Newstalk ZB’s lead rugby commentator Elliott Smith runs through the big talking points in rugby ahead of the weekend’s action.
A question ...
Poor night? Poor officiating? Poor adapting to the officiating? The latter seems the most likely for the Blues — who, aside from looking " rel="" title="https:// – ">weirdly toothless against the Chiefs after halftime, basically collected penalties for fun in that match. Sixteen times they heard the referee’s whistle go against them — more than any one game in their run to the title in 2024 — in fact in the three playoff games they played last year, they only conceded 20 in all. The best teams keep that count to under 10 a game.
A prediction ...
That will be the first and last time the Blues concede that many penalties in a match this year. Trying to win with 16 against you — even in Super Rugby Pacific, where penalty goals aren’t as prevalent — is nigh on impossible. A worrying number of those penalties came down to the Blues being demolished in the scrum. It was a weapon for them last year and no doubt the coaching staff pored over the footage in the days after to figure out if Damon Murphy or their front-rowers had got it all wrong.
The Blues conceded 16 penalties in their round-one loss to the Chiefs. Photo / Photosport
An explanation ...
Debate has raged in the NZ Herald/Newstalk ZB offices this week over whether the Ireland test on the All Blacks' end-of-year tour being played in Chicago disqualifies it from being considered a Grand Slam tour. Purists say no, one colleague points to the 1995 World Cup as being an “unofficial” grand slam after the All Blacks beat the four home unions at that tournament. My two cents — this year’s tour counts by virtue of it being just that, a tour. And you may as well count 1995 as well.
Plenty of time and attention has been spent on Richie Mo’unga and his possible, then likely, now delayed-and-uncertain homecoming, but it’s been fascinating to track some of the other New Zealanders in the Japan League One competition this season. Former Roosters NRL centre Joey Manu has impressed with his line-running and willingness to get involved, from the clips I’ve seen — although Rugby League journalist “The Mole” last week on Channel Nine indicated it was more likely than not that Manu would return to the NRL mid-season this year. From what I’ve seen so far, it would be a shame to call it quits so early, as he has shown promising signs that he could have quite the career in union.
A suggestion ...
Another player who should be catching the attention of Super scouts is Valynce Te Whare, the former NRL centre with the Dolphins who played for Waikato in the NPC — he’s playing for the Shizuoka Blue Revs and counts Springbok Kwagga Smith and former All Black Charles Piutau as teammates. He’s largely been used on the right wing and looks slimmer than during his NRL days, but retains explosive running power. There’s been some speculation he might stay in Japan and become eligible for the Brave Blossoms, but that would be a long wait. It’s a shame it’s quite hard to access the Japan League One in New Zealand — there’s one game broadcast a week via World Rugby’s RugbyPass function. The quality of the competition is growing.
