his drive and influence, both the forwards and backs are missing something, and it’s really showing.
TJ Perenara (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)
Players of the round
There were plenty of players who put in a good shift this weekend and some who had genuine matchwinning moments. But there were two in particular who really stood out: Jona Nareki from the Highlanders and Tim Anstee from the Force.
Nareki scored a stunning hat-trick of tries against the Chiefs and set another up and was a problem all game long for the opposition defence. He’s not as big as many wingers – he’s just 1.75 metres tall and 80 kilograms compared to the likes of Julian Savea, who stands at 1.92 metres tall and 108 kilograms – but that doesn’t let them stop him from having an impact all over the pitch.
With his ball-handling skills, flat-out speed and footwork, he’s an attacking handful. Add to that the fact he’s a decent kicker who can use his big left foot to get the Highlanders out of trouble and he becomes a rounded weapon.
The All Blacks winger stocks are pretty healthy at the moment, so a call-up to the black jersey won’t be on the immediate horizon, but if he can keep playing like this week in, week out, the Highlanders will become a much scarier proposition.
Jona Nareki. (Photo by Dianne Manson/Getty Images)
Tim Anstee has an international sevens pedigree just like Nareki, and that was clear in the Force’s game against the Tahs. The tall back-rower used his pace and passing skills to break through gaps in the Tahs defence and set up a try.
He looked perfectly at ease. He might not have quite the weight of some of the bigger back-rowers at the top of the game, but anyone who can take a big shot from Lachlan Swinton, keep hold of the ball and have the awareness to dive over the line to score is a player worth keeping an eye on.
As the Force look to blend their experienced older guard with their young guns, Anstee will be key. He was also the player connected to the most bizarre commentary line this weekend – as he stretched out his long arm to score his try, one of the Stan crew cried out, “He’s stuffing it like a turkey!”. Last time anyone accepts an invite to Christmas dinner round his place!
Of course these are memorable performances from just one game, but if these two can keep up this standard of play for their teams across the rest of the season, they both could do some real damage to opponents.
Rebels fans not sure whether to be excited or worried
The Melbourne Rebels have lost both of their opening games and have had their hearts broken twice with the closeness of the misses.
The good news is that they’ve been moments away from beating the two top teams in the Australian competition, and if just a couple of small things had gone their way, we could be sitting here with them on a perfect record. They’ve played with a great spirit and found ways to score points even when they haven’t been able to unlock defences with any consistency.
They’ve played away from home both rounds so far and had a pretty disrupted opening few weeks thanks to needing to leave Melbourne quick smart when COVID restrictions hit. They’ve also got some of the better talent due to return soon, which should make them a better side.
The downside is that they have let two very winnable games get away from them and are yet to score a try in 160 minutes of Super Rugby. Not a single one. This is a concern. Yes, they have played to their game plan very well, and that is commendable – they are not trying to be something that they just don’t have the players for – but they aren’t going to win many games if they can’t find a way to cross the white line.
They are up against the Force in the next round in a game that could really be crucial for both sides as they map out their seasons. The Rebels need to make sure they win, and if they can do so with two or three tries on the scoreboard, then so much the better.
But for now Rebels fans should be feeling optimistic and good about their team so far. For many seasons the Rebels have struggled to have some real grit about them, and they seem to have found some. Having a mean defence and being hard to beat is a really good couple of traits, and the Rebels should make sure they do not lose them over the coming weeks.
What do the Chiefs need to do?
If the loss against the Highlanders was viewed in isolation, the Chiefs would be frustrated but not overly concerned. They had the lead and were looking good before being torn up by a great individual performance from Nareki that was freakish.
However, these games are not in isolation, and the Chiefs are on a very bad run of form. If you include last season, this was their tenth loss. They are in trouble.
The stats tell an interesting story and could convince you that the team is playing well and just having some bad luck. They dominated possession, ran for more metres, made more clean breaks, beat twice as many defenders and offloaded successfully twice as much. Their set piece was pretty good and their discipline wasn’t too bad.
So what happened? Well, the Chiefs continue to suffer from making mistakes at key moments and then not being able to stop the opposition from taking advantage. Whether it be poor handling or poorly executed kicks, the Chiefs are often the causes of their own downfall, and it keeps happening.
There is some hope for the Chiefs. Those positive statistics above from their game this weekend are often the situation in their games, and these are the building blocks that victories can be built upon.
They also have some options that they can explore to find the winning formula. Damian McKenzie can be brought to No. 10, for example, to offer some more experience than the young Bryn Gatland, who had a tough game against the Highlanders. McKenzie’s combination of experience and creative flair could help the Chiefs turn the positive foundations into some wins, and that confidence would do wonders for the whole team.
Sam Cane and his forwards don’t need to change a whole lot, but they do need to cut out the silly errors and make sure their set piece stays efficient. Their second row is a little light on experience but their line out has been working okay so far, and they’ll get better with more game time.
But a win has to come soon otherwise morale could sink even further, and that’s going to make everything that little bit harder.
Oh, and one last thing
What was that Highlanders away kit all about? Please, never again!
degenerat
Guest
I kept looking at Toomua's handspeed when distributing the ball. It just seems slow without much intent. Speed it up and take the ball to the line more often. Hodge is a utility replacement Winger/FB. He can crank up a bit of giraffe like speed on the go but his agility/acceleration is weak asf. 12 needs to be a strong accelerator with a steady, discerning pair of hands. That is not our Hodgey.
