Author: Brent Craig

A round-up of matches outside that didn’t involve teams from the Australian conference. There were no matches involving South African teams this week.  Their season started a week earlier than for the Australasian sides, to accommodate their Test against Wales in Washington DC. Highlanders 30-14 Hurricanes  The Highlanders continued their unbeaten run at home on Friday night, handing the Hurricanes their second defeat in as many weeks. The opening quarter was very much an arm wrestle, both sides making errors in potential scoring positions, and only an 11th minute penalty from Highlanders 5/8 Lima Sopoaga troubling the scorers. There was some…

Crusaders 24-13 Hurricanes The much-depleted Crusaders, missing eight All Blacks due to injury and suspension, were too good for the Hurricanes on a very wet Friday night in Christchurch. Those conditions meant that the match-up of the Round (some would say season to date) was never going to be the try-fest many had been anticipating. Tellingly, of the four tries scored on the night, only one came from a line break, and that after the result was beyond doubt. Crusaders fullback David Havili would probably prefer to forget the first half, shelling three high balls – at least one of…

Blues 15-36 Hurricanes After 50 minutes of mostly forward-oriented and at times pedestrian play, the Hurricanes roared back into life in the last 30 to rack up their ninth straight win of the season. Things began badly for the Blues, conceding back-to-back penalties in the fifth minute that saw them go from attacking the Hurricanes 22 to defending their goal line. Hooker Ricky Ricitelli scored from the lineout drive launched on the back of the second penalty, Beauden Barrett adding the extras. The momentum then swung in the Blues favour as the Hurricanes gave away penalties and got bogged down…

Welcome to UN-AUSTRALIAN ACTIVITIES where we cover all the un-Australian matches so you don’t have to! Chiefs 19-23 Jaguares The Jaguares completed a clean sweep on their Australasian tour in Rotorua on Friday night. The already injury-ravaged Chiefs lost No. 8 Taleni Seu (fracture in the lumbar spine), and flankers Sam Cane (ab strain) and Lachlan Boshier (appendicitis) this week. Consequently Liam Messam ended up playing 7, local player Jesse Paraete earned a Chiefs debut, and Brodie Retallick missed out on his scheduled extra week off. The Chiefs dominated territory and possession in the first half but whereas that would…

Hurricanes 43-15 Sunwolves They scored seven tries but defence was key to the Hurricanes bonus point win over the improving Sunwolves. After an apparent try to Vince Aso was ruled out when the TMO – who, it must be said, had far too much impact on the match – saw a forward pass that the referee and assistant both missed, the Sunwolves scored first through captain “Labbies” Labuschagne, the Hurricanes running out of defenders after a fourteen-phase buildup. Julian Savea soon struck back, scooping up a dipping pass from Matt Procter and going over untouched. A Sunwolves penalty had them…

Blues 16-34 Highlanders The Highlanders were at their patient and composed best as they racked up a fourth consecutive win over the Blues who for their part had plenty of ball but seemed unable to do much with it. The Highlanders were into their work early, flanker Dillon Hunt scoring inside a minute after charging down 5/8 Bryn Gatland’s attempted clearance from a poor kickoff reception. Fellow flanker Shannon Frizell then scored the first of his three tries for the night, a pick-and-go effort in the corner from a penalty lneout move. Five minutes in it was 12-0. To their…

Hurricanes 25-13 Chiefs The Hurricanes underlined their championship credentials with a win that was rather more comfortable than the scoreline suggests. The match had barely begun when Hurricanes wing Ben Lam made a storming run down the left flank, only a desperate tackle from Chiefs fullback Charlie Ngatai preventing the try. Minutes later Lam was put into a gap by his centre Ngani Laumape who unloaded in a two-man tackle, and this time Lam had room to move and the pace and power to leave three defenders in his wake. Jordie Barrrett added the extras. Penalties were traded by Chiefs…

Hurricanes 38-37 Sharks The Sharks went oh so close to producing the boilover result of the season in Napier, only to be denied by an epic 80-metre, 85th-minute try and conversion. Early on the Hurricanes scored twice through fullback Jordie Barrett and centre Ngani Laumape to lead 12-3. The Sharks, however, stuck to their guns and were rewarded with tries to Lukhanyo Am and Louis Schreuder and a deserved 17-12 lead. In a pivotal moment centre Vince Aso snatched the ball away from Sharks wing Lwazi Mvovo, sprinting to the line to reduce the deficit. Had Mvovo secured that ball…

Chiefs 27-22 Highlanders A late try to winger Sean Wainui and some desperate defence saw the Chiefs come from behind to down the Highlanders in Hamilton. Two early Damian McKenzie penalties had the hosts up 6-0 before Highlanders wing Waisake Naholo scored one of his trademark cross-kick tries, this one laid on by centre Rob Thompson. The Chiefs replied in kind soon after, fullback Solomon Alamailo finishing from a McKenzie kick-pass that wing Toni Pulu spectacularly kept in play and passed infield basketball-style. Hooker Nathan Harris extended the lead shortly after halftime. Down 7-20 the Highlanders needed something special and…

