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Call me parochial, naive, whatever. And I may be mistaken or perhaps influenced by my heritage, but I think the New Zealand sides in this year’s Super Rugby competition have a clear edge over their Australian counterparts.
And, by the looks of it, probably the South African teams as well.
The Chiefs will be a well-oiled machine when it gets to the sharp end of the competition. They certainly have fronted up front and their backs are getting stronger and stronger, particularly the combination in the mid-field between Sonny Bill Williams and Richard Kahui.
This could well be the next All Black Test mid-field pairing.
Interesting isn’t it?
Ma’a Nonu opted not to put up with Mark Hammett’s new wave culture and moved to Auckland, breaking his partnership with Conrad Smith, something I think was instrumental in his selection over the last few years. Nonu will not be as effective without Smith beside him.
And possibly vice versa.
With a new All Black selection panel, there could well be a change in the mid-field because these two players are clearly a handful for all opponents and the Waratahs certainly felt it in the weekend: big, strong, clever and well coached.
With Cruden on the inside, they do look formidable.
I thought the ‘Tahs had an outstanding first half. Better than I thought they would perform, and controlled the majority of possession well. They simply couldn’t keep it up in the second half and the Chiefs finished going away.
The Highlanders?
Well, under powered they may be, but effective none-the-less. And they seem to be going from strength to strength under Jamie Joseph. Last year they faded in the second half of the competition.
I have a feeling that this year they’ll be much stronger. They won’t win it, but they’ll be up there.
The Crusaders are building slowly, as they normally do. This has been the pattern for many years now.
They start quietly and slowly build. Saturday will be a big test for them at Lofters and they may be pipped at the post.
Richie McCaw’s return is imminent, and now with Dan Carter settling in nicely, I would expect the second half of this competition to see the Crusaders performing very strongly.
The honeymoon could well be over for the Hurricanes, who have performed beyond my expectation, having lost six All Blacks from last year’s team.
They have played well as a team, despite their new look combination. But nevertheless, there needs to be depth as well as spirit as this competition evolves.
The Blues? Oh, the Blues.
At the beginning of the competition we looked at their line-up and thought “a wealth of riches”. My concern was always what combinations Pat Lam would decide on, how long it would take to develop a settled selection, and the combinations required to win at this level.
The answer, of course, is not clear and the combinations are by no means settled as the Blues stagger their way through the early part of the comp. I’d expect them to get better, but will finish no better than mid-way in the table.
And the Australian teams?
Well, I see the Reds are having difficulty, not only with injury but also with performance. They are certainly a shadow of last year’s glory at this stage.
The Warratahs will be competitive, but I don’t think they’ll figure in the play-offs.
The Rebels are a bit under-gunned and the Force are slowly improving.
The Brumbies are the team to watch, despite the pre-season criticism by most people, excluding this writer, and continue to develop nicely. They haven’t got the grand players of the past, but they are certainly playing effective rugby and will finish the highest of all the Australian teams.
Of the South African teams, the Stormers, the Bulls and the Sharks are all capable of making the play-offs and only time will tell.
The Cheeters and the Lions are both improved units compared with last year, but I’d be surprised if either of them finished above halfway in the log jam.
If this impression of mine is correct and the New Zealand teams do have an edge, then why? I wonder whether this is because New Zealand hosted the RWC, which has stimulated an even greater appetite for rugby, on and off the field, from players and spectators alike.
Long may it continue on this little island of four million people, way down in the South Pacific.
Roar columnist and former All Black great, Murray Mexted, is the Managing Director of The International Rugby Academy (IRANZ), the leading global Rugby Academy. IRANZ offer an independent high performance pathway for coaches, players and teams worldwide. More details here.
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