Super Rugby: Week two winners and losers

Back of the week - Aphiwe Dyantyi
Let me introduce you to a future Springboks winger. The 23-year-old Dyantyi made his Super Rugby debut for the Lions last week, and has already taken the competition by storm, scoring three tries and showing a diverse range of skills. Two of the tries came in the Lions' 47-27 victory over the Jaguares yesterday, where Dyantyi ran for 158 metres, and remarkably beat 11 defenders and made five clean breaks. Extremely quick and a nimble stepper, New Zealand fans will surely be seeing more of him very shortly.

Forward of the week - Sam Cane
His Chiefs side may have lost, but it was by no fault of Cane's, who started his season with a performance that we've come to expect from the All Blacks flanker. Cane was ever-present against the Crusaders, with a significant workrate as he carried the ball with regularity, and a regular at the breakdown. He even displayed a stunning turn of pace, racing 40 metres to score. With their side depleted, the Chiefs will need more of the same from Cane as the season progresses.

High-octane Highlanders hold off Blues in season opener

Coach killer – Swinging arms

Here are three things which will be hearing weekly this Super Rugby season: Coach whinging, ref bashing, and the word 'tiddlywinks'. We hit the trifecta this week, after five – five! – players were given cards for swinging arms. Most of them were controversial, with the recently tweaked laws of the games not allowing any contact to the head – regardless of intent, or how low the ball carrier is to the ground. So sorry, Antonio Kirikiri, Scott Higginbotham, Michael Alaalatoa, Lachlan Boshier and Pierre Schoeman. Your coaches can complain all they like, but things aren't changing.

Has Super Rugby gone soft?

Up

Points, glorious points
For four straight seasons, tries per game have increased in Super Rugby, and the early signs point to that trend continuing in 2018. Every team scored at least 19 points this week – the first time that has happened since March 2014 – and even if the scoring doesn't quite keep pace with prior years, the culling of three teams should mean we could at least get close high-scoring games. The purists might not like it, but Super Rugby needs the casual fan, and this will help.

Lions
For a team who have made the Super Rugby final two years running, the Lions may have slipped under the radar again. Fair enough in some respects, considering that status has come largely because of the conference system and an easy schedule, but two wins to start puts them back in a familiar spot atop the ladder. This year, they have to play four Kiwi teams – two of them in New Zealand – and that should be a big test. Until then, expect them challenging at the top once more.

Down

Hurricanes
When your coach labels a 21-19 defeat to the Bulls as the worst performance in his tenure, you better believe that the Hurricanes are making the "Down" section. While Chris Boyd seems to have forgotten about the 52-10 loss to the Brumbies in 2016, the result was a disappointing opening for the Hurricanes, and for the six Herald rugby experts who picked them for the title. However, before I get booted out of the Herald rugby clique, it's not all bad news, because…

Irrelevant results
Recent history tells us that it's unwise to react too strongly to opening round results. In 2017, the Crusaders looked underwhelming in beating the Brumbies, 17-13. In 2016, the Hurricanes had the aforementioned 52-10 loss to the Brumbies. 2015? The Highlanders lost to the Crusaders. All of those sides went on to win the title. So, there's no need for losing teams to take the lead of Nikki Minaj and pound the alarm. Except for maybe the Reds. You guys are screwed.

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