Opinion - After last weekend's eye-gouge inducing run of games Super Rugby Pacific redeemed itself with a much better showing last night.
Shaun Stevenson of the Chiefs eludes Codie Taylor and Sam Whitelock of the Crusaders. Photo: Photosport / John Davidson
The Chiefs snapped their campaign back on track with a stunning 24-21 win over the Crusaders in Christchurch, no easy feat considering the 12-time champions have only lost there a handful of times in the past several years.
It was the exciting type of game that last years' Super Rugby Aotearoa final, between the same two teams at the same venue, should have been.
Despite there being only a handful of fans present, the test match had intensity as the Chiefs wiped out an 11 point second half deficit. But they left it to the last five minutes to do so, Rameka Poihipi's winner coming well after the hooter had gone and providing us with another classic finish after the Hurricanes' heroics a fortnight ago.
The odd part was that it seemed like there was a real sense of inevitability around the Chiefs' comeback, they were clearly the better side in the last quarter of the game and benefited from some very un-Crusaders-like decision making from the home side.
The result will be greeted warmly by the Blues, who had a win over the Highlanders on Friday night that really didn't need the extra 10 minutes tacked on at the end due to both sides refusing to give up in the pursuit of a bonus point. Perhaps they were making up for the fact that in their loss to the Hurricanes and very patchy win over the Chiefs, the Blues forgot that rugby games are 80 minutes long and went to bits in the end of both.
But the dominant second half display in Albany will give them confidence as they target their match up in Christchurch in a two weeks' time. The gaps in the champions' armour are there, the Blues just need to hope a few key players can return in time to exploit them.
It's not Super Rugby without some officiating gripes, though. Taine Plumtree's first try for the Blues came after they'd called for a shot at goal off a penalty and then changed their mind, which shouldn't have been allowed.
Then there was a bizarre situation in last night's game in Brisbane, where the Reds and Fijian Drua combined for three yellow cards across as many incidents that were all brought to the ref's attention by the TMO at once.
The whole thing played out like a complicated lawsuit and went on for far too long, but the main thing it proved is that the Australian refs clearly aren't operating under the same guidelines as the ones here in regards to TMO interference. Which may not seem like a big deal now, but as soon the competition goes trans-Tasman, it will create a real discrepancy in officiating.
Shaun Johnson prepares to make a kick in the Warriors round one match against the Dragons. Photo: Photosport
Meanwhile, over on the Sunshine Coast, it was a case of more of the same from the Warriors in their NRL season opener. The unfortunate fact is that is exactly the opposite of what their long-suffering but exceptionally loyal fans want, going down 28-16 to St George-Illawarra.
Shaun Johnson made his comeback to the club, a year ago such a thought would have been regarded as madness. While he showed glimpses of the form that made him a star over the last decade, he's going to need a lot more per week during this season if this Warriors team is going to make the playoffs.
It is obviously early days, but a telling moment in the second half was when a Warriors' goal line drop out went an astonishing 90 metres. The only problem was the resulting set by St George-Illawarra went 91 and ended with Moses Mbye scoring the match-sealing try. The full time siren was followed by a fireworks display, which seemed a little over the top for a win over the Warriors till it was noted that it was the Dragons' first victory since last July.
Their opponents for that win? You guessed it: the Warriors.
