Trio of teams left kicking themselves
Blues, Chiefs and Waratahs fans have more in common than the fact their teams lost their opening Super Rugby matches this weekend.
It’s how they lost which will sting most, and it will be Blues and Waratahs fans with the most rotten taste in their gobs.
Spare a thought for Blues rookie Harry Plummer, who missed two crunch kicks in the final six minutes of his team’s 24-22 loss to the reigning champion Crusaders at Eden Park on Saturday night.
Having already pushed a simple conversion attempt wide-right to leave his team trailing by two, the 20-year-old had a chance to redeem himself when he lined up a 45m penalty from almost out in front.
With 90 seconds remaining, he again pushed his kick wide-right. The Crusaders eked out the clock and escaped with gutsy win.
‘‘It would be tough on anybody. He’s a young man who’s got a bright future ahead of him and this is part and parcel of the job he’s got. We’ll support him well and the boys will get around him,’’ Blues coach Leon MacDonald said.
A couple of hours later, it was Waratahs pivot Bernard Foley feeling as if he’d swallowed a boulder. ‘‘Pull it wide, pull it wide,’’ Hurricanes captain TJ Perenara thought as he watched the veteran line up the potential match-winner at Sydney’s Brookvale Oval.
The All Blacks halfback got his wish. Foley, having slammed over his five previous kicks, including one from out wide, pulled his straight forward attempt past the left-hand post.
While Chiefs fans don’t have a missed kick at the death to finger-point for their 30-27 defeat to the Highlanders in Hamilton on Friday night, they can relate to the aforementioned games.
With All Black Damian McKenzie included in their injury-ravaged group of pivots, halfback Brad Weber and fullback Shaun Stevenson left seven points on the paddock through shanks off the tee.
The opening match of the 2019 competition will also be remembered for the controversial red card to Highlanders utility Sio Tomkinson, who was sent packing for a shot on Chiefs captain Brodie Retallick minutes after coming off the bench.
TMO Aaron Paterson alerted referee Glen Jackson to the incident, with the latter telling Tomkinson: ‘‘You made no attempt whatsoever to wrap him, you have used your shoulder and it’s direct to the head.’’
The Highlanders trailed 27-20 shortly after the 66th minute card, but rolled up their sleeves and completed a gutsy comeback win thanks to a late Aaron Smith try.
There was no such controversy in the other Friday night match, which was highlighted by former Reds Quade Cooper and Will Genia reuniting at the Melbourne Rebels.
Cooper kicked three conversions and a penalty in the 34-27 win in Canberra, and deserved a pass mark in his return to Super Rugby, despite a couple of characteristic mistakes.
In addition to the first round telling us Kiwi derbies should again not be missed, we were reminded Tony Brown isn’t going to have an easy time in charge of the Sunwolves, and learnt the Bulls might be the pick of the South African teams this year.
In Pote Human’s first Super Rugby game as head coach since replacing former All Blacks coach John Mitchell, they blitzed the Stormers 40-3 with a fine display of running-rugby in Pretoria yesterday.
Springboks gun Handre Pollard kicked eight from eight off the tee in a 20-point haul, while wing and former sevens ace Rosko Specman scored two impressive tries on debut.
The Sharks belted the Sunwolves 45-10 in Singapore, while the Lions, losing finalists the past three years, wrapped up the round by beating the Jaguares 25-16 in Buenos Aires.