The Rugby Weekend Review

After a fine weekend of rugby, here’s our opinion on who had game and who was just...well....lame.

GOOD WEEK

Wales

They may not have performed to their ability and they may even have been a tad lucky to escape with a win at Twickenham. Despite this, they have earned a Triple Crown and now look well on their way to competing for a Grand Slam. Great teams sometimes clutch victory from the jaws of defeat and Wales came up with the big plays when it mattered. Whisper it quietly....Wales look like returning to their glory days in the 70’s.

Fly Halves

It’s not unusual to see fans blame a number 10 for a team’s lack of creativity after a loss, but with that added pressure, comes added reward. This week a whole heap of number 10’s shone. See (in no particular order):

Beauden Barrett (Hurricanes), Mike Harris (Reds), Owen Farrell (England), Jonny Sexton (Ireland), Tyler Blyendaal (Crusaders) and Elton Jantjes (Lions).

Super Rugby

‘Powder-puff rugby with too many blowout scores’. For a long time, Super Rugby has been dismissed by Northern Hemisphere critics for lacking defensive intensity. It has been claimed that its style of rugby cannot be replicated at International level.  At times this may have been justified, but with all but one match won by merely a handful of points, it can’t be levelled this time. This year is shaping up to be the most fiercely contested competition of super rugby so far.

Juandre Kruger

Replacing a man with over 100 caps for his country must be a daunting task. But Even Victor Matfield himself must have been impressed by the way Juandre Kruger went about his business on Friday night. Frequent viewers at Franklin Gardens will tell you that he is just continuing the rich vein of form he showed in the Northampton Saints jersey for the last few years. Kruger showed athleticism around the park and was a fine technician of the lineout and kickoff receipt. He looks like a good bet to make Heineke Meyer’s first springbok squad.

Beauden Barrett

No one is betting on the Hurricanes to win the Super 15 this year...let alone get close. Barrett however showed calm authority behind a struggling pack, which belied his tender age. He earned 16 points with the boot as well as scoring an intercept try (showing enough pace to hand off Springbok flyer Gio Aplon in the process). Every now and again a player comes upon the scene that makes everything look effortlessly easy. Barrett seems to fall into that category. At only 20 years old, he is definitely one for the future but with continued performances like this, Barrett may just be the man for the present.

Owen Farrell & Manu Tuilagi

Bish bash bosh. Tuilagi delivered a performance akin to a one man wrecking ball on Saturday afternoon. Having dealt with the imposing Welsh midfield magnificently, he then decided to ‘give it some back’ too. His stocky frame seemed to make real inroads into the welsh defence (almost at will) and he definitely added some much needed impetus into the English backline. It was a triumphant return to the International scene for the Leicester Tiger. No swan dive into the harbour either....

Owen Farrell meanwhile continued his meteoric rise with a great game from fly-half. Some pundits had worried about his ‘stand and deliver’ rugby league style against the Welsh blitz defence, but Farrell seemed totally at ease in the number 10 shirt. One sequence of play in particular really caught the eye as England went from one end of the pitch to the other, culminating with Farrell collecting his own chip kick. He showed his inexperience to kick it away with better options available, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen a reaction like that from the Twickenham crowd. They may have found a new hero. He even earned a wry smile from his father, former ‘International Man of Steel’ Andy Farrell in the coaching box.

Wesley Fofana

This guy really is an excitement machine. His one handed catch of the ball behind his head as he accelerated and swerved past despairing Scottish defenders on his way to the Murrayfield try-line was Brian O’Driscoll like. France seem to have unearthed a real gem here .Don’t be surprised to see Wesley up near the top of the try scoring stakes as he continues to set alight the backline.

Stuart Hogg

Fresh from his try scoring exploits for Scotland ‘A’ against England ‘A’ and his exciting but brief cameo against Wales, Hogg continued his surge as the most talked about talent in Scottish rugby with a try down the touchline against France. Considering how lamentable the Scottish attack has been over recent years, it is unbelievable to see the transformation one player can spark. He has added a new found confidence to their backline (in addition to the introduction of Greg Laidlaw at fly half). The young flyer looks electric with the ball in hand and has some real x factor about him, which Scotland hasn’t had since Gregor Townsend in his youth.

BAD WEEK

The Sharks/ Blues/ Chiefs

All of these teams came into the competition with high hopes of silverware. Although it is only week one and that is still achievable, they will be disappointed to have lost their opening games (the Sharks and Chiefs in particular). With such a difficult schedule this year...it will be important for these teams to get a W by their name soon or risk facing an uphill battle to secure that all important home play-off game.

Pat Lambie

Pat Lambie was not poor by any means. However I have to admit that after looking forward to seeing how he fared this year, he certainly didn’t play to expectations in the opening round. The Sharks – Bulls game offered little quality and considering the Bulls squad looks depleted compared to recent years, one felt Lambie could have stamped his authority on the match more than he did. There’s still a long way to go though and the Durban faithful will be backing him to grow into his role. He has undoubted talent and it’s only a matter of time until he starts controlling Super Rugby games the way he has in the Currie Cup.

Italy

It seemed like a case of one step forward, two steps back for the Azzuri during the weekend. After almost pulling off a surprise against England during their historic game at the Olympic Stadium, Italy well and truly flopped against Ireland (Sergio Parisse aside as usual). Perhaps too much was expected of the men in blue and the result of the previous weekend certainly seemed more indicative of how badly England played in the snow than how much Italy had improved under Jacques Brunel. Time will tell though and for now, they will just have to keep believing in their new found liberation from Nick Mallet’s rather narrow game plan. At least Bergamasco wasn’t playing scrumhalf!!!