Another weekend of Super Rugby Pacific saw another couple of shock results with the Waratahs flying the Australian banner courtesy of a 21-14 win over the Chiefs while the Brumbies got the better of the Reds in an all-Australian affair in Queensland.
The aforementioned results have seen changes at the top end of the log with the Brumbies up to third while the Crusaders have leapfrogged the Chiefs into top spot.
There was also a bit of movement at the bottom end of the standings with the Blues victory over Moana Pasifika seeing them draw level on points with the eighth-placed Hurricanes.
We’ve got an enticing looking fixtures list headed our way this coming weekend with the opener seeing old foes the Crusaders and Blues square off in Canterbury, while the other fixture to catch the eye is Saturday’s clash between Moana Pasifika and the Brumbies.
Friday
We’ve just got the sole Friday evening fixture to look forward to but it promises to be a cracker with new log-leaders, the Crusaders, taking on traditional rivals, and current ninth-placed outfit, the Blues on the South Island.
The hosts have been the form team over the past month or so and come into this one having won five of their last six games, with their most recent victory being last weekend’s 24-31 win over the Hurricanes in Wellington.
It was like watching the Crusaders of old in the Kiwi capital with their first try coming from a brilliant, long-range rolling maul, their second seeing some neat interplay between forwards and backs.
Their third coming from lineout pressure and opportunism, their fifth from a powerful finish from a winger – Chay Fihaki take a bow – and their sixth and final coming from a five metre rolling maul.
The Blues were also decent value for their victory over Moana Pasifika with the Auckland side looking far more fluid on attack than they have during the rest of the season.
While the majority of their tries did come from efforts from the boys with the low numbers on their backs, the Blues backs did have some nice attacking moments with Beuaden Barrett once again the catalyst with ball-in-hand.
Looking ahead to this weekend, it looks like the Crusaders will be without David Havilli for a while again with the All Black leaving the field after just 30 minutes on his return from an Achillies issue.
He looked to have the same problem on Saturday. There is some good news for the Saders, however, with All Black Cody Taylor returning to the run-on XV while Antonio Shalfoon joins Scott Barrett in the second-row pairing.
For the Blues, Caleb Clarke is out due to injury with Cole Forbes getting a start on the wing, while promising Zarn Sullivan cracks the nod at fullback.
Friday Single
Blues (+)
I suspect this will be a close run affair with the Blues likely to turn it into a scrap. While I can’t see them winning it – the Crusaders have too strong a forward pack for that – I can see them keeping things tight.
Saturday
Over to Saturday’s four fixtures list and we start the day off bright and early with a clash between the Drua and Waratahs at my personal favourite ground in the ‘comp, Churchill Park.
The Drua are heading home off a couple of rough weeks with the Fijian outfit winless since the 8th of March, when they shocked the Chiefs in Suva.
They’ve lost their four fixtures since and they haven’t really looked at the races with their narrowest losing margin being by 17 points. They now sit rooted to the foot of the tournament log, some eight points behind Moana Pasifika.
The Waratahs managed to make home ground advantage count this past weekend as they returned from a dismal short tour of New Zealand, that saw them suffer heavy defeats to Moana Pasifika and the Hurricanes, to put on a display of note as they beat the Chiefs 21-14 in Sydney.
The catalyst for the win was centre/fullback Joseph Sualli who opened the scoring and chewed up metres every time the ball was kicked onto him.
In terms of team news for Saturday’s opener, the Drua were yet to announce their squad at the time of writing. The Waratahs have shown their hand, however, and have taken a big risk leaving Angus Bell, Rob Leota and Taniela Tupou out of the squad.
We head from Fiji to New Zealand for our next fixture which sees Moana Pasifika tackle the Brumbies. The two sides endured contrasting fortunes in Round 9 with the Brumbies causing something of a shock by beating the Reds in an Aussie derby, while Moana were beaten 36-17 by the Blues in Auckland.
