Crusaders sparkle in spectacle while Kings top cringeworthy contest THE FINAL WHISTLE
If ever there was an illustration that Super Rugby is a two-tier competition, it was in Dunedin and Singapore, respectively, with two matches of contrasting quality and player skill levels.
Dunedin played host to Super Rugby with seven-time champions the Crusaders sensational in turning a 27-6 deficit on 50 minutes into a 3027 win against the Highlanders.
The tempo never let up and whereas the Stormers produced 30 extravagant minutes against the Bulls in Round One, this was even better from New Zealand’s traditional South Island rivals because the intensity and pace never waned throughout the 80 minutes.
It will take something spectacular in the competition to surpass the tempo of the spectacle in Dunedin, even though the Chiefs versus the Hurricanes this weekend will equal the intensity.
If Dunedin had the “Wow” factor, the substandard quality of the Kings’ win against the Sunwolves in Singapore had the “Cringe” factor. This simply was not Super Rugby. Neither team possesses the collective of what should define Super Rugby and it was a basement battle in which the Kings were comfortable winners.
The Sunwolves are awful and once they go on the road they could be the first team to concede 100 points in a match. They came close to this against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein last season and they have regressed since that beating.
The Kings got their win but lacked the pedigree to make it a bonus-point win. They will rightly enjoy the victory but the match itself was not a victory for those who promote the virtues of an expanded competition offering.
Super Rugby has five, maybe six, outstanding teams, a middle tier of six and six basement dwellers. The only debate could be that some of the middle tier are actually basement dwellers and vice versa.
The top six remain four of the five New Zealand franchises, the Lions and possibly the Stormers, with the Sharks and Brumbies leading the second-tier strength.
It is a competition that needs a radical overhaul because in its current guise there will be too many mismatches and not enough sustained quality outside the New Zealand Conference.
South Africa’s tournament challenge will definitely come from the Lions. I wrote this prior to the tournament and after two rounds I am even more convinced there is nothing within South Africa that will match the Lions.
The derby element will be a leveller in one-on-one matchups for the Lions, but in the course of the season they will prove the dominant South African team. The nature of the draw also means they are likely to get the maximum league points because they don’t have to play any New Zealand teams.
The Lions, if they play to their potential, should put themselves in a very strong position to top the league and ensure home play-off matches. If so, it will not be an easy task to beat them.
The Lions barely got out of third gear in putting 50 past the Waratahs, who alongside the Brumbies will total Australia’s play-off challenge.
If South African rugby thought it had player strength issues it does not compare with the parlous state of Australian Rugby. It has never been weaker in the professional era.
Expanding the playing base from three regions to five has severely depleted Australian Super Rugby. Similarly in South Africa, where six franchises is two and possibly even three too many if we are to be true to the description of rugby described as Super.
The Cheetahs, in hosting two South African teams, will feel nothing has changed from the Currie Cup competition they dominated in 2016.
It is when they travel and are forced to test the depth in playing numbers that their season will unravel.
The Stormers and Sharks will win matches they should not and lose matches they should not. They are two squads with the potential to be a top-five team but equally they could go the other way and fade as the tournament takes shape.
The Stormers won praise for their opening 30 minutes against the Bulls but for a second weekend the Bulls were second best to South African opposition, which demands some calm about the significance of the Stormers’ first 30 minutes of the 2017 season.
The Cape-based franchise were made to look more vulnerable against the Jaguares, whose physicality troubled the Stormers. Greater Argentinian discipline could have resulted in a Stormers defeat.
The Stormers importantly won, as did the Sharks in Canberra.
Every South African win in this competition must be celebrated, but the noise of the cheering should not deafen us to who it is we are beating.
● Keohane is a multi-awardwinning rugby writer and former Springbok communications manager. Follow him on www.twitter.com/mark_keohane