Author: Brent Craig

The Crusaders will be aiming to repeat their round six victory when they take on the Lions at Ellis Park early Sunday morning Australian time. FORM Both teams finished the regular season with eleven wins but suffered last-round losses. The Crusaders were flogged 35-10 at home by the now table-topping Hurricanes. It was an embarrassing result and one they’ll need to put behind them lest it define their season. The Lions, holding an unassailable lead in the African Group, gambled on resting almost their entire first-choice 23 against the Jaguares and lost 22-34. While it cost them top seeding overall…

With just one Round remaining I’ve sent the crystal ball away for recalibration and invested in a calculator to work out the various quarter final possibilities. Remember that the winners of the Australian, New Zealand, and two African Conferences are seeded 1 – 4 depending on where they finish relative to one another. The next-best African and three next-best Australasian teams are seeded 5 – 8, also depending on where they finish relative to one another. Whether by blind luck or prescience, the draw for Round 17 has just one match (Reds v Rebels) that can’t influence the make up…

It’s do or die for the Waratahs when they host the Hurricanes at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night. The Waratahs have 39 points, the same as their Australian Conference rivals the Brumbies.  However, one more win puts the Canberrans in the box seat as Conference leaders.  It also relegates the Sydneysiders to sixth in the Australasian Group, with only the top five qualifying for the playoffs. The equation for the Waratahs is simple.  If the Waratahs win comfortably, they live to fight another day.  With results going their way, the trip to Eden Park becomes even more important.  A loss,…

With the June Test window now closed it’s time to remind ourselves who will, who won’t, & who might be playing finals footy when Super Rugby resumes. The Wills The winners of the four Conferences (Africa 1, Africa 2, Australia, New Zealand) will be seeded 1-4 according to where they finish relative to each other & be awarded a home quarter final. Their opponents will be the next-ranked African & three next-ranked Australasian teams, seeded 5-8 according to where they finish relative to each other: even if a “wildcard” finishes with more table points than a Conference winner, the wildcard…

The Blues have held on to a hard-earned half time advantage to beat the Force in the wet in Perth. FIRST HALF The Force dominated the opening ten minutes with 70% possession & while Dane Haylett-Petty went close to scoring, they had just an Ian Prior penalty to show for it. Ihaia West made the most of a rare Blues foray into the Force half to level it up after 15 minutes. The Blues then got into the game with some typically off-the-cuff play that eventually saw Jerome Kaino go over adjacent to the posts. West’s conversion made it 10-3…

The Force, fresh from the bye and big winners last time out, host the Blues, badly mauled by the Lions in their last start, following three straight wins. It’s been a rough few months for the men from the West. The win over the Sunwolves was just their second for the year after seven straight losses, many of them by big margins.  In the overall standing they rank 16th out of 18. The Blues, meanwhile, looked to be on the improve – three straight wins for the first time in several years, including the first away from home since 2013…

The current leaders of the New Zealand and Australian Conferences square off in Christchurch on Friday in a match with potentially dire consequences for the loser. As it stands Not only did the Crusaders’ loss last week end an eight-match winning streak, but it also denied them an opportunity to put a break on the Chiefs, and allowed the Highlanders to draw level. With the Hurricanes just a point further back, whichever of that group loses next will find it tough to catch up, much less secure top ranking. The Waratahs, meanwhile, find themselves just a point ahead of the…

With six rounds remaining in the regular season I fired up the crystal ball to determine who will, who won’t, and who might yet be playing finals footy. In in Part 1 I concluded that six teams – Reds, Force, Kings, Sunwolves, Jaguares & Cheetahs – have no hope of making the play offs, and that the Stormers & Lions will likely win the Africa 1 & 2 Conferences with the Bulls the most likely African wildcard. In Part 2 I concluded that the Crusaders & Brumbies are the most likely Australasian Conference winners; the Chiefs all but certain to…

With six rounds remaining in the regular season I’ve fired up the crystal ball for a look at who will, who won’t, and who might yet be playing finals footy. To recap, there are two Groups, Africa & Australasia, and four Conferences, Africa 1, Africa 2, Australia, and New Zealand. The Conference winners will be seeded 1-4 according to where they finish relative to each other. The Conference winners will be joined in the Quarter Finals by one African and three Australasian “wildcards”, seeded 5-8 according to where they finish relative to each other. Even if a wildcard finishes with…

With six rounds remaining in the regular season it’s time to fire up the crystal ball for a look at who will, who won’t, and who might yet be playing finals footy. To recap, there are two Groups, Africa & Australasia, and four Conferences, Africa 1, Africa 2, Australia, and New Zealand. The Conference winners will be seeded 1-4 according to where they finish relative to each other. Even if a Conference winner has fewer points than a non-winner of another Conference, they cannot be seeded lower than fourth. The Conference winners will be joined in the Quarter Finals by…

