Wynne Gray: Opening rounds show participants still feeling their way

Dan Carter of the Crusaders. Photo / Getty Images

Cobwebs drape the Super Rugby series. That tangle of inexact activity filled the opening rounds of this year's competition alongside the usual villains.

Think scrums, judicial inconsistency and staccato combinations and you've got the bulk of the picture.

That's without the frustration the Highlanders must feel after sitting on their heels for another week because of a round one bye. Then they lose Kane Hames for five weeks for punching when Owen Franks and Hayden Triggs receive much lower sanctions for similar offences.

Warnings from the Chiefs and the Crusaders about their class, have sprinkled their work which generates much of the attention on their matchup tonight in Hamilton.

There's no Daniel Carter and Israel Dagg but that is not an uncommon occurrence these days, Kieran Read and Sam Whitelock are resting, Nemani Nadolo and Andy Ellis are getting back into sync. That gives an uncertain edge about the Crusaders and their ability to go the distance against a side with more breadth to their play at this stage of the competition.

The Chiefs like to mix up their work and drill holes through the middle of the park and on the extremities with their range of plays while the visitors tend to be more restrained in their buildups. That's where the direction of Aaron Cruden and Colin Slade will be one of the focal points for those looking to drill down a little deeper into the sides' methods. Both are exceptional five eighths whose production will depend on the supply from their forwards and the distribution of their halfbacks.

Along with Beauden Barrett, they are in a logjam of All Black talent vying to get the strongest ticks in the selectors' notebooks.

Slade has a style with the best kicking game which appeals to those who prefer traditional test rugby patterns. He is also very quick and defends well down the difficult inside line from the set-piece. Cruden challenges more with his running and offloading game where multiple phases and defensive mismatches are his cue to torment. He'll take some stick to inflict pain and at times his ideas are three steps ahead of his teammates. His instincts though are all about points and that is gold at this level of rugby.

Watching Cruden and Slade go about their business is reason enough to swing your sporting attention to Waikato Stadium even at this early stage as another code muscles in on the nation's major rugby ground 90 minutes drive along SH1.