In this week's newsletter, Scotty discusses the Blues Hurricanes Super Rugby clash, the Chiefs flying under the radar, how the Warriors blew a game in a first half, and more feats from NZ's greatest ultramarathoner.
All that we hope for, and more
Well, that was quite something.
Finally Super Rugby got its hype game in overdrive and the Blues and Hurricanes played out a match befitting a top of the table clash. How delightful to see the shadows lengthening across the grass of Eden Park, a late afternoon kick off just the ticket for two teams in throwback get ups.
Much of this occasion did feel like a throwback to classic Blues-Hurricanes fixtures: head-to-head match ups across the park, two teams intent upon playing with pace, power and flair, and a crowd very much invested in the contest.
Afternoon rugby may be a tough sell for the broadcast deal, but it works for the walk up fans. That is the balancing act for any professional competition, and not just for the domestic market.
Super Rugby has a decent following in Europe and 8.30am kick off times are more valuable than those at 3.30am or 5.30am. More on that in today’s column, though.
For the Blues, this was clutch. The opening three minutes belonged to the home side. It was a tone-setting opening and a statement of intent.
To date, it has been the Hurricanes who like to own the opening exchanges, but here they were on the back foot. Bryce Heem was the ultimate opportunist for the first try, but the credit belongs to his forwards who dished up the chance.
On Heem, there is a genuine grace to his game and a vision for the moment that was honed over a long sevens career. He was masterful in managing Harry Plummer and AJ Lam, who deputised well for the injured Reiko Ioane.
Lam’s opposite, Bailyn Sullivan, had his moments, but in both Hurricanes losses this season there is a common denominator: No Billy Proctor.
Ultimately, the Blues won the gainline statistics, both defensively and on attack. They were the better team in post-contact metres, dominant tackles, and tackle turnovers. Ofa Tu’ungafasi’s driving tackle on Isaiah Walker-Leawere in the 83rd minute personified the Blues’ resolve to fight for the moments.
Sam Nock owned that moment when he ripped the ball out of Walker-Leawere’s hands and kicked it into the stands for the win.
The Blues are building quite the record at Eden Park, and the Highlanders and Chiefs will both have to pay a visit before the regular season is over. That was the Blues’ 11th straight home win, and their 23rd from the last 25. They should be heavy favourites next week against the Highlanders.
Chiefs lurk in the shadows
While other fixtures dominated the headlines, the Chiefs once again managed to fly under the radar in a lo-fi contest on Friday night.
Moana Pasifika may have more wins than the Crusaders but they were no match for the Chiefs, who made 15 changes to the side that crushed the Force 56-7 last
Saturday. Where to begin with this one?
Disappointment for Moana Pasifika is a safe place to start. There have been signs this season the team is growing into the demands of this competition but it’s been a real Jekyll and Hyde act.
Wins against the Reds, Force, and Drua showed admirable grit, but the majority of clashes with New Zealand sides have been horrendously one-sided. The Chiefs did the job 43-7 on Friday night, bringing the season aggregate in this contest to 111-19. That’s tough reading for Tana Umaga.
The Chiefs will finish the season away to the Rebels, at home to the Hurricanes, and away to the Blues. Those last two fixtures loom as massive. Conceivably, the Chiefs could still finish top of the table, and while that is statistically improbable, it’s not impossible.
The Chiefs do the basics well, and that is what makes them a dangerous team as the playoffs draw closer. They make judicious decisions contesting line outs and top the percentages on their own throw. They move the ball more than any other team in the competition and make more line breaks, too. That is perhaps why they score so many tries on phases 1-4.
On defence, they boast the best tackle percentage of all New Zealand sides and have only conceded nine tries from plays beginning in opposition half.
Coach Clayton McMillan will be delighted that all the talk is about the two kiwi teams at the top of the table. The Chiefs may be fourth, but they are more than capable of going 3-0 to finish the regular season.
The Warriors' half from hell
Conceding a try from an opening possession is not ideal. Conceding it the way the Warriors did was horrible to watch.
Giving away a second set to start the match is bad. Jamming in on the last pass is a criminal offence, and the Warriors outsides are recidivist offenders. Kosi is the latest to face the charge.
The Roosters second try was all on Young who split the Warriors open up the middle then cut them to shreds on the right edge. The Roosters picked up where they left off in Brisbane and made the Wahs look they were playing 10 against 13.
