Super Rugby Round 1 – The 2015 Investec Super Rugby season began with only four New Zealand sides competing as The Highlanders were the first team to observe a BYE round.
Match 1 : The Crusaders v The Melbourne Rebels
Venue : AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Score : 10 – 20 Referee : Nik Briant
Only the fourth ever clash between these sides, you felt that this clash would be a barometer for all teams to follow. Each side was bristling with talent – The Rebels having signed wisely in the off-season and The Crusaders selecting nine All Blacks to open their 2015 account (famous slow starters, coach Blackadder showed his intentions early)
With those factors in place, Super Rugby fans entered the stadium with high hopes and with a beautiful clear evening, we were all set to kick-off the season.
Both sides were eager to engage from the initial ruck, but the flow of the game was stopped short when Rebels halfback Nic Stirzaker earned the first Yellow Card of the season for apparently stomping on none other than Richie McCaw. Not an ideal start and while Dan Carter converted the penalty, it seemed like an age before the game re-started.
Immediately after, multiple ball carriers from both teams proceeded to batter the others defensive lines, with each holding firmly to set the scene for a rugged encounter. Each side was well drilled on their systems, which made for a tough game to follow. Technical infringements earning the wrath of fans who came to see an open match.
Scott Higginbotham led his charges from the front, reinforcing his stature as one of the leading lights in Australian Super Rugby circles, even though he is prevalent in penalties conceded, the modern game suits a man at 1.95m and over 105kg.
From The Crusader fans point-of-view, it was not compelling and the crowd were left gasping when players met a half-gap, only to be let down by poor ball management. Enveloping defence from the Australian side kept a lid on the home team until returning star Robbie Fruen finally made a dent in the armour that brought the fans back to life.
Bruising runs were few and far between, but all too often dropped ball let down both sides and punishing tackling soon resulted in a growing confidence in The Rebels ability to clear their own ruck. An encouraging sign for the side who soon forced their way to the opposition line. Big Lopeti Tomani added his name to the try scoring record books through strong forward play resulting in a much deserved first try of 2015.
Stunned, Matt Todd demanded his side respond and as all champion sides can, they hit back immediately with deadly precision. Hooker Ben Funnell was pushed over in a commanding maul and the match seemed poised to impress true rugby fans.
Breaks from both sides were few and far between, with The Rebels made the most of their territory, breaking the midfield more often than Tom Taylor would like to remember but apart from a Mike Harris penalty, the halftime break beckoned with an even scoreline. That was until speedster Tom English made an exhilarating last minute clean-break.
New halfback Mitchell Drummond did his best to slow the play of the ball, and with echo’s from the new Sanzar ‘Game management plan’ still clearly ringing in his ears, referee Nick Briant felt compelled to send him to the bin [something this reporter hopes is a consistent ruling over this entire competition] The resulting penalty kick from Harris ensured The Rebels left the field ahead by 3 points and clearly in the ascendancy.
You could imagine the calls by Todd Blackadder for his charges to rectify the situation fast, as his side were lethargic with ball in hand and needed to be more alert to the advancing forward play by the opposition.
With two cards handed out in the first half, both sides should have known to reduce the penalty count and to value possession, but with aggressive tackling, the toll on players this early in the season was evident with substitutions immediately taking effect.
The mistakes continued though and even with Ryan Crotty shoring-up the midfield, neither side could find that destructive breakthrough that is so vital in Super Rugby. Rebels hooker Pat Leafa was roaming and well supported by his pack, but they were not looking likely to finish off any attacking play themselves.
McCaw was getting through a power of work, but we soon noticed that Dan Carter seemed to have sustained an injury and was attempting to ‘play it off’. While that works in club rugby, and Ice spray is effective, DC seemed overly distracted by it.
With Colin Slade taking over kicking duties, another missed penalty was playing on the minds of players and fans, and while Sean McMahon (Rebels) was the third man handed a Yellow Card on the night, the visitors seemed undeterred by his absence and began to make more sniping runs.
Rugby can be a cruel game and in the 65th minute, it showed no respect for Carter as he mis-judged a grubber kick and it popped-up for Stirzaker to run 55m and score. From villain to hero, the number nine showed the temerity required at this level and outplayed his opposite in most respects.
The crowd began to call out for more attack and while a fully operating Crusaders team would normally rise to the occasion, this untested unit seemed powerless to manage their game and chances went begging.
As all too often, time was running out and it was The Rebels playing the more intelligent rugby, with a dominance that made the red teams backline look ineffectual and ultimately the clock ran over 80 minutes and the game had gotten away from the home side.
That will be the reality for Blackadder to look at on Monday – how to get cohesion from his attack without the services of Nadolo (injured) and returning All Blacks and a starting spot open in the halves position.
Even though local players like McNichol work as hard as he can, there are not enough weapons in his backline, not enough grunt and go forward.
Pushed around by The Rebels, the 10 points difference also denied the NZ side from collecting any points. In this championship, valuable points need to be taken from the get-go.
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Match 2 : The Hurricanes v The Lions
Venue : Emirates Airlines Park, Johannesburg
Score : 8 – 22 Referee : Rohan Hoffmann
For the second season running, the Wellington based side have had to begin their campaign on foreign soil. Not ideal, but in professional rugby, you need to be positive and the last result in Johannesburg was a win to this New Zealand side.
The Lions are always a determined side with a proud history and a team who back themselves. New coach Chris Boyd made the call to introduce four All Blacks to match a strong Lions side and that experience showed at the outset with their defense immediately tested.
Composure is a word seldom used in Hurricanes history but in the early stages, the visitors had little quality possession in the opposition territory, and were guilty of infringing (in the eyes of the referee) and Marnitz Boshoff, usually a reliable kicker, missed three penalty attempts during the first spell.
