Super weekend for NZ teams
Five straight wins, with a bonus point finally pouched for good measure, ensure the Crusaders have secured that coveted cosy nook at the head of the Super Rugby table.
Removing the ‘‘slow starters’’ tag, a reflection of their inability to fire-up in the opening rounds, is one thing.
Keeping the roll going is another, and the Crusaders, whose rise to the top of the competition log was assisted by the fact that the Chiefs had the bye (along with the Hurricanes), will be remaining on high alert ahead of their match against the Waratahs in Sydney next Sunday evening.
Because while the Crusaders scored seven tries to swamp the Force 45-17 in Christchurch on Friday night, a game marred by scrum re-sets and a total of 29 penalties issued by referee Rohan Hoffmann, they will travel to Australia wondering whether the Waratahs’ dramatic comeback win over the Rebels in Melbourne is the turning point of their season.
Former All Blacks midfielder Daryl Gibson, also an ex-Crusaders assistant coach, must have felt like he had a bag of nails sitting in his belly as he watched his Waratahs side trail the Rebels by 19 points at halftime.
It turned out that his team also made him sweat for much of the second half, until they finally brushed the cobwebs off their attacking game to score 26 unanswered points, including a try to David Horwitz with 35 seconds left, and beat the Rebels 32-25.
Gibson’s interview on TV
at halftime spoke volumes: ‘‘We are in a fight for our lives in the next 40 minutes and we need to stand up,’’ he said.
Highlanders coach Tony Brown, like Gibson, must have almost ground his teeth to dust as his forwards unleashed a tremendous defensive effort in the final minutes to beat the Brumbies 18-13 in Canberra.
The Brumbies were rewarded with several penalties in those final frantic minutes, and then tried to launch off their scrum and lineout, but they just couldn’t force the New Zealanders’ to buckle.
Eventually a loose pass was pilfered by the desperate Highlanders and when the final whistle blew they celebrated their second win of the year like lottery winners.
‘‘Maybe that’s the luck we needed,’’ Brown said. ‘‘Getting the result tonight, when it could have gone either way.’’
If you were looking for a turning point, you would have to say the converted try to replacement prop Aki Seiuli in the 73rd minute was it.
Tana Umaga watched his Blues side beat the Bulls 38-14 in Albany, and even though they secured a bonus point to boot, he will remain realistic.
Yes, this was like a mountaineer using his crampons and ice axe to stall a scary slide. No, it didn’t in any way signal the Blues have the form and expertise to scramble themselves into title contention. Not yet, anyway. Too many mistakes for that to happen.
Meanwhile, the Stormers were forced to fight back from a 14-point deficit to beat the Sunwolves 44-13 in Singapore.
If you are a Kings fan, look away now. The Lions spanked them 42-19 to get the bonus point, yet never got near to playing to their potential.
The Jaguares maintained their fine run of form, downing the Reds 22-8 in Buenos Aires in the final match of the round.
Suspended playmaker Quade Cooper wasn’t on the park, but he used social media to express his annoyance. Unhappy that the Reds had been reduced to 13 men because Eto Nabuli and Kane Douglas had been sin binned in the first half by Kiwi ref Mike Fraser, he stated: ‘‘Nice way to ruin a game.’’
That probably wasn’t what Fraser was intending to achieve. Cooper didn’t see it that way.