CRUSADERS 33-14 BULLS The Crusaders secured a potentially valuable bonus point victory on a wet Friday night in Christchurch. The Bulls showed their hand in the opening 10 minutes, setting up four driving mauls inside the Crusaders 22 but coming away with no points to show for it. Conversely the Crusaders first two tries, to lock Scott Barrett after 16 minutes and hooker Codie Taylor after 28, both came from close-range driving mauls. Bulls wing Travis Ismaiel scored a solo stunner after 32 minutes but centre Jack Goodhue powered over in the 39th to restore the Crusaders lead to 14…

After something of a soft start with just two matches last week, Super Rugby roared back into life with a full round of matches including four that had no Australian teams involved. Here’s how those matches played out. Highlanders 41-34 Blues in Dunedin Every Super Rugby season should start with a match of this quality, a nine-try stunner under the roof in Dunedin with multiple lead changes and the hosts having to hold on to a seven-point lead well after the final siren had sounded. The Blues scored the first try and added further tries at regular intervals but, as…

Last week dru cast his eye over the South African Conference ahead of their opening matches, so with the Australasian Conferences kicking off this weekend, it’s time to take a look at how things are shaping up East of the ditch. Blues Blues supporters have been saying “this is our year” for so long it’s become a cliche, and success at the recent Brisbane Global 10’s has ensured that this year is no different. Coach Tana Umaga has at his disposal forwards with skill sets usually seen only from backs, backs who carry and defend like forwards, and of course…

With the latest edition of Super Rugby almost upon us it’s time to get our heads around how this one will differ from previous versions. Ultimately there are only two fundamental differences, but it’s worth recalling what went before and what lead to these changes being deemed not only necessary but essential to the survival of the competition. CHANGE 1: THE CONFERENCES From 1996 to 2010 Super 12 and (from 2006) Super 14 ran as a league with a full round-robin of regular season matches followed by Semi Finals and a Final. The expansion to Super 15 from 2011 saw…

The Bledisloe Cup may be locked away in Wellington for another summer but there’s still plenty to play for in Brisbane on Saturday night, not least places in the respective End of Year tour squads but mostly, of course, trans-Tasman bragging rights. BLEDISLOE 1 & 2 RECAP After shipping an unprecedented 40 points in the opening half in Sydney then staging a comeback to go down 34-54, the Wallabies went to Dunedin with the kiwi TAB offering $15 for them to win and a 28.5-point head start. To the amazement of most they rocketed out to 17-0 inside fifteen minutes,…

The Crusaders have finally claimed their eighth Super Rugby title, defeating a Lions side that never gave up and if anything played better after being reduced to 14 men just before half time. Having made the 19-hour flight from New Zealand the Crusaders needed to score early and often to put themselves in a position to withstand the inevitable Lions last-quarter comeback. This they did, building a substantial lead even before having a one-man advantage, and defending it superbly as the Lions threw everything at them. After Lions flyhalf Elton Jantjies missed an early drop-goal attempt the Crusaders won a…

The Lions will host the Crusaders in next week’s Grand Final after each of them demonstrated their title-winning credentials, but in contrasting fashion. CRUSADERS 27-13 CHIEFS The Crusaders, normally a team that likes to hold the ball for long periods and ramp up the pressure until something cracks, instead chose to give away possession and trust their defence to hold until the Chiefs counter-attacked themselves to a standstill. The pattern was set early, the Chiefs putting together multiple phases before running out of ideas other than a Damian McKenzie kick straight to his opposite David Havilli, who claimed the mark…

Semi Final week sees the Hurricanes and Chiefs traversing the Indian Ocean in opposite directions to take on the Lions and Crusaders, respectively. Oddly enough, under the semi final model used until this year the match-ups would have been reversed. In addressing the logistical issue of quarter final winners having up to four possible semi final destinations, therefore, SANZAAR have inadvertently handed them an even greater travel burden. In the 21 years of Super Rugby 14 teams have crossed the Indian Ocean following a playoff win, with only three also winning the following week. In each of those cases the…

The Semi Finalists for 2017 have been found with each of the “real” top four in terms of overall table points winning their respective Quarter Final (critics of the four-conference model will no doubt point out that one of them accrued those points without having to play any of the other three). HURRICANES 35-16 BRUMBIES IN CANBERRA Despite playing possibly the best rugby by an Aussie team against a New Zealand team in the first half, the Brumbies went down by 19 points to the defending champs. The Brumbies got off to a flyer, putting the Hurricanes under immense early…

This week Brent and Dru give us a run down of what happened in the other Super Rugby matches from the weekend, and what impact they had on the final standings. NEW ZEALAND MATCHES – by Brent Craig Sunwolves 48-21 Blues The Blues, having beaten the touring British & Irish Lions in their last outing, made a bright start in hot and humid Tokyo to lead 21-5 after 25 minutes. Then it all went horribly wrong. Passes were dropped, kicks were charged down, and Jerome Kaino got yellow-carded for the second week in a row. The Sunwolves took full advantage,…

The Crusaders, Lions, Stormers and Brumbies have already won their respective Conferences, and the Chiefs, Hurricanes, Highlanders and Sharks have secured the wildcard qualifying positions. Five of this week’s nine matches will determine the quarter final matchups, with only two teams already knowing exactly where they’ll finish. Highlanders v Reds – 17:35 (AEST) Friday The Highlanders are currently seventh on 46 points. A bonus point loss or better will be enough to keep them there, but they can advance no further up the table. A heavy loss leaves them vulnerable to the Sharks, but they would require a bonus point…