13 May 2019, by: Quintin van Jaarsveld

SUPER RUGBY ROUND 13 – BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS

The biggest takeaways from Round 13 of Super Rugby from a South African perspective, according to Quintin van Jaarsveld.

In the build-up to this top-of-the-table clash, I remarked that it looked set to be Super Rugby’s version of the Battle of Winterfell. It was more like the Red Wedding. One team’s massacre is another’s flawless victory, and for the Crusaders, rebounding from a last-gasp home draw with the Sharks doesn’t get more emphatic than a 45-13 win at Loftus.

Back to full-strength, with Richie Mo’unga running the show in spectacular fashion, the Crusaders were pure class. They were clever, clinical and ruthless. After being smashed by the Sharks at scrum time, the set-piece was one area the Bulls were thought to have a possible edge after they had dominated the Waratahs. The Crusaders’ channel one tactic was simple yet oh so clever and effective, robbing the Bulls of a possible weapon and using the quick ball to maintain a blistering pace.

Most worryingly from a South African point of view was the smart, skilful and rampant manner in which the ‘Saders made altitude a non-factor. The Highveld has always been the ace in the hole for the Bulls and their Super Rugby neighbours the Lions, the saving grace, with the rarefied air taking the wind out of visitors’ sails when things go down to the wire.

The Chiefs showed the ‘Saders how effective a blitzkrieg can be when they thumped the Bulls 56-20 (after leading 24-6 at the break) in Round Six, and the defending champions followed suit. The men from Christchurch broke the Bulls’ line inside the opening two minutes and while the hosts scrambled on that occasion, they were soon overwhelmed by the visitors’ unrivalled speed, skill and synergy.

Leading 26-6 at half-time after having scored four tries, the match was in the bag, even should the altitude catch up with the pace-pushing Crusaders. It didn’t. Instead, they scored three more tries to hammer home the message that the Highveld has lost its fear factor when it comes to Kiwi teams.

When it comes to nail-biting encounters like Saturday’s showdown in Hamilton, key moments sway it one way or another. The biggest of those came in the 65th minute. With the Sharks leading 23-17, the Chiefs executed a lineout move to break the line.

Kobus van Wyk tracked back to tackle Shaun Stevenson, with the impressive Makazole Mapimpi immediately on hand to contest for the ball on the ground. With textbook body position and timing, the left wing latched on to the ball for a good five seconds, only to be controversially penalised by Australian referee Nic Berry.

The hosts went on to score after a patient build-up from the ensuing lineout, and ran back a brilliant try from the restart to take a 29-23 lead. The 12-point turnaround (proved decisive and would’ve been a bitter pill to swallow for the Sharks, who produced another inspired performance. There was also an issue with whether or not McKenzie had actually kicked the ball dead when he set-up the lineout from which Brown scored.

Did @ChiefsRugby kick the ball dead before scoring a try in their win against @TheSharksZA in Hamilton on Saturday? #CHIvSHA #SuperRugby pic.twitter.com/E1v09XWTZF

— SA Rugby magazine (@SARugbymag) May 11, 2019

Questionable calls aside, the Durban side will be kicking themselves for allowing detrimental soft moments to creep into their game. So defensively strong against the Crusaders last week and again in Hamilton, for the most part, the Sharks gifted the Chiefs the simplest of tries before the break, with the hosts needing just two phases to score from a five-metre lineout. The aforementioned seven-pointer from the restart was even more inexcusable and ended up being the difference between the sides.

One also has to question Robert du Preez’s tactical changes. Curwin Bosch at flyhalf, and Aphelele Fassi at fullback, were two of the Sharks’ standout players. It was, therefore, baffling that Du Preez inserted his son Robert, who’s struggled to find form this season, into the fray at the expense of Fassi in the 49th minute, with Bosch having to revert to fullback. The curious change only succeeded in disrupting the Sharks’ rhythm.

Similarly, when Luke Stringer replaced Jean-Luc du Preez in the 72nd minute, the Sharks lost their best ball carrier, and one has to wonder whether the loose forward didn’t have enough left in the tank to see out the 80 minutes. In the end, the loss was a disappointing end to a successful tour, but the hard-grafting in Hamilton did yield an important bonus point, which takes the Sharks back to the summit in the South African Conference.

It’s always unfortunate when the efforts of two teams are overshadowed by poor officiating, and the Waratahs can feel justifiably aggrieved by the 29-28 loss. When the referee in question has a history of inaccuracies, it becomes even more concerning, and when that official also happens to be a native of the team who enjoyed the rub of the green, the ‘neutral’ ref issue gets brought up.

Egon Seconds became public enemy number one in Sydney when he missed a blatant forward pass by Stephan Lewies to Malcolm Marx in the lead-up to Courtnall Skosan’s try in the 45th minute – a seven-pointer that put the Lions in the lead after trailing 21-19 at half-time.

Another peculiar call, this time at the breakdown, again allowed the Lions to regain the lead. Shaun Reynolds duly slotted the penalty awarded in the 67th minute, which ultimately proved decisive as the last scoring act. Unfortunately, those were just the two most influential officiating errors on the day, with the Waratahs also getting away with an illegal maul sacking to give themselves one last shot at victory.

The visitors’ frustration boiled over when Ned Hanigan shoved Seconds in the final quarter. Malcolm Marx also made contact with the former Western Province flyer, although this appeared to be purely accidental. Hanigan’s shove went largely unnoticed, but the clip quickly surfaced on social media and was just another incident that detracted from the game.

That Australia’s Fox Sports put together a ‘lowlights’ package of Seconds’ “weird night” says it all.

The penalty count was 11-2 against the Waratahs and referee Egon Seconds featured in some truly bizarre moments. ??? pic.twitter.com/4ZEACOEmDK
— FOX SPORTS Rugby (@FOXRUGBY) May 12, 2019

Assistant referees Jaco Peyper and Rasta Rasivhenge and TMO Willie Vos – all of whom happen to be South African – have to cop a considerable amount of blame as well. Vos, in particular, should’ve intervened and brought Lewies’ forward pass to Seconds’ attention.

With the nonsensical conference system already damaging the credibility of the competition, Super Rugby cannot afford sub-standard refereeing to further put off fans, many of whom – as evidenced by the near-empty stands across South Africa and abroad – have already checked out.

The result was a lifeline for the Lions as it saw them move up from 12th to eighth and surpass the Stormers into fourth position in the South African Conference, just three points off top spot. A loss could well have spelled the end of the Johannesburg side’s play-off hopes as things are only going to get tougher from here with clashes against the Highlanders (home), Sharks (away), Stormers (home), Hurricanes (home) and Bulls (away) looming large.

BET: Super Rugby 2019