It was the most gripping clash of the weekend, and a fascinating tweak was that two men in particular showed you don’t need to be a household name to perform like a superstar.
Step forward please, 21-year-old fullback Finn Hurley, and their co-captain, second five-eighths Timoci Tavatavanawai. I raved about Tavatavanawai last week after his stellar game in Sydney. Under the roof in Dunedin on Saturday night, he was even better. Fijian-born and raised, moving him from the wing to the midfield this year already looks like a stroke of genius.
At 106kg, he offers the solidity and many of the skills of another man who went from wing to second five, Ma’a Nonu, in the 2011 and 2015 World Cup-winning All Blacks teams.
If Tavatavanawai is like a sharp-edged rock in a jersey, Hurley is a sensational throwback to the sinuous speed and balance of a Cory Jane. At 75kg, Hurley’s 8kg lighter than Aaron Smith. But size doesn’t matter when you’re so fast and elusive, and daring bigger men can’t get a hand on you.
Hurley’s two tries on Saturday night really were objects of rugby beauty. How the season progresses for him is one of many hopeful scenarios for the Highlanders.
When the law’s an ass
If the red card that saw Landers prop Daniel Lienert-Brown out for the last quarter of the Dunedin game, for a shoulder-to-head clash with Blues halfback Taufa Funaki at a cleanout, felt like a borderline tough call, what followed was farcical.
Lienert-Brown’s banning, and earlier injuries in the Highanders’ front row, meant there was only one functioning prop left for the local team. Cue the weirdness of golden oldie, no-push scrums.
But who knew, apart from as well-versed a referee as Aussie Nic Berry, that if a red card is part of the reason a team doesn’t have two props, yet another player has to head for the sideline? So for the last 20 minutes we watched no-push scrums and 13 Highlanders up against 15 men for the Blues.
Freakishly, the Highlanders, ahead 23-21 when reduced to 13 players, not only kept the Blues scoreless but stretched their lead to 29-21.
Vern may get sterner
Blues coach Vern Cotter conducted himself impeccably as he suffered through watching his defending champions lose their second match in a row. A clue as to where he saw problems in his side?
At halftime, and again after the game, he noted that his players had been “doing some things we hadn’t been practicing”.
This week, sticking to the game plan is a message the Blues, who over the years before Cotter arrived have sometimes suffered from too much individualism, are likely to have hammered home. And then hammered home again.
Supermen swarm in Hamilton
The last 30 minutes of the Chiefs' 49-24 demolition of the Crusaders in Hamilton was remarkable in every sense.
It was as if the Chiefs had made a quick visit to a handy phone box at the 50-minute mark, when the score was tied at 17-17, and stepped into Superman gear. On the other side of the coin, the Crusaders suddenly couldn’t organise defensive lines or make one-on-one tackles when it counted.
The transformation in the Chiefs was as complete as I’ve ever seen in top-level rugby. Every Chiefs pass stuck. The angle for every run they made was perfect. The entertainment level, unless you were in a Crusaders jersey, was off the scale.
If the Chiefs can find this form on a regular basis, they’ll be doing not only their fans in Waikato a huge favour but showcasing how exciting the sport of rugby itself can be.
Man of the match
A long list to consider. Chiefs loose forward Samipeni Finau was all bristling aggression with the ball and at the breakdown.
Midfielder Quinn Tupaea played his 50th game for the Chiefs with the energy of a newcomer, tempered with the game smarts of a veteran. But nobody epitomised the daring and skill of the Chiefs more than wing Emoni Narawa.
From grabbing the ball for a tap-kick try in the fourth minute, to constantly being in the right place on attack, to fossicking for the ball in the murky surrounds of the breakdowns, he was fearless and stunningly effective.
A crucial fortnight
There’s a lot to brood over for the Crusaders before their next game, against the Reds in Christchurch in two weeks.
The test for Rob Penney and his coaching staff will be to find the right mix between their players acknowledging their shortcomings in Hamilton, without becoming too disheartened.
Balancing recrimination and rejuvenation is the hardest balancing act in coaching sport. Getting it right in Christchurch will be vital if 2025 is to be a better year than 2024 was for the Crusaders.
Good day sunshine
The fans at McLean Park in Napier on Saturday afternoon basked in sunshine and enjoyed a wild, error-riddled but hugely enjoyable 11-try game, with the Hurricanes edging the Fijian Drua 38-34.
Given that the Drua rarely see a football they don’t want to run with, the festival feel of the match was cemented by the Canes, who also committed to an open, exciting approach. It was a fitting touch that the last try was scored by Harry Godfrey, usually a fullback but playing with great command at first five.
Godfrey, who turned 22 last month, flawlessly seized every chance offered through the game.
