The 2015 Investec Super Rugby season continues with two games involving New Zealand sides. (The Melbourne Rebels, Chiefs and Hurricanes each observed a BYE round)
SUPER RUGBY ROUND 9 – NEW ZEALAND CONFERENCE OVERVIEW
I really want to bring more detail on the New Zealand conference, emphasis on the game in NZ, teams and a look forward to more features on future fixtures, including the conference points table (as of round completion) I hope you enjoy this more encompassing overview.
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Match : The Blues v The Brumbies
Venue : Eden Park, Auckland
Score : 16-14
There were so many back stories for this Super Rugby Round 9 match, it is hard to fit into a single article; everything from how Sir John Kirwan would be judged as Blues coach, internal player movements and re-signings and the co-use of Eden Park with the Warriors rugby league side.
The first point is due to an internal evaluation of all Blues players and coaching staffs – and the most asked question was “what rating would JK receive?” From my viewpoint, it would be a 6/10 because of the obvious: they’ve not performed on the field and its been “all talk” with not enough to back it up. Yes they play to a good standard, but a poor away record and the worst start in their history speaks for itself. And several players have recently indicated that they are moving up to Europe – Francis Saili joining Charles Piutau, Frank Halai, Luke Braid and Brendon O’Connor. The only saving grace was the key re-signings of leader Jerome Kaino and Steven Luatua. While that doesn’t make up for all the departures, Jerome is a player who is committed to this side and others will genuinely want to play alongside such a strong figure (note Luatua’s signature) but the subject that may dominate Auckland regional sports over the next 12 months will be the co-hosting of Eden Park with The NZ Warriors rugby league side. That might be a rugged dog fight between codes and council and might only be decided by fan patronage to either The Blues or Warriors matches.
Now to the game – the result on this night would be decided on a rain-swept Friday evening. Kirwan hoping for his first win for The Blues 2015 season; his teams first home match (a slap in the face to Auckland rugby fans in Round 9 would you believe it!) Stephen Larkham demanded his side make the most of their leading position on the Australian conference ladder and dominate a seemingly ‘down-and-out’ Blues team. At opposing ends of the points table, somehow this contest proved to have all the elements of teams more evenly matched than form might have indicated. While the weather held out for most of the game, Canberra is used to its fair share of rain and for professionals, the match did begin in good fashion. Both sides testing each others defensive patterns with powerful one-off running and besides an early chance for Piutau, there was no consistency in either’s attack and fans were happy to clap at Daniel Bowden’s successful penalty kicks.
The Blues had the same lineup as they had when facing The Waratahs, JK giving Bowden his second opportunity to direct play alongside young Jamieson Gibson-Park. The import is still trying to impress fans and over the course of the match he improved, performed strongly and was shown a well deserved round of applause when subbed off; something not heard in Sandringham for a while. The Brumbies were limited in their first half chances, mostly using the middle of the park to build territory until all too often they lost the ball in contact, dropped or fumbled it and half-chances were not quite converted. Less wide-ranging in their actions than their NZ adversaries, the hosts were surprising in their command of territory, but I’m sorry to report little has changed in their decisions with the ball.
Sometimes, its as if they only want to play ‘so much’ and then it all becomes a bit of a lottery on what options are available. That’s where too many options are not always best, especially when you are not performing the basics well. Quality teams will make them pay but The Brumbies were just too idle on the night, suffering late in the half when they failed to clear the ball within the ‘Yellow zone’ and quickly Bowden maximized an overlap to score a fine try. In fact, he scored all the points himself in the first half and The Blues were leading 13-0 by whistle blow, the crowd were possibly in shock to be in the lead. New ground you might say. So the question was “could they be looking at a chance to break their duck?”
