Fiji Drua play Highlanders in Dunedin in March. Photo: BLAKE ARMSTRONG
So close! Saturday's Super Rugby action almost entirely belonged to the new boys, with the Fijian Drua toppling an insipid Hurricanes outfit in Suva, then Moana Pasifika coming within one turnover of scoring the biggest upset in Super Rugby Pacific's short history.
First, it's important to acknowledge that the Drua winning at home isn't that much of a shock. It was in the high 20s on Saturday afternoon at HFC Bank Stadium, made even more uncomfortable for the visitors by a very noisy and engaged crowd. The 27-24 result did involve a serious amount of game management by the Drua, who had to manufacture two penalty situations in the final six minutes for Kemu Valetini to kick them to victory.
That's not the first time that's happened this year, either. The Drua did the same to the Crusaders in their famous win over the defending champs back in round three, so it's not like the Hurricanes didn't know what was coming.
But while much praise should be heaped on the Drua, especially the performances of Tevita Ikanivere, Taniela Rakuro and the evergreen Frank Lomani, some serious scrutiny needs to be directed at the Hurricanes for the way they approached this game and how they left all their discipline at back in Wellington.
This was extremely disappointing from a team that should be solidifying their place on the table before a tough run of games leading into the playoffs.
Christian Lealiifano of Moana Pasifika. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Later at Eden Park, things looked to be going according to the script when the Blues found themselves up 17-3 after half an hour against Moana Pasifika. Then it all got flipped on its head when Moana held onto the ball for the better part of the next half hour, scoring a cheeky try through Timoci Tavatavanawai, a crushing forward effort to Abraham Pole, then a well-worked move against a 14-man Blues defence to Christian Lealiifano.
Fine Inisi's try after 70 minutes was stunning considering he started and finished the movement despite being heavily tackled in the process.
The Blues weren't great, but just weren't allowed to be in that period by a Moana side that looked as though they'd finally been able to figure out how to hang with the big boys right through till the end of a game. That was, of course, till the end of the game.
Was a penalty try the right call? Yes. Moana can't have too many complaints about getting their six-man scrum blown to bits even after heroically defending their line for the final stages.
But it was a bit of a letdown that a Blues side so rich in attacking talent ended up doing it that way, but the relief on Dalton Papalii and Leon MacDonald's faces post-match suggested they didn't care too much.
Other observations from the weekend:
It was a double celebration for the Drua, as their women's side emphatically won the Super W title on Saturday as well. This was after the side was left in serious financial difficulty earlier in their campaign, having to put out a call for meals on social media while the team was in Brisbane.
Whose idea was it for the Hurricanes to wear black jerseys in the Fiji heat? That was about as dumb as the team's performance at times.
Congratulations to Julian Savea, though. The veteran winger has finally equaled Israel Folau's career record of 60 tries in Super Rugby, which he's achieved in nine seasons over 12 years. While it's treading dangerous ground to even look like you're praising the controversial Folau these days, it should be noted that the triple-code star racked up his tally in just seven, in a Waratahs team that was more bad than good.
Well done to the Blues social media team for this:
Winning in Fiji not for everyone it seems
— The Blues (@BluesRugbyTeam) May 6, 2023
The Chiefs laid on a clinic on Friday night. That was even after giving the Highlanders all the ball and territory for the first 15 or so minutes of the game in Dunedin. Once Damian McKenzie had enough of that, the fireworks started, with tries to Emoni Narawa and George Dyer potentially being the best we've seen this year, anywhere. McKenzie's form at first five is looking far too good to ignore, especially since his goal kicking has been excellent and he's already an established test player.
This was the only weekend they could play the Waratahs and Reds game? Thanks to the NRL's Magic Round at Suncorp Stadium, this fixture was shunted up to Townsville, which is far from ideal for a rivalry that goes back to 1882.