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
Just leave the Landers away kit alone. It's not ours to judge.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Nah. It’s a plan designed to deal with a large injury crisis and huge season disruption. The last 2 games they’ve had 6 of their best XV unavailable and around 10 of their best 23 unavailable.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Well they did dominate the attacking stats last game (line breaks, defenders beaten, offloads, meters per carry)
If it is its a bad one designed to not win.......Time Wessels went.....
Rebels coach cant teach attack......
Oliver Matthews
Expert
Haha was thinking more about the top grade rugby experience than life experience
CUW
Roar Rookie
seems corona has hit the SH rugger very hard just one match ( cheifs on friday ) shown on rugby pass tv. but almost all the gallagher matches shown along with pro 14 wonder what has happened - coz they showed almost all of miter 10 and some shute shield and fiji rugger !!!
Purdo
Roar Rookie
While we're on kit, was it Muirhead, wearing pink boots who was penalised for off side? The lesson here seems to be that boots should be green or camo coloured.
Markus
Roar Rookie
The nearly 100 extra SR and Test matches McKenzie has over Gatland might have a hand in it too.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Probably the most relevant part though is they are only missing 1 first choice starter, which is Hansen’s wing (assuming Muirhead is first choice like he was in 2020). Where for the Rebels none of 13, 14 or 15 are first choice.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
That isn’t their starting back 13-14-15 though. That’s Ikiatau (inexperienced but 3rd year at the Brumbies at least and wallaby squad member), Hansen (inexperienced and only 2nd year in Super Rugby) and Banks (experienced Wallaby). Rebels 13-14-15 is closer to Ikitau and Hansen without a Banks. Kinda interesting considering I believe Pincus was stuck behind Banks for the 15 jersey at UQ!
Markus
Roar Rookie
Len Ikitau, Mack Hansen and 3rd-string scrumhalf Issak Fines as your outside backs doesn't exactly scream experience either, but all have looked far more potent.
I think its more about ability than age Sylvester
P2R2
Roar Rookie
Highlanders kit .... what's wrong with it....better than anything the Oz teams wear...
P2R2
Roar Rookie
What's wrong with the Highlanders kit...I thought it was great...
Ankle-tapped Waterboy
Roar Rookie
Thanks for mentioning the Highlanders away strip. What a lot of people haven't realised - and I have the inside skinny on this, so I can report it here - is that the single biggest factor in the match was the Highlanders' kit. The details are fascinating and I am pleased to set the record straight. That first half-hour where the Highlanders were down 20-6? It was the strip. So foreign to the Highlanders was it that they didn't recognise their own team-mates. When coupled with the Chiefs strip looking like the Highlanders, confusion reigned. Not only were the Highlanders treating the Chiefs like their teammates, passing the ball to them, letting tackles go by, and so on, but at rucks and mauls they mistook their fellow players for the opposition. The viewing audience too was confused, it took until half-time for much of Gore and Mataura to realise that they were cheering on the Chiefs, and even after full-time an altercation outside the pub at Balfour between two otherwise upstanding citizens was directly attributable to this entirely reasonable misunderstanding. This was all due to the playing strip being white, a colour that no player from Otago or Southland would ever associate with a local team, goodness even Southern has black stripes; white is reserved for the English and the English only, for when they turn up for an introduction to classic New Zealand rugby. The record shows that things turned around for the Highlanders due to penetration from the back three. But whether kicking or running at the opposition, this was due to the "shorts" which were actually "trackydaks" or as the blokes used to Maroon and Cambridge Blue (all of whom know the difference between a shovel and a spade) call them, "underdaks". Like the jersey, the shorts exhibited a colour foreign to the Highlanders, but the problem was not the vague brown but actually their cut and material. The pink G-string is not a Highlanders thing, indeed most of the team still talk about buying pants not a pant, and discuss shorts or a pair of shorts; not a "short". The back three, indeed all the backs, were embarassingledly running into traffic just to hide in the crowd where they wouldn't be singled out for playing top-tier rugby in their underpants. The net effect was a bit like a penguin colony where everyone was trying to make sure they weren't on the outside. It didn't always work. Every so often a player would pop out the other side into the harsh glare of the open spaces, and also every so often a player so exposed found himself with rugby ball in hand, and the tryline ahead. It is a credit to the stoic Highlander nature that at those times still they angled to the tryline, rather than diving back into the anonymity of the forwards, even whilst knowing that if they scored a try the TV cameras would gaze fully upon them, yea even unto their underdaks and on replay and in slow motion too, preserved forever and on the internet too, oh my. Those rumours about queues of Southern Men outside Hallensteins' immediately after the game saying, "I want that kit and I want it now!" False. Completely and utterly false.
Oblonsky’s Other Pun
Guest
Yeah, and if I’m honest I do think there were more than few dubious penalties in that game. I think on the first penalty off the kick off the Rebels player wasn’t on his feet so it should have been our penalty. But then again I think that our match winning penalty could have easily gone against us also. So it evens out. Either way, I think the criticism needs to be pointed at the coach rather than the players. Looks to me like the players are actually implementing the game plan pretty well. The Rebels have managed to almost win two matches away from home against teams with much stronger rosters than them. I think they’ve done well, and the game plan basically seems to be based around Toomua’s game management and direct style of play. I think he’s done well.
Doctordbx
Roar Rookie
Absolutely it is. Score off the opponent's mistakes. Not a great plan if the opponent doesn't give away penalties.
Sylvester
Guest
"Damian McKenzie can be brought to No. 10, for example, to offer some more experience than the young Bryn Gatland, who had a tough game against the Highlanders." Here's hoping the extra 3 weeks of life McKenzie has over Gatland pays off...