Four things I'll miss now Super Rugby is gone "for the foreseeable future".
NO LONGER BEING ABLE TO WATCH THE BLUES' RESURRECTION
The time to doubt is over. Coach and former Crusader stalwart Leon MacDonald has his team playing the way the Crusaders do. That is, not panicking, andlooking to set up a teammate instead of looking for ways to fly solo and be a hero.
In the terrific 43-10 whipping of the Lions at Eden Park, the try to lock Gerard Cowley-Tuioti eight minutes into the second half was a perfect example of the new way the Blues approach the game.
Dalton Papalii rounded up a loose ball inside the Blues' half, and charged forward for 10 metres. The ball then flicked infield quicker than this sentence can be read, from Papalii to Sam Nock to Matt Duffie to Hoskins Sotutu, who with great spatial awareness switched the attack to his right to TJ Faiane. Faiane made the final pass inside for Cowley-Tuioti to lope to the line. The most impressive thing of all? Faiane had a man available on either side for the final pass. They were both locks, Cowley-Tuioti to his left, and Jacob Pierce to his right. That's commitment.
NOT SEEING HOUDINI-LIKE MAGIC ON THE WING FOR THE BLUES
Blues winger Mark Telea. Photo / Photosport
Wing Mark Telea doesn't have a wand or a cape, but the way he escapes tacklers is something no coach can instil. At Eden Park on Saturday he left so many Lions grasping at thin air it really did feel like some form of alchemy.
A star for North Harbour last year, he's stepped up a notch in Super Rugby, he's still only 23, and while wing is a crowded field in New Zealand, Telea has announced himself on a national level for when the world one day returns to normal.
NOT KNOWING IF THEY'LL EVER FIND THE SWITCH RAZOR ROBERTSON FLICKS IN THE COACHES' BOX
There were many moments in the 49-14 win for the Crusaders over the Sunwolves in Brisbane when the defending champions looked entirely out of sorts. The lineout, which had been running like a well oiled Swiss watch, in the early stages was more like a cheap Bangkok market knock-off.
Then, pretty much from nothing, down to 13 men after a red card for replacement hooker Hugh Roach and then a yellow card for Sevu Reece, they'd conjure up a sparkling try for Braydon Ennor in the 35th minute. A wing, Manasa Mataele, made the break at halfway, and then a hooker, Brodie McAlister, flicked a one-handed pass, the type that used to be the trademark for Sonny Bill Williams, to Ennor, who was able to almost stroll 25 metres to the line.
NOT FINDING OUT HOW FAR ANOTHER SON CAN RISE
Jordie Barrett. Photo / Photosport
Let's put our hands together for Jordie Barrett, who not only outplayed Damian McKenzie in general play as the Hurricanes beat the Chiefs in Hamilton, 27-24, but also showed icy-cool nerve by kicking the penalty on the bell that won the match.
Barrett has always been highly rated by the All Black selectors, sometimes to the slight bemusement of other observers. This year, settled in the 15 jersey, he has found his groove. Not being able to see how much he can still progresses at fullback is another disappointment in this sadly unique season.
Let me applaud the energy and the commitment of Clive Akers, Adrian Hill, and Campbell Burnes, the editors of the 2020 Rugby Almanack, now in its 84th edition, the longest running rugby annual in the world.
The Almanack is the one stop show for the true rugby fanatic, a treasure trove of accurate information, detailing everything from which minute TJ Perenara was subbed on in the semifinal against England at the World Cup last year, to the fact Terry Wright, with 112, still remains the Auckland union's highest try scorer, and that North Harbour flanker, Ethan Roots, selected as one of the five promising players of the year, was a Pan Pacific jiu jitsu champion in 2014.
As the late, great Terry McLean once commented, the Almanack rewards browsing, one of life's great pleasures. Thanks to the latest Almanack I now know that Jim Darrah, who passed away last year at 88, a lovely guy who was the captain in the handful of senior club games I once played as a teenager in Thames, had an All Black trial in 1957. It's a fact I'd been unaware of for 56 years.
Owning the Almanack is like having the perfect rugby friend, one who is never wrong, who genuinely knows everything about the sport, but never shows off, and only offers information if you ask.
