It's now the Hurricanes first and daylight second on the Super
Rugby standings, as the men from the capital put in arguably their best
performance of the season, while the Chiefs suffered a bad misstep in
Melbourne. Elsewhere the Waratahs, Bulls and Highlanders made significant
strides. Here are your Super Rugby Power Rankings for week 11:
1 Hurricanes (last week #1)
Newsflash: These guys are actually really good. If ever there was a banana skin game for the competition leaders it was this one. Instead an increasingly assured Canes outfit handled the desperate Crusaders with more ease than the scoreboard reflected for a ninth win from 10. Sizzling performance from Beauden Barrett underlined him as the form No 10 in our game, as well as the most deceptive looking speedster. Blade Thompson also huge off the bench. Barrett's knee injury and a few lineout wobbles main concerns from a statement performance.
2 Bulls (last week 7)
Time to recognise an impressive run from a team that never blows anyone off the park, yet finds a way to win on such a regular basis they're now four points clear at the top of the South African conference. Remember these guys lost their first two of the season, both at home, but since have gone 7-2. Bonus point win over the Lions followed familiar script: dominant early, let opponents back into contest; then closed out a tight finish. A bye and then Australasian tour could halt momentum, but destiny in their hands now.
3 Chiefs (last week 2)
Bad loss. Bad, bad loss. Sure, got some horrible decisions and no luck. But this was a muddling performance from a team that is a lot better than this. For some reason it's the Aussie teams that give the Chiefs fits, and that continued as they were drawn into an arm-wrestle against the gritty but limited Rebs. Two suspect yellow cards and a disallowed try didn't help, but have only themselves to blame for a defeat that allows the Canes to scoot five clear, with a game in hand. Surely time, after the bye, to give youngster Damian McKenzie his shot at No 10.
4 Waratahs (last week 5)
Top-conference Aussie derby in Canberra against bitter rival Brumbies was never going to be pretty. Sure enough, it wasn't. But credit to the Tahs for doing what they had to and grinding out an important win that gets their title defence back on track. Now just a point behind the Brums with a game in hand, well and truly back in the race. Next step: to refind the fluidity in their attacking game.
5 Highlanders (last week 6)
Big, bonus point win over the Sharks in Dunedin an ideal note on which to depart for potentially defining tour. Five of their last six matches on the road, but winnable games upcoming at the Lions, Cheetahs and Force. Huge scrum effort against the Sharks will give heart, as will a continuation of an attacking masterclass by their backs. Return of talismanic All Black trio helped, but huge efforts by Mark Reddish and Waisake Naholo also notable. Now time to take this show on the road.
6 Brumbies (last week 4)
So much for the Canberra fortress. Friday's 13-10 defeat to the Tahs (completing a season sweep by the bitter rivals from Sydney town) was their second home defeat by Aussie rivals in the last three weeks, and they've both been toe-to-toe slugfests. Not a good sign for a side with title aspirations. Still, not far off it and probably just need to lift their attacking efficiency to turn narrow defeats into quality wins. Big fortnight in South Africa now.
7 Stormers (last week 3)
Just when they didn't need it, the men from Cape Town suffered a stumble against an under-strength, out-of-sorts Cheetahs side they should have handled with ease. Bad day with the boot from Kurt Coleman didn't help in Bloemfontein, but the Stormers need to be better than this if they're to haul in the Bulls and take the conference's automatic playoff spot. Nice run of home games to finish on should help that aim.
8 Rebels (last week 10)
Another signature win from the competition's most improved team further demonstrates they've gone from the pretender to contender category. Referee Andrew Lees helped their cause, but still good enough to hold out a pretty rigorous Chiefs second-half fightback. Will struggle to make the playoffs, but a franchise heading in the right direction.
9 Lions (last week 9)
Tough loss in Pretoria, but Johann Ackermann's men again showed they're not far off the mark. Looked in a world of hurt early as the Bulls opened with three first-half tries, but fought back, hit the lead in the second spell, and just came up short in a frantic finish. Still in the race, but face a defining fortnight with home games against fellow top-six contenders Highlanders and Brumbies.
10 Crusaders (last week 8)
How the mighty have fallen. A visit to the high-flying Canes was always going to be tough, but this was a pivotal game the 'Saders of old would have won. Instead they crashed to a sixth defeat of the season and now have to go nigh on perfect over their remaining five games to have any shot at continuing a playoff run that stretches back to 2002. Sadly, don't look capable of that. Like the Kangaroos in that other code, this looks like a team on the decline and desperately short of X-factor.
11 Cheetahs (last week 12)
Quality win over the Stormers by a side that had lost seven of its previous eight. Missing some big names too, but a young group came together well, built an early lead and hung on for a victory that lifts them clear of the wooden-spoon zone. Look capable of thriving in the spoiler role over the run home.
12 Sharks (last week 11)
Not a good start to their tour, plundered by the Highlanders as they fell into the trap of playing at the pace the southern team thrive on in Dunedin. Doesn't get any easier either, with next stop the Hurricanes at the Cake Tin. At least the competition's least disciplined team didn't lose any more players to suspension, which is something given the way their season has gone thus far.
13 Blues (last week 15)
Typical Blues. Even their good days are shrouded in dark clouds. Doubled their win tally for the season with a second victory (from two) on Eden Park, and lost All Blacks Jerome Kaino and Charles Piutau to injury in the process. Both are gone for the rest of the campaign, which probably affects the All Blacks more than it does the Blues. The real good news: the emergence of Akira Ioane as a genuine fledgling superstar of Super Rugby.
14 Reds (last week 14)
Didn't play, so didn't do any more damage in this most unpromising of seasons. That may change this week when they head to Christchurch to meet the Crusaders in survival mode.
15 Force (last week 13)
Bottom equal, now the only team with just one win and thumped by the Blues … it really can't get much worse for a Force outfit going nowhere fast. For all the ignominy, showing plenty of pluck and stickability. No disgraces, despite what the numbers say.
