The 2015 Investec Super Rugby season continues with four games involving New Zealand sides.
(The Cheetahs observe a BYE round)
Super Rugby Round 2 – New Zealand Conference Overview
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Match 1 : The Chiefs v The Brumbies
Venue : Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth
Score : 19 – 17
A great night for rugby down in New Plymouth, the result of this game was on a knife-edge for 79 minutes and for The Chiefs to succeed in this challenge, it will bodes well for their goals in 2015.
Playing in their second ‘home ground’ in the proud Taranaki region, the home side had enjoyed another good week of preparation. This is typical really for Dave Rennie’s men, who are the quintessential New Zealand franchise, with the only dent occurring late when Sonny Bill Williams who was ‘scratched’ and Charlie Ngatai took up his starting spot. Although a shock for many fans who wanted to see the popular second-five, if you wanted a replacement to stand up – it would be the current Maori All Blacks captain.
They faced a Brumbies side having come off a 44 point win over The Reds. The perennial favorites of the Australian conference (alongside the Waratahs), this side always bring a game of tight forward play and intelligent backs who can score with their brilliance and shear determination and the game started with an intensity that continued throughout.
The ball moved quickly at times, but dropped a little too often for these two slick teams honestly and an early penalty count grew steadily through closely fought ruck ball.
Early points were gained from exchanged penalties until The Chiefs backs passed the ball smartly to the right hand touch, a nice in-pass from wing Bryce Heem to Ngatai allowing the ex-sprinter to show his class. Four missed tackles later and Aaron Cruden and his mates were embracing Ngatai with jubilation – unfortunately for the fans, the responce came within minutes from a solid Brumbies unit Within five minutes, Brumbies No. 8 Ita Vaea would take advantage of lineout ball only metres out, they were able to gain parity by scoring an ‘equaliser’ try which took the wind out of The Chiefs sails.
A pattern of hard hits continued. Scott Fardy might have wanted to celebrate 50 Super Rugby games but instead was given a ‘standing eight count’ when big Maama Vaipulu charged it up. “Boomfa” as Justin Marshall says.
And while that hit will end up on the highlights reel, Vaipulu later did the unthinkable and dropped the ball with a dead certain try looming. Still young, he’ll go through more skills development before he can forget a schoolboy error like that.
At halftime, it was 13-11 and the game had been there for the taking by either side. In a scene similar to a week earlier, talk in the Chiefs dressing room would have been on the opportunities lost, on the game being hinged delicately. Each side knew this, and it probably dictated how The Brumbies began the second half looking for territory via big kicks that were easily returned. With eager forwards ready to take the ball up, neither team were able to pull together long phases of play.
When two sides with such drilled defense cannot penetrate the line, rugby can often look cumbersome to watch. Two penalties from Christian Lealiifano were taken, but his opposite number 10 was still hopeful that he could direct his side towards a position to nullify those gains. They worked hard, captain Liam Messam being a dynamo and substitutes began to bring some impact, but smart play by Brumbies halfback Nic White kept it tight. And while he should have thrown it wide to players like George Speight, you have to keep a team like The Chiefs on the back foot [they play on confidence, which was sorely missing] and only by 68th minute had Cruden managed to bring the sides closer at 16-17 with a penalty.
Although The Brumbies defense looked impenetrable, and with the crowd chanting “Chiefs, Chiefs, Chiefs” the weight of expectation grew to a crescendo, it was now time for the home side to throw everything at it. Quick ball was sent out wide but was easily snuffed out with a ranging defense and through good discipline and well recycled ball, the game was continually being played in Brumbies territory which was when Cruden was given his last second penalty to finish off the opposition.
Leaving it to the last minute, with their hearts in their mouths, the crowd cheered for their team as they left the stadium content. It may not be necessarily a match you’d want to watch again, we still need tight encounters like this, matches balanced on a knife edge that confirm conference standings. If The Brumbies had taken the 4 points, you couldn’t have argued with it.
The fact is, a polished Chiefs side out-worked the Australians. It was their ground work that won it, not the show ponies (for this week at least).
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Match 2 : The Bulls v The Hurricanes
Venue : Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Score : 13 – 17
Watching from New Zealand is a hard task for any match – waking at 4 am, pushing yourself to open those dreary eyes and switch on the radio or television, to get excited about it. “Its hard yakka” but the competition helps, and when your team is winning it helps even more so.
