The Super Rugby Pacific weekend in Melbourne showed, despite the New Zealand teams almost managing a clean sweep, there will be bumps in the road in Australia.
In Las Vegas David Copperfield applauded
Common sense says it was game over for the Hurricanes after being 17-0 down against theReds on Saturday night after 28 minutes.
The Canes' amazing revival, drawing up to be just 17-14 behind at halftime, and then winning 30-17, was sparked by a spilt second in the 35th minute when Julian Savea's hand smacked against a Reds pass. The ball bounced away. Canes centre Bailyn Sullivan grabbed it and started running.
A lot of the Reds players responded not by chasing but by shouting at referee Angus Gardner, demanding a penalty for a deliberate knock-on. Their mistake. Sullivan scored, Jordie Barrett converted, and before you could say "lineout drive" Tyrel Lomax had scored on the stroke of halftime.
Good on the Canes for then seizing the game, taking advantage of the fact the Reds hadn't been playing teams that produce the intensity usually needed to win in the New Zealand section of Super rugby.
Jordie Barrett of the Hurricanes is tackled during the Hurricanes' clash against the Reds. Photo / Photosport
They needed a massage, not a barrage
After their breakthrough victory over the Crusaders in Christchurch last weekend, probably the last thing the Blues needed on Saturday was to meet the Fijian Drua, who play with a ferocity on attack and defence that makes you shudder just watching it on TV on the other side of the Tasman.
In their 35-18 win the Blues showed flashes of the composure and imagination that brought them home in Christchurch. AJ Lam on the left wing had his best game of the season, scoring one long-range try with sheer speed, and a second with a slick right-foot step from a blindside move.
The next game for the Blues will be in Perth against the Force on Friday. The Force are behind the Brumbies, the Reds, and the Waratahs on the Australian table, but the Drua will have hammered home to the Blues that average results so far doesn't mean wins in Australia will be a walkover.
Sixteen spanners in the works
One word usually sums up the Crusaders: Efficiency.
So if it was weird to see them only leading 7-3 at halftime against the Rebels in the last match of the Melbourne weekend, it was bordering on the surreal to see them make 16 handling errors in the first 40. By rights they were probably at least 20 points the better team in the first spell, but chance after chance was blown.
Then came the second half, and, spearheaded by a blinder from flanker Pablo Matera, close to normal service resumed, with the final score, 42-17, a bonus-point flourish.
Richie Mo'unga of the Crusaders makes a break against the Melbourne Rebels. Photo / Photosport
Only the ferris wheel was missing
Friday's opening act for the first combined round, with the Chiefs beating the Waratahs 51-27, was a wild and weird rugby carnival. Seven out of 10 tries from wings, Bryn Gatland running the Chiefs backs like a puppet master, two runaway intercept tries, a red card, no-contest scrums, and Chiefs captain Sam Cane checking that referee Nic Berry was okay after Berry, a diminutive former halfback, was almost trampled in a Chiefs rush.
Chiefs lock Josh Lord's raw energy was impressive, and so was the speed and smarts of Waratahs captain, halfback Jake Gordon. Gordon's 28, and had laboured in the shadow of Nick Phipps at the Tahs, but now he's a leader Gordon plays with impressive command. Friday's game for the Chiefs against the Reds could be a classic.
In the time tunnel
With rolling mauls by the score it was back to the future watching the Brumbies, harking back to their glory days in the 1990s when their coach Eddie Jones never saw a forward rumble he didn't like.
To make the retro feel complete, the Brumbies were too good for a Kiwi team, in Sunday's case the Highlanders, the men from Canberra fully deserving their 28-17 victory.
It was fitting that the try to seal the win came from first-five Noah Lolesio, who kicked for goal and for field position with a precision the Highlanders never quite matched. Playing the Drua on Saturday will be a test of the resilience in the Highlanders.
