What to make of Crusaders loss and other Super Rugby Pacific talking points - Phil Gifford

The Waratahs beat the Crusaders 34-27. Photo / Photosport

OPINION

Phil Gifford runs through the talking points after the latest round of Super Rugby Pacific.

Nervous times in Christchurch

Some things you could rely on in Christchurch: daffodils blooming in Hagley Park to signal spring, queues for pies at the Aorangi Bakery and the Crusaders setting the standard in Super Rugby.

So it won’t just have been losing 37-24 to the Waratahs in Melbourne that’s shocked Crusaders fans, but also the drop in form from their team’s narrow loss to the Chiefs last weekend.

The task for new coach Rob Penney doesn’t get any easier next Saturday when his team face the Fijian Drua in Suva, playing in predicted 30C temperatures with stifling humidity and possible thunderstorms.

There can’t be any excuses for being beaten by the Waratahs. The team from Sydney hustled better at the breakdown, upset the Crusaders’ lineout and had a commanding captain in Jake Gordon who, at halfback, was in the perfect position to organise tactics and execution.

Are the mighty actually falling?

Maybe not, although there are some scary signs. The loss of Richie Mo’unga is massive. His command and goal-kicking would have been gold in Melbourne.

The raw pairing of halfback Noah Hotham and first five-eighths Taha Kemara struggled because what has usually been a Rolls Royce ride for the halves from the Crusaders forwards spluttered and stalled.

It was a fitting, untidy end to a hugely frustrating, error-riddled performance that the final whistle was blown by referee Brendon Pickerill because Crusaders hooker Quentin MacDonald baulked an attacking lineout throw.

But it’s far too early to dismiss the Crusaders as yesterday’s team. There’s a backbone of experience and huge commitment in players like Scott Barrett, Tom Christie and Sevu Reece.

If Penney and his coaching staff can use that talent pool as a calming, inspirational influence, there are still 13 weeks left to fight back.

The Waratahs beat the Crusaders 34-27. Photo / Photosport

Starting up front

“Forward play is like a wedding,” a legendary Welsh prop once said. “You want to be up the front with the family, not hanging around at the back with the friends.”

Two wins into Super Rugby Pacific and the Blues’ powerful pack are living those words, epitomised in the 37-29 victory over the Highlanders by No 8 Hoskins Sotutu, whose three tries reflected his bruising physicality.

Sotutu’s form had the feel of a “pick me” sign for the All Blacks selectors in the stand. On the other hand, the initial messages Scott Robertson and Jason Ryan got from Steven Perofeta were mixed. In the first 40 minutes his game, usually precise, included far too much aimless kicking. But at the back end of the first half, a switch flicked. He dared to play what he saw on the field and ran from behind his own goal-line. The end result was a brilliant length-of-the-field movement, culminating in a try for Mark Tele’a.

Wales’ gift to Dunedin

Coach Clarke Dermody nabbing Welsh international first five-eighths Rhys Patchell may prove the best decision made for the Highlanders since Jamie Joseph signed a Feilding hairdresser named Aaron Smith in 2011.

Patchell shows all the composure you’d expect from a 30-year-old, 22-test veteran and the wonderful bonus is that he has an all-round game that includes fearless running and beautiful offloading. In a team with plenty of energy but not a lot of experience, Patchell looks like a gift from the Land Of My Fathers that’ll keep on giving.

They should be dancing in Apia and Nuku’alofa

Rugby got a thrilling, daring, showcase in the Moana Pasifika’s 39-36 victory over the Fijian Drua.

For sheer spectacle, it’s hard to beat the magnificent sight of a powerful wing like Selestino Ravutaumada screaming up the middle of the field, flying past dazed defenders left clutching at air.

But as dazzling as the Drua were, Moana held their nerve and they should gain back-to-back victories when they play the Melbourne Rebels next Friday in Albany.

Moana Pasifika celebrate their 39-36 win over Fijian Drua. Photo / Photosport

Promise fulfilled

As Bonnie Jansen noted in her Super Rugby Aupiki preview, in women’s rugby, physiological nuances lead the players “to employ smarter strategies, shifting the narrative from mere physicality to intricate ball control and possession”.

That sort of cohesive play was exactly what we saw in the first two matches in the Aupiki competition, in which the Blues upset the South Island’s Matatū 24-17 and the Chiefs Manawa were impressive in a 46-24 victory over the Hurricanes Poua.

There were some terrific tries scored, but the most brilliant touch of the round was a defensive save by the Blues’ Niall Williams-Guthrie in the 46th minute of their game. Matatū wing Martha Matalele was in mid-air, diving across the line, when Williams-Guthrie, also airborne, flicked the ball out of Matalele’s hand with the precision of a Swiss watchmaker.