Well, it’s another Monday dudes and dudettes, and Super Rugby Pacific has delivered yet another belter. I don’t know about you peeps, but this year’s Super season excites me more than it has in longer than I can remember; it’s shaping up to be a humdinger of a season. To quote Big Kev “I’m Excited!”
There was soooooo much rugby on the weekend, and I could only watch the five SRP men’s games and write them up. If I’d watched any more, Mrs BL would be filing for divorce. So I’m leaving the rest of the games of this weekend to Tuesday’s news with RAWF.
We have had another cracking round of SRP25. I’m genuinely so enamoured with this year’s competition; the games are hard to tip and guess what the margins will be;there are no longer any easybeats; the perennial cellar dwellers (Fiji, MP, Force and Tahs) are all on the upswing and contesting matches hard. It’s no longer a match that you send your B team to get some game time, to do that would be very risky indeed. The results of the games are close with this week’s round the largest winning margin was 15 points in the Chiefs/Ponies clash; all the other games were an unconverted try or less.
So pull up a pew, fire up the old ‘puter’, bring up G&GR, pretend you’re working, and grab a big cup of the elixr of life ☕ and let’s do the G&GR business.
Highlanders 31 defeated Moana Pacific 29
The Clan have managed to claw their way to a 31-29 win over Moana Pasifika to kick off this week’s Culture Round of SRP 25. The Highlanders were forced into some late substitutions with Nathan Hastie and Michael Manson coming into the starting 15.
Travelling up from Otago to JAFA land, the Clan managed to get themselves out to a 21 point lead early in the game. The ‘calls ups’ earned their supper almost immediately with the winger going on a beautiful run, beating three MP defenders before offloading to the Clan’s scrumhalf for their first meat pie. Following up with a nice little penalty, the Highlanders pushed themselves out to a 10-0 lead, before MP pulled their fingers out and got into the game.
Big unit, Sione Mafileo, crossed for MP’s opening points, before William Havili levelled the score, adding to the excitement of the game. Not to be left out of the scoring, Caleb Tangitau for the Clan grabbed a sweet little intercept and bolted 90 metres to score one of the many intercept tries of the 2025 season. Keeping the pressure on, Tanielu Tele’a scooped up a dropped MP bomb and crossed to extend the Highlanders lead. The Clan remained hot on the attack and tall timber Mitchell Dunshea barged over the line. The Otago boys found themselves up 21 -10 at oranges.
Whatever Tana ‘The Predator’ Umaga said to his side in the sheds got them fired up, and Captain Courageous Ardie Savea led from the front in a beautiful solo effort to get his team back in the game. William Havili then crossed for his try with less than 15 minutes to go, followed 10 minutes later by Semisi Tupou Ta’elioa to set up another SRP nail biting finish.
In the end, it was the Highlander’s accuracy with the boot that sealed the cracking opener to SRP Round 3. This game has further highlighted that the so-called minnows of the SRP have lifted. No one will be prematurely chalking an encounter with these teams up as a win.
Waratahs 29 defeated Fiji Drua 24
Former puppy killing coach Dan McKellar will be breathing a sigh of relief after his new squad at the Tahs managed to sneak over the line for a 29-24 win in a thrilling encounter with the Flying Fijians in Sydney on Friday night. For the Fijians it is their third heartbreaking loss with close margins. But the positive to take away from it is that the Fijians are looking like they are travelling a lot better than in seasons gone by.
The Tahs set out well in the game, focusing on the set piece, and trying hard not to get suckered into the Fijian loose style of play. They were keeping it tight and central, but that would only lasted so long as Derenalagi pounced on a loose ball and offloaded quickly to winger Ponipate Loganimasi who streaked down the left side to score the opening try in beautiful Fijian style.
The Tahs regrouped and through Langi Gleeson (who was my MotM with a cracking game) picked up a nice short ball from Commissioner Gordon and crossed the line. The scoring continued with the Drua through Vuate Karawalevu, carving up the Tahs defence (coach McKellar might want to look at that) and banging one down in the right corner.
NSW started to focus and tighten their game up. Points didn’t necessarily flow, but they wrestled back control of the game. Gleeson then scored his second try, thanks to a Caleb Muntz error, to take the Tahs out to a 17-12 lead at oranges. I’m sure Coach McKellar had some choice words for his team at the break.