Well, if they thought that then it probably was the reason it took them another 35 minutes to score any more points. The Blues just got a little too far ahead of themselves and gave The Brumbies a sniff and it could have cost them their season. Never before had a Blues side lost 8 matches in a Super season, let alone being that the last time they won was in June of 2014 and it took a mixture of tenacious defense and an unimaginative Brumbies attack to decide this match. David Pocock proved his worth in the ruck, growing in his 2015 form during the match and they look to have taken the match away from The Blues when they drew a penalty in the 72nd minute, which Christian Leali’ifano slotted. With the crowd behind them, the home side were hot on attack when a Brumbies player incurred a penalty which young Ihaia West calmly converted. The new ‘pin-up boy’ who had not yet delivered on his promise, it was a timely reminder of the importance of a place kicker, the likes of Adrian Cashmore or Nick Evans. If he can bring that purposeful kicking with him, then the flair and excitement can naturally follow.
Crushingly for the visitors, the final play of the game was a missed kick. From a contentious scrum penalty call on fulltime, it wasn’t a fitting reward for a pretty good game from a well drilled Brumbies outfit, but Larkham will need more from his soldiers. More expression especially, as they have stars like Henry Speight, Tevita Kurindrani and Scott Fardy who deserve the ball more but it was certainly a fortunate win for The Blues. Hard graft from Patrick Tuipulotu and George Moala was commendable, as was Ofa Tu’ungafasi who played all 80 minutes to his credit. Even though some players and coaches looked to celebrate like it was a premiership title post match, its far too early to be celebrating like that guys. No, you need to make successive triumphs and to complete the season in placings further up the field to really begin to redress the poor season. Then break out the high fives.
But it was a first win. The teams first victory since June, first win back at their “fortress Eden Park” and they now have 5 more home games to look forward to. 12 months ago, they upset the championship winning side and may just become a “stubborn side” who look to upset fellow kiwi teams finals chances. A hard position to be in, they won’t make any fans from Hamilton to Dunedin if they do that. But can a side really be happy unless they win away from home? JK looked relieved for his side to suitably bask in the glory of a win, but next up are The Highlanders – a huge challenge in itself. Heading down at Forsyth-Barr Stadium in Dunedin, 15 000 odd ‘Landers fans will greet them and would just love to rub insult into The Blues torrid season. One win does not make a season, so back to work for this team. No parties thank you because its only one win on a hard road to more (they hope) but how many wins will be completely up to them. Up to individual pride, their collective drive and how they deliver on coach John Kirwan’s famous passion. Looking forward to next Saturday night at Forsyth-Barr Stadium.
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Match : The Crusaders v The Highlanders
Venue : AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Score : 20-25
Speaking on LIVESportRadio this week, assistant coach Dave Hewitt spoke of his sides development over their South African trip. He highlighted Colin Slade and the forwards workrate, he spoke of the team dynamic and was quizzed on Wyatt Crocket’s continued high penalty count. “Yes he does get pinged, but he is world class and doesn’t go out there to infringe” They were looking good he thought, and looked energetic in scoring 8 tries (leading try scoring team in Super Rugby with 25). That win was a superb result, but in sport its the next result that can be the catalyst for change in form. The All Blacks have looked rusty at times and even when coming off their huge win over the Wallabies at Eden Park, the next week was a let down for fans. So could this AB laden Christchurch side suffer the same weight of expectation? or could they perform like the champions we all know they could be?
Playing on the green home fields of their Addington base, they looked comfortable and the visiting Highlanders would need to do a lot to counter a 5 match winning sequence from their franchise neighbors. This “mainland battle” was more tasty than in previous seasons, as the boys from Dunedin are sporting a fine backline in 2015 and many talented forwards who work hard for their mates. And its timely that ‘mateship’ should be just around the corner; Anzac Day is soon upon us. You’d suspect that these Highlanders would all volunteer for service, lead by their hard charging captain Nasi Manu. Now obviously, the Crusaders would contribute to their nationhood too, but some of their more ‘polished’ players like Izzy Dagg might not like all the dirt and grime as much as Jamie Joseph boys don’t mind getting up to their elbows in it. And it showed in the effort they put in to (many times) to match the Crusaders pack. That was impressive work, but the first salvo from the team in red into the enemy territory was a success. Wisely going left to Nemani Nadolo who released in-form Matt Todd to collect another try in 2015.
