Super Rugby R16 review: Waratahs down Chiefs, Reds pip Highlanders, Brumbies bounce back
IT was the hit of season, maybe even the decade, but NSW Waratahs and Michael Hooper regrouped to run down the Chiefs. Read our R16 review here!
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MICHAEL Hooper may be nursing some sore ribs but the pain of Ben Tameifuna’s incredible hit won’t have lasted long after the Waratahs finished over the Chiefs to record a crucial win across the Tasman.
The Chiefs prop hit Hooper with a brutal tackle during the first half but it wasn’t enough to inspire the hosts who ran out of steam in the closing stages.
The Waratahs scored two tries inside the final 10 minutes to run out 33-17 winners and confirm their place at the top of the Australian conference.
There were also wins for the Brumbies and Reds in round 16 while upsets in New Zealand and South Africa ensured this Super Rugby season remained as tight as ever.
Read on for a full review of round 16!
TRAVEL TAKES TOLL AS CRUSADERS PACK OUTMUSCLES FORCE
A third country in three weeks proved a bridge too far for Western Force on Friday evening as their quest for a maiden playoffs appearance took a hit in Christchurch.
Michael Foley’s side were beaten 30-7 by the in-form Crusaders, who now sit on top of the NZ conference and just four points adrift of the ladder-leading Sharks.
It was always going to be a difficult task for an under-strength Force, who badly missed the ball-running of injured No.8 Ben McCalman. Their backrow depth will be severely tested on return from the June Test break after Angus Cottrell suffered an horrific leg injury at AMI Stadium.
The hosts dominated territory and possession for much of the first half but only had a Jonny McNicholl try and three Colin Slade penalties for their efforts at half-time.
That 16-0 lead was quickly cut to just nine points early in the second half when Dane Haylett-Petty – who was the Force’s best player – broke a couple of tackles to barge over under the posts.
The visitors remained in the contest up until the 70th minute when Sam Wykes was yellow-carded, the lock eventually paying the price for a series of penalties brought about by a powerful Crusaders pack.
Just moments later referee Mike Brown awarded a penalty-try and then after the final siren he again raised his arm under the posts as the Crusaders forwards were duly rewarded for a fine final quarter.
The Force will benefit from a rest during the Test window and should hopefully be able to call on the likes of Alby Mathewson and Kyle Godwin for closing games against the Blues, Reds and Brumbies.
If they can defeat both the Blues and Reds in Perth, a final-round clash with the Brumbies in Canberra looks like being a defining encounter for the make-up of the playoffs.
The Crusaders will be sweating on the fitness of their Test stars during June but two home games in the final three weeks of Super Rugby has them well-placed to top the NZ standings, which they currently lead by three points.
MILESTONE MAN GENIA PUTS BOOT INTO HIGHLANDERS
Lambasted for some indifferent early season form Reds halfback Will Genia made a compelling case for the Wallabies starting No.9 role as he guided Queensland to a drought-breaking victory over the Highlanders.
Thought to be behind Brumbies halfback Nic White in the Wallabies pecking order, Genia may well have done enough to retain the Test jersey after he laid on three of the Reds’ five tries in a display reminiscent of his superb 2011 Super Rugby season.
The first five-pointer may have been a tad fortuitous after Highlanders No.10 Lima Sopoaga failed to grasp a simple kick but there was no luck about the deft chip that resulted in Dom Shipperley’s try nor the delayed pass that put Jake Schatz over for the match-winner two minutes after the final siren.
While Genia was brilliant, the Reds were almost left to rue what might have been after the Highlanders roared back into the match in the second half.
The visitors were terrible in the first 40 minutes as they trailed 21-0 at the break but a flying finish saw them level the scores at 31-all with under a minute on the clock.
Incredibly, they offered the Reds one last crack at victory when they inexplicably kicked away the restart. The hosts didn’t need a second invitation and on the back of some brilliant ball retention and Genia’s sublime touch, they worked their way 50 metres up field before Schatz barged over next to the posts.
While Genia made the most of his final opportunity, former Test skipper James Horwill faces a nervous wait in the lead-up to Tuesday’s naming of the Wallabies squad after another night of poor handling.
The Reds captain went looking for work but was let down by his hands, something that McKenzie will have surely noted.
