Hurricanes halfback Cam Roigard in action against the Crusaders. Photo / Photosport
Hurricanes halfback Cam Roigard in action against the Crusaders. Photo / Photosport
OPINION
There was a reversal of roles in the Hurricanes’ 14-10 victory over the Crusaders in Christchurch when huge pressure led to a 76th-minute try to the Canes’ Justin Sangster after an upset for the ages looked possible.
Over the past seven seasons, the Crusaders aced the artof snatching last-gasp victories, but this time the heartache was reserved for their fans, not the opposition’s.
It took huge composure from the Canes to edge past a Crusaders side playing their best rugby of the ‘24 Super Pasifika season.
The command of Cam Roigard and Brett Cameron, at halfback and first-five, was especially essential. The Canes were adjusting to life without Jordie Barrett at second-five, as he missed the first of his three-week ban for a high tackle against the Reds.
Now unbeaten after four rounds, the Hurricanes’ home game against the Chiefs on April 13 shapes as a huge indicator of who could be playing the final.
Be careful what you wish for
Since the South African teams left Super Rugby, it’s been generally agreed that the competition badly needs the Australian teams to provide better opposition.
Now we have the Reds looking comfortable in second place on the table, and the Brumbies in fifth, on the same competition points as the fourth-placed Blues.
The nervous reality for Kiwi teams is that very little is guaranteed playing the Reds, the Brumbies, or, as the Blues discovered in Sydney, the ninth-placed Waratahs.
The Blues showed cool expertise in the 57th minute to slickly set up Zarn Sullivan for the try that sealed the game, 12-10. They’ll provide a massive challenge at Eden Park next Saturday for the Crusaders in a match that will show whether the Southerners have turned a corner, or the Canes’ match was a last-gasp effort.
Blues wing Mark Telea is tackled against the Waratahs. Photo / Getty Images
The Brumbies look frisky
While the Highlanders have yet to recover the form that won them the title in 2015, they’ve been hard-nosed enough that facing them in Dunedin this year hasn’t been easy.
Their spirit is epitomised by captain Billy Harmon, who in the 27-21 loss to the Brumbies tackled like his life depended on it, and in the 58th minute scored an extraordinary try by wrestling, bucking, and fighting his way past five tackles to the try line.
But the Brumbies took the pressure and had the composure to seal the victory with a rolling maul four minutes from time.
Flying close to the ground
“You can coach a lot into players,” the great All Black coach Sir Fred Allen once told me, “but you can’t do much with a back who doesn’t have real speed.” A reminder of how spectacular blinding pace is came in the 42nd minute of the game in Dunedin, when Brumbies’ wing, Corey Toole, was passed the ball 35m from the tryline.
Toole, still only 24, was a superstar for the Australian sevens side.
It was easy to see why as he streaked away for a try.
A careful groundsman might have considered checking for scorch marks on the ground tracing the curve he ran to the line.
Strength and style
Moana Pasifika made the most of their visit to Perth with a 22-14 win against the Western Force.
The well-earned victory came on the back of two grinding forward tries, and then, seven minutes into the second half, a beautifully executed set piece.
First-five Christian Leali’ifano ran at full pace onto a long throw to a lineout 55m from the Force goal-line.
He slipped an inside pass to wing Kyren Taumoefolau, who sprinted half the length of the field for the crucial try.
Mission accomplished
There was some vicious online reaction to the Hurricanes Poua daring to introduce a political element to their pre-match haka.
Amongst the sadly misogynistic comments, a recurring theme was that the action itself was stupid, because, as some sneered, “nobody watches women’s rugby anyway, so who heard the anti-government message?” The answer, largely thanks to the furore fired by critics, is probably most sentient beings in New Zealand.
Which was possibly the point of the exercise.
Phil Gifford has twice been judged New Zealand sportswriter of the year, has won nine New Zealand and two Australasian radio awards, and been judged New Zealand Sports Columnist of the year three times. In 2010 he was honoured with the SPARC lifetime achievement award for services to sports journalism.
