Super Rugby’s opening weekend provided no opportunity for fans to ease their way gently into the season.
Continuous back to back games left this writer both delighted to be immersed in rugby again, and punch drunk at the sheer volume of it all.
Whatever one’s stance on the expanded 18-team competition – and it is far too early to be drawing meaningful conclusions yet – one of SANZAR’s rationales for expansion was immediately apparent. The scheduling took advantage of various time-zones across Japan, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, to deliver a veritable smorgasbord of rugby.
And like most buffet dinners, there were tasty delicacies and morsels on offer, mixed in with the bland and inedible.
Things got off to a flying start in Auckland on Friday night, a pulsating, high quality match ending with the Highlanders kicking off their title defence with a two point loss.
One match is a small sample size but the Highlanders do not appear to be an inferior side to 2015 and, assuming they are better able to direct more play towards Waisake Naholo, and Liam Squires stays healthy, will be devilishly hard to beat in Dunedin. Their biggest failing is belonging to the New Zealand conference.
For many, the Blues win was a surprise, but it has been apparent over the preseason that the 2016 version is made of sturdier stuff than previous years. This is not to say that Tana Umaga is the real messiah to John Kirwan’s Brian – in such a brutal competition there is plenty of time and opportunity for thing to head southwards.
But the young backline has another year of experience under their belt, and now the inclusion of Rene Ranger to simultaneously provide a hard edge and x-factor. Likewise in the pack, Steven Luatua and Patrick Tuipolotu are fit and showed plenty, with Josh Bekhuis, against his old team, another standout.
For many, flanker Blake Gibson will be unknown, but he was a standout in New Zealand’s 2015 World Cup Under 20 win, and is the reason Ben Smith’s Highlander teammates will be ribbing him this week about his Mike Catt impression, such was the manner Gibson steamrolled his way to a thrilling first half try.
Canberra bought the match-up between the two reality TV sides, the Brumbies and the Hurricanes, who have both had their pre-seasons documented, currently airing on Foxtel. “Pre-season with the Hurricanes” appeals as the more laid-back and casual of the two offerings; which might make for good television, but is an inferior on-field strategy. Particularly against this patently ‘ready to play’ Brumbies outfit.
The Brumbies were superior in every aspect; tactically less structured and shackled than previous seasons, and benefitting from decisive service from impressive halfback Tomas Cubelli.
They also showed how tweaks to the maul laws are but a minor speed hump for any pack which is well organised, confident and assertive. By comparison, the Hurricanes’ attempts to maul were cumbersome and amateurish.
It was as if the Canes were a half-step behind play, in all aspects. They had no counter to the Brumbies defensive line speed, and conceding four tries from set pieces inside 15 metres illustrated their lack of intensity. The return of Dane Coles and a return to the Cake Tin will ensure that they improve rapidly – but they need to.
Newcomers the Jaguares hit the ground running with a come-from-behind 34-33 victory over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein. For the most part they didn’t resemble a cohesive Super Rugby side, but the experience of Augustine Creevy and class of Nicolas Sanchez (what about that chip-kick pass?) was enough for the win.
Like most of the weekend’s losers, the Cheetahs had many good moments, suffering from poor goal-kicking as much as anything.
A pre-season documentary about the Sunwolves would no doubt show precious little of the playing squad in training, and a whole lot more of administrative thumbs being twiddled. To that extent, the on-field performance in their debut match, albeit a loss 13-26 to the Lions, was meritorious.
The plus 25,000 sell-out crowd was engaged throughout, coming to life in the second half when a massive scrum effort shunted the Lions pack into the dirt. Their standout was combative USA Eagles flanker Andrew Duratalo; again another endorsement of the expansion strategy.
To be fair, the Lions were never in danger of losing and look to play with nice balance between forwards and backs. Skipper Warren Whiteley is an inspiration, and his after-match interview was sheer class.
The second New Zealand derby was at Christchurch, and what a tense, sometimes niggly affair it was too; ultimately won by the Chiefs because they were more creative with the ball at key moments.
Aaron Cruden’s return was a double blessing; because he seemed to be moving freely and incisively, and because it provided the talented Damien McKenzie with free licence to roam at Fullback.
The Crusaders weren’t at all bad; certainly far superior to the side-to-side version we saw in the early rounds last year, and they too will cause their share of headaches in the New Zealand conference.
If Reds coach Richard Graham reads the newspapers he might have been disappointed to find columns on Saturday trumpeting his demise – all before a ball had been kicked in anger in this year’s’ competition.
A 10-30 loss will do nothing to quell calls for his head, although, after effectively falling out of the contest early, his side did well to limit the damage.
The Waratahs contributed to that, it was as if early points came too easily and there was a marked lack of intensity in much of their play afterwards, which seemed to feed into the crowd. Kurtley Beale made a good fist of his return to the 10 jersey, although lost admirers for an ordinary dive on the way to Nick Phipp’s chase-through try.
The Rebels edged out the Force, 25-19 in Perth, in a game marked by excellent attitude and endeavor by both sides, matched only by incredibly poor execution.
Force skipper Matt Hodgson was right to implore faithful fans to keep hopes up as his side transitions from a one-dimensional defensive minded team to 15-man rugby exponents. Full credit to them for trying but, on this evidence, there is a mountain of work still to be done.
Conditions were clearly difficult; high temperatures and a ball more slippery than a politician filling out a travel expense form, with Force winger Marcel Brache smashing the world record for number of handling errors by a player in a single match, by halftime.
The Rebels will be delighted with the win; less so with their own error count and early injuries across their backline. They may also live to regret a curious decision to end the match by kicking dead an attacking penalty and declining the lineout, which may well have provided them with a bonus point try.
By Sunday morning it was difficult to do the remaining two South African matches justice. One observation – closing your eyes and relying on TV audio only is no way to get a proper handle on events, at least from the crew on duty in Port Elizabeth for the Sharks versus Kings.
If there was a surprise, it was that the half-time score was only 15-8, but by full-time a six tries to one result to the Sharks seemed about right.
The heavily favoured Stormers finished off the round, by overcoming the Bulls in Cape Town, 33-9. This was highly enjoyable stuff, at times messy, but always combative and willing. Springbok star lock forward Eben Etzebeth scored the crucial try, somehow working his body, arms and the ball through a maze of defenders.
Finally, a word of warning for tipsters and armchair selectors alike. One round into a brutally tough competition it is foolish to extrapolate too much by way of prediction. The Hurricanes are not “gone”, just as the Blues are not certain finalists. Kurtley Beale is not a lock for Wallabies flyhalf, just as Taleni Seu, as good as he was at No 6 for the Chiefs, is suddenly an All Black.
One thing for certain after this opening round is that Super Rugby, this expanded 18-team version, is a marathon not a sprint. It will almost certainly be ‘last man standing’, for players and fans alike.
