Making its return, we bring you Super charged, in which we preview the main talking points ahead of the Super Rugby Aotearoa action.
Highlanders v Chiefs
The tournament’s action gets underway in Dunedin on Saturday and, if previous matches between these sides are to be used as a yardstick, then this should be a thrilling affair.
Judging from the respective teams’ form in this year’s suspended Super Rugby tournament, the Chiefs head into this encounter as favourites as they won four out of six matches and occupied third position in that competition’s New Zealand Conference standings.
With British and Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland also at the helm for the Chiefs, there was lots of excitement in their ranks at the start of the season and they impressed in the early rounds with successive triumphs over the Blues, Crusaders and Sunwolves.
Their campaign hit a snag when they suffered a shock defeat at home against the Brumbies but they bounced back with a big away victory over the Waratahs. Their last match, before the tournament was brought to a grinding halt due to the coronavirus pandemic, was a tight affair and they eventually suffered a narrow 27-24 loss against the Hurricanes in Hamilton.
Meanwhile, the Highlanders found the going tough in Super Rugby as they were the bottom-placed team in their country’s conference with just one victory from five matches played. They lost their first match against the Sharks at home but notched a win against the Brumbies in Canberra the following week to put their campaign back on track.
The rest of the campaign was a forgetful one as defeats to the Crusaders, Rebels and Bulls followed before their Round Seven clash with the Jaguares in Buenos Aires was cancelled due to Covid-19.
Despite that poor form, head coach Aaron Mauger and his charges will be hoping for a fresh start in Super Rugby Aotearoa. They will head into this match with a semblance of confidence as they drew 31-31 when these teams met in Dunedin last year and also claimed an impressive 30-27 victory in 2019’s corresponding fixture in Hamilton.
? The most unbelievable 3 minutes of code you will ever watch in your life.
Expect scenes like this on Saturday night for the opening game of Investec #SuperRugbyAotearoa ? pic.twitter.com/o5wgz7SDcB
— Super Rugby (@SuperRugbyNZ) June 12, 2020
Blues v Hurricanes
After the suspension of the regular Super Rugby season, everyone starts from scratch as New Zealand’s revised domestic competition gets underway. For the Blues, that is an unfortunate side effect of the postponement in March having impressed in the early rounds.
Five victories in seven games saw them reside in fourth place before the enforced suspension, but it has given them some much-needed belief heading into this tournament. Previously, they had struggled in the intra-country derbies but a victory over Sunday’s opponents, the Hurricanes, back in March displayed a team finding their identity under head coach Leon MacDonald.
They are also boosted by the signing of two-time World Rugby Player of the Year Beauden Barrett, who missed the opening rounds in Super Rugby after taking an extended break, and he lines up at full-back this weekend.
The Aucklanders will duly fancy their chances of opening Super Rugby Aotearoa with a win following their 24-15 success in Wellington earlier in the year. The Hurricanes were surprisingly flat in that encounter and they are certainly struggling to find the same amount of potency without Barrett.
Despite containing a devastating backline in the wider channels, with Ngani Laumape, Vince Aso, Ben Lam, Chase Tiatia, and Wes Goosen all top performers, fly-half Jackson Garden-Bachop has yet to truly settle into his role as the primary decision-maker.
In fairness to the pivot, he hasn’t been helped by a pack which has lacked the power to get regularly over the gain line and they will hope that Ardie Savea’s return from a knee injury will aid their chances over the next few weeks.
Super Rugby 2020 | Hurricanes v Blues – Rd 6 Highlights
In a game that had it all, the @BluesRugbyTeam end a nine-game losing streak against the @Hurricanesrugby with a 24-15 win in Wellington.#SuperRugby #SuperRugby25years #HURvBLU pic.twitter.com/5hZxlc7cPr— Super Rugby/TRC (@SuperRugby) March 7, 2020
Player to watch – Beauden Barrett (Blues)
One of the best players of his generation Dan Carter has not made the match-day squad after recently joining the franchise, but we will at least get to see the current standard-bearer in world rugby in a Blues shirt for the first time.
Against his former team, Barrett interestingly takes his place at full-back after being shifted from the All Blacks fly-half position ahead of last year’s World Cup, meaning that Otere Black is named at pivot. There have been doubts over the 29-year-old’s control of the game at the top level, as well as his ability to place-kick, but there are no concerns over his playmaking skills.
The 83-times capped All Black is still the most complete attacking player in the sport, with Barrett’s creativity and threat from counter-attack a huge benefit for the Auckland-based side. Alongside fellow backline talents Mark Telea, Rieko Ioane, TJ Faiane and Caleb Clarke, it should be an entertaining watch on Sunday.
Y’all ready for Kick Off??#BluesAllDay #BluesTogether pic.twitter.com/yqLJo9Z6Ki
— The Blues (@BluesRugbyTeam) June 12, 2020
One-v-one battle to watch – Aaron Smith (Highlanders) v Brad Weber (Chiefs)
These two are amongst New Zealand’s leading number nines and both will be at the forefront of their respective teams’ charges in what promises to be an exciting encounter in Dunedin.
Smith has been his country’s number one scrum-half for several years now and is renowned for his bullet-like spiral pass and excellent playmaking abilities. The 31-year-old has played consistency well for his team over the years and has proven to be a superb link between his forwards and outside backs over the years. He has the ability to unlock the tightest defences with clever offloads while his box-kicking is also amongst the best in the business.
Smooth moves.
Tune into your usual Super Rugby channels to catch the @Highlanders
host the @ChiefsRugby tomorrow!#SuperRugby #superrugbyaotearoa pic.twitter.com/31Kt1zJN5I— Super Rugby/TRC (@SuperRugby) June 11, 2020
In Weber, he goes up against a tough adversary whose game has come on in leaps and bounds, which has made him one of his country’s most improved players in recent years. The 29-year-old also provides a slick service from the base, although he poses more of a threat around the fringes of the rucks and mauls. When he spots a gap he usually takes it with devastating consequences for opponents.
Although Smith is still widely regarded as New Zealand’s first-choice scrum-half, Weber’s impressive recent form means he has closed the gap on his more experienced counterpart and whoever comes out on top in this duel should be on the winning side as well.
Brad Weber and his Chiefs are back in action this weekend.
Tune into your usual Super Rugby channels to catch the @Highlanders host the @ChiefsRugby on Saturday.#SuperRugby #superrugbyaotearoa pic.twitter.com/EepBYpeZbK
— Super Rugby/TRC (@SuperRugby) June 11, 2020
Subplot to watch – The excitement of ‘normality’
Okay, it’s not the ‘actual’ Super Rugby tournament but it is wonderful to see that things are starting to get back to normal in New Zealand. Rugby union is back and crowds are returning after their government announced that they have moved down to alert level 1.
The country has not had a new case of coronavirus for over three weeks and, as a result, supporters are allowed to attend matches this weekend. In particular, it should be a thriller at Eden Park with 40,000 people potentially set to watch the action in the stadium.
That is simply incredible and shows how the world has missed sport over the past three months. It will be the Blues’ largest following for at least a decade, while the Highlanders are also set for a large attendance. Around 18,000 tickets have currently been sold but more may pack into the Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday.
Pssst. Almost 30,000 tickets gone. Pass it on. ?
– Free Kids tickets with $20 GA Adult (ONLINE PURCHASE ONLY)
Don’t miss out! ➡️ https://t.co/IHOAQnHTgA#BLUvHUR #BluesAllDay #BluesTogether pic.twitter.com/4tQw5T25uL
— The Blues (@BluesRugbyTeam) June 10, 2020