Crichton was the beneficiary of Young’s skill. Young then scored one of his own, from a training ground play that involved barely a scintilla of deception. Crichton won the race for a Keary grubber to score the Roosters fourth.
It was 22-0 after just fifteen minutes and the Warriors were lucky to have nil.
The Warriors just could not get into the first half. The Roosters aimed up on Shaun Johnson, forcing him to make tackles early in the count. Johnson came into the game still under a cloud, and the Roosters rained on his parade. With 15 minutes to go in the opening spell Keary tried to tear off Johnson’s left shoulder. He may be a Rooster, but that was a dog play.
Coach Andrew Webster must have been tempted to pull Johnson then and there, given the deficit, and Johnson’s importance to the team. But he, like the Roosters, knew Johnson may well be the only thing standing between defeat and embarrassment.
When Addin Fonua-Blake took the tackle on the fifth three out from the Roosters line, it was all one could do not to wonder if the Warriors had forgotten the rules, along with their defence. Two crash balls on last tackle followed by DWZ dropping a quick gather on the line.
There are tough watches in life, and this is an instant classic of the genre.
Then the Bunker got in on the act. Hell, there’s no show without punch. Shaun Johnson should have scored a ripper, only to be called back for a Jackson Ford obstruction. That was a patently awful call.
The Bunker atoned by ruling out one for the Roosters minutes later, but the Warriors chances of scoring before the break were thrown three feet forward by Tohu Harris on a relieving set, then ended for good when Walker took a fourth tackle with time up.
Objectively speaking, that was about as ugly a half of footy as the Warriors have played in the last two seasons.
For the record, the Roosters won the match 38-18.
Ruth Croft scales volcanoes, sets new record
One for fans of sado-masochism here. Ruth Croft, inarguably New Zealand’s greatest ultramarathoner, has added yet another title, and record, to her name.
The West Coaster is one of the stars of the ultra world. Since winning the famed Western States 100-miler in 2022 (in a time of 17 hours, 21 minutes) Croft has refocused on ‘shorter’ distances, and that focus is paying off.
In November she won the 100-kilometre Ultra Trail Cape Town race, and in February this year took the Tarawera 100-kilometre title for a second time.
Over the weekend, Croft took on the Transvulcania Ultramarathon, a 77-kilometre race in the Canary Islands that involves 4350 metres of ascent and a harrowing 2400 metre section of descent on volcanic rock, designed to blow the quads and make runners suffer. It was on this section that Croft showed her class, dropping Swede Ida Nilsson and powering to the finish to break Nilsson’s existing record and set a new mark of 8.02.49.
Croft may not be a household name but ultramarathon running in New Zealand is in rude good health with more events added to an already stacked calendar every year. Others such as Daniel Jones and Caitlin Fielder also fly the New Zealand flag proudly on the world stage.
Croft’s next major challenge will be Ultra Trail Mont Blanc, a 100-mile assault of the body and mind that features 10,000 metres of ascent around Mont Blanc, passing through Italy, Switzerland and France. The UTMB is not for the faint-hearted and Croft herself has admitted in the past to being frightened of the challenge.
The win in La Palma will do wonders for her confidence levels as she looks ahead to what could be her greatest victory yet.
The week ahead and what to watch for
The Phoenix return to SKY Stadium this weekend for leg two of the A-League Men’s semifinal against the Melbourne Victory. For the record, Sidelines was safely on the editor’s desk before the Phoenix played their first leg in Melbourne on Sunday, but regardless, this week will show us how much impact the Phoenix have made on the New Zealand landscape.
It has already been their most successful season. On the line in Wellington this week is the right to host a home grand final.
Razor will see you now! Expect to hear from the All Blacks head coach this week as preparations ramp up for the first All Blacks test of the season. Scott Robertson has been happy to take a back seat on the media front but the machine will grind into gear this week.
On the agenda will be a number of topics, and contract issues are likely to be one.
There will be renewed pressure on the Crusaders to publicly back their man, head coach Rob Penney.
The sight of Penney in the coach’s box after the Crusaders’ latest loss to the Highlanders made for incredibly tough viewing. We’ll certainly be looking to get a word from the man himself. Something is seriously wrong in Crusaderland, which has been a very happy place for a long time.
There are not many smiles there now.
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