After dominating the opening 30 minutes then going completely off the boil, the Crusaders have snatched a late victory from a committed Force team in an absolute cliffhanger at NIB Stadium. FIRST HALF The opening try wasn’t long in coming, as a strong Crusaders scrum gave No. 8 Kieran Read the opportunity to range wide and set up the first of several rucks from which halfback Mitchell Drummond eventually went over. Richie Mo’unga couldn’t convert from near touch. Embed from Getty Images Two penalties from Force flyhalf Peter Grant and one from his opposite Mo’unga brought the Force back to…

The Force, who look to be on the improve, will host the buoyant Crusaders at NIB Stadium on Friday night. Their last meeting in Perth, back in 2013, resulted in an upset 16-14 win for the hosts; will history repeat, or can the Crusaders make a clean sweep of their three-match road trip? It’s been a tough season so far for the men from the West, with just one win and five competition points on top of their well-canvassed off-field dramas. In the early rounds they were guilty of fading badly from around the three-quarter mark, but last week fought…

After two injury-ravaged campaigns that saw them bow out in the qualifying finals, can Dave Rennie’s new-look Chiefs bring back the glory days of 2012 and 2013? The squad Sonny Bill Williams and Liam Messam have fully committed to Sevens, and a further 15 players, including most of  their entire 2015 tight five, have moved on or been released. Calling this a new-look squad is almost an understatement. It doesn’t help that two key signings, former Crusaders and fringe All Black prop Nepo Laulala and live wire Auckland flanker Mitch Karpik, have already been ruled out for the season. Dominic…

For New Zealand’s smallest and least-wealthy franchise, 2015 was the year they marshalled limited resources to perfection and came away with a championship. Can they cope with the added burden of being defending champions rather than the dark horse in the field? Embed from Getty Images  Highlanders 2015 – no longer the dark horses in 2016 The squad There are 29 players returning from last year.  The only notable losses upfront are backowers Nasi Manu and John Hardie, who are both are playing for Edinburgh now (and Hardie for Scotland); but to balance that somewhat Luke Whitelock is arriving from…

As the 2016 Super Rugby season approaches it is time to be reminded about what some of the changes in the competition are going to be. The introduction of Los Jaguares and the Sunwolves will be historic for rugby in Argentina and Japan but it requires a scheduling accommodation that is awkward.  Love them or loathe them, the changes that SANZAAR have made (note the extra A for Argentina) will take some getting used to. And they made some other changes too. Structurally it’s pretty straight-forward. Instead of three five-team conferences there is now an eight-team South African Group, and…

Runaway winners of the 2015 regular season, dropping just two games, and arguably dudded at the death in the Final, can the Hurricanes go one better in 2016 and finally deliver their long-suffering fans a Super Rugby title? The Team With no less than 30 players returning from 2015 and just nine new faces, this is one of the most stable squads in Hurricanes’ history. The only significant signing is former Warrior Ngani Laumape who is not so much code-hopping as coming home to rugby after an injury-plagued time in league. Embed from Getty Images  Ma’a Nonu – will be…

Any assessment of the Crusaders 2016 prospects must acknowledge the absences of two great players. Since Richie McCaw has retired, and Dan Carter is now working his magic in France, they are without two of the most important players in New Zealand rugby history—or at least, of  the professional-era. Also absent are quality Super Rugby-level players in Colin Slade and Tom Taylor (both also gone to France), Willi Heinz (England), Nepo Laulala and Dominic Bird (Chiefs), and Luke Whitelock (Highlanders). In all, twelve of the 2015 squad won’t be returning for Todd Blackadder’s final year as coach. The newbies…

On a wet day at Twickenham New Zealand held on to defeat South Africa 20-18 in the first Semi-final of the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The game was dictated by the conditions, and two moments of brilliance by the Kiwis decided the outcome. Last week South Africa required a 76th minute try to put away a dogged Welsh side and take their record at this Cup to four wins and a loss. New Zealand meanwhile produced a near-flawless display to remain unbeaten in the tournament. This was just the fourth World Cup match between these two great rivals, and they…

New Zealand have pulled off a commanding performance, totally dominating the French to win 62-13. How did they get there? The All Blacks were arguably the top Quarter Final qualifier.  They finished the Pool stage with the most table points (19 of a possible 20) and points differential (+125). France finished with 14 points and a +57 differential. The biggest difference, of course, is that whereas the All Blacks went through unbeaten, France dropped their top-of-the-Pool match to Ireland. Pool results: New Zealand beat Argentina 26-16, Namibia 58-14, Georgia 43-10 and Tonga 47-9. France beat Italy 32-10, Romania 38-11 and…

The All Blacks got their World Cup defence off to a successful if not entirely convincing start at Wembley Stadium this morning. Argentina defended well, led at half time and were still within a converted try of victory until the 66th minute before running out of steam and very nearly, reserves. First half When Dan Carter nailed his third penalty within the opening quarter it felt like the floodgates were about to open. Argentina’s discipline was poor and the Pumas looked ripe for a beating, but they fought back immediately scoring the only try of the half. They had only…