A big crowd
of more than 20,000 people. A repeat of last year’s final. A chance for the Blues to lock in support for the season. As they say, let the sunshine in.
Oops. Against earlier predictions of fine weather, the fans, the field and the players were drenched with some fierce downpours. On the spectacle scale, the first half especially was a dull letdown. The Chiefs muscled up after being down 14-6 at halftime and ran on a star-studded bench to upset the bookies and the Blues 25-14.
It’s more than three months too soon for any panic at the Blues. But when the Chiefs captain, Luke Jacobson, led the way with powerhouse tackling, the close-quarter game that won the title last year for the Blues suddenly looked a little limited. Any good news for Blues fans?
A coach as astute as Vern Cotter will no doubt work on a plan B, which will see attacking threats like Mark Tele’a, Rieko Ioane and Beauden Barrett involved a lot more than they were on Saturday night.
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Hard to go past Damian McKenzie, who in the second-half Chiefs recovery was a darting, daring firecracker.
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But Leroy Carter, a gift to Super Rugby Pacific from the All Blacks Sevens team, was a constant, fleet-footed threat on the wing. Carter’s continued progress for the Chiefs promises to be massively entertaining.
The beat goes on
In just the second round this coming weekend, we may get a hint of where the Kiwi teams are heading. In Hamilton on Friday, the Chiefs play the resurgent Crusaders. On Saturday, the Blues will be in Dunedin playing the Highlanders under a rain-proof roof.
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The south starts to rise again
Comeback stories are at the heart of what makes sport fascinating.
The riveting opening game of Super Rugby Pacific, the Crusaders’ 33-25 win over the Hurricanes in Christchurch on Friday, was a classic example.
Not only did the Crusaders have the horrors of 2024 to exorcise, but they had to deal with an opening quarter that felt like Nightmare In Addington 2 – The Sequel.
Leaking two tries, their most experienced forward, Scott Barrett, sin-binned after just three minutes and losing a key player, promising halfback Noah Hotham to injury after nine minutes, had a grim familiarity for Crusaders fans.
There are 15 rounds to go before the playoffs so it’s far too soon to predict a return to glory, but there was certainly a different feel to how the Crusaders reacted to being 14-0 down after 19 minutes.
Their defence on the flanks, which initially had looked disorganised, regrouped and quickly tightened up. Sevu Reece and Will Jordan led the way in counter-attack, their lineout work was impeccable and loose forward Cullen Grace had one of his best games in the jersey.
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And a huge bonus was provided by replacement halfback Kyle Preston, who not only scored three tries, but was cool and controlled behind an increasingly dominant pack. Best of all was the fact the victory was won with confident, exciting, running rugby – which meant that, as a spectacle, it was streets ahead of the Eden Park game.
Man of the match
A lot of contenders, but new Crusaders captain David Havili gets my vote. The phrase “leading by example” is one of the most overworked in rugby, but it perfectly expresses how the dynamic midfield attacking that Havili produced throughout the game lifted his team.
Sea of heartbreak
Across the Tasman, the Waratahs broke Highlanders’ hearts in Sydney, winning 37-36 when Tahs replacement prop Siosifa Amone scored by the posts with 38 seconds left to play.
It was a thrilling game, even if it may never feel like that to coach Jamie Joseph and his gutsy squad. The Tahs had an edge at the mauls, while the Highlanders showed that, given a hint of daylight, they have backs who can tear a defence to bits.
For sheer enterprise, the try of the game had to be the second scored by Highlanders wing Caleb Tangitau in the 63rd minute. Getting the ball from a quick throw-in, he dashed 40m, leaving four defenders looking as disconcerted as a visitor to Auckland who’s missed the last city exit from the motorway before the Harbour Bridge.
Man of the match
The Waratahs’ almost $2 million man, Joseph-Aukuso Sua’ali’i, played well at fullback, but Highlanders co-captain Timoci Tavatavanawai commanded the midfield.
Named the Landers’ most valuable player last year, he didn’t so much start the ′25 season in Sydney as explode into it. Amongst a host of positives, his workrate was the most impressive.
When Tavatavanawai is on the field, the Highlanders not only have an international-class second five, but a man who attacks breakdowns like a top-rank loose forward.
Talking of heartbreak
It took the most bizarre try of the weekend for the Western Force to edge Moana Pasifika 45-44, almost four minutes into injury time in Perth.
Down 44-38, the Force won the ball from a lineout on their own 10m line. They then bashed the ball up inside their half 26 times, taking the tackles and making 35 passes without knocking the ball on or losing it.
But there was not a sign of a breakthrough. Then, like lightning from a clear blue sky, their first five, Ben Donaldson, 70m from the tryline, found a gap and streaked away from exhausted defenders to score. His conversion from in front of the posts sealed the victory.
Fingers crossed for Moana there’ll be no miracle escape for the Queensland Reds in Brisbane next Friday.
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