Super Rugby - 5 Things We Learnt From Round 14
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1 When players ask Rohan Hoffmann if it’ll
be half-time if they kick a penalty into touch, and he says: “That’s it. That’s
half”, he doesn’t necessarily mean “That’s it. That’s half.”
2 The Blues players deserve huge
commendation for their win over the Bulls. With their coach under a barrage of
fire, their iconic captain Jerome Kaino out of the competition through injury,
and stand-in skipper Steven Luatua injured and replaced, they were forced to
dig deep to earn a meritorious victory after a miserable season of 10 defeats
in 12 games, but dig deep they did. A happy scenario for the Blues would be
that this will serve to bolster their confidence and encourage them to believe
they really can turn their season around.
3 It can’t be coincidence that the
week the Reds bring in John Connolly as an emergency measure to ‘mentor’ their
coaches and players, selection makes sense, confidence levels are higher than
at any time this season, and the players play as if they believe in the
game-plan. Playing James O’Connor at 15, Karmichael Hunt at 13, and – wonder of
wonders – selecting a flyhalf to play flyhalf (Jake McIntyre in an impressive
debut) rather than a makeshift 10, all paid immediate, generous dividends.
4 Michael Cheika now has five openside flanks who would all be assets to the Wallabies in the 7 jersey. What had appeared a straight selection between Michael Hooper and David Pocock (with the probability of playing one off the bench, or possibility of starting with two opensides for some games), has become a less obvious selection with the consistently outstanding performances of Liam Gill, the excellent display by Matt Hodgson against the Waratahs, and the emergence in recent weeks of Jordy Reid. Cheika has an enviable selection problem.
