Newstalk ZB lead rugby commentator Elliott Smith analyses the latest from the world of rugby.
A question...
If I'd asked at the start of the Super Rugby season which young halfback behind an All Black at their Super Rugby franchise would be in the conversation for a test call-up, Isuspect the universal answer would have been the Highlanders' Folau Fakatava. But the way he's playing for the Chiefs, Cortez Ratima might be more in the mix than his southern rival. Ratima has slotted in seamlessly for Brad Weber when required either starting or off the bench, while Fakatava is battling with some average ball from their pack and an ever-changing backline which can't be helping his claims.
A suggestion...
On the subject of All Blacks call-ups, it's highly unlikely but I can't help but admire the way Luke Romano is throwing his body around for the Blues this year. After a couple of seasons well down the pecking order at the Crusaders and having to vacate the premises after falling surplus to requirements this year, Romano has been enormous for the Blues in their surge to the top of the table. The depth at lock is okay in New Zealand for now and he hasn't played test rugby for five years but he looks like the kind of physical lock that can still make noise in the international game.
The Super Round in Melbourne was a flop. The crowds were dreadful, but perhaps the biggest shame of all might be that the Blues' first game against the Fijian Drua was held in a quarter-full AAMI Park rather than Eden Park – or Suva. That should be a marquee match-up in relaunching Super Rugby – the Blues against a Pacific Island team, which like Moana Pasifika are likely to have a hefty fan base around the Super City to create a rivalry. Of all the games set down for the Super Round, the Blues-Drua game not being played in either team's home market was the most egregious. The idea has merit but the execution was poor.
I'm hoping we get to see the Black Ferns Sevens square off against Australia this weekend when the former return to the World Series. In their absence, the Australians, stung by their dud performance in Tokyo after going in as reigning champs, have vaulted to the top of the ladder. Any game promises to be plenty of fun – especially after Black Ferns Sevens skipper Sarah Hirini quipped when I asked her how Australia had returned to the summit of the series that "we haven't been there – same with Fiji".
A prediction...
Expect word soon on Māori All Blacks games against Ireland as part of their tour in July. The Tight Five understands two games are scheduled – probably before the first and third tests with regions near the test centres for that week due to benefit. The matches should go some way to providing a tour-like feeling, which has otherwise been ringfenced to the British and Irish Lions every 12 years.