It was the same story for several Highlanders players in the first half and while the visitors showed plenty of fight after the break, a poor first half could yet cost them a playoffs spot.
They sit in fifth spot ahead of the Test break but face a tough closing stretch of games upon the resumption at home to the Chiefs, and then on the road to the Waratahs and Crusaders.
TAHS CAN THANK TAUTE AS TOP SPOT LOOMS LARGE
The wishlist for Waratahs coach Michael Cheika heading into round 16 surely started, and finished, with one word: win.
A scrappy win, a close win - any kind of win to help NSW break its New Zealand drought and maintain alive its push towards the Super Rugby finals.
The Tahs delivered more than that, playing the back-to-back champion Chiefs off the park with an impressive 33-17 result that sent a warning to the rest of the competition.
It was a victory built on grit – as was evidenced by the injury toll coming out of the match – as much as skill and execution, but there was plenty of that as well.
It was also a performance that would have given Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie plenty of food for thought as he pondered the make-up of his side for Saturday’s first Test against France.
Bernard Foley produced another controlled performance to enhance his claims for Australia’s No.10 jersey, while Adam Ashley-Cooper – named by McKenzie in the back-three bracket – once again reminded of his versatility with a superb game at outside centre.
But better was to come for the Waratahs, with the table-topping Sharks slipping up at home to the resurgent Stormers in the early hours of Sunday morning thanks to a late Jaco Taute field goal.
The June Tests means there’s a month until the Tahs’ next game, but that shock result means that when they return Cheika can set them for a run at top spot, and all that comes with it.
BRUMBIES BOUNCE BACK TO KEEP PLAYOFF HOPES ALIVE
The Brumbies would have talked all week at training about roaring out of the blocks against the Rebels after two poor starts cost them dearly in back-to-back defeats in South Africa.
So it would have come as a welcome surprise that the opening 20 minutes resembled a training run for the men from Canberra.
The Rebels looked well off the pace at GIO Stadium as they allowed the Brumbies to race in three tries in the first 17 minutes – including a double to flyhalf Matt Toomua.
When prop Scott Sio crashed over to seal a four-try bonus point inside the opening 30 minutes, it was all but game over.
The Brumbies, led by Toomua and Nic White, were good and did what they had to as they bounced back from that disappointing tour of the Republic to ensure they enter the June break with their finals hopes intact.
But the Rebels, who won the earlier clash between these two sides in Melbourne, were nothing short of disappointing as they coughed up possession time and again to cost themselves any chance of working their way back into the contest.
It only got worse for Melbourne, which on Sunday morning announced that star fullback Jason Woodward will head home next year and join the Hurricanes as he chases his All Blacks dream.
Now Tony McGahan will have to spend the June break trying to figure out how to turn around Melbourne’s dip in form – and how to replace one of the few shining lights for the Rebels in 2014.
HURRICANES BLOWN OFF COURSE BY BLUES
Who would be a Hurricanes fan? And, for that matter, who’d be a Blues supporter?
A week after blowing the defending champion Chiefs off the park, the Canes’ finals hopes were dented thanks to a 37-24 loss at the hands of the bottom side in the New Zealand conference.
The Bulls’ upset defeat to the Lions ensured the men from Wellington stayed in the top six, but they could have taken a great stride towards locking down a finals spot by notching back-to-back wins for the first time since round 11.
And the Super Rugby playoffs needs a team like the Hurricanes, who thrill with their ability to score from anywhere on the park. Case in point: either of the 60m team tries finished off by the Savea brothers Julian and Ardie.
They’re also a team capable of putting points on in a hurry, as evidenced by a commentator declaring after Ardie Savea’s try: “It’s not over yet at 34-17 down”. That was with 10 minutes left on the clock.
Sadly for fans of ridiculously good running rugby, it was over for the Hurricanes.
But if we can’t have the Canes, maybe we could settle for the Blues – providing they’re playing at home.
John Kirwan’s side is yet to be beaten this season at Eden Park, where they have knocked over heavyweights the Crusaders and Waratahs, and they’ve shown in those home wins they’re capable of playing some pretty exciting footy to boot.
Kirwan reckons they’re still in the finals hunt – sadly for him two of their final three games are on the road.
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