Super Rugby 2017

Hey, Super Rugby is back (yay!) But the Highlanders are losing right now to the Chiefs (boo!)

Just got home, so missed everything so far...

Highlanders very error prone. Mainly their All Blacks backs are to blame.

Highlanders really dominant in the first half... but as sparky said: errors preventing them from converting.

Difficult not to feel for them.

The worst thing, however, has been Ben Smith's injury. I hope it's nothing but it looked nasty.


Edit: funny moment of the match

Watching these highlights makes me sad...

Oh bugger everything...

@Bren: Blatant forward pass leading to the third try.

I thought it was forward at first but it looked flat in the replay...

WHY WOULD YOU TAKE THE THREE LIMA?

still 20 to go.. there's enough time.

Aaron Smith's mustache must go.

Mitch "Witcher" Karpik?

congrats to the Chiefs and congrats to sparky too!

So frustrating to watch! Hard to tell who the all blacks were amongst it all but feel sorry for them, two intercept tries is hard to take

Great to have super rugby back!

Blues looked awesome last night, or are the rebels just awful? So much depth in the backline though are probably lacking a decent fullback. Hopefully they move Nanai there from the wing

Highlanders looked woeful, Squire was beasting it. Fekitoa shit as usual.

Activist wrote:Blues looked awesome last night, or are the rebels just awful?

It's the Blues... so probably the second is true

Yeah I think they'll make the playoff this year though. I like the game plan Tana is bringing to the blues. They definitely have the team, forward depth might be a bit of an issue in the front row, Manu was a good signing but lack a quality hooker after Parsons and back up specialist locks. Jimmy coming from the crusaders another good pick up, might be able to use Luatua or Kaino as lock with the back row quite jammed at 6/8, with Akira in the mix he'll need plenty of game time to develop.

Chiefs vs Blues was a fun watch.
Potentially another great young 7 in Boschier?

Sorry @Bren. At 27-6 it really looked like it was game over. Highlanders need their players back from injury.

If you believe the stats on stuff then the Highlanders had to make 137 tackles to Crusaders 39. I think the Highlanders were completely shagged in the last quarter.

How long before Pryor is back? Is Shane Christie fit? They need an openside badly. Horror last few minutes for Sopoaga.

Today is the first time I haven't been underwhelmed by fekitoa. Fingers crossed the landers hold on!

Second week in a row that the Crusaders escape with a miracle
Both Mainland teams are rapidly running out of fit players

In the light of some news regarding Super Rugby in 2018 (Link to the news) it might be possible that:

- current performances by aussie teams, including the narrow escape of a very average Crusaders over arguably one of the best aussie sides, mean rugby is doomed for either Perth or Melbourne.

- the victory of the Jaguares over the much hyped Lions bodes well for the future of the South Americans and not so much for the Southern Kings.

- No one has an easy solution for the mess that Super Rugby is.

How dangerous are the Crusaders when they trail by 14 points in the second half?

Gotta admit looking at the team sheet I thought they lacked quite a bit of experience and x factor.

They have surprised me this season, seems to be the Crusaders of old and they are very confident.

Razor coming in has made a huge difference.

One thing that is clear from super rugby franchises (in NZ, at least) is they all have their own rugby approach.

The Crusaders have this philosophy of the team is the only thing that matters that makes their players looking like nonames yet winning matches.

The Blues have this polynesian flavor that spices their game although that does not always mean winning every match.

The Highlanders have traditionally branded the hard Otago and Southland forwards with (often imported) flashy backs...

I guess the same could be said about the Bulls, Sharks, Stormers, etc... or the Brumbies, Tahs, Reds...