Dave Porecki managed to get on the end of a McKellar signature rolling maul three minutes into the second half to cross the line and extend the Tahs lead by 10 points. The Tahs were starting to pull away and get control of the match, despite their discipline and handling errors. But the Drua weren’t done, and their freestyle game came back into it. Hot on attack and peppering the Tahs line, it was only a matter of time before the blue wall would buckle. Lock Miles Amatosero was shown the 🧀 for a professional foul; this opened the gates for the Drua as Loganimasi scored his second try of the night before Mesulame Dolokoto crossed the line to put the Drua back in front and have the big man in Newcastle 💩 the bed on the G&GR Crapparatzi.
But a penalty try to the Tahs in the dying minutes of the game sealed the Drua’s fate, and the mental health of all Waratahs fans. “Speaking to the boys, I think they all agree that they probably would have lost that game in the past,” McKellar said. “So it’s pleasing that we sit here again after grinding out and fighting our way to win knowing that we’ve got enormous improvement in front of us.”
Both sides had their chances, but I think the real stat that speaks to the result was the tackling accuracy. The Waratahs were 83% v Drua 74%. The lack of accuracy and ability to slip through is what sealed the deal for the Tahs. But if Hoss’s comments on the Craparratzi are anything to go by, I don’t think many NSW fans will be happy with that performance.
Chiefs 49 defeated Brumbies 34
The Ponies put up a really brave fight but in the end succumbed to what has to be the SRP pack leaders, the Chiefs, on a lovely Saturday afternoon game in Hamilton. In what could’ve been a horrible scenario with the Ponies potentially getting ‘Dolemanned’, they instead fought hard til the final 10-12 minutes where the Chiefs just put their foot on the gas and extended their lead.
The Ponies were looking pretty solid in the first half, pushing out to a three tries to two lead in the opening stanza of the game. These tries were scored by narrowing the attack to draw in the Chiefs’ surging defence, only to spin wide and go hard down the edges.
The second half was a different affair with the Chiefs forcing their way back into the game with two quickfire tries, one to Quinn Tupaea, who managed to gather back in his chip kick, then one to Wrampling who picked up the ball from the back of a lineout to crash over. This pushed the Chiefs out to a 29-15 lead, and left the Brumbies feeling very deflated.
When all else fails, be brilliant at the basics, and the Brumbies returned to their DNA scoring a nice try to Lachlan Lonergan off the back of a rolling maul. This was followed by Andy Muirhead grabbing one of his two tries off a Brumbies lineout near the halfway line. This brought the Ponies back into it with a 29- 29 scoreline and Brumbies fans everywhere dreaming of the impossible.
But it’s the hope that kills you! Tupou Vaa’i grabbed the ball from the kick-off and dispatched Wrampling down the left hand side for his second try. Then another DMac penalty at the 69 minute mark lifted the lead out to beyond a converted try. Andy Muirhead scored a couple of minutes later, but it wasn’t enough with the Chiefs through Anton Lienert-Brown grabbing a try just on full-time to seal the deal.
The Brumbies will have a good look at where things went wrong, but to be honest I genuinely thought they put in a good shift against the tournament’s top team on their home ground. But no points to the Ponies. Congratulations to James Slipper who played his 185th Super Rugby appearance and joins Aaron Smith as the most capped SR player. Next week he should take the crown. Also of note, the Chiefs will be sweating on the DMac who came off injured by a ‘friendly fire’ collision with Anton Lienert-Brown. But with all things said and done, it does appear that the Chiefs are the team to beat.
Blues 33 defeated Hurricanes 29
The reigning SR champions have finally pulled off a victory in 2025 with a four point victory over KARL’s Canes in Wellington on Saturday afternoon. They certainly didn’t help themselves with their talisman, and regularly one of the best onfield, Hoskins Sotutu getting a serve of 🍷 in the crucial last 5 minutes of the game.
The Blues turned up hungry to win after their previous two outings. They started strongly with a penalty try from a dominant scrum; continuing this poor discipline, the Canes were soon down to 13 players with another player handed a healthy serve of 🧀.
But in what surely has to be one of the standout moments of putting one’s hand up for higher honours, Harry Godfrey fought hard and got the Canes back into the game. Godfrey danced through the Blues defences for a blockbuster of a solo try when the rest of his team were doing their best to go to the naughty chair.
Kini Naholo scored one for the Canes to nearly give them the lead, only for Gus Gardner to rule it a no try, much to the chagrin of the home crowd. But his second attempt moments later wouldn’t be denied, and with the conversion it snuck the Canes into the lead. Godfrey iced another penalty further increasing the lead, and I’m sure would’ve been increasing KARL’s levels of comfort with every minute.
