Super showings: Blues, Brumbies teams to beat
Six talking points from the weekend’s Super Rugby Pacific
They’re not fooling around
It’s a measure of the unity in the Blues squad that when the Rebels led 14-0 after four minutes at Eden Park, the Blues didn’t turn on each other, or try to all be heroes by playing as 15 individuals, or chuck the towel in. Instead they stayed calm, and for the next 36 minutes produced rugby as brilliant as any in the team’s history. Their 71-28 win reduced the Rebels to a rabble.
There were many tries to treasure. Mark Telea’s spectacular dive across the line in the 38th minute had a Big Air touch of Nico Porteous about it.
But the best memory will be the razor-edged precision of a planned move from a lineout in the 62nd minute, ending with Rieko Ioane hitting a pass 41 metres from the Rebels line at full blistering pace to blaze his way untouched to score.
Neither are the Brumbies
The job for coaches hunting for weak points in the Brumbies doesn’t get easier.
At the back fullback Tom Banks offers flair and the speed of a sprinter. Halfback Nic White is the model of a shrewd, quick, aggressive halfback. Pete Samu is playing even better at No 8 than he did for the Crusaders, and their set pieces are clinical. The 38-28 defeat of the Chiefs in Hamilton was impressive in all respects.
Then there’s loose forward Rob Valetini. He’s big, quick, and plays with a relentless ferocity. Born in Melbourne, he was so good he was playing state senior rugby for Victoria while still at school. A Wallaby since 2019, Valetini’s a key man in one team that’s showing the embarrassing gap last year between Australia and New Zealand in Super Rugby has been erased.
Normal service resumes
With a reshuffled and apparently Covid affected line-up, the Crusaders looked a little like strangers in a strange land on the parched surface of HBF Park in Perth facing the Western Force.
Gradually things improved. Loose forwards Pablo Matera, Ethan Blackadder and Tom Christie were demons on defence. Then, nine minutes into the second half they burst into full Crusader mode. Will Jordan’s career is already packed with spectacular performances, and the hat-trick of tries he scored in the space of 20 minutes rates with his best.
His default facial expression in a game is high-stakes poker player deadpan, so it was a measure of how much he was enjoying himself that as he headed across the line for his second try you could have sworn the least flashy player in Super Rugby was smiling.
The final score, 53-15 to the Crusaders, was a fair reflection of the match. If the Crusaders can keep illness at bay Friday night’s game with the Brumbies in Canberra will be appointment viewing.
Homesick blues?
A week ago, roared on in Suva by the most vibrant crowd in Super Rugby so far this year, the Fijian Drua were sensational, even if the Highlanders edged them out by two points. By contrast, in Wellington playing the Hurricanes, the Drua looked listless, even disinterested. The 67-5 winning margin for the Canes didn’t flatter the home side.
Tyler Laubuscher looks a hugely promising 21-year-old loose forward, but in his run to set up a try for Wes Goosen in the 48th minute, four attempted tackles on him were deeply unconvincing.
The centre of attention
Heartbreak is almost the default position for Moana Pasifika, and the courage they showed against the Waratahs at Mt Smart wasn’t enough. The Tahs were down 17-0 after 20 minutes, but battled to a 26-20 win.
A bright spot was the play of Moana’s 111kg centre, Levi Aumua, who uses his massive frame to smash past tacklers, and to make shuddering tackles. It almost beggars belief that he couldn’t land a Super contract last year. At 27 he’s no wide-eyed newcomer, but there have been All Black midfielders less convincing than he’s been this season.
How well is this baton being passed?
The tag-team partnership of 102-test legend Aaron Smith and rising star Folau Fakatava for the Highlanders is a winner for everyone.
It works for Smith, who doesn’t have to flog himself to near exhaustion in every game.
It works for Fakatava, who is playing so well that, short of wearing a “Pick Me” sign, he couldn’t be announcing himself more to the All Black selectors.
And it certainly worked for the Highlanders in Brisbane against the Reds. At 60 minutes Fakatava slipped a pass for Scott Gregory to score a try that took the Highlanders into the lead. Six minutes later Fakatava went himself and darted in to touch down, and that was how the Highlanders won 27-19.