Unveiled in a new format, with a new franchise, the Southern Hemisphere’s premier domestic rugby competition started this weekend with games played from Friday through Sunday. Unfortunately Super Rugby did not have a great start in its new incarnation, as crowd numbers were not as high as anticipated and there were more than a few lackluster performances. This was balanced by at least three games that were of very high quality, but the opening match of the tournament, with its high error count and low spectator numbers does not bode well for the remaining weeks of this long competition.
Fourteen teams began their campaign, with only the Stormers of South Africa receiving a bye in the opening round.
A Poor Start
The new Super Rugby season kicked off on Friday February 18th in Wellington, New Zealand, as the Hurricanes hosted the Highlanders from New Zealand’s deep south. The game was an error-prone affair, and the Highlanders shocked the home team with a 14-9 victory. The Hurricanes, who had no fewer than 5 current All Blacks in their backline, didn’t look like scoring a try for most of the game, the only dot-down coming from the Highlanders rookie fly-half Lima Sopoaga after a great break by scrum-half Jimmy Cowen. The Highlanders #9 was also the feature of another dramatic moment, as Hurricanes center Ma’a Nonu charged him with a shoulder; a dangerous tackle that resulted in a red card and a citing for the All Black #12.
In the other Friday game, the Waratahs demolished a hapless Melbourne Rebels team with a 43-0 victory. The Rebels, playing in their first Super Rugby season, started well in the opening 15 minutes but faded fast once the Waratahs found their form. Two tries apiece for Kurtley Beale and Drew Mitchell out of the seven tries total scored by the visiting ‘Tahs ensured a full-house of five log points for last year’s semi finalists.
Higher Intensity
While those opening two games were lacking in intensity and a certain degree of skill, things improved with the Saturday games. Two of the competitions best teams, the Crusaders from Christchurch and the Blues from Auckland fought out a cracking match at Eden Park. Two well taken tries gave the Crusaders a healthy 19-6 lead at halftime before the Blues came back with a wonderful display of rugby, scoring three tries to take a hard fought 24-22 victory. Both teams showed a willingness to attack, and one of the best features of the game was some hard-hitting defense.
The Canberra-based Brumbies hosted the Chiefs of New Zealand in the first “international” game of the new Super Rugby season, and the outcome could have been much different if the visiting team hadn’t squandered three glorious try-scoring opportunities within three first-half minutes. In the end the Brumbies did just enough early on, opening up an 18-3 halftime lead, and they managed to thwart a late charge by the Waikato-based outfit to record a 28-20 win. The Chiefs found some cohesion in the second half, however, to match the Brumbies with three tries, including a well worked move at the death.
South Africa’s Hopes
Later on the Saturday the South African sides played their first games, although storms and heavy rain dampened the match in Durban between the home side Sharks and the visiting Cheetahs. There was not much running, innovative rugby on offer in the match, with the Sharks managing just two tries during the game, although the Cheetahs failed to cross the line. Three penalties and a conversion from the home side’s talented fly-half Patrick Lambie enabled the Sharks to record a 24-9 victory and a vital winning start to the competition.
A much better encounter played out in Johannesburg where the home team Lions, who had not won a single game in the entire competition last season, hosted the defending tournament champions, the Bulls. Things started pretty much as expected as the Bulls scored two first half tries in addition to four penalty kicks by fly-half Morne Steyn to take a 24-5 lead into the break. But the Lions showed an unwavering determination and hammered away at their more illustrious opponents, scoring three tries and almost pulling the rabbit out of the hat. They came up short however as the Bulls held on to record a 24-20 victory.
The first weekend of Super Rugby drew to a close on Sunday February 20th as the Force, from Perth in Australia, traveled to Brisbane to take on their country rivals the Reds. After seasons of mediocrity the Reds had a good campaign last year and expectations were high before the game kicked off. They were almost shocked on opening day. The Force played strong and hard and had a 20-14 lead entering the final five minutes of the match before Reds replacement hooker James Hansen scored a try and Australia international fly-half Quade Cooper slotted the conversion to lift the Reds to a 21-20 win.
While the opening week of the Super Rugby season has, in the past, been a scrappy affair with sub-par performances, it was hoped that this year things would be different. They will get better; there is no doubt about that, as teams find their cohesion and players their match fitness. Super Rugby, it is certain, will not disappoint.
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