Organised and efficient, The Lions played the ball down the right end of the park, forcing The Hurricanes to kick for touch, where they enjoyed a dominance in the set-piece. And it was this pattern that determined the pace of the game – local fans familiar with this Currie Cup style.
Beauden Barrett kicked a solitary penalty, before the home side gained some ascendancy and their backline finished an enterprising move to bank 5 points. While that brought the crowd to their feet momentarily, it surprisingly empowered the opposing team in Yellow to ‘grow an extra arm’.
On the 35th minute, a lineout move was rewarded when stand-in fullback Jason Woodward impressed with a fine run from second-phase play. TJ Perenara crossed to score and the against the run-of-play, it was a 8 – 11 in favour of The Canes going into the sheds.
Not many locals would have believed the missed opportunities from The Lions [12 points may have been kicked away] and with the amount of tackling being made by the Canes, they may have been excused to ask for an extra 5 minutes to fully recover.
It is here where you have to admire to work rate of players like Ray Lee-Lo, Danes Coles and Brad Shields, who is providing an early indication of his raw power and that hard-graft is what All Black selectors will be considerate of.
Soaking up the home side pressure made The Lions change their game plan in the second spell and they began to kick for touch rather than rely on ineffective kicking. Whether this was systemic of a team under pressure, it worked in the oppositions favour.
They attempted to force The Hurricanes into errors, and in the past you might have banked on that, but with the assured direction from Barrett and skipper Conrad Smith, it spread throughout this side and the final quarter was highly charged and saw numerous attacks on the visitors 22.
With endless energy, each barrage was countered and credit must go to an organized defense that endured for the full 80 minutes. They even sustained many long passages of go-forward, but it was not as polished as they might be (yet) able to produce in a clinical nature.
On the stroke of full time, and at 8 – 17, they had already denied the hosts a bonus points, but with a offensive scrum they pushed The Lions off their own ball and superbly went blindside for Savea to commence a season of try scoring fever (we hope)
One side would have felt satisfied with their output, and this game is often made from confidence and unity. If this trip goes as planned, the Bulls will meet an energetic and well prepared side in Pretoria next Friday night.
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Match 3 : The Blues v The Chiefs
Venue : QBE Stadium, Auckland
Score : 18 – 23 Referee : Chris Pollock
Inevitably, local derby matches often hold more than just the points on offer and when The Chiefs march up the Bombays it becomes an almighty battle for supremacy. That lies most recently in the Waikato teams favour (winning the last 7 encounters on the run)
Even if The Blues coach had demanded an improvement from his side on their mid-table finish 2014, it was a chance for the players to leave the talking behind them, and put a performance on the field that would count.
Words count for little in Super Rugby and the hyperbole surrounding first-fives and new Captains ended as Jerome Kaino led his men out onto the home away from home [Eden Park being in Cricket World Cup mode] and would have wanted to meet an expect Chiefs barrage with equal velocity.
Opening efforts from both forward packs were met with equally tuned defensive patterns. Dave Rennie is a man who works hard, so it was no surprise to watch his side absorb all the pressure and then return it with precise passing and some smart kicking early from new pivot Damian McKenzie.
The kicking game is going to be critical for every side and The Blues had positives and some concerns – Ihaia West cannot be the only active kicker and Charles Piutau will need to become an active participant who can add another dimension to this Auckland side.
Even with that high value on kicking ability, The Chiefs worked on gaining their points in factors of 5 or more, and within 20 minutes they had accumulated two fine tries that the home side would be envious of.
Those scoring movements came from some intuitive support play involving players like Sonny Bill Williams and finished off well by Bryce Heem and another effort by fast-flying James Lowe.
Effective work across the park by The Chiefs would have seen the home sides coach John Kirwan ‘green with envy’ as his side toiled away with only a sprinkling of panache, but all too often a smattering of poor decision making.
That envy transmitted into some copycat-tactics of one off running, inside balls and one could admire their endeavor, but it came up against a well rehearsed defensive system who had the ability to read most of The Blues moves.
By halftime, the team in blue had made little impact, and the 9 – 20 scoreline was a true reflection of the competition, and little seemed likely to change in the following 40 minutes.
It all seemed to be going well for the new Chiefs number 10, who seemed to be everywhere. He was there when Blues dynamo Tevita Li looked ready to charge onto a kick and he was under attack from several sides but seemed to effortlessly brush off the attempts of tacklers, who included Steven Luatua and Francis Saili – class is obvious when you are give the confidence from your coach and mentor.
But credit where credit is due. The Blues made the most of what possession they received and in time they made the most of an increase in territory – as if The Chiefs had decided “we need to work on our defense, here’s the ball”
For all the possession, The Blues seemed happy to convert penalties, rather than convert options that might have had their fans dancing for joy. Instead, it was ‘hands on heads’ time again for the impassioned crowd that were hungry for success and not even the brilliant weather saw their side outshine the favoured Chiefs side.
By the time the hooter sounded, the crowd might have felt let down, even though many a Blues player like All Black Tony Woodcock and new signing Josh Bekhuis who both would have been marked highly in Kirwans notebook. I hope it is a blue notebook as if it were a ‘green one’ due to his envy of the skills and more importantly, fighting spirit that the team from south of the Bombays seems to hold in spades.
He now must work his way through a trip to the republic with The Blues, where the side might surprise some with their passion, but they surely need to look at ways to convert points in factors of 5 or more. Tries not only win games, but they build an attacking mentality. Right now, not many would be aware of what style this side intend to play.
In regards of the two-time Super Rugby champions, we might expect a new period of dominance and with 3 home games to start with, they might be topping the conference table while others are still working on their character.
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