Super Rugby Recap – Third Round

Highlanders vs. Reds

In a battle of teams unlikely to feature in the knockout rounds of the competition, the Highlanders deserved their 20-13 win against the injury-decimated Reds, who had several new names in their line-up. For the losers, Genia seems to have found a new lease on life and O’Connor hinted at his talents. Anthony Fainga’a is always committed, but he concedes too many penalties. The Highlanders will struggle up front against the more powerful teams, but their defences, with the Smiths, Ben and Aaron, Banks, Fekitoa and Naholo as standouts, will continue to pose problems for any team.

Hurricane Strength

The Hurricanes have given new coach Chris Boyd the best possible start to the season with three road wins out of three. Coupled with their consistent distribution of the ball down the back, the Hurricanes now have a competitive group of forwards. They were quick on the break, strong in the scrum and have added a rolling mallet to their arsenal. In the absence of Jeremy Thrush, Broadhurst and Abbott were terrific at blocking. Back, Barrett is full of ideas but Julián Savea’s hands let him down on occasions. Lee-Lo put in a serviceable performance in the absence of Conrad Smith and Smiley was fair, but he’s not Perenara. (Force 13 Hurricanes 42)

Cheetahs vs. Blues

It is becoming a somewhat worrying trend in rugby that the team that wins most aspects of a game ends up losing. The Blues completely dominated this match in terms of territory, possession and pretty much everything else. However, as is their custom, they squandered several chances, gave away soft tries, and made wrong choices. Faumuina’s late-game substitution led to a penalty at the scrum, allowing the Cheetahs to kick the winning points. West continued his excellent form with the boot and Kaino, in his 100th super rugby match, was a powerful presence. Those dynamic game-breakers, Willie le Roux and Sarel Pretorius, eventually won the day for the Cheetahs, who are punching above their weight right now. (Cheetahs 25 Blues 24)

Chiefs vs. Crusaders

This was a physical encounter in which the Chiefs were hit hard by losing Retallick early on, while the Crusaders lost Robbie Fruean. Judging by some of the penalties awarded in this game and in other recent matches, any contact between players competing for the ball in the air results in at least one penalty and often a yellow card against one of them, which it’s a ridiculous situation. Both defenses were aggressive, with Tameifuna for the Chiefs and Taufua for the Crusaders throwing big punches. The Chiefs were much more effective on offense with excellent kick chasing and quick support play, while the Crusaders continue to run their attacks side by side, making them much easier to defend against. The selection of the Chiefs of Pulu in place of Weber was crucial and Elliot’s line shooting was greatly improved. Heem and, to a lesser extent, Weber are the only weak links on this Chiefs team right now. The Crusaders are struggling but will soon welcome several rested All Blacks. (Bosses 40 Crusaders 16)

Rebels vs Brumbies

This was another match that the dominant team lost. The Rebels dominated both halves but made some bad decisions, failed to take advantage of opportunities and made too many dumb mistakes. Higginbotham’s lack of discipline sets a bad example for a captain and scrumhalf Nic Stirzaker takes on too much for him. The Rebels weren’t helped by the fact that the Brumbies’ cynical play went unpunished, while Steve Walsh had one of his worst games as a referee. The Brumbies played smarter rugby and their use of the rolling maul, along with their defending, were far superior to the Rebels. (Rebels 15 Brumbies 20)

bulls against sharks

This probably wasn’t an appropriate game to award to a debuting referee, but it was rather the fault of TMO Johan Greeff that one and perhaps two tries, which should not have been awarded, were indeed awarded to the Bulls. The match showcased the skills of what are obviously the best fly-halfs in the country, in Lambie and Pollard. Labuschagne and Strauss’s work rate for the Bulls was exemplary and they are proving to be excellent purchases for the Bulls from the Cheetahs. Matfield had a better performance and for the Sharks, Kankowski made a successful comeback, while Marcel Coetzee was excellent on the break in particular. The Bulls will be happy but the Sharks had a bit of bad luck (Bulls 43 Sharks 35)

Lions vs. Stormers

In a change from last year, things tend to go in favor of the Stormers rather than against them. In wet conditions, not following the Lions, the scrums were fairly even, but the Stormers lineout suffered from poor shooting from Mbonambi, who was otherwise quite good in the park. Muller was effective in contesting the Stormers lineout and the Lions did well in the breakdown. However, in the first half in particular, they looked disorganized and right prop Koch continued to impress the Stormers in the scrum. Behind the Lions pack, de Klerk struggled and this affected Jantjies, who didn’t always make the right choices, taking a crucial penalty and dropping a high kick, leading to the Stormers’ only try. More of the skills and fluidity of last year’s Currie Cup campaign came through for the Lions in the second half, but some will say their insistence on going for the win, rather than an easy kick for an equalizer, was foolish. . However, that is part of his positive approach to rugby and if Mnisi hadn’t dropped the ball over the line after his colleagues had gone 28 phases without a miss and then, minutes later, dropped it again a few meters from the line , the Lions would have been victorious. . De Jongh and de Allende were good in the center for the Stormers. The Lions should think about giving hooker Armand van der Merwe more playing time and consider Jaco van der Walt as a fly half. (Lions 19 Stormers 22)