Chris Rattue: Little power or glory on show in battle of the titans

Saturday's clash between the Chiefs and Hurricanes was let down by fundamental errors from both sides and a lack of flowing football. Photo / Getty Images

Having watched all of one game and half of another in the Super 14 dogfight over the weekend, the rugby juices began to flow in anticipation of the weeks ahead.

Not the immediate weeks though. The international season can't come soon enough, with all of its high-profile drama and intrigue.

Let's remain hopeful and say that all is not lost on the Super 14 front, but it needs to raise its game in the final three weeks.

Watching the Super 14 has been a bit of a slog and Saturday night was supposed to be a payoff. If this table-topping clash between the Chiefs and the Hurricanes in Hamilton is the best that rugby has to offer, the game has yet to fix its gremlins.

The match was certainly gripping, thanks to its importance and the closeness of the score. It delivered plenty in this way, aided by being played in a terrific rugby stadium.

Quality wise though, you have a right to expect more.

A conclusion that could be reached, having watched this supposed battle of the titans, is that in many circumstances, rugby has become a game that is too hard to play to a high level.

If the Sharks and the Crusaders had fought out a one-try-each fizzer, you could understand (if not forgive) it. Those two teams are lead balloons on the entertainment front with just enough hard-nosed helium on board to get into title contention. Every competition needs its dour battlers, if only as a point of reference and difference.

But the Chiefs and the Hurricanes?

Aren't these supposed to be rugby's entertainers, with All Black backs to burn. This is their time, their season, and Saturday night was a moment in which at least one of them could make a glorious statement of intent. Neither did.

The Crusaders have an excuse for their attacking malaise, rebuilding as they are in the post-Robbie Deans era.

The Chiefs and Hurricanes should have been in top gear at Hamilton.

Night rugby, a bit of rain, a lack of Richie McCaw-slash-Dan Carter type class in either side, and the standard falls apart.

The number of tries isn't the only guide to a great game of course. But the scoreline wasn't kept down by high-quality trench warfare in Hamilton.

Poor handling and passing, average kicking, a lack of flowing football... that's what killed the scoring, or potential for scoring. The Chiefs and their fans will care little about this however and nor should they. They won, and that's what counts, and they can begin to dream about winning the title.

Across the ditch, the Blues played their usual juvenile rugby. Forty minutes of watching them was more than enough. The Brumbies are not the Brumbies of old, but they still have that co-ordinated air.

No teams or players have stamped a mark on this tournament, although I can't wait to see how the Blues wing Rene Ranger develops. He looks a fabulous prospect and perhaps with more energy than the magical Chief Sitiveni Sivivatu, who remains this country's premier wing although he doesn't always appear to have his mind on the job. As for Joe Rokocoko, a lament. Where is the old Rokocoko?

The Super 12/14 has been a wonderful tournament for much of its short history, but not any more.

Think back to its great days... remember that night when the Crusaders went berserk and annihilated the Waratahs. Opposing coaches talked about the quality of support running by those old Crusaders, the timing and positioning.

Then there were those fabulous Stephen Larkham moments, a celebration of rugby at its finest, or the sight (and sound) of the one and only George Gregan flowing - and debating - his way through a game.

There was a full house in Hamilton on Saturday. This is the Chiefs' finest season, and patient fans can dream about winning a title. They don't have an awful lot to beat.

The one certainty this tournament has left is unpredictability. There isn't a clear favourite.

The collapse of the Sharks, who were roaring towards the title not so long ago, has been utterly spectacular and they will probably miss the cut.

Relying heavily on defence, the Sharks were succeeding above the quality of their lineup for much of the year. Now, they are performing way below it.

Their coach John Plumtree says the one thing he detests is inconsistency. He has a lot to detest.

The Sharks' demise has helped let the Crusaders in. Unless the Crusaders have a personality transplant, it would be a travesty for such a limited team to take the title, an indictment on the quality of the tournament.

You can still marvel at the way the traditional Crusaders' fighting spirit has found its way into this lesser team. In the old days, watching the Crusaders was like watching a highlights reel. Now, it is like viewing the out-takes. Bypassing the Crusaders and the Reds' match was easy to do.

The Hurricanes and Chiefs explode on their good days, but the Wellington mob are too reliant on Ma'a Nonu while the Chiefs let their brilliant wingers drift out of the game on Saturday night.

If the Bulls can carry home advantage into the finals, they might be narrow favourites, but they haven't fired up in the second half of the season on home soil.

A last word on Stirling Mortlock. He put his body, and his head, on the line yet again for the Brumbies. He is now the Super 14's leading points scorer of all time.

Mortlock is an outstanding rugby warrior.

When you watch him, all banged up and still raring to go, you see past a warhorse wing and think back to when Mortlock was the king of centres and surrounded by stars, when the Super competition was flourishing in its glory days.