It’s time to focus on Super Rugby
Five reasons why. . .
1 The playoffs start now
Well, not really. The playoffs start next week. But considering only three of 12 teams have their finishing position locked — the table-topping Chiefs, the cellar-dwelling Moana Pasifika and, randomly, the sixthplaced Waratahs — the final week of the regular season functions as the unofficial start to the playoffs, according to this column.
Although the race for seventh and eighth isn’t exactly thrilling — and a trip to Hamilton or (probably) Christchurch isn’t much of a reward — merely stumbling over the line won’t be enough.
Three points separate the five mediocre teams occupying places 7-11. Unlike last year, when the Highlanders sneaked into the final berth with a still-funny four wins and 10 defeats, this year, a team might need as many as six victories to punch their playoff ticket.
Further up the table, home advantage still needs sorting for a couple of quarter-finals, with the Hurricanes hoping to edge the Blues or Brumbies, and the permutations don’t stop there. Actually, just checked, permutations do stop there.
2 No rest for the wicked good
Before Super Rugby, rest must have had a pretty high approval rating. From the mightiest pharaoh to the lowliest peasant, who doesn’t enjoy a good rest?
Unfortunately, like everything else in our polarised society, rest has become divisive. Owing to an edict from the top, various All Blacks have missed various games, and that’s made us mad.
But if all that rest has left you distressed, there is good news: the time for rest is over (except for the Chiefs, who will be resting heavily in Perth).
Rest will be replaced by awakening, action, agitation, and other antonyms I have just searched at thesaurus.com. World Cup be damned, let’s go risk some players’ health.
Those on the fringes of a potential All Blacks squad will be most desperate to appear restless. And what better test of their ability under pressure than a crunch Super Rugby quarter-final against the Rebels?
The concept of test match intensity is a bit overplayed — but NPC intensity, this is not.
3 The Crusaders might not win
Okay, the Crusaders will probably win. We have to state that up front to avoid the
unjust raising of a nation’s hopes. But then again, they might not?
Sure, we’ve seen this story before: forced to settle for second after one of their northern rivals enjoyed a better season, having seemingly at last met their match and dealt the difficult task of winning a final on the road.
But while the Crusaders last year made that task look anything but difficult in sweeping aside the Blues at Eden Park, this time, they might not find life easy against a Chiefs team who in recent months twice had their number.
You never know. The Crusaders might not crusade to the title for a seventh year in succession. They might not give Scott Robertson an appropriate send off before he takes over the All Blacks.
But — just so we’re all clear — they probably will.
4 Last chance to see some old faces
Not all the Crusaders deserve our scorn. Setting aside the many who do, there’s one player more appealing for the neutral, and not just to the eye.
John Afoa’s return to New Zealand rugby on Saturday was one of the highlights of the season.
The 39-year-old prop, who earned the last of his 38 test caps more than a decade ago, became the oldest player in Super Rugby history when he flew back from France to answer an SOS sent by the injury-hit defending champs.
Players who head offshore early have a way of disappearing from the rugby consciousness. Few fans would have thought of Afoa since he was part of the team that lifted the World Cup in 2011.
But there he suddenly was, looking in far better shape than anyone should two days removed from what he revealed was an economical longhaul trip home.
Afoa’s Crusaders debut came the day after Aaron Smith’s similarly heartening farewell in Dunedin, where Folau Fakatava — the All Blacks great’s replacement in Friday’s match and beyond — applied a fitting final touch.
Now we watch with interest to see how long Smith prolongs his Highlanders career.
Will it end in disappointment, missing the playoffs? Or slightly less disappointment, being immediately dispatched by the Chiefs? Much intrigue awaits.
5 Bragging rights
Not among fans. We don’t really do it like that in this country. But among coaches — specifically, three soon-to-be colleagues in charge of three contenders.
There’s a scenario in which the semifinals consist of Scott Robertson’s Crusaders (obviously), Leon MacDonald’s Blues and Jason Holland’s Hurricanes, with Clayton McMillan the odd man out at the Chiefs.
Considering that trio is fewer than six months away from officially joining forces at the All Blacks, any final encounter as rivals offers some fascinating tactical possibilities.
And bragging rights. For Robertson, what better way to show who’s boss than ending his future assistants’ seasons? For MacDonald and Holland, what better way to endear themselves to the boss than spoiling Robertson’s last dance?
As for McMillan, taking down the new All Blacks coaching team might also prove rather satisfying.