In the lead up to that try, good work from Slade was halted sharply by a thunderous tackle from his opposite Lima Sopoaga that on TMO review, referee Glen Jackson brought out a ‘yellow card’ for a shoulder charge. He must have read the Sanzar memo, repeating the line from the brutal Sharks encounter where two Crusaders were shown cards for the same indiscretion. Harsh, but lets hope they stay consistent on this all season, and sitting for ten minutes would have felt like an eternity so early in the match. A brilliant effort from his 14 mates almost held their line, until his binning was compounded a minute before he could return when Nadolo was again forceful in breaking the line easily that benefited Jordan Taufua. His continued good support play saw him cross the line and put his side 14-3 up after 20 minutes. It cost them for sure, and Sopoaga would have been determined to repay his team mates quickly.
Fortunately, he is blessed with some speed to burn as well as his vision, and he took advantage of Read’s defensive error to force through the line and set-up Ben Smith for a tremendous scoring movement. That got the few ‘Landers fans on their feet and it was a similar trick to their win over the champion Waratahs side – strike before halftime. Now that was a great way to enter the sheds for any side and when they returned, the match was a different story. The southern men gleamed enthusiasm and with the timely injection of several substitutes; including dynamo Liam Coltman, it didn’t take long for Waisake Naholo to ‘sneak’ an intercept try.
Taking the wind out of the Crusaders sails, it was due to high-tempo rugby and soon the speed of Aaron Smith’s passing was too quick for the covering defense, and Naholo scored his 6th try of the season to take the lead away from the home side. The scoring action was then backed up by defense that will be as pleasing for rugby purists in the deep South. With much less possession, the Highlanders worked tirelessly and they had to withstand sustained attack from a bolstered Crusaders. Dan Carter and then Richie McCaw brought in over 200 test matches of experience into the match, but coach Blackadder will rue his call to start without those stars.
Several kicks from Slade brought the challenge close to being a successful response from the home side. They almost made the visitors pay for repeated infringements, but thankfully the ref did not go ‘to the pocket’ again and the match was closed out by a maturing and confident Highlanders team. A better team than in the round 2 clash, the Super Rugby Round 9 side are showing the ability to overcome much more fancied sides. That is delighting NZ rugby fans who have always thought the boys from the south were the unsung heroes of the Mainland. No longer hiding in the shadow of the mighty Crusaders, they will take much more than victory away with them in 2015. Its an indication of a team tracking well and it just might be “their time”.
On the other hand, Crusaders fans will be asking their leadership for some consistency. Facing The Chiefs next up, that will be a test of their finals hopes. If the right team is selected and they use Nadolo alongside all their powerful loose forwards; who are all doing their very best, they might bring the ship back onto course. Lose, and Blackadder will feel the same heat that John Kirwan is far too used to. Colin Cooper felt that same pressure, as did Ian Foster. Performance from administration is fundamental in professional sport and they too are under scrutiny in 2015. Its make or break time, and the many NZ Super Rugby derby matches over the next two months will take their toll on all five franchises. Who survives will be a big test of character, on player roster and on fan support. Besides The Blues, all four teams are looking strong to be there or thereabouts, but as Sean Connery claimed “there can be only One”.
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NZ conference standings | Hurricanes (Position 1st) 31 points | Chiefs (4th) 28 | Highlanders (5th) 24 | Crusaders (8th) 20 | Blues (13th) 9
Future fixtures – Friday 17th April : Crusaders v Chiefs , Christchurch | Saturday 18th April : Hurricanes v Waratahs, Wellington (4:30pm) and then Highlanders v Blues, Dunedin (7:35pm)
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