Another clean sweep for NZ teams
You could drain the equivalent of a sack of coffee beans while debating the subject of whether the Hurricanes or the Crusaders deserved No 1 billing after four New Zealand teams posted victories at the weekend.
The Hurricanes’ second-half comeback in the 56-21 walloping of the Brumbies in Napier on Friday night caused no shortage of excited yapping from their supporters, but then the Crusaders got their flock all stirred up by scoring eight tries as they pasted the Stormers’ 57-24 in Christchurch 24 hours later.
Although the Crusaders remain unbeaten, and at the pinnacle of the Super Rugby log, you would still find it hard to snub that effort by the Hurricanes, given they also kept the Brumbies scoreless in that second spell.
So let’s put the discussion to be bed and give top ranking to the Hurricanes, on a points decision. Now for the Highlanders and Chiefs efforts - not so sharp, as it happens.
The Highlanders, predictably, tickled up the Sunwolves in Invercargill but were unconvincing for periods prior to waltzing home 40-15. Still, it was better than that ugly effort by the Chiefs in Perth.
As you watched the Chiefs scrape out the 16-7 win over the Force you couldn’t help but stifle the yawns and wonder if all they wanted was to get the heck out of Western Australia.
Over to Chiefs coach Dave Rennie to summarise this effort: ‘‘It was a substandard performance in some key areas, but we just have really high expectations. And our mindset is that we have to be better than that if we have aspirations to win this competition.’’
Chiefs halfback Finlay Christie was also alleged to have committed an act of foul play (stamping/trampling), with the citing commissioner noting his footwork actions met the red card threshold.
Elsewhere, red cards were issued to the Sharks centre Andre Esterhuizen and Rebels halfback Nic Stirzaker during the uninspiring 9-9 draw in Durban. The former was marched for a dangerous tackle on Sefanaia Naivalu, while Stirzaker was forced to take a hike after collecting two yellow card for intentionally offending.
But back to the efforts of the Kiwi teams for a moment - although not the Blues, who had the bye.
If NZ Rugby could somehow convince a cashed up billionaire to support their game, there could be merit in ditching all the other Sanzaar parties as their contribution to this ailing competition continues to disappoint.
Just days after naming of the British and Irish Lions squad to tour New Zealand sent the Kiwi media into a frenzy, several uncapped players produced performances that, if they were cloaked in the colours of a club inside the boundaries of the four nations, would have Lions boss Warren Gatland scrambling to see if they were eligible for his lot.
Go no further than the Hurricanes midfield of Ngane Laumape and Vince Aso as examples. Neither is likely to feature for the All Blacks against the Lions, given Sonny Bill Williams, Ryan Crotty, Anton Lienert-Brown, Malakai Fekitoa and George Moala have already got test caps, but the form of the Canes’ duo is compelling.
Now let’s take a look at the Waratahs, once the shining diamond of Aussie rugby. What is happening on the eastern seaboard of Australia?
Their 26-24 loss to the Kings in Sydney was new low for the game over the creek. No wonder their fans couldn’t even muster the desire to boo them off the park, instead just filing silently out of Allianz Stadium like stunned zombies.
Elsewhere, the Lions required a late penalty by Elton Jantjies to defeat the Jaguares 24-21 in Johannesburg: two offshore teams that are at least doing their bit to help promote a sickly competition badly in need of the proposed revamp.