Invite a player like Ma’a Nonu to rejoin your side, now that has fans wide awake early in the morning.
But, along with many hopeful Canes fans support, their side faced a wounded Bulls team [having lost the week earlier] so an immediate defensive system needed to be employed by the visitors. While Chris Boyd has ammunition of his own, The Hurricanes are now smart enough to know ‘when to use it’ and when to ‘dig in’. So as they did with The Lions, they were alert and able to scupper Bulls attacking play early. A great display from loose forward Callum Gibbins who has made big strides in development sides, and he demonstrated what this side is doing well – putting their bodies on the line.
The home side have invested heavily in Handre Pollard too, and he is proving to be a valuable asset. The young Springbok has evolved from under 20 level to be a dangerous weapon, taking on the opposition in ways that Morne Steyn often repelled from. Pollard will delight Bulls fans in 2015, and they were standing after he again charged towards the tryline and put them on the front-foot early.
His opposite Beauden Barrett is no slouch either, and in the last 24 months he has matured and slotted the penalties required to keep his side within a single point, that saw the sides leave the field at 10-9, which wasn’t a comfortable lead for The Bulls. A new-found confidence from the team in yellow is of delight for New Zealand rugby fans right now. Led back onto the field by their sterling captain, holding their heads high for good reason, this team wanted to build on a strong first 40 minutes.
And if one side were growing in stature, the other seemed to be all too often dropping there chances.
Strong up front for sure, but in attack The Bulls were short of potency and while a penalty made it 13-10 soon enough, it was at this point that substitutes like Ardie Savea and Victor Vito brought some added vitality into the mix, playing the game at pace and relying on their preseason training to provide that endurance so important today. Quick decision making by Julian Savea made the most of a slim chance, with the referee returning to the mark for a free kick, Savea used his power to [unusually] burrow under the defense to score a vital 7 point gain.
That was a telling blow, and even as the Bulls minimized the impact of the Hurricanes back line, they were stretched and it was a touch judges call that Bulls forward Grant Hattingh placed his little finger on the touch line that ended their chances. A very tough call, being officious at best.
Skipper Conrad Smith told SuperSport after the match “It was a good side we played today and we weren’t perfect in what we did but we hung tough, and if you walk away with two out of two in Africa it is a good start.”
And that will be what many remember about this trip to the Republic from this 2015 Hurricanes team. Their first back-to-back wins since 2006, they worked effectively as a group with good use of the ball (dropped way too often though guys) They made good kicks and made the most of what they were offered.
Taking the points back with them en-route to Wellington, they travel via Perth next and will be looking for another win, but will also be weary of any sight of a ‘banana skin’ in the form of a willing Force side needing to bounce-back themselves.
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Match 3 : The Highlanders v The Crusaders
Venue : Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Score : 20 – 26
This was a traditional “Mainland Battle” by two sides who have a long standing rivalry and a strong fan base across the South Island, and it was an example of the competitiveness that still exists in this 20th season of Super Rugby.
With injury to key player Dan Carter it gave a golden opportunity for Colin Slade to insert himself into the side, and as with Barrett, Slade has too matured after an awful run of injuries. He is a little bigger now but still light on his feet and he would begin the match with several assertive kicks to settle the nerves.
The home side were untested, so in many ways were playing catch-up to start with. They were well drilled, so hit the rucks with real gusto that you could hear the crowd flinch at every collision. A large part of the early game was played in the ‘red zone’ and while a penalty to Slade was valuable, penetration was favouring the homeside and this intense pressure was noticeable by the end of the first quarter.
As noted last week, new Crusaders halfback Mitch Drummond had been thrown in the deep end (through Willie Heinz injury) and he is working hard, but it was his opposite number who made the first strike. Through his lightning reflexes, Aaron Smith barking orders as normal, with a breakdown just metres from the chalk, evaded the ever dominant tackling of Richie McCaw and darted and jinked to cross the line and score his first try in 2015.
It delighted the crowd naturally, but as has repeated over this round, an instant reply from The Crusaders resulted as they drove forward and over the line. An amazing stat, it can be marked down as an emotional response because the group will more often harnesses their emotions and fight back quickly. A good forwards try resulted.
What did hurt The Highlanders was how they were forced into their 22 far too often, which allowed the visitors to be embolden and soon enough, Johnny McNichol faked a long pass to cross the line just on halftime. A good reward for a better first 40 minutes that had them 7-20 ahead and coach Todd Blackadder may have cracked a smile.