The hosts for Saturday’s were surprisingly flat against the Blues as they offered little on attack until late on the second stanza where they scored two tries in the final ten minutes to add some respectability to the scoreboard.
The Brumbies may have been slow off the mark last weekend with the men from Canberra trailing the Reds 14-0 with little over 15 minutes having been played, but they came back into the game with venom as they scored three tries in 20-minutes to take a 21-14 lead into the half-time break. And while they would concede the first try of the second-half, they didn’t look back from their adding a further three tries to their tally while only allowing their opponents to bag one more.
Both teams have opted for a couple switches for this one with Moana bringing in Julian Savea to their midfield. We won’t see Julian link up with Ardie, however, as the younger of the brothers is set for a week off due to New Zealand rugby rest protocols.
For the Brumbies, Rhys van Nek comes into the front row alongside Lachlan Lonergan, while Cam Sheppard comes into the centres.
We’ve got a Kiwi derby next up with a wounded Chiefs side taking on the Highlanders, who head into this one off only their third win of the campaign.
It seems it’s a case of no D-Mac at ten, no party for the Chiefs as they fell to another defeat without the All Black controlling proceedings. While McKenzie was on the field, he didn’t have as much say with the 15 jumper on his back and was actually outclassed by his opposite number Joseph Sua’ali’i as the Chiefs went down 24-14 to the Waratahs in Sydney.
Unsurprisingly, Clayton McMillan has opted to return McKenzie to fly-half for Saturday’s derby.Other changes to his backline see Shaun Stevenson move to fullback, Emoni Narawa come in on the wing and Curtis Rona come into the centres.
There’s further changes up front with Aidan Ross part of a new look front row while Jahrome Brown comes in on the flank.
The Highlanders had a far better time of it in Round 9 as they recorded a 43-20 win over the Drua with the victory stopping a four-match losing streak. They were good value for their win as they managed to keep the Drua at arm’s length for the majority of the fixture before a couple late tries saw them add gloss to the scoreline.
Jamie Joseph has opted for the ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it’ approach, with the Highlanders mentor making just one change for this one. The switch sees Mitch Dunshea coming into the second row.
From Waikato to Perth we head with our final fixture of the round seeing the Western Force square off with the Hurricanes at HBF Park. The hosts are enjoying a tremendous season and currently sit fifth on the log having won four of their eight fixtures.
They head into this one off the back of a well-deserved bye week which came after a 29-20 win over the Highlanders. They have only lost once on home soil this term and they’ll be looking to keep that home record up here.
While the Force had their feet up, they suffered their fifth defeat of the campaign as they went down 24-31 to a resurgent Crusaders outfit. They are really becoming the nearly men of Super Rugby with four of their five defeats being by eight points or less.
Looking ahead to Saturday’s fixture, the visitors have opted for a couple changes with Ruben Love moving to fly-half having impressed in the fullback berth. This means that young gun Callum Harkin will get his third start of the campaign.
The ‘Cranes are also boosted by the return of backs Billy Proctor and Riley Higgins, who will form part of a formidable bench. For the Force, Bayley Kuenzle makes his return from injury as he comes in on the wing.
Saturday Singles
Drua Win
While the Tahs have improved this term, I reckon the Drua offer a potential banana peel. Churchill Park is an intimidating place to play and the Drua will be well up for this one.
Moana Pasifika Win
I’m expecting an immediate bounce back from Moana here. They were poor last weekend and they will want a response. The Brumbies were also made to work for their win over the Reds and they may well feel fatigued come the final 20-minutes. A half-time/full-time double of Brumbies/Moana Pasifika could be an option here.
Chiefs Minus
McKenzie is back at ten and that makes this Chiefs side a real threat. The midfield battle in this one should be a cracker but I reckon the Chiefs superior outside backs will be the difference makers here.
Hurricanes Win
I like the look of Ruben Love at ten. I’m backing him to spear this faltering ‘Canes side to a win in Perth.
Weekend Treble
Blues Plus, Chiefs Minus, and Hurricanes Win.