But alas, Hoskins Sotutu, rallied the Blues and crossed the line in the 68th minute mark which served as the clarion call for the Blues to get on board. Beauden Barrett again demonstrated why he should perhaps be playing at 10 with some beautiful play, offloading to Caleb Clarke and then Mark Telea who scored after a wonderful piece of play to put the Blues back in front with 10 mins left.
Despite the Sotutu shiraz from a shoulder to the head of Peter Lakai, the Blues managed to hold on and take the game for their first win of the year. Top points to Angus Gardner, who I thought had a great game especially having to deal with some last minute confusion about numbers on the ground, due to cards, HIAs and potential scrum numbers.
Qld Reds 28 defeated Western Force 24
In what was the game of the round the Qld Reds came from behind to pip the Western Force in Perth at the death. It wasn’t a comfortable win, and in what’s becoming a theme this year, the Western Force are no longer easybeats, particularly at home, all teams are going to have to fight hard for a win.
The Force blasted out of the blocks, shooting out to a 14-0 lead just after the 10 minute mark, leaving the Qld Reds players and fans a bit shell shocked. But they pulled their fingers out, and got on the front foot. And to be honest (although I’m probably a tad biased) when the Reds were in attack they looked good and seemed to score far more effortlessly than the Force.
The Force were methodical in attack and peppered the Reds line. The Reds this week didn’t give away as many cards (which was very disappointing last week). There may be some follow up judicial action for the Forcies with Nic Dolly’s hit on Tom Lynagh being raised for review (watch this space). Both teams gave 100% and there’ll be some injury concerns for both teams coming out of this one. Lynagh was HIA in the second half and there is no further new.s
Carlo Tizzano is putting his hand up for further higher honours, opening the scoring in the 16th minute with a great sneaky little try by grabbing the ball at the back of a ruck and dotting it over. Next cabs off the rank were Dylan Pietsch and Mac Grealy, with some nice through the hands play that ended up with Darcy Swain who crossed the line.
The Reds recovered and scored two tries in three minutes, the first from a peach of a chip kick through by Tate ‘Joe Dirt’ McDermott (who put his stamp on the Wobs 9 jersey this week) that was picked up by Josh Flook in the 24th minute. Then shortly after, flyhalf Tom Lynagh sliced through for a nice little 5 pointer.
The Reds fill in fullback, Heremaia Murray, smashed through the pack in the 44th minute, eluding three separate tackles before offloading to Josh Flook for his second try. This may’ve gone some way to making up for the ‘Barry Crocker’ Heremaia had in the first half dropping the pill multiple times. Not to be outdone, Carlo Tizzano managed to sneak one over the line while up against a very strong Reds defence. This put the Force back in the lead with less than 10 mins left on the clock.
This is where things got a little silly. As the clock wound down and the Reds desperately trying to score, with less than 2 mins on the clock the Force #9 Issak Fines-Leleiwasa kicked away possession which put the Reds back into attack, an attack which throughout the game had proven to be quite potent. The Reds gained a penalty right in front. Instead of taking the (almost) guaranteed 3 points and drawing the game, Fraser ‘I have Balls of Steel’ McReight elected to go for the sideline and the lineout. Securing the lineout the Reds peppered the line until Kalani Thomas got through the Force defence and Filipo (I am almost twice as big as I was last season) Daugunu grabbed the pill and crashed over the line to steal the game for the Reds.
Les Kiss said his team found a way to win ugly. “But it was a beautiful win too,” he added. “Can that exist in the same space? I’m not sure. The character of the group can’t be questioned. We made it hard for ourselves. We didn’t control the ball. But we’re certainly showing (that fighting spirit) at the moment.”
Simon Cron was disappointed and stated “This one hurts, and you can see it in the faces of the players,” he said. “It really hurts them that we’ve let that one go. So that’s what I’m happy about — that it hurts them, so that they will get up and go again and learn from it, and we’ll get better as a team.”
Several players really put their hands up during this game. Carlo Tizzano, Josh Flook and Tate McDermott were my standouts. This one is a full 80 min replay if you haven’t watched it.
Super Rugby Pacific 2025 – Ladder
The ladder after round 3 is a sight to behold. Last year’s winners, the Blues are currently out of finals contention (for the moment) sitting in eighth spot. The Dark Saders and Brumbies are also in the same predicament. Last year’s runners up are leading by some margin and my beloved Reds are in second spot, thanks to a healthy points for and against with the Highlanders, Force, Tahs and Canes rounding out the top six. Who’d’ve thunk it?
Don’t know about you lot, but I can’t wait to see the next week’s games. And here they are!
That’s enough news that is fit to print that I’ve watched and reported on. Happy Monday G&GRs. Over to you. Have at it.
