Big clash eases the Super grind
We’ve reached that point in the season where some staying power is required.
Early promise has made way for grim reality and some very one-sided matches loom between now and the end of the campaign. The majority of New Zealand sides remain playoffbound and while they’re involved – particularly in matches among themselves – then the public will retain interest in the competition.
Elsewhere, though, clashes such as the one between the Sunwolves and Jaguares on Saturday might not do a lot for Super Rugby’s credibility. That’s not to say there won’t be any entertainment value just that, if New Zealand viewers have one match in them that night, it’s more likely to be the Hurricanes against the Chiefs from Wellington.
That game at the Cake Tin, and an interesting matchup in Canberra, provide round nine’s undisputed highlights.
HIGHLANDERS v SHARKS
It’s testament to the New Zealand production line that the Highlanders and Hurricanes have carried on quite merrily without last year’s star players.
Waisake Naholo for the Highlanders and Nehe Milner-Skudder at the Hurricanes seemed to be playing a game of their own, last season. While everyone else was engaged in the traditional 80-minute grind, that pair appeared part of one long highlight reel.
It wasn’t just their football, but their stories too. Naholo, the Fijian who’d had stops in Whanganui, New Plymouth and Auckland and on his way to stardom in Dunedin and MilnerSkudder, who’d tried to crack the Sydney rugby league scene and ended up back in Palmerston North.
The rise of both was meteoric and yet their respective teams have hardly missed a beat without them this year. It’s remarkable.
HURRICANES v CHIEFS
nutrition when we’re in camp and they will want some of us to be a kilo or two lighter because we’re playing New Zealand, and there’s going to be a lot more running,’’ Wales flanker Dan Lydiate revealed on Walesonline.
‘‘If you’re lighter you can get up off the deck a bit quicker. When you are playing at a high tempo you can’t afford to be carrying excess weight.
‘‘If you can get your fat level down it’s a bonus because the less you’re carrying the further you’re going to be able to run..
‘‘Every season the game seems to be getting that much quicker and your reactions have to be sharper.
‘‘We’re only talking a kilo or two but you can feel the difference. I’m about 17st 9lb (112kg). Going back two years I was about 18st (114kg) but, even though I’m lighter, I haven’t lost any power.’’
Wales face the All Blacks in Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin on successive Saturdays in June.
They are also set to play double Super Rugby champions the Chiefs in a midweek encounter which will bring Wales to Gatland’s old hometown of Hamilton. Wales play England in a warmup match on May 29.
Australian rugby are investigating taking a Bledisloe Cup match against the All Blacks to Twickenham.
The radical move comes as they look at alternatives to Sydney with its massive Olympic stadium getting a major makeover from 2018.
The national union has a deal with the New South Wales government that commits a Bledisloe Cup test to Sydney every year through to 2021.
But the lack of a suitably-sized stadium is forcing them to think outside the square while the facelift is undertaken.
The Aussie bosses are waiting for expressions of interest from Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.
But London and New York are considered worthy options.