Five Super Rugby talking points
WELLINGTON: The table-topping Melbourne Rebels and reigning champions Canterbury Crusaders bounced back from losses as Wellington Hurricanes ended Otago Highlanders’ perfect start to the season. Here are five talking points from round six of Super Rugby:
- Ledesma fumes as Lions go on a roll -
Jaguares coach Mario Ledesma tempered praise of a 49-35 triumph over Golden Lions in Buenos Aires by telling his team they must perform better when defending rolling mauls.
Three of the Lions’ five tries came from winning line-outs close to the Jaguares’ try line, shoving the Argentines back and scoring.
“The Lions used the rolling maul very well,” said former Pumas hooker Ledesma, who took over as Jaguares coach this season.
“In other matches we have defended well against this method of attack. On Monday, we must analyse out strengths and weaknesses and prepare for the Crusaders.”
- Fleck hits out at ‘cheap shots’ -
Western Stormers coach Robbie Fleck slammed Queensland Reds for being overly physical after the dominant South Africans made hard work of a 25-19 victory in Cape Town.
“We are disappointed about cheap shots they dished out early in the game that were not recognised by the referee,” said the former Springboks centre.
“There were at least four incidents that were not dealt with and that frustrated us. We were the dominant team but poor execution let us down.”
The most serious incident saw Reds prop Taniela Tupou escape punishment in the ninth minute after a no-arms, high tackle and he has since been cited for alleged foul play.
- Road bumps frustrate South Africans -
South African teams experienced three away defeats as the Coastal Sharks, Golden Lions and Northern Bulls all went down, underlining their struggles on their travels.
No South African team has won on the road this season, with the Stormers and Bulls both 0-3 when playing overseas.
The Sharks will need to produce an upset against Auckland Blues to avoid the same fate after receiving a 46-14 drubbing from the Rebels in Melbourne.
Captain Ruan Botha said discipline and patience were keys to improving his team’s performance.
“In a game of rugby you’re going to get frustrated, it’s how you deal with that frustration and get back in the game,” he said.
“We have to go back and work on the basics, get them right.”
- Rebels out to end Aussie angst -
The high-flying Melbourne Rebels will attempt to rectify one of Australian rugby’s more humbling statistics when they face Wellington Hurricanes on Friday.
It is the first meeting between an Australian and a New Zealand team this season following the Kiwi teams winning all 25 encounters against their Aussie counterparts in a chastening 2017 whitewash.
The losing streak extends to 30 if results from the tail-end of 2016 are included, so a Rebels win at home would provide a morale boost for all Australian teams.
It would also burnish the Rebels’ credentials as genuine title contenders and help justify cutting three teams from the competition last year to strengthen the remaining clubs.
- The more things change... -
Super Rugby followers could be forgiven for feeling a tad uneasy at news that SANZAAR will release a strategic review this week into the competition’s format for 2020 and beyond.
The New Zealand Herald reports that the review will consider a range of options including -- wait for it -- expanding Super Rugby to 18 teams.
Admittedly, such a move appears unlikely, but the very fact it’s being discussed is startling after the pain endured culling three teams to create this year’s 15-team format.
Given the incessant tinkering of recent years, fans probably deserve a few seasons of stability so the conference system can bed in and newcomers the Sunwolves and Jaguares have a chance to establish themselves.