The Sharks proved us all wrong, while the Blues imploded. The Hurricanes bossed, in the second spell, their top of the table clash, while the Crusaders and Chiefs edged their gnarly old match-ups.
1 Hurricanes (First in NZC)
No Dane Coles, no Ardie Savea, no Matt Proctor, no Nehe Milner-Skudder… no problem. The manner in which the Hurricanes dissected the Rebels in the second spell last Friday would suggest that a big 80-minute display is not far away. The Sharks in Napier would be a good place to start.
2 Rebels (First in AC)
The Rebels huffed and puffed for 30 minutes against the Hurricanes, but found that was not nearly good enough. No 8 Amanaki Mafi was the personification of that malaise, dynamic in the early exchanges and then blowing out. Their defence was staunch in the first stanza, soft in the second.
3 Crusaders (Second in NZC)
The Crusaders worked hard for their 14-8 result in Joburg. Surely no one expected a free ride over there? They also may not have expected Manasa Mataele to be the weapon he was off the bench. The wing made three (two with the ball, one without) decisive plays. That was enough to edge the Lions. Did we mention Matt Todd was top value, again?
4 Chiefs (Third in NZC)
These Chiefs are not bad at all in 2018. The key, of course, is to win the grinds, especially in the NZ conference. Rallying behind Centurion Cane, they did exactly that. Physical but not always accurate, they found a way to keep the Highlanders at bay. Using Liam Messam as a link man was an interesting ploy.
5 Lions (First in SAC)
The Lions rediscovered their commitment on defence, but still fell to their third loss of the season against the Crusaders. They need more men like fullback Andries Coetzee centre Lionel Mapoe, lock Franco Mostert and hooker Malcolm Marx.
6 Highlanders (Fourth in NZC)
The Highlanders have two weeks to sort out this question: why did our set-piece implode in the final few minutes against the Chiefs when victory was almost in their grasp? They reckon Lima Sopoaga might be okay after he was taken by sniper fire.
7 Sharks (Third in SAC)
No one really thought the Sharks were much chop until they put 63 on the Blues at Eden Park! It was a family affair, with Robert du Preez junior gorging himself on 38 points, via 13 goals and try, while his brother Jean-Luc played like Michael Jones and scored one himself. What next?
8 Waratahs (Second in AC)
Losing Israel Folau to a hammy twinge was not nice, but the Waratahs have found another game plan: get the ball swiftly into the hands of left wing Taqele Naiyaravoro, who was irrepressible in crossing for a double in the 24-17 win over the Brumbies.
9 Bulls (Fourth in SAC)
Bulls hooker Adriaan Strauss had a day out to remember at Loftus, nailing a hat-trick in the match he became the most capped South African Super Rugby player. Well done, good sir. More importantly for the Bulls, they won their first game since edging the Hurricanes in February.
10 Stormers (Second in SAC)
Damian de Allende’s solo try was the highlight for the Stormers on the weekend. The lowlights were the 23-33 scoreline to the Bulls and a late, costly lineout overthrow.
11 Reds (Third in AC)
The bye was not kind to the Reds, who slipped one place in the Australian conference to their arch-rival Waratahs. Now for that Brumbies rematch.
12 Brumbies (Fourth in AC)
David Pocock is back, but it seems the Brumbies’ most potent attacking weapon is the boot of Wharenui Hawera. The Kiwi influence is everywhere.
13 Jaguares (Fifth in SAC)
The Jaguares had the bye, which gave ample time to master their next game plan: how to beat the defending champs in our back yard.
14 Blues (Fifth in NZC)
You do not leak 63 points on your home ground. That just does not happen at Eden Park. It is the Blues’ first loss at that venue to a foreign side in five years. Some of the attacking play was sweet, yielding six tries, but that defence was porous, holey and lacking structure. Trouble for Tana Umaga and his cohorts.
15 Sunwolves (Fifth in AC)
The good news is that the Sunwolves did not concede a point last weekend. That happens when you have a bye.
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