Super Rugby: 5 Things We Learnt From Round 6

1     The Waratahs are back. For the first time in 2015, they looked like potential back-to-back Super Rugby champions. It wasn’t all fluent and the second half wasn’t as good as the first, but there were more than glimpses of a commanding return to their most effective game plan. There’s some way to go, but there was a clear return to astute direction and intense physicality, a much improved level of ball-playing skill, and more accurate execution by the 2014 champions.

2     Oh Captain, My Captain! The match many expected to be the game of the weekend, between the Sharks and Chiefs, turned into an ugly, mean-spirited encounter doing nothing to promote the sport. Such games tarnish the image and attraction of rugby. Three red cards, a citing of a fourth player for meeting the ‘red card threshold’, and a ‘Citing Commissioner Warning’ (effectively a yellow card on the player’s record) for a fifth player, sums up the sad tale. Captains need to take greater responsibility for their team’s discipline, but it certainly didn’t happen here, with Bismarck du Plessis red carded and Liam Messam’s ‘red card threshold’ foul play being ignored by the officials but not by the Citing Commissioner.

3     Attitude is crucial, especially for teams not blessed with a host of star players who are first choice for their countries. Commendation to the Force for scoring three tries to one in their desperately unlucky loss to the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld, and to the Lions for coming back from 13-0 down to beat the Rebels in Melbourne. Call it energy, urgency, enthusiasm, passion, commitment, focus, whatever – the Force and Lions had it. Contrast that with the deeply worrying second half attitude of the Cheetahs in conceding 28 points in 10 minutes and eventually 47 points in 40 minutes against the Crusaders. Is it unfair to call that meek surrender?

4     Spending time as a specialist Sevens referee does not necessarily make for good preparation for refereeing scrums.     

5     Steve Hansen, Heyneke Meyer, and Michael Cheika face tough selections in some positions where they have a choice between similarly brilliant players. Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith showed on Friday that they are not easily going to give up their All Black 12 and 13 jerseys to Sonny Bill Williams and Malakai Fekitoa or anyone else. Patrick Lambie and Handré Pollard were each again the match-winners for their teams on Saturday. One would expect them to share game-time for the Springboks at 10. Michael Hooper was superb once again at openside for the Waratahs on Sunday, but David Pocock played 35 minutes on his return from injury and will now have a full go at showing he may be the best in the world at what he does.