NZ sides endure night to forget
Bad teams? Or just a bad night?
We might have to reserve judgment on that for a week or two.
There’s no doubt the Highlanders and Hurricanes performed poorly when Super Rugby resumed over the weekend. The final score of Chiefs 45 Highlanders 22, in Suva on Saturday night, flattered the defeated side, while the Hurricanes were embarrassed 24-12 by the Brumbies.
Beyond the results, the other thing the Highlanders and Hurricanes had in common was sizeable All Blacks contingents. The Highlanders fielded eight, while six ran out for the Hurricanes, with three more at home recovering from knocks. England’s Brad Shields didn’t go to Canberra either.
The Highlanders had appeared to be setting themselves up for a decent title challenge on the back of ferocious physicality. The way they bashed up the Hurricanes before the June break was impressive but, for whatever reason, there was next to none of that in Suva.
Anything could have taken the edge off the Highlanders but, the bottom line is, they have to rediscover it quickly. They meet the Crusaders in Christchurch on Friday and a loss there could consign them to a quarterfinal clash in such exotic climes as Sydney, Johannesburg or Buenos Aires.
So, for the time being at least, we’ll put their loss to the Chiefs down to a bad night.
The Hurricanes, though, are slipping towards bad team territory.
They’ve gone a long time without playing to their, almost boundless, potential and this loss to the Brumbies made it three on the trot, ahead of derby games against the Blues and Chiefs.
Errors and ill-discipline are putting them under continual pressure and the ability to generate points has deserted them. They’ve compiled just 39 across their last three outings, largely due to an inability to gain parity up front.
They now meet a Blues team who are coming off a 39-16 win over the Reds. This was an awful game, in which Television Match Official Ben Skeen again made a nuisance of himself, and four players received yellow cards.
The Blues really aren’t much of a team but, in Rieko and Akira Ioane, possess the kinds of brilliant individuals that could leave the Hurricanes redfaced.
As a few teams in South Africa might be, if the Jaguares can get up and win that conference. Their 25-14 win over the Stormers was their seventh in succession and they now sit just three points adrift of the table-topping Lions. Given the travel the Jaguares endure and their playing resources, it’s already been a magnificent campaign.
The Lions turned a 21-11 halftime lead into a 31-24 loss to the Sharks and now have a bye. The Jaguares are off to Pretoria to meet a Bulls team who were beaten 42-37 by the Sunwolves.
The Jaguares conclude the round-robin by playing the Sharks in Durban, while the Lions will host the Bulls.
The Waratahs continue to lead the Australia conference by four points from the Rebels, who they beat 31-26 in Melbourne on Friday.