It wasn’t all bad for The Highlanders, and they would have felt that they had power out wide, and with the routine of new subs introduced, they could harness some much needed go forward. That meant they needed to nullify All Black Ryan Crotty, who is as solid as he is ‘clean shaven’ now, and that slick look is helping him cut through slim gaps. Deft on attack and defense, he would have wanted more reward but fans of rugby have to acknowledge his growing pedigree. As several penalty attempts bounced off the uprights, Slade showed some frailty and his opposite Lima Sopoaga was impressive in driving his attack closer to the red zone. The reward for that Highlanders field position was easily lapped up by newly re-signed Malakai Fekitoa to score under the posts.
That meant a lead of only 7 points to their northern neighbors, and that smile was removed quickly from Blackadder’s face.
Running out of steam is strange in only round 2, but it was obvious that early subs for The Crusaders can too easily backfire on you. It was the home side who now had momentum, only desperate defense and poor ball control in the end that helped The Crusaders prevail. But what a contest. From Blenheim to Stewart Island, rugby fans on the Mainland love it. To see these sides collide, to throw everything at it and their next encounter might be reversed if the Highlanders build into their season, as they did in 2014.
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Match 4 : The Stormers v The Blues
Venue : Newlands, Cape Town
Score : 26 – 17
Walking onto Newlands ground, your surrounded by tiers of seating that brings the fan up close-up to the action. A cauldron that few teams enjoy visiting, and the side from Auckland would rather have wanted more games under their belt before having to undertake this massive challenge.
Their preparation had been long (beginning in late October for some) and had involved many activities, from a mud-runs in Devonport, to Bethells Beach sand dunes and a canoe trip onto the Hauraki Gulf – but that was all fun.
Getting down to business now, and ably led by Blues Player of the Year Jerome Kaino, they needed to display some courage. Facing them was a stout Stormers side, with stand-in captain Duane Vermeulen playing in his 100th Super Rugby game. His side would make sure the only enjoyable thing Sir John Kirwan found here might be the cheerleaders (as you do)
Contrasting styles, The Blues began wanting to set-up phase play, they had runners at the ready and first five Ihaia West has many options at his feet; beside him is Jimmy Cowan and behind him was Charles Piutau at fullback. He did not always take the right option though, and The Stormers were allowed to direct their early attack too easily, which resulted in Nic Groom darting around a ruck to score for the home side first. With the lead, and their tails up, Stormers players gained control of territory and looked the stronger side which will be of concern for Kirwan.
A crucial phase of the game now played out – with both sides wanting to unsettle each other, elbows began flying and it was Hayden Triggs who ‘lashed out’ against Vermeulen with a punch that earned him a straight red-card. A significant blow to The Blues chances with only 24 mins gone on the clock. That soon got worse when All Black Steven Luatua had to be subbed off with what is reported to be shoulder ligament damage.
Placing added pressure on the scrum and in the loose, The Blues let another try slip when Dillyn Leyds fielded a high kick and went in from 55 metres with some aimless tackling that disappoints fans and coaches alike.
18-6 reflected the possession stakes and the attitudes of each side. The Stormers were the more insightful team and with that advantage, it didn’t take long for The Blues to field several substitutes that paid dividends soon after. A precision entry into the line from Piutau injected much needed speed and a clever inside pass to Luke Braid ended in Cowan crossing for his easiest try in Super Rugby. The successful conversion saw the scores close to 21-14 and a resurgent Blues team playing as if they had a full squad.
The visitors were putting everything into it, but Stormers coach Allister Coetzee played his cards that included an interesting substitute at first-five. New players all contributed, and while the clock neared closer to full time, it was a familiar Blues team who attempted to play ‘catch up’.
Familiar in the sense that chasing teams has not been their forte in many seasons – unlike the national cricket side, not many will bet on Blue to chase down a deficit. It plays on their tactics and on their minds, and while the speed of the game reached top pace in the last 5 minutes, The Stormers looked the more passionate, the bounce of the ball favoring the home side.
Another loss for the Auckland team, one that is going to add pressure to their already poor away record but as is his usual emotive style, Kirwan has called his sides performance “brave”.
To play for 70% of the match a man down is certainly a character test, but the gap they allowed to widen between themselves and their NZ conference sides might be points they dearly need, come June and July.
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